How much RAM does a Sons of the Forest server need?
Eight players maximum and a high baseline, which looks odd until you account for what the server is actually simulating.
Recommendation
You need a server with at least
12GB
- Engine / Base OS:
- 8 GB
- Player Overhead:
- +1.6 GB
- Estimated Raw Usage:
- 9.6 GB
- Suggested cores:
- 4
- Disk to allow:
- 15 GB+
Cannibal AI runs across the whole map rather than only near players.
View 12GB PlansWhat actually drives Sons of the Forest memory use
The cannibal and mutant AI runs continuously across the map, tracking factions and behaviour rather than spawning and despawning around players. On top of that the terrain is modifiable and player structures persist. The result is a server whose cost is set almost entirely by the world simulation, with the eight player slots contributing very little.
The mistake to avoid
Assuming a small player cap means a small server. This is one of the few games here where the maximum group size is genuinely irrelevant to sizing — plan for the baseline and the base-building, not the slots.