Minecraft Game Modes
This is where to start if you've just bought a Minecraft server and aren't sure what to build on it. By the end you'll know which game mode suits your players, how much memory and CPU it needs, how much of your own time it takes each week, whether it needs one server or a network of several, and which guide to follow next.
It takes about 20 minutes to read. You don't need anything installed yet. In fact it's better if you haven't installed anything, because the game mode decides the server type, the Minecraft version and the plugins.
Answer four questions first
Write the answers down. Every later choice follows from them.
Who is it for?
| Players | What usually works |
|---|---|
| You and a few friends | Survival SMP, Lifesteal, Chunklock, Cobblemon, Creative. Low admin, no staff needed. |
| A Discord community of 20–100 | Advanced SMP, Skyblock, OneBlock, Towny, Lifesteal. Needs ranks, claims and a few moderators. |
| The public (server lists, ads) | Skyblock, OneBlock, Prison, Factions, Minigames, PvP. Needs an economy, anti-cheat, staff and a network sooner or later. |
How many people will be online at the same time?
Count the peak concurrent players (the busiest hour), not the total members. A Discord of 200 people often has 10–20 online at once. Memory and CPU depend on concurrent players.
How do your players like to play?
- Build and explore together: SMP, Towny, Creative, Cobblemon.
- Progress alone or in small teams: Skyblock, OneBlock, Chunklock, Prison.
- Compete: Factions, Lifesteal, PvP, Minigames, Anarchy.
How much time can you spend running it?
Be honest. A server that needs daily attention and doesn't get it dies faster than a simpler one that's run well. The comparison below gives a realistic weekly figure for each mode once it's set up.
Compare the game modes
| Game mode | Core plugin or mod | Server type | Memory to start | CPU pressure | Admin time per week | Needs a network? | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced SMP | LuckPerms, claims, economy | Paper | 6–12 GB | Medium–high | 2–5 h | No | Advanced SMP |
| Skyblock | BentoBox + BSkyBlock | Paper | 4–8 GB | Medium (farms) | 2–4 h | No | Skyblock |
| OneBlock | BentoBox + AOneBlock | Paper | 3–6 GB | Medium (farms) | 1–3 h | No | OneBlock |
| Chunklock | Chunklock plugin or datapack | Paper (plugin), any (datapack) | 3–6 GB | Medium (new chunks) | 1–2 h | No | Chunklock |
| Minigames | BedWars, Murder Mystery, Build Battle… | Paper | 1–2 GB per game server + lobby | High per arena | 4–8 h | Yes, once busy | Minigames |
| Creative / plots | PlotSquared, WorldEdit | Paper | 4–8 GB | Low, with spikes | 1–3 h | No | Creative |
| Prison | A prison core + Vault economy | Paper | 4–8 GB | Medium (mine resets) | 3–6 h | No | Prison |
| Factions | FactionsUUID or SaberFactions | Paper | 6–10 GB | High (TNT cannons) | 4–8 h | No | Factions |
| Lifesteal SMP | A lifesteal plugin | Paper | 4–8 GB | Medium | 2–4 h | No | Lifesteal |
| Towny / Earth | Towny + a map add-on | Paper | 8–16 GB | Medium–high (big map) | 3–6 h | No | Towny and Earth |
| PvP (KitPvP, Duels, UHC) | Kit/duel plugins, OldCombatMechanics | Paper | 2–6 GB | Medium–high | 3–6 h | Often | PvP servers |
| Anarchy | Exploit protection only | Paper | 6–12 GB | High (unlimited world) | 1–3 h (but disk grows) | No | Anarchy |
| Cobblemon | Cobblemon mod | Fabric or NeoForge | 6–10 GB | Medium–high | 1–3 h | No | Cobblemon |
| Several of the above | Velocity proxy + lobby | Velocity + Paper | Proxy 1 GB, lobby 1.5–2 GB, plus each mode | Spread across servers | 4–10 h | Yes | Network |
How to read the table:
- Memory to start is for a small to medium community (up to about 20–30 online). Start there, watch it, and grow. More memory than a server uses doesn't make it faster.
- CPU pressure is the bigger limit for most modes. Minecraft runs each world's game logic on essentially one main thread, so one very busy server can't use more than about one CPU core's worth of speed for its ticks, however many cores the machine has. That's the main reason big communities split onto several servers.
- Admin time is the steady-state weekly effort after launch: answering players, moderation, balancing, updates and checking backups. The first setup takes much longer (an evening for simple modes, several weekends for a network).
Each game mode in more detail
Advanced SMP
Vanilla survival plus the systems a lasting community needs: land claims, an economy and shops, ranks, a live web map, homes and teleports. It's the most flexible mode and the easiest for players to understand. The cost grows with exploration: every new chunk players reach must be generated and saved, so pre-generate the world inside a border before launch. Admin time goes on grief reports, claim disputes and plugin updates. Suits friends' groups up to large communities. Advanced SMP guide
Skyblock
Every player or team starts on a small island in the void and expands with farms and generators. Worlds stay small (no exploration), but players build huge automatic farms, so mob caps, hopper and redstone limits matter more than world size. BentoBox with BSkyBlock is free and maintained, and addons add island levels, challenges, warps and upgrades. Admin time goes on the economy and challenge balance. Great for public servers. Skyblock guide
OneBlock
A variant of Skyblock: each island begins as a single block that turns into the next block when broken, working through phases. It's cheaper than Skyblock early on (tiny islands) and grows into the same farm load later. AOneBlock runs on BentoBox, so it shares Skyblock's tools. Low admin time once phases are set. OneBlock guide
Chunklock
Players start locked in one chunk and pay items to unlock neighbouring chunks. It's survival with a goal, so it suits small groups and challenge-loving communities. The main CPU cost is generating new chunks as players unlock them, so pre-generating the bordered area pays off. There's a plugin (Paper) and an unrelated datapack (any server type); pick one. Check which Minecraft versions the plugin supports before choosing your version. Chunklock guide
Minigames
Short rounds of BedWars, SkyWars, Murder Mystery, Build Battle, Parkour and more. Each arena is small, but every player is in the same small space doing a lot at once, and arenas must reset after every round. Small communities can run several arenas on one server. Busy ones run a lobby plus separate game servers behind Velocity. The highest admin load of any mode: map building, balancing, anti-cheat and keeping lots of plugins updated. Minigames guide
Creative / plots
Builders get plots (PlotSquared) or a shared flat world, with WorldEdit-style tools. Usually light on CPU, with spikes from huge edits and redstone. Limits on edit size and entity counts keep it smooth. Admin time is low unless you run build competitions. Creative guide
Prison
Players mine, sell, rank up through mines and prestige. It's an economy game: most of your time goes into prices, rank costs and keeping mine resets from lagging. Expect to tweak numbers weekly in the first month. Prison guide
Factions
Survival with teams, claims and raiding with TNT cannons. One of the hardest modes to run: cannons create huge numbers of explosions and falling blocks, and the community expects strict, fast staff decisions. Only pick it if you have experienced staff. Factions guide
Lifesteal SMP
Kill a player to steal a heart; lose all yours and you're out until revived. Underneath it's survival, so it costs the same as an SMP. Admin time goes on PvP disputes and deciding elimination and revive rules up front. Lifesteal guide
Towny / Earth
Towns, nations, taxes and wars, optionally on a scaled map of the real world. Earth maps are big, so they need lots of disk and a long pre-generation, and more memory than most modes. Admin time goes on town disputes and the economy. Towny and Earth guide
PvP: KitPvP, Duels and UHC
Fast fights in arenas with kits, ranked duels, or UHC events. Players are very sensitive to lag and hit registration, so these servers need a good anti-cheat, low view distance and careful plugin choice. Practice-style servers often grow into a network of lobby plus game servers. PvP guide
Anarchy
No rules, no claims, no resets. Very little day-to-day admin, but the world grows forever (disk and backups grow with it) and players actively hunt for crash exploits, so exploit protection is the one thing you can't skip. Anarchy guide
Cobblemon
Pokémon in Minecraft. It's a mod, so it runs on Fabric or NeoForge, and every player needs the same mods installed (usually through a modpack). It can't share a Paper network as easily as plugin modes. Memory needs are higher than vanilla because of the mod load. Cobblemon guide
Work out how much server you need
Memory
Use the "Memory to start" column, then adjust for your situation:
| Situation | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 10 players online at once | Use the low end. |
| 20–40 players online at once | Use the high end. |
| More than 40 online at once | Split into a network before adding more memory to one server. |
| A large plugin stack (40+ plugins) | Add 1–2 GB. |
| A modpack instead of plugins | Use the modpack's recommendation, usually 6–10 GB. |
Java needs some memory outside its heap, and the start command uses a percentage of your plan for the heap automatically. Don't set -Xmx to the whole plan. Memory and flags
CPU
Watch the TPS (ticks per second; 20 is perfect) and MSPT (milliseconds per tick; under 50 means no lag) with /spark tps once players are on. If MSPT regularly goes above 40 with spare memory, the server is CPU-bound. More memory won't help. Your options, in order:
- Find what's using the time with
/spark profilerand fix it. Fix lag - Lower
simulation-distanceandview-distance, and cap entities and farms. - Split game modes or worlds onto separate servers behind Velocity.
Disk
Most modes stay under 10–20 GB. Anarchy, Towny Earth maps and long-running SMPs grow without limit, and backups take room too. Pre-generating inside a world border keeps growth predictable.
Decide: one server or a network
| Your plan | Layout |
|---|---|
| One game mode for one community | One server. Simplest: one world, one plugin set, one backup schedule. |
| One game mode, but more players than one server's CPU can handle | One mode split over several servers (e.g. Survival-1 and Survival-2), or the same mode with separate worlds per server, behind Velocity. |
| Two or more game modes (e.g. Skyblock, OneBlock and Chunklock) | A network: Velocity proxy, a lobby, and one server per mode. |
| Minigames for more than about 30 players at once | A network: lobby plus several game servers. |
| A mod game mode (Cobblemon) plus plugin modes | Usually separate addresses. Mixing modded and plugin back-ends behind one proxy is possible but players then need different clients for different servers. |
A network means:
- Players connect to one address (the Velocity proxy) and arrive in a lobby.
- They choose a mode with an NPC, a portal or a compass menu, and Velocity moves them to that server without reconnecting.
- Each mode has its own server with its own memory, CPU, world, plugins and backups, so lag or a crash in one mode never affects the others.
- Ranks are shared through one MySQL database for LuckPerms. Economies and inventories usually stay separate per mode.
You can't create extra servers yourself in the panel: ask us (or order an upgrade) for one server per mode, plus a Velocity server and a lobby. Then follow Run several game modes as one network.
Example: Skyblock, OneBlock and Chunklock under one address
| Server | Type | Memory | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velocity | Velocity | 1 GB | The only public address. |
| Lobby | Paper | 1.5–2 GB | Spawn, NPCs, menus. |
| Skyblock | Paper | 4–6 GB | BentoBox + BSkyBlock. |
| OneBlock | Paper | 3–5 GB | BentoBox + AOneBlock. |
| Chunklock | Paper | 3–5 GB | Chunklock plugin, pre-generated border. |
| Total | 12.5–19 GB | Plus one MySQL database for LuckPerms. |
Pick your Minecraft version
Game-mode plugins (BentoBox addons, Chunklock, minigame plugins, Towny add-ons) often support a new Minecraft release weeks or months after it comes out. Choose the version like this:
- List every plugin your mode needs (the mode's guide names them).
- Open each plugin's page (Modrinth, Hangar, SpigotMC or the panel's Minecraft Plugins page, which only shows plugins for your version) and note the newest Minecraft version it supports.
- Use the newest version all of them support. That's your version.
- Set it on Startup as an exact version, not
latest, so an automatic update never breaks your plugins. Change version - If you want players on newer clients to join anyway, add ViaVersion (and ViaBackwards for older clients).
On a network, back-ends may run different versions if one mode's plugin lags behind; ViaVersion on Velocity lets players on newer clients reach the older back-end. Keep them the same where you can: it makes updates simpler.
Plan your admin time and staff
Every mode shares the same weekly routine. Budget for it before choosing a mode that adds more.
| Task | How often | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Check Backups has recent successful backups | Weekly | 2 min |
Read the console for errors, check /spark tps |
Weekly | 10 min |
| Update plugins (one at a time, locked backup first) | Monthly | 30–60 min |
Handle reports, grief rollbacks (/co rollback), bans |
Depends on mode | 0–5 h |
| Balance the economy, challenges, shop prices | Skyblock, OneBlock, Prison, Towny | 1–3 h |
| Build or fix maps and arenas | Minigames, PvP | 2–5 h |
Once you have more than about 15 players online regularly, recruit moderators and give them a LuckPerms group, not op. Each mode's guide shows the exact groups and permission nodes.
Build it in the right order
Whichever mode you pick, set it up in this order. Doing it out of order (installing plugins before choosing the version, or letting players in before pre-generating) causes most rework.
- Secure your panel account with two-factor authentication, and add co-admins as sub-users. New server checklist
- Set the server type and version on Startup (Paper for plugin modes, Fabric or NeoForge for Cobblemon). Paper setup
- Start once, accept the EULA, stop. Console and power
- Core settings in
server.properties: view and simulation distance, difficulty, whitelist while you build. Server properties - Core plugins: LuckPerms, CoreProtect, Chunky, plus your mode's core plugin. Install plugins
- A database for LuckPerms and CoreProtect if you'll run a network or a busy server. Databases
- Mode setup from the mode's guide: islands, phases, mines, arenas, plots.
- Pre-generate any world players explore. Pre-generate
- Backups and a daily restart on a schedule, and check the next day that a backup exists. Backup schedules
- Test as a normal player from a non-op account, then open.
Example server plans
Friends' survival server (4–8 players)
- Mode: Advanced SMP or Lifesteal. Server: one Paper server, 4–6 GB.
- Plugins: LuckPerms, CoreProtect, EssentialsX, a claims plugin, Chunky, a web map.
- Admin time: about an hour a week. Network: not needed.
Public Skyblock (20–40 players)
- Mode: Skyblock. Server: one Paper server, 6–8 GB, plus a MySQL database for LuckPerms and CoreProtect.
- Plugins: BentoBox + BSkyBlock with Level, Challenges and Warps addons, Vault, an economy and shop, LuckPerms, CoreProtect, an anti-cheat.
- Admin time: 3–4 hours a week, plus moderators. Network: later, if you add a second mode.
Multi-mode network (Skyblock, OneBlock, Chunklock)
- Servers: Velocity, lobby, and one Paper server per mode (see the table in step 4).
- Shared: LuckPerms ranks via one MySQL database, tab list on Velocity, one lobby with NPCs.
- Separate: each mode's economy, inventories, world and backups.
- Admin time: 5–10 hours a week. Follow the network guide.
Minigame network
- Servers: Velocity, lobby, one or more game servers (start with one BedWars server holding several arenas).
- Shared: stats in MySQL, LuckPerms, a queue plugin on Velocity.
- Admin time: 4–8 hours a week. Follow the minigames guide.
Common problems
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A key plugin won't load after setup | The Minecraft version is newer than the plugin supports. | Set an exact older version on Startup that all your plugins list, or wait for the plugin update. Change version |
| Server lags with plenty of free memory | CPU-bound: one main thread is maxed out. | Profile with /spark profiler, lower simulation-distance, cap farms, or split modes onto separate servers. |
| Players want a second mode on the same server | One server can run several BentoBox modes, but plugin conflicts and shared lag grow quickly. | For more than one unrelated mode, use a network. |
| Players on Bedrock can't join | Geyser isn't installed, or is on the wrong server in a network. | Bedrock crossplay: Geyser goes on the proxy only. |
| Modded players can't join a plugin server, or vice versa | Paper doesn't run mods; Fabric/NeoForge don't run plugins. | Keep modded modes (Cobblemon) on their own server and address. |
| Setup takes far longer than expected | A network or minigame server chosen as the first project. | Launch one mode on one server first; add the network later. |
| The world folder grows without limit | No world border on an exploration mode. | Set a border and pre-generate. Pre-generate |
Launch checklist
- [ ] The mode chosen and written down, with the peak player count you expect.
- [ ] A Minecraft version that every plugin supports, pinned on Startup.
- [ ] Memory set from the table above; a network planned only if you need it.
- [ ] Core plugins installed and green in
plugins. - [ ] A MySQL database for plugins that need one (networks, busy servers).
- [ ] The mode's own guide followed to the end, including its launch checklist.
- [ ] World pre-generated inside a border (exploration modes).
- [ ] LuckPerms groups for players and staff; only the owner is
op. - [ ] A backup schedule with a Create Backup task, and a backup visible the next day.
- [ ] A daily restart with a warning.
- [ ] A test as a normal player from a non-op account.
- [ ]
/spark tpswatched for the first hour after opening.
