Factions Servers: Setup and Best Practices

Choose a Factions plugin

This guide uses FactionsUUID 4.x commands. SaberFactions commands are similar (it started as a FactionsUUID fork) but not identical; type /f help to see them.

Whichever you choose, check the download page lists your Minecraft version before you start.

You'll also need:

Install the Modrinth ones from Minecraft Plugins; upload SpigotMC or GitHub jars through Files → plugins → Upload. Restart, then run plugins in the console: everything should be green.

Build the map

Decide the size

Factions need room to hide bases, but too much room means nobody ever finds anyone to raid.

Set the border and pre-generate

Pre-generating stops the server generating new chunks during play, which is one of the biggest causes of lag. In the console:

worldborder center 0 0
worldborder set 10000
chunky world world
chunky worldborder
chunky start

worldborder set 10000 is the width, so this is 5,000 blocks each way. Run it overnight; Chunky's progress survives restarts. Then do the Nether with a smaller border (one-eighth of the Overworld is the vanilla ratio). The full walkthrough is in Pre-generate your world.

Check it worked: chunky reports the task complete, and Files shows the world/region folder has grown.

Build spawn

1. Build spawn near 0,0 with WorldEdit (//wand, //set, //paste for schematics).
2. Stand on the spawn point and run /setspawn.
3. Add a WorldGuard region as a second layer of protection: select it with //wand, then rg define spawn, rg flag spawn pvp deny, rg flag spawn tnt deny.

Configure the Factions plugin

Stop the server before editing configs. FactionsUUID 4.x keeps its files in plugins/FactionsUUID/; the main settings are in main.conf (HOCON format: key = value, sections in { }). SaberFactions uses YAML in plugins/Factions/.

Power or DTR

FactionsUUID can control land and raiding in one of two ways, set by system in the land/raid control section:

• power (default, classic Factions): every player has power; a faction's power is the sum of its members'. A faction can claim one chunk per point of power. Dying loses power. When a faction has more land than power, others can overclaim its land.
• dtr ("deaths till raidable", HCF style): a faction has a DTR number. Each death lowers it; at zero or below the faction is raidable. Land is a fixed allowance per player.

Classic Factions servers use power. HCF-style servers use dtr.

Power settings

Claim settings

Explosion protection

In the protection section, FactionsUUID decides where TNT can break blocks:

Offline protection (territoryBlockTNTWhenOffline: true) makes raids impossible while the defenders are offline. It's friendlier for casual servers and kills competitive raiding. Pick one and put it in your rules.

Save, then start the server. Config changes load at start-up, so restart after every edit.

Claim the safezone and warzone

Two special factions exist on every server:

• SafeZone: no PvP, no building, no TNT damage. Use it for spawn.
• WarZone: PvP is on, building and claiming are off. Use it around spawn, for outposts and for events. Players can lose power here by default.

To claim land for them, an admin claims on behalf of that faction. In FactionsUUID 4.x, claiming for another faction uses the --faction option, and radius claims use --radius:

1. Stand in the middle of spawn.
2. Type /f claim --faction and press Tab. The autocomplete shows the exact names of the SafeZone and WarZone factions.
3. Claim spawn as SafeZone with a radius, for example /f claim --faction <SafeZone name> --radius 3.
4. Walk to the edge and claim a ring of WarZone around it the same way, so players can't build a base right outside spawn.
5. Run /f map to check: spawn should show as SafeZone and the ring as WarZone.

Older and forked Factions plugins use /f claim safezone or /f safe instead. If --faction isn't recognised, run /f help and look for the claim command.

Admins need bypass mode to edit inside claimed or protected land: /fa bypass toggles it. Turn it off again when you're done.

Permissions with LuckPerms

FactionsUUID ships permission kits that bundle the right nodes:

Set them up in the console:

lp group default permission set factions.kit.fullplayer true
lp creategroup helper
lp creategroup mod
lp creategroup admin
lp group helper permission set factions.kit.halfmod true
lp group mod parent add helper
lp group mod permission set factions.kit.mod true
lp group admin parent add mod
lp group admin permission set factions.kit.admin true
lp group admin permission set factions.bypass true
lp createtrack staff
lp track staff append helper
lp track staff append mod
lp track staff append admin

Promote staff with lp user <name> promote staff. Check what someone has with lp user <name> permission check factions.bypass.

The full list is in the FactionsUUID docs (Permission Nodes). Add donor perks the same way, for example lp group vip permission set essentials.fly true (and decide whether flight is allowed in enemy territory; FactionsUUID's /f fly handles that).

Make cannons safe for the server

Raids are the biggest performance risk on any Factions server. Each primed TNT and each falling block (sand, gravel, concrete powder) is an entity the server must move every tick and check for collisions. A big cannon can create hundreds per shot, and a raid fires for hours.

Paper world settings

Edit config/paper-world-defaults.yml with the server stopped. Only change the keys you need:

environment:
  optimize-explosions: true
chunks:
  entity-per-chunk-save-limit:
    tnt: 64
    falling_block: 64
    item: 128
    experience_orb: 16
    arrow: 16
collisions:
  max-entity-collisions: 2

Spigot setting

In spigot.yml, under world-settings → default:

Settings to leave alone

unsupported-settings in config/paper-global.yml contains options that re-enable vanilla exploits. Factions communities sometimes ask for them:

Paper doesn't support these, and they may be removed. Never enable them "just to see".

Server and Spigot activation

Test cannons before launch

1. Make a test world or a far corner of the map.
2. Build or paste two or three popular cannon designs (your community will have favourites; ask in your Discord).
3. Start a profile: spark profiler start.
4. Fire each cannon for 2–3 minutes. Watch spark tps in another window.
5. spark profiler stop and open the link. If explosions or entity ticking take most of the tick, tighten the limits above.
6. Make sure every design still fires correctly. Publish the limits so players know.

Healthy: TPS stays at 20 and MSPT under 50 while a cannon fires. Under 15 TPS during a raid means tighten something. Fix lag

Spawners and the economy

Most Factions economies run on mob spawners: players buy spawners, stack them in a base, sell the drops, and use the money for more spawners and for TNT. It's also why raids matter: a base full of stacked spawners is worth millions.

Set up the money

1. EssentialsX provides the currency. Set a starting balance in plugins/Essentials/config.yml (starting-balance).
2. Set item sell prices in plugins/Essentials/worth.yml (or use a GUI shop plugin). Players sell with /sell hand or /sell all.
3. Factions have their own bank: /f money balance, /f money deposit <amount>, /f money withdraw <amount>.

Stack spawners

A stacker (RoseStacker is free) merges spawners into one block with a count, merges mobs into one entity with a count, and stacks dropped items. A base with 500 spawners becomes a handful of blocks and a few mob entities instead of thousands. Without a stacker, spawner farms will lag the server.

Settings to check in your stacker's config:

• Maximum spawner stack size (for example 100 or 1,000).
• Mob stack size and the radius for merging.
• Silk touch spawner pickup: decide whether raiders can mine spawners (most servers say yes, at a chance).

Price it

The same method as any game economy: decide what a good day's play earns, then price spawners and TNT from that. Start conservative; you can add income later, but removing money from an inflated economy is nearly impossible without a reset.

TNT

TNT is the raid currency. FactionsUUID 4.x has a faction TNT bank:

Outposts, KOTH and events

Events give factions a reason to fight beyond raiding.

• KOTH (King of the Hill): a WarZone area; the faction that holds it for a set time wins loot or keys. Several KOTH plugins exist on SpigotMC and Modrinth; check version support. Schedule events with the panel's Schedules (a Send Command task that starts the KOTH, at a fixed time in UTC).
• Outposts: permanent capture points that give the holding faction a bonus (money per minute, a sell multiplier). Usually a paid plugin or a custom build. Claim the area as WarZone so it can't be claimed.
• Grace period: FactionsUUID can block raiding at the start of a season so factions can build: /fa set grace on 3d turns it on for three days, /fa set grace off ends it, and players check with /f grace.
• Shields: FactionsUUID 4.x lets factions activate a shield (/f shield activate) for a protected window each day. Check its docs for how the window is configured.

Write raid rules (and enforce them)

Disputes are inevitable. Clear rules that staff can check with logs keep the server fair.

Put these in /rules and on your Discord:

• What's allowed: cannoning, overclaiming raidable factions, and whether "insiding" (a member betraying their own faction) is allowed. Servers differ on insiding: decide and write it down.
• Banned exploits: duplication glitches you haven't enabled, chunk-loading tricks, client mods beyond the allowed list.
• Alt accounts: whether alts are allowed, and whether they can join factions (SaberFactions has a built-in alt system).
• Cannon limits: your TNT and falling-block limits from step 6.
• Offline raiding: allowed or not.
• Refunds: only for server bugs proven by logs, never for "we got raided".

Anti-cheat and combat logging

Grim

Grim is a free, open-source anti-cheat for Paper. Install it from Minecraft Plugins, restart, and leave its defaults for the first week while you watch the alerts in console.

• Bedrock players (through Geyser) are exempt; Floodgate must be on the same server as Grim.
• ViaVersion must be on the same server too.
• Test with your PvP style. Old-style combat plugins can cause false flags.

Combat logging

Without combat tagging, players log out to escape fights and raids. PvPManager (free, very actively updated) tags players in combat, punishes combat logging, stops tagged players running into safe zones, and protects new players for a while (/newbie). CombatLogX is another free option (it needs its BlueSlimeCore dependency). Pick one, not both.

Bans and alts

LibertyBans handles bans and mutes, and /alts <player> shows suspected alts. With IP bans, a banned player's alts are blocked from joining. Use /ban <player> 7d <reason> for timed bans.

Investigate with CoreProtect

When a faction says "we got raided illegally" or "someone stole from our chest", CoreProtect has the answer.

Always use a radius (r:) on rollbacks during a live season, or you'll undo legitimate play elsewhere. On a busy Factions server CoreProtect writes millions of rows a week; move it to MySQL and purge old data monthly (/co purge t:30d from the console). Databases

Backups and restarts

A raid can wipe a base in minutes, and a bad config change can wipe a season. Back up often.

Backup every 6 hours in Schedules (times are UTC):

Daily restart at your quietest time with warnings at 5 minutes and 1 minute (Send Command say ..., then Send Power Action: Restart). A restart is also the safest time for TNT stuck in unloaded chunks to clear.

Check Backups the next day. Lock a backup before every config change and at the start of each season. Weekly, Download one to keep off the server. Backup schedules

Seasons and map resets

Most Factions servers run in seasons of 1–3 months. A reset gives new factions a chance and stops the richest faction owning everything.

Plan the season

1. Announce the end date at least two weeks ahead. The last week is often "raid week" with no grace or shields.
2. Pick winners: a faction top list (by value of spawners and blocks, or points), KOTH wins, or both. Paid prizes must follow the Minecraft usage guidelines on what servers may sell or give.

Reset

1. Lock a final backup and Download a copy.
2. Stop the server.
3. In Files, rename world, world_nether and world_the_end (for example world_s1), or delete them once the backup is safe.
4. Reset faction data: rename the plugin's data folder inside plugins/FactionsUUID/ (factions, players and board/claims files). Check the folder contents first and keep the config files.
5. Reset the economy: eco reset ** in EssentialsX after the server starts, or remove plugins/Essentials/userdata/ while stopped.
6. Reset or keep LuckPerms ranks (donor ranks usually carry over).
7. If you used a different seed, change level-seed in server.properties.
8. Start the server, then pre-generate the new map (step 2) before opening.
9. Turn on a grace period for the first days: /fa set grace on 3d.