How to Optimize Your Minecraft Server

Hello gamers! In today’s blog post, we will cover a topic that some might find to be a bit boring, optimization of your Minecraft server. We would completely agree with those who say that playing Minecraft is more fun than optimizing their Minecraft server.

However, for you to get the most out of our Minecraft server, optimization is needed and in the end, it will make your gameplay smoother and therefore more enjoyable. And who would argue against that?

You’ve set up your Minecraft server and can’t wait for your friends to join in on the blocky adventures. But, uh-oh, it’s lagging. No worries! This guide will walk you through some easy and advanced steps to ensure your server runs smoother than a baby zombie chasing a villager. Let’s dive in, shall we?

This blog post is written as an introduction to our Minecraft optimization guide that you can find in our documentation library. If you want to go straight to that guide, follow this link.

Why Optimization?

Ever wondered why it’s so crucial to optimize your Minecraft server? Shouldn’t Minecraft already be optimized from the start? Well, it’s easy to think that, but a game like Minecraft can’t be optimized for all specific needs and requirements.

This is why it’s important that you optimize your server to your specific use case. By doing so, you will see smoother gameplay and reduce lag on your server. The result of this will not only offer smoother gameplay, but your server will also become more stable and less prone to failure.

Optimizing your server will also allow for a bigger overhead when it comes to resources. Though you should not expect a miracle, but you may very well be able to squeeze in an extra plugin or two. This of course depends on what type of plugin it is, and more importantly, what kind of optimizations you have done.

How to Optimize

Before we get all technical, let’s cover the basics. The first thing you should do to optimize your Minecraft server is to think about what you are trying to achieve. For example, are you using the correct type of Minecraft?

To find out what type of Minecraft server software you should be using for your server. Start by reading our guide on Minecraft Server Software, as it will give you a brief summary of each type, what they’re for, and which one you should choose for your server.

Troubleshooting

It can sometimes be hard to investigate the cause of why your server is lagging. The first thing you should do is to figure out if the lag is stemming from client or server-side issues. For example, do you have a PC with lower-end hardware? The lag might very well be a lack of performance and as a result, you will see frames being dropped.

This drop in frame rate can be mitigated by adjusting the game graphic settings, updating your drivers, or simply upgrading your PC with new hardware parts. Unfortunately, even though this might be the simplest solution, it is definitely not the cheapest.

However, if you have ruled out your PC as the culprit. The next step is to start troubleshooting your Minecraft server. There are several approaches to doing this. At first, you can start by making sure you have set up your server.properties or spigot.yml properly. These configuration files include a lot of variables that can be adjusted, and doing so will affect the performance of your server.

Spark

After you have begun troubleshooting your Minecraft server and made sure you have properly configured it, and you have made sure there is no plugin that is the cause of the issue. The next step is to take a more detailed look under the hood of the server.

If you are running a Minecraft server with Paper, then you already have a fairly optimized Minecraft server compared to a Vanilla Minecraft server. Paper is designed to greatly improve performance and offers more advanced features and API.

One of those features is the /mspt command. It will measure the performance of your Minecraft server. In short, you want the first and second values to be under 50. If the third value is over 50, your server is lagging and there is room for optimizing it.

If you have concluded that your server is lagging, the next step is to produce a timings report. This can be done by a plugin called Spark, which will create a server profile that measures your server’s CPU and RAM usage. For usage instructions, see this link.

Plugins

Do you really require 50 different plugins for your Minecraft server? While adding plugins to your server, it is easy to become excited and add too many plugins. So, before adding a plugin, spend some time thinking about if you really need the plugin.

It is not unusual for plugins to clash with each other and effectively cause your server to behave poorly in terms of performance. Even though a plugin might be described as performance enhancing, when added together with other plugins, the result may very well be the opposite!

For this reason, it is well worth the time it takes to research each plugin that you plan to add to your server. The time you spend researching a plugin before adding it will save you the time you might have to spend while troubleshooting your server.

Many plugins are made to do more than one thing, and you can often minimize the amount of plugins required if you spend some time configuring your plugins correctly.

There are of course many other things you can do to optimize your Minecraft server. However, in this blog post, we have only given you a quick run-down of the basics. For a more detailed guide on how to optimize your Minecraft server, we have created a guide called How to Optimize Your Minecraft Server.

Conclusion

Optimizing a Minecraft server can seem daunting, but with the right strategies and tools, it’s entirely achievable. Remember, performance tweaks are an ongoing process, and it’s essential to keep monitoring, updating, and refining your settings.

Well, there you have it folks, we have given you an introduction to the optimization of your Minecraft server. Now, go forth and apply these tips and tricks to your own Minecraft server, and you will be amazed at how well a Minecraft server can run when properly configured. Take care!