We will be looking at how to choose the best plugins for Minecraft, to ensure that your new server is in tip-top working order for all your players.
The great thing about the new era of servers is that most of them have plugins installed in them to make the gameplay easier and more entertaining already.
Plugins are one of the most important things in Minecraft Multiplayer / Servers, so, we'll be looking at:
- How do you get the good plugins,
- How do you add them to your server, and also...
- What are the best plugins for each server type,
What are plugins?
Plugins are add-ons or extensions to Minecraft which are used to modify the game. They are made by third-party developers, to make the management of different things in the server much easier. They can be used to make the server easy to moderate and add a lot of custom elements to it.
What are the uses of plugins?
Plugins are the basic building block of Minecraft servers. There are various types of plugins. Choosing a good plugin is important, as the server is directly linked with plugins.
An example of this would be how some plugins are used to make working on a server easier. One can set the limits depending on the plugin's rank or position, to make the server easier to moderate using the plugins.
You can add custom shops and economies to the server also.
So, it is always important to choose the good plugin, as having the average or bad ones can affect your server performance.
Also note: Some of the plugins that you install do not update after the release of the newer version of Minecraft, this can cause issues, and can make you have to change the plugin and find a new alternative.
Things like this can affect the server’s growth.
How to add plugins to the server?
Adding plugins to the server is a very easy task.
- Firstly, download the server and run it once,
- After that, stop it and you will see the Plugins folder on the server’s panel.
- Then find your chosen plugins and drag them to your Plugins folder or place them inside it.
Using the server hosts such as Hostinger or Apex Hosting, you can set up plugins easier as compared to other hosts, and they come pre-stocked with so many. You can check out our best Minecraft Server Hosting recommendations here.
These hosts provide a separate place for the plugins in its panel which helps manage them easily like shown in the image below for Apex Hosting.
They also provide you with free easier access to many plugins which can be directly added from the hosts, and you do not need to struggle to find them.
How do we choose a good plugin?
Choosing a good plugin is the most important thing for your server, but before finding your plugins of choice, you have to look at what type of server you are running.
There are different types of servers as you know, and depending on what server you run, you can choose a plugin to suit your needs. You can find all the plugins you need on the following:
- Spigot: https://www.spigotmc.org/
- Bukkit: https://dev.bukkit.org/
After knowing what type of server suits, you can choose the sets of plugins for them. But some plugins are a must for all the servers, and work excellently are:
6 Essential Minecraft Plugins To Install On Your Server
#1 - Authme:
https://ci.codemc.io/job/AuthMe/job/AuthMeReloaded/
To make the player's account safe from predators, you can use this plugin. Using this plugin, you can use a password to register yourself to a server and log in using that later whenever connecting to it.
#2 - EssentialsX:
https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/essentialsx.9089/
This plugin lets you handle a lot of things in the game. You can use this plugin to mark different places such as Spawn, Homes, Warps, Kits, Private Messages, etc. You can also use Nicknames, Teleportation requests, and much more with this plugin.
#3 - Luck Perms:
https://luckperms.net/download
To set up Permissions and specify Ranks, you can use this plugin. This plugin lets you make the ranks and assign the permissions to them in whatever way you like. You can also make the staff ranks or the in-game ranks for a player. You can add the previous rank into the next one.
#4 - Lite Bans:
https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/litebans.3715/
To Moderate a server, Litebans is the best plugin. This plugin helps in moderation and can be also added as a bungee plugin to use across all the servers. This plugin lets you Temporarily or Permanently IP Ban, Ban, Mute, Warn, or Kick the players from the server. This plugin keeps the record of all the players and can be configured easily.
#5 - World Edit:
https://dev.bukkit.org/projects/worldedit
This is a plugin for builders. This plugin can make building much easier on the server. It lets you Copy, Paste, Paint, and Skript on the Minecraft server. Using this one you can copy, rotate, and paste the builds from one place to another easily.
#6 - Core Protect:
https://www.spigotmc.org/resources/coreprotect.8631/
Core protect is one of the best plugins for moderation. It helps to keep a record of all activities done on the server. Using this you can see past Messages, Commands, Actions( blocks, chests, doors used), etc. You can also roll back the area using this plugin.
You can ensure whether this plugin is good or not by reviewing the response toward it.
The reviews you see on the end of the plugins tell what others feel about the plugin and with their experience, it helps you choose a good plugin.
You can also configure a lot of plugins for better usage.
What plugins Match your server?
Depending on what type of server you choose, you have to select the plugins for it. Such as in the Skyblock server you need the Shop, Generators, island ranks, etc.
Survival:
For the survival type servers you can add the following plugins:
1) Rank up
2) Mineable spawners
3) Grief Prevention
4) Jobs/Mcmmo
5) Golden crates
6) Chest shop
Skyblock:
For the Skyblock servers you can choose the followings:
1) Iridium Skyblock.
2) Ores Generators
3) Custom Shop
4) Mineable spawners
5) Minions
6) Rank up
Factions:
For the factions server you can use the following plugins:
1) Rank up
2) Crates
3) Shop
Prison:
For the prison type of server, you can use the following plugins:
1) Grief Prevention
2) Shops
3) Crates
4) Plot squared
5) World Guard
PvP:
For the PvP server you can use the following plugins:
1) Kits
2) PvP Manager
Additional Plugins
Important: Other than these plugins, there are a lot more plugins that can be beneficial for the server.
They include:
- Crates: This plugin lets you make the crate with random rewards with their win percentages.
- Vouchers: This plugin lets you use different vouchers to give rewards for limited/ permanent time. They can be easily configured
- Tab: This plugin makes your server’s TAB look good.
- PlaceHolderAPI: This gives you the interface which can be used by other plugins too.
- Auction House: This plugin lets players sell their items or bid on them.
- Citizens: Citizen/NPC is the plugin that can be used to direct people to different commands fed by clicking on them.
Entertainment: Some plugins can be used to make the gameplay interesting for others and give them some good time.
They include:
- Chat Color: This plugin lets players chat in different available colors.
- Eglow: This plugin gives different glow effects to people
- Player Particles: This plugin can be used to enable different custom particle effects.
Final Thoughts On How To Choose The Best Plugins For Minecraft
Choosing a good plugin is a must-do as your new server and business are dependent on them. You can find different plugins for your server depending on the type of server you are using, so choose wisely.
These plugins can help you in moderation, building, and a lot of things that can be done in Minecraft.
Things to look out for are plugins that are easy to configure and moderate. Also, make sure your plugins have good reviews and will actually help grow the server.
Most of all, you can use these plugins for making the gameplay entertaining, which is going to bring your server lots more players. If you are interested in how to can promote your server to more players, you can check out our guide here.
