Minecraft has exploded onto the gaming scene, with nearly 3 million copies sold to date. It’s extreme popularity makes the need for quality servers a must, but maintaining these servers as ‘vanilla’ in the admin capabilities that Minecraft currently gives you is less than desirable. Since the only effective method to deal with griefing is to ban after it happens, large servers have turned to more desirable methods of administrating their servers in order to keep the general populace happy and their moderators sane.
If you’re planning on maintaining a Minecraft server, no matter whether it’s for a small group of friends or a large site in the vein of Reddit, these are absolute must-have plugins that keep your moderators happy, keep your admin duties light, and gives the players something to do aside from run around with blocks of TNT griefing everyone on the server.
Permissions
Permissions is a backend plugin that is a placeholder until the Bukkit DEVs incorporate their own hooks for permissions. Outwardly it does nothing, but on the admin side it allows you to create groups that are then allowed to perform specific actions on the server. Only want donors to be able to use teleporters you’ve set up? There’s a permission for that.
BorderGuard
Most servers purchased from a hosting company only allow a certain amount of RAM allocated for your server. Minecraft worlds can expand exponentially, which incidentally also increases the amount of RAM required to run these servers. One of the most basic means a griefer can impact a server is by expanding the map so large that it causes lag, since the server doesn’t have enough RAM allocated to render it all properly. BorderGuard prevents this by placing a limit on the distance your players can travel.
ModTRS
Mod Ticket Request System is an absolute must for anyone who is running a large server. It effectively lets you put a system into place that will allow a player anywhere to petition a mod for assistance for any matter, from griefing to bugs. The moderator can then answer the ticket by teleporting to the player and dealing with the issue. In this manner everyone on the server can keep an eye out for griefing and help deal with it effectively.
HeroChat
If you’ve ever played an MMO, you know how valuable chat channels can be in filtering out noise. HeroChat makes it just as easy, as admins can set up colors for certain channels, allow only certain groups with the correct Permissions to opt into the groups, and exclude those who lack them. This makes making admin only, moderator only, and donor only channels possible. It’s also ideal for people who run “realistic” Minecraft servers, as you can limit the distance to which people can “hear” you.
MultiVerse
MultiVerse lets you create separate worlds for your server, which is great for roleplaying servers. Only want players to be able to PvP within the Nether? MultiVerse can do that. Want to simulate the Aether plugin’s sky world without all the bells and whistles until it can be ported? MultiVerse can do that as well.
Residence
This plugin is essential as a self moderating tool, as it allows players to claim land within designated areas. Once land is claimed, only that player or a mod with the appropriate permissions can alter anything within the area. This works great for allowing players to protect themselves, while claiming a piece of the server as their own to do with as they wish.
Vegetation
Notch has gone a long way in improving the world of Minecraft as it gets closer to release, but this plugin goes even further. In addition to wild grass implemented by Notch, it allows for vines, plants, grazing animals, and moss, which really enhances the feel of your server. For servers going for the RPG or realistic feel, Vegetation adds a lot of charm and makes your server unique.
BigBrother
BigBrother is an amazing plugin for any mod as it can immediately alert you to what’s perceived as griefing behavior. If you suspect an area is being griefed, you can quickly check the log using simple commands. You can even check the history of players as they go about their business to quickly determine whether or not any of their previous actions were griefing. Finally, once you’ve found your griefer, you can roll back any changes they’ve made in order to restore your server to its former glory.
Jail
Have a few regulars who aren’t exactly breaking the rules but being an annoyance nonetheless? Put them in pre-determined jail areas for a set amount of time to teach them a lesson. This plugin works great with an RPG server, since you can actually build a real jail to house your players, instead of just tossing them in a bedrock enclosure.
Dynmap
Having a good overview of your server is invaluable, since the maps in game only cover a small area compared to how large most servers are. Dynmap generates a dynamic view of your map, including underground cave areas so you can see a 3D view of the caves and tunnels that are both natural and man made. The map requires a MySQL database to set up, so be sure your host offers access before installing this plugin.
Factions
Factions allows your users to set up their own guilds, claim land for those guilds, and have all out guild warfare. This plugin is great if you don’t want PvP to be a free-for-all among your population, but would rather have players choose a side. Factions works well for servers hosting arenas as well, since matches between factions can serve for entertainment for the entire server.
Of course, this is only a small selection of plugins that add major functionality to Minecraft and the way it is played and moderated. Most of these are designed to give you an easier time in adminstrating, but several add new features your players are sure to enjoy. For a full list of all the plugins available, check out http://www.bukkit.org.
Chad White is a support engineer at FuseVps, a cheap vps hosting provider. FuseVps recently launched their minecraft hosting line, where they provide some of the most competitive pricing in the industry.
