10 Essential Plugins for Your Minecraft Server

If you want to start your own Minecraft server but don’t know where and how to start with plugins, then you’ve come to the right place. Since the early days of Minecraft bukkit plugins have always been really reliable. The Minecraft server hosting community has a lot of well-known iconic plugins your server wouldn’t be able to run without. 

I’m pretty sure while reading this you’ll even recognize some of the plugins because they’re pretty mainstream and well-situated on a plethora of servers. You’ll need most of these plugins regardless of what type of server you’re hosting – you can find them everywhere, from SMP to PVP servers.

LockettePro

Privacy is the greatest treasure you can have. That’s why LockettePro exists basically. It’s an updated version of the regular Lockette plugin which allows you to protect your chests and doors from being opened by others with just a single sign. It’s really useful and most recommended to be used on SMP servers if you don’t want to have someone rummaging through your stuff.

WorldEdit

WorldEdit is one of the most useful plugins you’ll ever encounter. With just a single wooden axe you’re able to create all sorts of structures and manipulate your surroundings in every way possible, which makes either building big structures or griefing a friend really fun and reliable. The commands are simple and it’s very easy to use.

WorldGuard

WorldGuard is also one really useful plugin. It allows you to create zones in your world with certain permissions for certain players or groups of players. It allows you to change the game rules of certain places and is perfect for PVP or faction servers, as it prevents people from griefing structures or killing each other.

Dynmap

While not that important to an average server, having this mod is quite fun, especially if you’re playing or planning on hosting an SMP. What this mod allows you to do is render a map of your Minecraft world. It’s updated in real time which means you’ll be able to see everything you build and do from a cool map perspective. It’s compatible with WorldGuard which means you’ll be able to see your custom regions on the map as well. 

Shopkeepers

Another great plugin that can be used for various different creative multiplayer projects is Shopkeepers. What this plugin does is it allows you to create custom villager shops so the players can trade any items with them. You can make admin shops with infinite items, or player shops which get their stuff from chests. It’s fun to play around with this plugin.

EssentialsX

This is the most important plugin for any Minecraft server. EssentialsX adds over 130 commands that are necessary for server moderation. It’s a useful plugin every moderator or server admin needs for successful moderation – and it’s one of the best to do so while still maintaining its simplicity.

PvPManager

If you’re looking for a perfect PVP plugin for your PVP server, or any other server that has a focus on combat, then take a look at PvPManager. This plugin allows you to input many useful pvp features into your server such as disabling certain permissions while in combat, auto soup, respawn protection, punishments that prevent PvP log, and etc.

Grief Prevention

It’s always best to have an anti-grief solution for your Minecraft server even though you maybe don’t expect to get griefed by anyone, it’s better to stay safe than sorry. Grief Protection is the best plugin for that, as it can stop griefing in all shapes and forms, such as breaking, stealing, setting things on fire, spawn camping, or just spamming the chat with garbage or advertisements. It’s quite nice to have this around.

ClearLagg

Minecraft servers can quite often be quite bulky and produce a lot of lag. The more players you have, the bigger the lag will be. So that’s why this plugin allows you to make your server faster for you and the players. It limits entities, decreases RAM usage, and makes it easy to control all other factors that contribute to the server’s performance.

LoginSecurity

And now the last entry on this list goes to the most important plugin everyone with a cracked server will need, or maybe you just want another layer of security if you’re too paranoid. LoginSecurity is the plugin that allows you to have each player have their own passwords and the ability to /login and /register. It’s easy to use, both for players and administrators – its simplicity and efficiency are the best things about it.