DawnCraft Server Setup: RAM, Java and Server Files (2026)

You want a DawnCraft: Echoes of Legends server so your group can play the quest line and the boss fights in one shared world. The pack ships its own server files, and they hold a few things the download page does not tell you, such as a start script that gives Java less memory than the pack itself asks for. Everything below comes from the 2.0.16_hf server pack, the CurseForge project data and the code and docs of the mods inside the pack, all checked on 3 November 2026.

Quick answer: The DawnCraft server requirements for the current release, 2.0.16_hf from 20 November 2025, are Minecraft 1.18.2, Forge 40.2.17 and Java 17 (the pack page also accepts 18). The pack page asks for at least 6 GB of RAM and recommends 8 to 12 GB, and the server pack's readme suggests an 8 GB Java heap. Java needs 1 to 1.5 GB on top of the heap, so a 12 GB server is a comfortable fit. Download DawnCraft 2.0.16_hf Serverpack.zip from the Additional Files of that release, change JAVA_ARGS in variables.txt from its default -Xmx4G -Xms4G, and start the server with start.sh. Then set view and simulation distance to 6 and pregenerate the world with Chunky before anyone explores.

DawnCraft server requirements

Java 17 is not only the pack author's choice. Mojang's version file for 1.18.2 names Java 17 as the required major version, the readme asks for "JDK-17+", and the pack page narrows that down: "Make sure you have Java 18 or 17 installed, otherwise it could cause crashes." If your machine or panel defaults to Java 21 or 25 for newer Minecraft servers, switch this one to 17. Our Minecraft Java version guide has the install commands per system.

Forge's download page lists newer 1.18.2 builds (40.3.12 is the latest), but the client pack's manifest.json and the server pack's variables.txt both name 40.2.17, so use that build to match what your players install. For the disk, add the world to the 820 MB, and up to 25 GB for the backup mod in the pack (see below).

How much RAM a DawnCraft server needs

The pack page says: "Allocate at least 6GB Ram to DawnCraft, 8-12 is recommended. Anything above might be a bit overboard." Those figures are the Java heap, the -Xmx value. Java uses memory beyond the heap, and PaperMC's guide to Aikar's flags tells you to set -Xmx and -Xms about 1000 to 1500 MB below the memory you have, so the server does not run out and the operating system keeps some room.

The server pack's own default does not follow the pack page. Its variables.txt contains JAVA_ARGS="-Xmx4G -Xms4G", a 4 GB heap, which is below the 6 GB minimum. The readme's suggested flags use -Xms8G -Xmx8G. Set the heap to fit the memory your server has:

On a VPS, subtract whatever else runs on the machine. The pack publishes no player counts, so watch memory use while your group plays before you change the size. Our DawnCraft server hosting page sizes plans from these same figures and suggests 12 GB.

Download the DawnCraft server files

On the DawnCraft CurseForge page, open Files, pick 2.0.16_hf (not 2.0.16) and look under Additional Files for DawnCraft 2.0.16_hf Serverpack.zip (file 7243901, 754,300,266 bytes). On a Linux machine, install Java 17 and unzip (the commands below are for Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 and Debian 12; Debian 13 has no openjdk-17-jdk package, so there you install temurin-17-jdk from the Adoptium repository as the Java version guide above shows), then fetch the same file from CurseForge's download server:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk unzip
mkdir ~/dawncraft && cd ~/dawncraft
curl -L -o serverpack.zip "https://mediafilez.forgecdn.net/files/7243/901/DawnCraft%202.0.16_hf%20Serverpack.zip"
unzip serverpack.zip && rm serverpack.zip

Unpack it into a folder whose path has no spaces. Some unzip tools create a folder named after the zip, spaces included, and the pack's start.sh stops to ask for confirmation when the server path contains a space.

The zip holds config, defaultconfigs, global_packs, mods and scripts, plus README.txt, variables.txt, start.sh, start.ps1 and server-icon.png. There is no server.properties: the server writes a vanilla one on the first start.

Set up the server with start.sh

The start scripts come from ServerPackCreator 5.1.11. On the first run, start.sh reads variables.txt, downloads the Forge 1.18.2-40.2.17 installer and installs Forge, fetches the Minecraft 1.18.2 server jar, asks you to accept the EULA and starts the server.

Before the first start, open variables.txt and replace the JAVA_ARGS line. For a 12 GB server with the readme's flags:

JAVA_ARGS="-Xms8G -Xmx8G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+DisableExplicitGC -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch -XX:G1NewSizePercent=30 -XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=40 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:G1HeapWastePercent=5 -XX:G1MixedGCCountTarget=4 -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=15 -XX:G1MixedGCLiveThresholdPercent=90 -XX:G1RSetUpdatingPauseTimePercent=5 -XX:SurvivorRatio=32 -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem -XX:MaxTenuringThreshold=1 -Dusing.aikars.flags=https://mcflags.emc.gs -Daikars.new.flags=true"

If the machine has several Java versions, point the JAVA line in the same file at 17, for example JAVA="/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64/bin/java" with the Ubuntu and Debian 12 package.

Start the server as a normal user (the script prints a warning when it runs as root):

bash start.sh

When eula.txt is missing or empty, the script asks you to read Mojang's EULA at https://aka.ms/MinecraftEULA and type I agree. If you start the server without a terminal you can type into, write eula=true into eula.txt yourself after reading the EULA; the script skips the question when that file has content.

One rule matters later: on every start, start.sh deletes user_jvm_args.txt and writes it again from JAVA_ARGS, and its own message says to edit JAVA_ARGS in variables.txt, not user_jvm_args.txt. It also removes the run.sh and run.bat that the Forge installer creates. With this route, every memory change goes into variables.txt.

The readme's way: Forge first, then the folders

The readme describes a different order: install Forge 1.18.2-40.2.17, start the server once to check that it works, close it, then "Drag EVERY FOLDER from the serverpack to the server." On Linux:

mkdir ~/dawncraft-forge && cd ~/dawncraft-forge
curl -L -O https://maven.minecraftforge.net/net/minecraftforge/forge/1.18.2-40.2.17/forge-1.18.2-40.2.17-installer.jar
java -jar forge-1.18.2-40.2.17-installer.jar --installServer
sh run.sh nogui

The first start stops at the EULA. Set eula=true in eula.txt, start again until the world loads, type stop, and copy config, defaultconfigs, global_packs, mods and scripts from the server pack into this folder. Forge's run.sh starts Java with @user_jvm_args.txt, so here you set the heap in user_jvm_args.txt and it stays. Pick one route per folder: running start.sh later in this folder overwrites user_jvm_args.txt with the 4 GB from variables.txt.

On a hosting panel

Pick Forge 1.18.2-40.2.17 and Java 17 in the panel, start once so the server creates its files, stop it, and upload the five folders over SFTP. If the panel starts the server with its own command, start.sh and variables.txt are not used at all, and the memory comes from the panel. Upload global_packs too: it holds DawnCraft_Datapack in global_packs/required_data, and the pack page warns that removing Dawncraft_Resources or Dawncraft_Datapack causes bugs.

Settings before players join

View and simulation distance

The readme asks for a view distance and a simulation distance of 6, and to "lower simulated distance to 3-4" when the server peaks in RAM or CPU. Vanilla starts both at 10, and neither can go below 3. Stop the server, then set in server.properties:

view-distance=6
simulation-distance=6

Pregenerate the world with Chunky

"This modpack contains MANY world-gen mods. It's highly recommended to pre-gen your world before playing," says the readme. Chunky 1.2.164 is in the server pack, so you can start from the console right away:

chunky spawn
chunky radius 1000
chunky start

The radius is in blocks around the world spawn. chunky pause saves the progress and chunky continue picks it up again, and the pack's config/chunky.json has "continueOnRestart": true, so an unfinished run carries on after a restart. Start small and raise the radius later; our Chunky pregeneration guide covers the other options.

Entity ticking: Does Potato Tick, not itshallnottick

The readme suggests changing "itshallnottick's config" to tick fewer entities, but the 2.0.16_hf server pack does not contain that mod. It ships Does Potato Tick 4.0.2 instead, set up in config/doespotatotick-common.toml. Living entities beyond a set distance from every player stop ticking, and the pack's file sets LivingEntitiesMaxHorizontalTickDistance = 86 and LivingEntitiesMaxVerticalTickDistance = 48. Bosses from Cataclysm, Mowzie's Mobs, Ice and Fire and other mods are on its whitelist, as are all entities of mods such as Create and Iron's Spells 'n Spellbooks, so they keep ticking. Lower values save CPU, but mobs then freeze closer to your players.

Server rules from the DawnCraft quest book

The readme sends server owners to the FTB quest book, which has a "Useful Info" chapter. Three entries matter on a server; in the console, type them without the slash:

• Boss respawn. /gamerule doDCBossesRespawn true lets the Eye Holder bosses respawn. The rule comes from the pack's DawnCraft mobs mod, whose language file describes it as "Do DawnCraft Eye Holders Respawn". The quest book adds that only players who are progressing through the main quest line can summon the boss again.
• Friendly fire. Put your group in a vanilla team without it: /team add party, /team modify party friendlyFire false, then /team join party Steve for each player. The quest book writes friendlyfire in lower case, but the command only accepts friendlyFire.
• Land claims. The pack protects bases with the Claim Chunks mod and its Claim Block. According to the quest book, a player can claim 8 chunks by default.

Backups: SimpleBackups is already in the pack

The pack's config/simplebackups-common.toml makes a backup every 120 minutes, keeps the newest 10 and deletes the oldest when the backups pass 25 GB in total, in a folder called simplebackups. In the source code of the shipped version, 1.1.14, backups only happen while players are online, plus one after the last player leaves. An operator can start one by hand with /simplebackups backup start.

The readme says to delete SimpleBackups "to reduce minor lag spikes" only if your host already backs up your world automatically. If nothing else backs up the world, keep the mod and lower maxDiskSize when 25 GB is more than your disk can spare.

Versions, players and updates

• Run the hotfix. The 2.0.16_hf changelog says it "reverted redirector version to fix world crash on startup". If you set up 2.0.16 from 18 November 2025, move to 2.0.16_hf. On 3 November 2026 it was still the newest of the pack's 76 files on CurseForge.
• Match your players. Players install 2.0.16_hf in the CurseForge app. Better Compatibility Checker in the pack shows in the server list whether the versions match, but its config/bcc-common.toml says 2.0.16 even in the hotfix, so tell players to pick the file that ends in _hf.
• Old worlds. The readme recommends a new world when you move from 1.x to 2.x, because of the improved world generation, new quests and structures.

If the server lags with players online, lower the simulation distance first, as the readme says. Spark 1.10.38 is in the pack too: run spark profiler start, let it record through the slow moment, and spark profiler stop gives you a report link that shows which mod uses the tick time. Our spark profiler guide explains how to read it.

FAQ

How much RAM does a DawnCraft server need? The pack page asks for at least 6 GB and recommends 8 to 12 GB as the Java heap, and the readme's flags use 8 GB. Java needs about 1 to 1.5 GB more than the heap, so give a server with an 8 GB heap 12 GB of memory in total, or use a 6 GB heap on an 8 GB server.

What are the DawnCraft server requirements? For 2.0.16_hf: Minecraft 1.18.2, Forge 40.2.17, Java 17 (the pack page also accepts 18) and memory for a heap of at least 6 GB. The unpacked server pack takes about 820 MB of disk before the world and backups.

Why does my DawnCraft server only use 4 GB? The server pack's variables.txt sets JAVA_ARGS="-Xmx4G -Xms4G", and start.sh rewrites user_jvm_args.txt from it on every start. Change JAVA_ARGS, for example to -Xms8G -Xmx8G on a 12 GB server, and restart.

Do DawnCraft bosses respawn on a server? Only after you set the pack's game rule: /gamerule doDCBossesRespawn true. According to the quest book, only players who are progressing through the main quest line can summon an Eye Holder boss again.

Can I keep my DawnCraft 1.x world on 2.0.16_hf? The readme recommends a new world when you move from 1.x to 2.x, because world generation, quests and structures changed. Keep a copy of the old world if your group wants to go back to it.

Sources

All opened on 3 November 2026:

• CurseForge: DawnCraft project 829758, files list, 2.0.16_hf additional files, 2.0.16_hf changelog, project data via CFWidget
• DawnCraft 2.0.16_hf files: server pack (README.txt, variables.txt, start.sh, config files, quest book, mods folder) and client pack (manifest.json)
• Forge: 1.18.2 downloads, installer 1.18.2-40.2.17 (run.sh, user_jvm_args.txt)
• Mojang: version manifest and the 1.18.2 version file
• PaperMC: Aikar's flags
• Minecraft Wiki: server.properties
• Chunky commands
• SimpleBackups source, branch 1.18.x and version list
• spark command usage