Factions is one of the oldest and most popular Minecraft server game modes. Players create factions (teams), claim chunks of land, build defended bases, and raid enemy factions. The combination of base building, economy, and PvP keeps players engaged for months.
How Factions Works
- Players create or join a faction
- Factions claim chunks to protect their territory
- Claimed land is protected from outsiders
- TNT cannons and raiding mechanics let factions attack enemy bases
- Power system determines how much land a faction can hold
- Dying reduces power, potentially exposing claimed land
Server Software
Use Paper or Purpur. Factions servers need fast entity handling for TNT cannons and PvP combat.
Essential Plugins
Core
- Factions (FactionsUUID or SaberFactions): The main factions plugin
- Vault: Economy bridge
- EssentialsX: Economy, homes, warps
PvP and Raiding
- CombatLogX: Prevents players from logging out during fights
- Custom Enchants: Extra enchantments for weapons and armor
- TNT handling: Configure TNT explosion rules for raiding
Economy
- ShopGUIPlus: GUI shop for buying and selling items
- ChestShop: Player-created chest shops
- Auction House: Player-to-player auction system
Protection
- AntiCheat (Vulcan, Spartan, or Matrix): Prevent hacking
- CoreProtect: Block logging for admin investigations
Quality of Life
- KOTH (King of the Hill): Timed capture events
- Envoys: Supply drops that spawn on a timer
- Crates: Loot crates earned through gameplay
Configuration Tips
- Set claim cost to scale with faction size
- Limit TNT placement rate to prevent lag
- Set a maximum faction size (15 to 30 members)
- Create a warzone area for open PvP
- Set up a safe zone at spawn for trading
- Balance custom enchants carefully to avoid pay-to-win
Economy Balance
Factions economies need careful balance:
- Early game: Players farm and sell resources
- Mid game: Player shops become the primary economy
- Late game: Rare items and custom enchants drive trade
Set starting balance low. Make money meaningful.
Hardware Requirements
| Size | RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small (1 to 20 players) | 4 to 6 GB | Basic setup |
| Medium (20 to 50 players) | 6 to 10 GB | TNT needs CPU |
| Large (50 to 100+) | 10 to 16 GB | Heavy on entities |
TNT cannons are the biggest performance concern. A single raid can spawn thousands of TNT entities, and that work sits on one CPU thread, so clock speed is critical.
Matching that table to Space-Node plans, at the Standard prices on the Minecraft hosting page:
- MC Lapis: 6GB DDR4, EUR 5.40 per month. A starting factions server up to roughly 20 players.
- MC Special 1: 12GB DDR4, EUR 10.80 per month. For 20 to 50 players with regular raids and an anticheat running.
- MC Special 3: 16GB DDR4, EUR 14.40 per month. For 50 players and up, where TNT and entity load peak during raids.
On the Standard tier these plans run on AMD Ryzen 9 3900X-class CPUs with DDR4 memory in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Canada and India. In the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Canada you can switch to Premium, a Ryzen 9 9950X with DDR5, if you want the fastest single-thread performance. The USA (California and Virginia) has one hardware option with no tier to pick, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D with DDR5, and Singapore and Australia also have a single option, the Ryzen 9 5950X. NVMe storage and DDoS protection come with every plan. You pick the region in the plan selector before checkout, and the selector shows the price for that region. There are nine to choose from: Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Canada, USA California, USA Virginia, Singapore, India and Australia.