RLCraft is the most punishing Minecraft modpack available. Featuring Lycanites Mobs, temperature and thirst from Simple Difficulty, and a level-gated progression system, it turns Minecraft into a hardcore survival RPG. Hosting it requires understanding its unique demands.
Installation
RLCraft runs on Forge for Minecraft 1.12.2. The newest release on CurseForge is v2.9.3 from June 2023. Its server pack holds the configs and 178 mod jars, but no Forge installer and no start script. Server setup:
- Download the RLCraft server pack (v2.9.3) from CurseForge
- Upload it to your server over SFTP
- Install Forge 14.23.5.2860 for Minecraft 1.12.2 and run it on Java 8
- Give the server at least 5GB of RAM (a 4GB heap plus room for Java)
- Accept the EULA and check server.properties (see below)
- Start the server
A note in the server pack lists four server.properties lines RLCraft needs:
allow-flight=true
difficulty=3
max-tick-time=-1
enable-command-block=true
Command blocks have to be on for villagers to spawn correctly in generated structures. Flight has to be allowed for flying mounts and the fairy ring, or the server kicks the players using them. Difficulty 3 is hard mode, which RLCraft is balanced around. And max-tick-time=-1 stops Forge from shutting the server down when a big structure takes a while to generate, which also happens while you pre-generate the world.
RLCraft is built on Minecraft 1.12.2, an older version. Some modern Minecraft features are missing, but the pack is balanced around this version.
RAM Requirements
RLCraft is lighter on RAM than many modern modpacks. Its author asks players to give the game 3 to 4GB, and the server pack sets no heap of its own, so a server needs that plus memory for Java itself. The pack publishes no player counts for servers, so we size by group:
| Group | RAM | Plan and Standard price |
|---|---|---|
| A few friends | 5GB | MC Gold, €4.50 a month |
| A regular group | 6GB | MC Lapis, €5.40 a month |
| Bigger group or public server | 8GB | MC Diamond, €7.20 a month |
| Busy public server | 12GB | MC Special 1, €10.80 a month |
5GB is the smallest we suggest: the 4GB heap the pack's author uses, with about 1GB left for Java. If more than 10 players will play, pre-generate the world first (see below). Prices are for our Standard plans in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland; our RLCraft server hosting page has Premium and every other region.
Difficulty Configuration
RLCraft is brutal by default. Some servers tune it down for a more accessible experience. The lines below come from the v2.9.3 server pack. Stop the server before you edit them.
Lycanites Mobs
In config/lycanitesmobs/spawning.cfg, under "global spawning":
D:"Weight Scale"=1.0
This scales the spawn weights of every Lycanites mob. Set it to 0.5 to halve their spawn rate compared with vanilla mobs and mobs from other mods.
Temperature and Thirst
RLCraft 2.9.3 handles temperature and thirst with Simple Difficulty. The pack still ships an old config/toughasnails folder, but Tough As Nails is not in its mods folder, so changes there do nothing. In config/simpledifficulty.cfg:
B:TemperatureEnabled=true
B:ThirstEnabled=true
D:TemperatureDamageScaling=0.025
D:ThirstDamageScaling=0.025
The two scaling values add extra damage the longer a player stays too hot, too cold or dehydrated. Lower them for a gentler curve, or set an Enabled line to false to switch that system off.
First Aid
In config/firstaid.cfg, under damagesystem, every body part has its own health. A value of 2 is one heart, RLCraft gives each part 6 (three hearts), and the allowed range is 2 to 12:
I:maxHealthHead=6
I:maxHealthBody=6
I:maxHealthLeftArm=6
The legs, feet and right arm have matching lines. Raise a value to give that body part more health.
Scaling Health
In config/scalinghealth/main.cfg, player health is counted in half hearts:
I:"Starting Health"=20
I:"Max Health"=40
I:"Min Health"=12
Players start with 10 hearts and can grow to 20 with heart containers. Min Health keeps a player's maximum health from going below 6 hearts, but only if you set Health Lost On Death in the same file above 0. RLCraft leaves it at 0.
Performance Optimization
View Distance
The server pack's note asks for a view distance of 10 for full compatibility. If many players cause lag, lower it to 8 or even 6, but not below 6. Every extra chunk in view means more mob spawning and structure checks.
Entity Limits
RLCraft spawns many more entities than vanilla. Lycanites Mobs has its own limit in config/lycanitesmobs/spawning.cfg:
I:"Mob Type Limit"=16
D:"Mob Limit Search Range"=32.0
Mob Type Limit caps how many Lycanites mobs of the same type, peaceful or hostile, can spawn within the search range. Limits for single species sit in the creature json files in config/lycanitesmobs/creatures/.
Pre-Generation Is Essential
RLCraft's terrain generation includes custom biome features, Ice and Fire dragon lairs, battle towers, and Lycanites dungeons, so first-time generation is expensive. The server pack's note says to pre-generate the world if you plan to run a server for more than 10 players. It uses the Chunk Pregenerator mod (add its jar to the mods folder first) and gives these commands for a square with a 10,000 block radius:
/pregen utils setPriority pregenerator
/pregen timepertick 250
/pregen gen startradius square 0 0 b10000
Restart the server when it finishes.
Server Rules for RLCraft
Recommended rules for a fair but challenging experience:
- No griefing others' bases (use a land claim mod)
- PvP by consent only (or designated PvP areas)
- No duping or exploiting bugs
- Dragon kills are communal celebrations (not obligations)
- Help new players, because RLCraft's learning curve is steep
RLCraft attracts a passionate player base that enjoys the difficulty. A well-hosted server with reasonable performance becomes a gathering point for this community. Give it enough RAM and CPU headroom for the entity load, because Lycanites Mobs spawns a lot of creatures.