Tutorials/Playing on servers

Minecraft is a single-player game. You survive by yourself and your only friends are the animals that you will probably cook for food! Yet you might want to roam the world with friends. Just experience it with other players and more mobs that you can shake a Creeper at. So servers have made a mark in the Minecraft world of blocks. Here is a lowdown on them:

Joining a Server

 * Find a website on the Internet that lists servers.
 * Read the descriptions and pick one you like. Find its IP. This is often a number displayed next to the name of it, or a domain.
 * Start Minecraft, click Multiplayer and click Add Server. There should be two boxes, Server Name and IP Address. The server name does not matter a bit. Call it what you like. Now remember the IP and type it into the bottom box. Confirm your entries.
 * You should go back to your list of servers. The server should appear on it with green bars on the right.
 * Click this server, click Join Server. Normally, you will be brought directly into the server. If you are not, there is a list of common errors below to help you.

Possible Errors Things will go wrong at some point, so here are some error messages and what they mean. These messages might appear when you click Join Server: If you've updated Minecraft recently, you might get this error message. This means that you might be running on 1.1, but the server is still on 1.0. You will have to wait for the server to update, this may take more or less time depending of the server owners' reactivity. Some servers enable a whitelist system to prevent griefing - usually, to be whitelisted, you have to ask on some external website, usually where you found the server. Your username or your IP got banned from the server. The server is running a more recent version of Minecraft - update your client by clicking "Yes" instead of "Not now" in the update prompt, when you start the game. There are many reasons for this, often because you clicked "Play offline". Simply reset Minecraft, connect to the Internet and try again. This appears next to the list of servers. There are many reasons for this: You might not be connected to the internet, the server may be offline or heavily lagging. Click Refresh. If nothing happens, then wait a bit. This may happen if you try to connect too rapidly to a server; disconnect, wait a bit and try to reconnect, it should work.
 * Disconnected by server. Outdated server!
 * You are not whitelisted on this server!
 * You are banned from this server!
 * Disconnected by server. Outdated client!
 * Disconnected by Server. Bad login!
 * Cannot connect to server
 * End of stream

Ranking Up
Most servers will usually use rank plugins to denote ranks of different players.Ranking up depends on the server type.You may have to beat a parkour course,or build a structure that is good enough. You can usually see what rank a player is by looking to the left of their name in chat.It will display what rank they are there(Its usually coloured).You may see players with a rank labeled "Admin" or "Operator" or even "Owner".These are the people you don't want to mess with.They are part of the server staff and have the power to kick,mute,and even ban!Becoming one of these ranks is NOT easy.Becoming an Owner is impossible unless you are say,the Owners friend.Becoming an Admin or Operator(Its the the same thing) usually means you have to fill out a form.This looks something like this:

Minecraft Name:

Real Age:

How long have you played on the server for:

Skype:

Why you want to become an Admin/Op:

Don't just send this in anytime,the server staff will usually let the players know when they need more staff.You might look a tad odd if you send your form in any other time.

What happens on the server
Servers can be daunting for some. There are people chatting, maybe trading, Ops broadcasting changes and players entering and leaving. So this section shall help you get started. 1. You will spawn in the server's spawn point. Depending on which one you are on, you will spawn in a room. It is called the spawn room and is purely used where people spawn. The server may make it look lavish, with gold blocks and diamond as well as lava and glowstone. 2. On the left hand side of the screen is the chat log. Players will be talking and things will be announced, in different coloured text. You can chat and bring it up by pressing. Then enter what you have to say and press enter. 3. There will be a rules board. This is just lots of signs that say how the server operates. Here are some common rules: No griefing: This is where you do not destroy constructions or don't place rude structures. No cheating mods: You know what mods are. Well some servers ban them. This is because they can make it easier for you to grief, or to ruin fun for others. No swearing or offensive comments: I'm sure you know what is right to say. 4. Sometimes you might have to register online to play on a server. If you really want to play, then create an account. 5. Other times you will need to agree to the rules. Type in "I agree" or something like that. Then you will become a builder or the door will open. 6. What you do next depends on the server. There is a full list under Server. 7. Some servers require prerequisites to prove yourself, like building a house, answering trivia, or killing mobs. If you do what you need, and the mods approve, or you finish the trial, you will be promoted to Member, Player, etc. 8. DO NOT anger mods or ops by attacking them, griefing them, etc. They have authority and can ban, mute, or put you in jail (that's right, some servers have jails). This is crucial if you want to stay on the server.

Auctions
Some servers use the auction plugin to re-create the feel of an auction in Minecraft.In order to use this plugin to auction something(if the server you are on has it)simply type /auc start with something in your hand.You can change the amount of time the auction will go for,how much of the item you will auction,how much the bids will go up per bid,and a starting price.To bid on something, just type /bid.If you want to get ahead of the crowd,type /bid to get even higher with your price.Watch out for renamed items,they can be tricky to spot,but look for italic font in the item name.

Getting Yourself Started
Now that you're in the server, you probably want to find a place to live! Some servers will automatically give you some tools (normally wooden) so that you can get yourself started. Other times you will spawn and, well, be on your own! Some servers also have what are called Lots. Lots are places you can build your house. Typically you will need to apply for a lot with the Admins to get one.

Find out what is acceptable, and seek out a place you want to call home. Here are a few things to keep in mind
 * You will need a source of food, so make sure there is water for farms, or at least animals for meat.
 * You will want to go far enough away from Spawn so you don't have too many visitors (some of them might be griefers!) But not so far, or else you will be all the way back at the beginning if you die.
 * Take your coordinates: Press F3 and write down on a piece of paper or a .txt document your X,Y, and Z coordinates in case you ever get lost.
 * /sethome, /home and /spawn: several servers have a plugin that allows for the commands /home and /sethome. /sethome will save your coordinates, and /home will teleport you to exactly the same spot. Ask the admins what the exact code is, as they may vary from server to server. /spawn takes you to the server's spawn.
 * A good way to stay safe and get a ton of cobblestone is to hollow out a cave from level 14 to level 8. this will get you diamonds, iron, and gold.  Along with a good place to build a wheat farm, sugar cane farm, and a melon farm.  Doing this can be a great way to help you get started in a server.


 * Another good way to survive is to build a pillar up really high. Then, build a platform. Do /sethome. Now dig down on the pillar. Do /home to get back up. Build a house up there, and put water at the bottom to jump down. Now you have an (almost) indestructible base.

Custom Servers
Some servers may be a bit different then others,they usually don't follow the survival aspect of Minecraft.These can be Spleef, Parkour,or other different kinds of servers. They are a great way to learn new aspects of Minecraft,but are not recommended for new players. If you choose to join one of these servers,don't ask questions like "How do I craft a sword?" or anything to do with survival minecraft. Parkour servers may use the command /heal to instantly refresh health and hunger,avoiding the need to give out food.Here is the basic laydown of a handful of custom server styles:


 * Parkour:In these servers,you will have to jump around on blocks to get to the end of the parkour course.Parkour is usually not by itself on a server,as it does not make for good gameplay alone,as of what it is like right now.


 * Spleef:In spleef,any numbers of players will join a spleef arena.Arenas usually are made of snow, and competitors are usually given shovels,although with certain plugins,it can be made so that competitors can instantly break blocks,allowing for fancier arena floors,and without the need of shovels.In spleef,competitors must try and break the blocks out from underneath their opponents feet,and the last player standing wins.It is usually against the rules to "camp",where one breaks blocks all around them to make themselves inaccesible to other players.

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 * Skyblock:Skyblock is an amazing way of playing minecraft,where you are on a small island that is perfectly square,in an L shape.All around this island is air,and jumping off it will result in you falling into the void.On this island there is 1 tree,a bit of sand hidden inside the small island,a chest with:2 ice,1 bucket of lava,seeds of different types,1 sugarcane,and 1 cactus.In order to survive and thrive on this island,you must build a cobblestone generator in order to get cobblestone to expand your island.One can be built like this: G=ground,L=lava,W=water,and C=where the cobblestone should appear.

Be very careful making this,as if you don't break the block in front and down 1 of the water,or if you mess up in some other way,you will create a 1-use obsidian generator,which is completley useless in Skyblock.

Making Friends
You probably don't want to be spending your time on a server alone, so here are some tips on making friends, and what to do with them. Making a friend is easy enough, just offer to go mining with them or give them a nice little gift. Admins and OP's may seem friendly enough, but they are just doing their job, don't think of them as friends. When you have a friend, you have an ally in battle, a mining partner, and a someone who can try and get you un-banned from a server. On PvP servers though, you can't be too trustful, you never know who's lurking there, waiting to stab you in the back...

Avoiding Betrayals
On PvP servers, some people will use you to their own advantage to get them started, and then betray you at any random moment. In order to avoid this problem, follow these simple solutions.

Following these tips can save you a lot of trouble and regret in the future.
 * Never let the enemy kill you before you can kill them.
 * Never make a team with any random person.
 * Never allow random people to enter your homes.
 * Never trust someone with enchanted diamond armor and sword unless you know them.

Faction Servers
First, if you did not find a faction server yet, you should only try out servers that don't have 20+ people flooding chat, major griefing around the world, etc. Most server don't have much people on for most of the times and there's not much major griefing. If you're lucky, you may even find a server that bans betrayers!

In a faction server, you should always be aware of betrayals (Detail above). In order to make a safe faction, your base should be far from spawn. When it comes to building walls and towers to shoot at enemies and hostile mobs, the wall should be a block and a half high. The half slab makes it really hard to shoot at you and your faction while providing a good view. Alternatively, you can use cobblestone walls; you can shoot through the crack. This makes it difficult for other factions to shoot at you, but it doesn't give you quite as good a view...