Exploring the Benefits of Private Minecraft Servers

Communities are a key and necessary part of every server, they will bring life to the server and create a world and its story with memorable players and factions and the loyal community that transmits these memories. Communities can be made with at least 2 persons and there are multiple websites where to find potential players, such as forums like PlanetMinecraft and MinecraftForum.

Communities being a key point on each server can have both a positive and adverse effect on their future, a negative community would cause discomfort and drive away players, while a positive community would be great and welcoming to new players so they can enjoy what the server has to offer and make them come back.

Given this premise, we can classify communities into 2 grand groups: Public and Private, each with its own advantages and weaknesses, and in what context they could be a great option for you.

Public Minecraft Servers

We say a Minecraft Server is public when there's no whitelist and you only need to type the server IP to join, these communities are made of hundreds of players and multiple modalities to keep you entertained, all huge servers of Minecraft are part of this list and have been since many years ago, such as Hypixel, OPBlocks, InsanityCraft, Complex Gaming.

We can say some of its advantages are:

There's no external registration process, everything is mostly handled in-game through the server.
Some communities are really big and can host hundreds and even thousands of players.
More content, which is backed by extensive development teams behind.
More stable, trustworthy, and secure.

And within its disadvantages, we can mention:

It's more likely to be attacked by Hackers, Trolls, and Griefers disrupting the experience of other players.
The IP is publicly displayed in Server lists and can thus be subject to attacks.
Having a high number of players can result in huge resource usage and lag.
Errors and bugs can cause a total disbalance between players, so they have to be tested and configured properly before being used.
The server economy has to be studied and set up properly, as any choices may affect it heavily.
Worlds are usually limited, so valuable resources can be hard to find for new players.
Expanding on the last point, this can also cause the staff group to consider resetting the world, making you lose progress, time, and money invested.

While the disadvantages may seem to surpass the advantages we have to remember that popular public servers are tested extensively and most users won't experience any issues while playing.

You can find some of the Top Public Minecraft Servers on Planet Minecraft here.

Featured Public Servers

hypixel.net

purpleprison.co

opblocks.com

Private Minecraft Servers

Private Minecraft Communities are those whose access is limited in some way such as requiring registration on an external site previous to joining the server, or through a whitelist allowing only a few players. These communities usually don't have many players due to the policies previously mentioned, but they're the perfect option for roleplayers or people looking to play with a small group of friends without outsiders altering the flow of the gameplay and disrupting the experience

Given this, we can mention a few advantages:

Since they're small communities, most of the members are more dedicated and we can relate and interact more with them.
They can use fewer resources and it's less likely to have lag.
The Staff group is more proactive with its player base.
Having a more controlled registration process it's less likely to be attacked by trolls and griefers.

However, it also has some disadvantages:

They usually have a short lifespan, which can be even more reduced if the community loses interest.
It may not earn enough with donations to pay for its maintenance and upkeeping fees, thus not being sustainable in the long run.
The development team is smaller, so updates may be rare and errors can take longer to be fixed.
For some servers, you need to fill out an application form and wait for the review, which can take a while.

Are you interested in joining a private server? You can check this section of Planet Minecraft or Minecraft Server List.

Featured Private Servers

TogetherCraft.online

buildersrefuge.com

lordofthecraft.net

Conclusion

We've observed the advantages and disadvantages and concluded that it all depends on your intentions and preferences. If you want a personal server to play with your friends or roleplay then setting up a whitelist and making your server private is the best option for you; If you intend to create a community and offer multiple modalities to attract a bigger player base then leaving the server public is your best course of action. In any case, make sure to provide security and stability to keep your community happy and willing to come back every day!

DDoS attacks are a problem that could end up affecting both Private and Public Minecraft Servers, Fortunately, Iceline Hosting works with the Iceline Shield technology to provide strong protection against it, you can purchase it here and head to our blog to learn more about DDoS attacks!