Introduction

Whether you are an administrator for a large Minecraft server, or just spinning up a world to play with friends, there is no doubt about it that plugins help to build a safe, engaging, and fun Minecraft server experience. 

Let’s take a look at exactly what a plugin is. 

A plugin is an addition to the Minecraft game that comes in the form of a file that is installed on your Minecraft server. Plugins usually change different aspects of how the game works, such as adding player ranks, permissions, admin tools, or even different game modes!

Choosing the correct plugins for your MC server hosting server can be very tricky, however, these are the Top 10 Minecraft Plugins that we recommend for your Minecraft server in 2022. 

Quick Links:
1. EssentialsX
2. Vault
3. Multiverse-Core
4. ClearLag
5. WorldGuard
6. OpenInv
7. Dynmap
8. Holographic Displays
9. Set Homes
10. Shopkeepers

1. EssentialsX

Topping our list for the Top 10 Minecraft Plugins for 2021 is EssentialsX! EssentialsX is the essential plugin suite for Spigot servers. It includes over 130 commands and countless features to assist management for MC server hosting servers of any scale! 


EssentialsX Features

  • The core module for EssentialsX includes all of the Core features for most servers including signs, kits, and the economy!
  • EssentialsX includes and AntiBuild permission which allows you to fine-tune who can build and interact with blocks on your server.
  • EssentialsX includes chat components and features. Want to customize chat colors and formatting? This can be done via the Essentials plugin!
  • EssentialsX includes protection components to control some simple settings for the world. For example preventing creepers from damaging buildings, stopping fire spreading, and blocking certain types of mob spawns. 
  • Through this plugin, the spawn location of players can be defined. 
  • Essentials signs, many features such as kits, shops, mail, etc. can be configured via signs.
  • Player-made homes!
  • Server warps and kits
  • A full suite of moderation tools is included!
  • Custom player nicknames can be configured!
  • That must be where it gets its name from right? If you want to check out what else this awesome plugin can do, please be sure to check out more information on the EssentialsX Wiki

How to install EssentialsX:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download EssentialsX and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

2. Vault

Vault is a great and widely used plugin for permissions, chat, and economy API to give other plugins easy hooks into these systems without needing to depend on each individual plugin itself. In plain English, this plugin binds numerous other plugins together and increases the compatibility of permissions, chat, and economy plugins! For any MC server hosting server that runs an economy plugin, this plugin is a must-have!

Vault Features:

  • Enables Minecraft server administrators to simply hook plugins into each other via the Vault API. 
  • Widely used by a lot of other plugins for economy servers. Highly compatible with other plugins.

How to install Vault:
1. Purchase a MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Vault here and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

3. Multiverse

Multiverse is one of the original server management plugins used for multi-world support. Since the dawn of the Bukkit multi-world support, Multiverse has grown into a complete world management solution including special treatment of your netherworlds with Multiverse NetherPortals. As Multiverse has grown, it has been broken up into several more plugins which are packed full of features. This plugin will provide the easiest to use world management solution for your Minecraft server – no matter the size! 

Multiverse Features:

  • Create multiple worlds of different types, seeds, and with Custom Generators
  • Keep your skylands using a custom generator (MV 2.2+)
  • Set the mode per world (creative, survival, or adventure)
  • Create Multiverse Portals to let users go between other portals, worlds, or locations (Requires MV-Portals installed)
  • Restrict users from going to specific worlds by using permissions
  • Economy support!
  • Show which users are in what worlds with /mv who
  • Color your worlds when they appear in chat!
  • Custom world aliases (Leave your folder names alone! Use an alias!).
  • Restrict animal/monster spawning. Per animal/monster! (Why hello creeper world!)
  • World scaling with NetherPortals
  • Conserve memory by having some worlds NOT keep their spawn chunks loaded!
  • Fantastic in-game help just use /mvh search
  • Purge all those unwanted animals/monsters from your world!
  • Perform all per-world modifications with in-game commands! (Stop getting those YAML errors!)
  • Teleport to any of your worlds with a command or allow others to teleport themselves or others (with customizable permissions)
  • While teleporting or using portals, you can use any Multiverse Destination
  • Wiki documentation

Extra components and features for Multiverse:

  • Multiverse Portals
  • Multiverse-NetherPortals
  • Multiverse-Inventories

How to install Multiverse:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Multiverse here and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

4. ClearLag

Everyone wants to reduce lag on their Minecraft server! Clearlag was designed to reduce lag on Bukkit/Spigot servers by removing entities and preventing it through its many optional features. This plugin will not fix all lag, however, it does reduce and clear most of it! If you and your friends have a server with 20+ players, simply using the /lagg clear command can drastically decrease RAM/CPU usage by removing many configured entities!

ClearLag Features:

  • Permission support
  • Entity limiter
  • Reduces lag
  • Decreasing RAM/CPU usage
  • Ability to stop a TNT chain reaction
  • Option to limit mob spawners
  • Locate overcrowded/abused chunks
  • Many easy-to-use commands
  • Real-time module controls
  • Very lightweight – only enables selected features
  • Remove old logs upon enabling server
  • Limit AI processing attributes
  • Console support for most commands
  • Can adjust times when the server is cleared of lagg
  • Completely configurable

How to install ClearLag:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download ClearLag here and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

Note: MC server hosting services at Iceline Hosting effectively eliminates lag! Learn more here.

5. WorldGuard

WorldGuard is a powerful server administrative plugin that has a large amount of functionality for server owners, map creators, regular survival servers, and everything in between. WorldGuard allows you to create zones within the Minecraft world and introduces controls to permit or deny certain players the ability to modify these areas. Different game rules can be applied to the created zones such as deny fall damage, wither damage, food regen, health regen, etc. On a more granular level, controls can be added so that certain blocks or items cannot be used or placed within zones. WorldGuard is a simple yet effective tool for server administrators to prevent grief and protect important areas of their Minecraft servers such as special buildings and spawns and hubs, thus taking our number 5 slot of the Top 10 Minecraft Plugins. WorldGuard also depends on the installation of WorldEdit, another powerful tool that allows Minecraft server admins and ops to build and control what goes on in a Minecraft server.

WorldGuard Features

  • Create zones in your world that only permit mods or certain players from building within
  • Set additional game rules on your server (deny wither block damage, falling damage, etc.)
  • Set game rules on specific areas (food regen, health regen, disable PvP, TNT, control mob damage) in your world
  • Blacklist certain items and blocks so they can’t be used
  • Dump useful statistics and information about your server (/wg report -p)
  • CPU profile your server (/wg profile -p)
  • Add useful commands like an immediate “STOP ALL FIRE SPREAD” command.
  • Works, more or less, with mods (other Bukkit plugins and FTB mods)
  • Protects against many types of grief (fire spread, tree growth, TNT cannons, piston machines, crop trampling, paintings, and item frames, etc.), and certain interactions can also be allowed (door open, lever usage, etc.)
  • Open source!

How to install WorldGuard:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download WorldEdit and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.
3. Download WorldGuard and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

6. OpenInv

The OpenInv allows you to open any player’s inventory or ender chest and interact with it in real-time. This provides amazing administrative capabilities on any Minecraft server. This can also be done for offline players! In addition, you can also access any chest that is blocked by other blocks above it in the game. This plugin allows you to edit inventories to replace missing items, remove illegal items, and on the flipside, troll your friends if you are so inclined! Overall, this powerful plugin tool is a must-have for any Minecraft server. 

OpenInv Features:

  • Easy permission management
  • Admins of the server can modify any user’s inventory as they wish, in real-time
  • Access from anywhere, you need to open a chest that is 2000 blocks away, no problem!
  • Offline player inventory management
  • Simple commands such as /openinv <player> to open the inventory of a targeted player
  • Self-opening protection
  • Open blocked containers
  • Silent operation of containers with no sound or opening animation
  • Drop items as other players by placing items in the unused slot of someone’s inventory

How to Install Openinv:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download OpenInv and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

7. Dynmap

Dynmap is by far one of our favorite plugins out there in 2021! Dynmap allows you to create a Google-maps-like map for your Minecraft server that can be viewed in almost any browser. This allows players to keep track of their locations, friends’ locations, homes, and world geography in real-time! Dynmap is easy to set up when making use of the integrated webserver which works straight out of the box. Dynmap can also be integrated into existing websites running on common hosting platforms such as apache and the likes. Dynmap can beautifully and accurately render your world using different renderers, both for performance and for high detail.

Dynmap Features:

  • Highly configurable maps per world.
  • Real-time updates of maps. Maps are kept in sync with the world in real-time. If a player was to leave their browser open, the map would update as they explore and build. 
  • Players with their faces can be viewed on the map. 
  • Chat messages are visible as balloons on the map (or in a chat window if configured).
  • Current time and weather are displayed on the dynmap.
  • Highly configurable and customizable.

How to Install Dynmap:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Dynmap and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

8. Holographic Displays

Holographic display is a plugin that does exactly what it says on the tin! It allows you to create vivid, futuristic holograms to display text and items to players. This is a great plugin that can be used to display important information and updates to players, whether that’s instructions on how to vote, directions to key locations, or server rules.

Holographic Displays Features:

  • Create colorful futuristic holograms to display text and items to players
  • Fast and simple to install and use
  • Addition of animated rainbow colors!
  • Built-in commands to render images as text holograms in-game
  • Fully customizable animations
  • Compatible with a wide range of Minecraft versions, from 1.8.3 all the way to 1.16.4
  • Wide range of other plugins that can utilize the Holographic display plugin
    • HoloInfo
    • Holo Scoreboard
    • Combat Indicator
    • SpeechBubbles Reloaded & many more!

How to Install Holographic Displays:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Holographic Displays and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

9. Set Homes

Set Homes is a very simple plugin that gives the ability to create, delete, and teleport to different homes throughout the Minecraft world and server. The plugin also gives the ability to control worlds in which players can set up homes, restrict players from setting homes, and restrict teleporting in certain worlds. Using the simple configuration file, you can control settings such as how many homes or teleports a player can create, how long the teleport cooldown is, teleport delay, and customizable messages shown to the user.

Set Homes Features:

  • Allows players to set multiple homes and teleports in the Minecraft server
  • Simple yet fully customizable configuration
  • Blacklist controls for setting homes in different Minecraft worlds

How to Install Set Homes:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Set Homes and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

10. Shopkeepers

Shopkeepers is an amazing plugin that allows you to set up Custom villager shopkeepers that sell any item that you want them to sell, for any price that you want! You can set up different sorts of shops such as admin shops that have infinite supplies, or player shops that are stocked by player-owned chests. Another alternative use of this plugin is to be able to simply modify the trades of regular villagers which, in our eyes, is very useful!

Shopkeepers Features:

  • Simply create villager shopkeepers, trading items that you configure them to trade. 
  • Create admin and player shops, with different numbers of supplies depending on which you create. 
  • Different forms of shops can be created: selling, buying, trading, and selling books.
  • Various mob types can be used as shopkeepers. 
  • Sign shops.
  • Editor for regular villagers and wandering traders. 
  • Many more configurable options.

How to Install Shopkeepers:
1. Purchase MC server hosting at Iceline Hosting.
2. Download Shopkeepers and simply drag and drop it into your plugins folder on our easy-to-use game panel.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now have a good insight into some of the best Minecraft server plugins that we would recommend in 2023!

If you are looking to get started with a Minecraft server you can purchase MC server hosting services here at Iceline Hosting. Get started today!