FAQ & Known Issues

How do I connect?

Use one address for both editions: play.aowmc.com. On Java the port is 25565 (the default, so you can leave it off). On Bedrock add the port 19132 when you create the server entry. Full step-by-step on the Join page.

What version do I need?

The server runs Paper 1.21.8, but you don't have to match it exactly. ViaVersion and ViaBackwards 5.10.1 let a wide range of recent client versions connect, so you usually don't need to downgrade or upgrade your client to get in.

Is it whitelisted? What are the rules?

It's a Survival SMP on Normal difficulty with a max of 20 players online. First thing after you spawn, run /guide for the welcome book — it walks you through claims, economy, and the basics so you don't lose your first base to a creeper or a neighbor.

Can Java and Bedrock really play together?

Yes — fully. Crossplay runs on Geyser-Spigot 2.10.1 + Floodgate 2.2.5, so Bedrock players (phone, console, Win10) and Java players share the exact same world, economy, and claims.

Why does my Bedrock friend have a dot in their name?

That's by design. Floodgate prefixes every Bedrock player's name with a "." so it never collides with a Java account. So if your friend is Steve on their phone, in-game they're .Steve. Keep that dot in mind whenever you target them in a command:

/tpa .Steve
/pay .Steve 500
/trade .Steve

I'm on an old Bedrock version — will I get in?

Most likely yes. ViaVersion / ViaBackwards 5.10.1 bridge a range of client versions on top of Geyser. If you genuinely can't connect, update your client first, then check the Join page.

Can I tune performance if my phone lags?

Yes. Use /view <2-10> to lower your personal render distance; simulation distance follows automatically. 2 is the lightest (great for phones / cellular), 10 is the richest for strong hardware. You can change it anytime.

How rare are Champions?

The base spawn chance is 0.05, but it climbs with conditions. Each multiplier stacks:

So a Blood Moon night far from spawn is far more dangerous than a midday stroll near your base. There are 8 tiers, from common Anomalous up to the triggered-only Cataclysm.

What are sub-titles?

A sub-title is a prefix that modifies a champion. Roughly 25% of champions roll one of several sub-titles, and they change the math of whether a fight is worth it:

Enriched drops 2× loot and Blessed carries glyphs and tomes — those are worth chasing. Corrupted explodes and debuffs whoever kills it, and Relentless won't despawn — it hunts you. Pure (no bonus) is the most common.

Can I spawn Champions on purpose?

No — there's no command to summon one for yourself. Champions appear through natural spawning, and you tip the odds in your favor by playing into the conditions: go out at night, travel beyond 500 blocks, raise the world's Fracture Level by killing champions and bosses, and hunt during a Blood Moon. The only "triggered-only" tier is Cataclysm.

What is Vendetta?

Vendetta is part of the Living World. The longer you survive — around 6 hours of playtime and up — the more likely the world spawns a mob that is hunting you, by name. It shows up with a title like "the Grudgebearer" or "<You>'s Shadow", deals bonus damage to you specifically, is persistent, and drops a Vendetta Shard when you win.

What's the deal with the Nether and the End?

Champions in the Nether and End get biome-themed modifiers and titles through the Nether/End variants module. The first major dimension push also triggers Dimension Awakening messaging, permanently hardening that dimension for everyone. Champions there gain +tier weighting and awakened titles.

What are Fracture events?

Fracture events are world events tied to the Fracture Level: meteor showers, thunder-lord storms, and blood-moon surges. Champions spawned while an event is active get a buff and drop bonus Echo Shards. Staff can check or force events with /fractureevents [reload|force]; players can see what's active with /fractureevents.

What are threat zones?

Threat zones scale champion danger by how far you are from spawn, layered on top of the Fracture Level. The farther out you go, the harder the fight and the bigger the Echo Shard payout. Entering a high-threat zone plays a title and sound. Use /threat to see your current zone.

What is the Legend Ledger?

The Legend Ledger records server-first champion milestones: the first LEGEND, MYTHIC, and CATACLYSM champion kills, plus each player's first 5-star kill. Open it with /legendledger to see who made history.

What are Constellations?

Constellations are seasonal or time-gated champion patterns that shift spawn weights across the world. During an active constellation, certain champion titles or tiers become more common for a limited window — a good reason to check /aow or /champions before a long hunt.

What is the Codex?

The Codex is a personal collection journal. It tracks which champion tiers and titles you've killed. Use /codex to see your completion progress. First-kill milestones can optionally broadcast to the server.

What are Bounties?

/bounty shows daily/weekly champion-hunting goals — "Kill 3 Veteran+ desert champions" or "Defeat a Legend without using a bow." Complete them for relic shards, titles, and XP. Claim rewards with /bounty claim.

How does money work?

The economy runs on EssentialsX + Vault. Pay other players directly, and use the global auction house (AuctionHouse GlobalMarketplace 2.1) to sell to everyone at once:

/pay .Steve 500
/balance
/ah         # open the global auction house
/ah sell 250

What are Echo Shards?

Echo Shards are a non-drop, non-despawn PDC currency awarded when you kill champions. The amount scales with champion tier and the world's Fracture Level. Check your balance with /wallet or /profile.

What can I spend Echo Shards on?

Live Echo Shard sinks include EnchantPlus overleveling, class respecs, and title unlocks. When enabled, /class respec costs 50 Echo Shards (set by classes.respec.cost-shards). Use /title buy <name> to purchase cosmetic titles from the configured shop. Check /profile and /wallet for your current balance.

Can I run my own shop?

Yes — QuickShop-Hikari 6.2 lets you set up chest shops. Stock a chest, set a price, and other players buy and sell from it 24/7 even while you're offline. Full details on the Economy page.

What are Classes?

Classes in AoWContent let you pick an offensive, defensive, or gatherer path that shapes how you fight champions and gather resources. Choose with /class; respec with /class respec, which optionally costs Echo Shards when enabled.

What is EnchantPlus?

EnchantPlus lets you push enchantments past vanilla caps — for example, Sharpness X — using Echo Shards and progression gates. See /enchants for what's currently available.

How do I protect my base?

Land protection uses GriefPrevention 16.18.7 — the classic golden shovel system. Hold a golden shovel and click two opposite corners to claim the area between them. Inside your claim, nobody else can build, break, or open containers unless you trust them.

/trust .Steve     # let a friend build in your claim
/untrust .Steve
/abandonclaim

Is there leveling / RPG progression?

Yes. AuraSkills 2.3.12 adds RPG-style skills that level up as you play — mining, fighting, farming, and more — granting passive stat boosts over time. Check your progress with the skills menu and see the Skills page for the full breakdown.

Are there custom enchants?

Yes — opt-in QoL and combat enchants via /enchants, including Timber, Veinminer, Telekinesis, Magnetism, Lifesteal, Execute, Cleave, Greed, and Soulbound. These are added on top of vanilla, never replacing it.

What's the server running on?

Paper 1.21.8 on Java 21 (Temurin), hosted on a 4 vCPU / 16 GB Hostinger VPS with an 8 GB heap and Aikar flags for smooth GC. That headroom is why 20 players plus the Champions system run without choking.

Is there a live map?

Yes — map.aowmc.com, powered by squaremap 1.3.12. Watch the world render in your browser, no client needed.

Are the plugins safe / off-the-shelf?

The custom gameplay is built into 6 in-house plugin packs: paper-api only, vanilla items only, strictly ADD-only (we never remove or break vanilla behavior), and crossplay-safe so Bedrock players get the same experience. They sit alongside ~21 trusted third-party plugins. See All Plugins.

Is there a Discord bridge?

Yes. AoWInfra includes an MC↔Discord bridge that relays chat and server events (like Fracture Level milestones) to Discord. Future plans include Discord-linked verification for new players.

So is it actually night or not?

Gameplay is always running on the real server time — if mobs are spawning hostile and burning at dawn, it's working correctly even when your sky says otherwise. The only thing affected is the cosmetic sky on Bedrock.

How do I see the real time and weather?

We built around this bug so you're never guessing. Use the in-game readouts, which always show the true server state:

/realtime      # true server time of day
/realweather   # true weather, not the frozen Bedrock sky

The AoWScoreboard sidebar also shows the live time — toggle it with /aowsb or /sb. Between the scoreboard and /realtime you always know exactly where the day stands.

Will these get fixed?

Both come down to how Geyser bridges Bedrock to a Java server, not our world or plugins — so the real fixes live upstream. In the meantime our QoL tools (/realtime, /realweather, /coords, the scoreboard, and /sync to fix desync) give Bedrock players an accurate picture. See the QoL page for the full Bedrock toolkit.