Why Should You Get a Hosted Minecraft Server?
Whether you play alone or with friends, there are lots of reasons why it’s great to have a Minecraft server instead of just playing on your PC.
Here’s 10 reasons. Plus a bonus. (Number 5 is the best and probably least known, IMO)
10. Play with friends. This is the obvious reason, so we’ll just put it here first. To do that, you need a server that everybody can get to. You can host your own, but this brings up a lot of other reasons that we’ll cover below. Or even if you don’t have friends, there are a bunch of other reasons you will love a hosted minecraft server. Read on…
9. Play from anywhere. I travel a good amount, and sometimes for extended periods. I can’t bring my gaming desktop with me, but we do have some old gaming laptops around that still work great for Minecraft (especially on a server; see #5). I can connect to my world on a hosted server from anywhere, from any computer that I can install minecraft on, and go!
8. Easy one-click setup. When you run your own server on your desktop, you either need to install the server yourself by running scripts or use the “open to LAN” feature. Open to LAN is problematic itself, especially with modded minecraft, but either way you’ll need to open up firewalls, configure your router. Black magic stuff for most people! With a hosted server, you just click a button for the version of minecraft you want or what modpack or map you want to serve and it’s done for you.
7. Easy maintenance – if you’re managing your own server, you probably groan when there’s an update to minecraft or a modpack. I know I’ll need to set aside some time to do that. With a managed minecraft server, it’s all done for you. If you know what you’re doing, you can do it yourself still, or just open a support ticket and someone will make all the backups and perform the upgrade expertly.
6. Backups! – A creeper just blew up your entire 3-story storage system… You died in hardcore and want to go back… Your world broke and it just won’t load… You updated your local minecraft and your world simply disappeared… There are dozens of reasons you want your minecraft server backed up. A hosting provider will take care of that for you. You can easily make and schedule your own backups, and a good host will automatically back up everything daily and keep many days in history.
5. Performance. When you play minecraft locally, your computer is doing double-duty. Even when you’re playing alone, Minecraft is being a server as well as the client. You just don’t really see it. It still has to do all the work that a server does, like rendering the world, managing other players, managing all the mobs and entities ticking, and it can get heavy — especially with modded minecraft. If you have a higher end gaming PC with plenty of RAM, you won’t notice. But if you’re like the rest of us and your PC struggles a bit, a hosted server can be the cheapest upgrade you can get. When you connect to a Hosted Minecraft server, you need less CPU and RAM, because another computer is doing a bunch of the work — the hardest work!
4. Manage and swap between multiple mod packs, maps, mini-games, and worlds. A hosting provider has thousands of modpacks and maps ready to go. As a content creator, this is invaluable as I can keep multiple worlds on multiple modpacks available on a server where I know they’re safe. Want to try out the latest snapshot with your friends? Start a new instance. Want to spend the day bouncing between multiplayer parkour maps, they’re just a click away.
3. Your server is always available – if you’re running your server locally, you have to make sure it’s always running on your PC and open to other players. Or if you’re traveling and want to play, you need to keep it running. What if there’s a crash or a power outage? Your server is down. A hosted server is always there no matter where you are. And can be restarted and managed from your phone in a browser!
2. Your server is always working – A server runs when your game is in the background, or even when nobody is connected. That means you can go AFK without having to keep Minecraft in the foreground. If chunks are loaded (with mods or forceload), that mob grinder will keep working even if there’s nobody in the game!
1. Expert help when you have problems – problems happen, especially with broken worlds or a misbehaving mod in a modpack. With a managed host, they’ll take care of everything. At least a good host will. (see below).
Bonus: You can support my work as a content creator! You can sign up anywhere, but if you purchase a monthly, quarterly, or yearly hosting plan through my StickyPiston hosting link, you get 20% off on a recurring basis! Most hosting providers offer a discount only on the first month. And I get a small commission each month for as long as you stick around. There are lots of ways to support me, but this is one that costs you nothing!
Why StickyPiston?
There are lots of hosting providers, but let me say for a minute why after trying out several different hosting solutions, I believe StickyPiston is the best. I’ve been a customer for a long time, and that’s why I’m a StickyPiston partner and a member of their Stream Team.
First, they focus only on Minecraft. Their support team can learn more about minecraft and they’re better at helping you. Their dev team can focus only on minecraft-specific features. That means better service.
Second, they’ve deliberately stayed small. That way they can provide quality service over quantity. That means they’re a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it.
Third, because of those two things, their passion for providing great service and developing a strong community, they do just that – provide a amazing service, a great interface, and top performance.
Other hosting providers may limit your disk space and overload their servers with more customers, affecting CPU and network performance. StickyPiston cares first about your server’s performance. In fact, they contacted me recently becuase they noticed my server was overloaded before I even did.
Give them a try. I promise you won’t be disapointed. They have 1-day free trials with premium support and a 14-day money-back guarantee on 7-Day, Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly server plans.
Click here to sign up
(and please remember to use my link and promo code ‘jangro’)
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