Optimisation guide for 1.16.5 Minecraft servers
Pushing performance of your 1.16.5 server can be challenging. Here is a simple collection of tips and tricks for trying to get the most out of your server.
Please remember that this guide is not perfect and results can vary. However, after following this guide correctly, your server should be able to hold up to 120 players at 19-20 TPS.
Important to remember
This guide cannot fix poorly developed plugins, a server with too much or too little RAM allocation, or a server run on poor hardware.
Important!!
This page was originally made and hosted by @Gianluca#0001 aka GiansCode. I am now hosting a poor copy because the original one was taken down for unknown reasons.
As the core behind your 1.16.5 Minecraft server, the software you select can make or break performance. We suggest using one of the following high-performance forks: Paper or Tuinity. Each fork offers a multitude of performance improvements.
Tuning startup flags will help keep your server running consistently and hopefully without spikes in garbage collection. CPU usage might increase after the addition of startup flags, but they will make your server more reliable with a more stable TPS. Aikar and Krusic22 have formed two of the most popular combinations.
Read the optimisation guide by Celebrimbor on Spigot and tweak your server installation as necessary. Remember, you do not need to follow the guide exactly as it only provides suggestions and results can vary.
A poorly developed or poorly optimised plugin can use a lot of your server's resources. Try to find plugins with a good reputation that properly support 1.16.5 in order to prevent performance issues. Here are a few more tips for optimising plugin load on your server.
Aikar's timing parser can give you similar insight into server health and is built-in to Spigot. We suggest learning more about timing reports to be able to diagnose performance problems and Spark can help you with this.
You should pre-generate your world, which will especially help servers focused on survival or Factions or with large maps. Pre-generation will decrease server load as players roam the world. There are a few ways you can accomplish this.
Pre-generation can take some time, but will help you a lot in the long run. Remember to set a world border using vanilla commands or a plugin like WorldBorder or Chunky as well.
You should restart your server daily during times when your server has the minimum number of players online. Impacting gameplay for players can be annoying and can deter players from playing when they would like. Try using a script rather than a plugin to accomplish this.