Anarchy SMP Server from Scratch: How to Build a 2b2t Style Server

An anarchy server is not just an SMP without rules. It is a separate philosophy and a separate gameplay style, and it gets configured very differently from a regular survival server. Below we cover what makes anarchy distinct, which plugins to install, which ones to never touch, and how to survive the first DDoS waves.

What Anarchy SMP is and where it came from

Anarchy SMP rests on three simple principles: no rules, no hacks-ban, no map reset. No rules of conduct, no bans for cheating, no resetting the world. Players grief, dupe, deceive, form alliances and burn each other's bases. That is the gameplay.

The defining example, 2b2t.org, has been running since December 2010. The world has never been reset, the border is pushed to 30 million blocks, and every ruin near spawn has its own history. 9b9t appeared in 2017 as a reaction to the endless 2b2t queue, Constantiam has been running since 2016 and is widely considered the most technically stable of the larger anarchy servers. They share one thing: the world is old, and the community is its own law.

If you want to launch this kind of server, understand: it is not "regular SMP minus the plugins". It is a specific audience, specific load patterns, and specific threat models. Let's go through them.

Why launch your own anarchy at all

Queues on 2b2t sometimes hit 500+ people, and getting on 9b9t in prime time is easier through a paid priority queue. Your own server solves that pain for a smaller community, and you control the infrastructure: Paper version, hardware, hosting region.

An anarchy owner has three motives: build your own crew (10-100 people who actually know each other), grow a long-running world history (after 2-3 years you will have that layered map of artifacts), and minimize moderation. Anarchy doesn't need bans or dispute resolution since there are no rules. Your job is keeping the server up.

Base install: Paper or Folia

For Java anarchy, use Paper 1.21+. Spigot can't keep up - too few optimizations, frequent crashes. Paper closes most known exploits out of the box and gives fine-grained control through paper-global.yml and paper-world-defaults.yml.

If you are aiming for 200+ concurrent players in a single world, look at Folia. Folia is a PaperMC fork with regional multithreaded ticking. For typical anarchy with 50-100 online it is overkill, but if you grow into it, the migration path exists (not painless, but real).

Download and run:

mkdir anarchy && cd anarchy
wget https://api.papermc.io/v2/projects/paper/versions/1.21.4/builds/200/downloads/paper-1.21.4-200.jar -O paper.jar
echo "eula=true" > eula.txt
java -Xms8G -Xmx8G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+DisableExplicitGC -jar paper.jar nogui

These flags are baseline Aikar's flags for G1GC. For 16 GB just change 8G to 16G. Same flags work under Folia.

server.properties line by line

This is the core of your anarchy. Every line matters:

gamemode=survival
hardcore=false
difficulty=hard
pvp=true
online-mode=true
enable-command-block=false
spawn-protection=0
white-list=false
allow-flight=false
view-distance=8
simulation-distance=6
max-players=200
network-compression-threshold=256

spawn-protection=0 is critical: without it, you can't break blocks within 16 of spawn, killing the whole "ruined spawn" aesthetic. enable-command-block=false shuts down a class of exploits using forged command blocks. online-mode=true gives you premium accounts and fewer bots; if you want a cracked audience, set false, but expect waves of alts and spam bots.

Set allow-flight=false even though you have no anti-cheat. Why bother if cheaters fly anyway? Because legitimate clients should not get false-positive flight kicks from vanilla rubber-banding under high ping.

view-distance=8 and simulation-distance=6 aren't stinginess, they are survival. Anarchy players build massive redstone farms and arrive with tracking bots, chunks pour out like a faucet. View distance 10-12 will kill your server within a week.

What NOT to install: anti-grief plugins

WorldGuard, GriefPrevention, CoreProtect for rollback, Lands, Towny - all of this is against the philosophy. The player came to anarchy precisely so their base could be found and burned. If they don't want that, regular Minecraft is right there.

The only justifiable WorldGuard use is a minimal 50x50 spawn region in passthrough mode without build deny, plus a scheduled regen every 6-12 hours via script. This isn't grief protection, it's so new players can actually leave spawn instead of suffocating in lava within 5 seconds.

CoreProtect: install it in logging-only mode, no rollbacks. Not for reverting actions, but for forensics on crashes and exploits: if someone dupes through a server bug, at least you'll see traces.

Anti-cheat: the anarchy paradox

You cannot install anti-cheat on anarchy. Matrix, Vulcan, NoCheatPlus - all out. Kicking for fly or KillAura kills your audience in a week.

What you can and should do:

• AntiCrashExploit or EpicGuard against crash packets
• Patches for known dupes (Paper closes most automatically through paper-global.yml)
• Network-perimeter filtering: at the proxy layer, drop malformed packets, book-meta crash exploits, chunk-overflow and invalid-position
• Limits on pearl spam, block placement rate, chest/shulker sizes

The mantra: let cheats through, block crashes. That's the anarchy sweet spot.

Pattern-based detection at the network filter is not anti-cheat. It is protecting the Java process from dying. If someone sends a book packet with 3 MB of NBT data, you drop it not because they're cheating, but because otherwise the server stalls for 30 seconds.

A spawn made of ruins

On 2b2t, spawn is a five-mile zone of scorched earth with lava casts, obsidian fortresses and netherroof bases. Yours should look the same.

Starting setup: build a tiny spawn structure (20x20 platform, a couple of pillars, a hole to the sky), defend nothing, and let players carve out ruins for a month. Don't try to "repair" anything - that is the charm. After a year your spawn becomes recognizable on a screenshot in seconds.

If you want it slightly softer: a WorldGuard region at radius 100 around spawn with regen every 6 hours via mvregen or a custom script. That gives newcomers a chance to escape. Outside this radius is war territory.

Velocity proxy and queue

When you stably hit 100+ online, you need Velocity. Velocity is the PaperMC proxy. On top of it you build:

• hiding the real game server IP from DDoS
• queue via plugin (for example VelocityQueue or commercial SimpleQueue)
• separation into main + lobby + queue servers
• a single point for auth, motd and proxy-level whitelist

The basic flow: a player connects to play.yourdomain.net (Velocity IP), Velocity checks main server capacity, and if there is no room, throws them into a light-world queue server with "you are #45 in queue". This buys the main server time to survive peak hours without OOM.

# velocity.toml fragment
bind = "0.0.0.0:25577"
online-mode = true
player-info-forwarding-mode = "modern"
forwarding-secret-file = "forwarding.secret"
[servers]
main = "127.0.0.1:25565"
queue = "127.0.0.1:25566"
try = ["queue", "main"]

On the main server, enable velocity-support.enabled: true in paper-global.yml and drop in the same forwarding.secret.

DDoS: anarchy servers are a magnet

Any public anarchy gets its first DDoS in the first week. Reasons vary: bitter players, competitors, bored skids. Prepare before launch, not after.

Minimum:

1. Hide the real IP. Never expose an A-record straight at the game server. Put Velocity on a separate machine or use a network filter in front.
2. L4 TCP filtering. Most hosts give UDP-flood protection but nothing for Minecraft-protocol attacks (handshake spam, motd flood).
3. Per-IP connection limits. 3-5 simultaneous from one IP is plenty.
4. Separate VLAN or firewall between Velocity and backend so leaking one IP doesn't expose the entire stack.

MineGuard and similar services cover items 1-3 without you needing to fight iptables and xdp by hand. If you launch a public anarchy without dedicated protection, expect nights spent rebooting the server every 20 minutes.

World border and a long-living world

On 2b2t the border is set to 30 million blocks. Absurdly large, but that is the point: explorers can travel tens of thousands of blocks and build a base nobody can find via plain /locate.

For a new server that is overkill. Realistic numbers:

• launch: 100 000 blocks (50k each side)
• after a year: 500 000 to 1 000 000 if needed
• above one million: only when online stays at 50+ regularly

# on the server
worldborder set 100000
worldborder center 0 0
worldborder warning distance 100

A bigger border equals a bigger disk. Anarchy with 50 online easily grows the world by 30-50 GB per month. Plan for it in your hosting tier and run Chunky prune on chunks older than 30 days with no recent activity.

Backups (but not for rollback)

On anarchy, backups are not for reverting players' builds or restoring stolen loot. That violates no map reset.

Backups exist for catastrophic failures: corrupted level.dat, dead disk, ransomware. Then you restore the last snapshot and the server lives on. For everything else, backup does not apply, and you tell players that openly.

Setup: daily full backup to S3-compatible storage, 7-14 day rotation. No more - it won't be useful anyway.

No /home, /tpa or /spawn

The standard SMP EssentialsX stack does not belong on anarchy. Remove /home, /tpa, /back, /spawn (except first-join /spawn), /sethome, /warp. All of it ruins the game: why build a far-off base if you can teleport?

You can skip EssentialsX entirely. Nicknames and AFK timers, if you really need them, exist in lightweight standalone plugins.

The business side: monetizing without pay-to-win

Anarchy servers are free, and that is part of the genre. A paid whitelist will kill the community in a month. But the owner still needs to cover the VPS, and there is a fair pattern for that.

What 2b2t and similar servers actually sell:

• priority queue - skipping ahead in the queue server. Not a gameplay advantage in the world itself, only login convenience.
• prefix or name color - pure cosmetic
• donor skin/cape via cape mod - cosmetic
• a donation page without any in-game perk

What you cannot do: keep-inventory for donors, donor-only regions, premium commands like /heal, /feed, /fly. That kills anarchy as a concept.

Real cost numbers: a 16 GB dedicated game server plus a 4 GB Velocity host plus DDoS protection runs 60-120 EUR per month. With 50 regulars and 5-10% converting to priority queue at 3 EUR, that already breaks even.

FAQ

Can I run anti-cheat on an anarchy server?

Technically yes, but the community will not accept you. Anarchy is built on "want to cheat, cheat; want to catch cheaters, catch them yourself". Install only crash protection: AntiCrashExploit, EpicGuard, network-level filtering of crash packets. Let the cheats themselves through.

How much RAM for 50 online on anarchy?

8 GB minimum, 16 GB comfortable. Anarchy on 1.21+ keeps lots of chunks loaded with massive redstone farms and shulker stacks; the usual SMP rule of thumb of 100 MB per player does not apply. Budget 200-300 MB. Disk grows 10-50 GB in the first month, more after.

How do I protect sub-spawn from total grief?

Install a WorldGuard regen region 50-100 blocks around the spawn point, regen every 6-12 hours via scheduled task or a plugin like AreaShop's regen. Outside that ring you protect nothing - it is open war. Don't go larger than 200 blocks or you lose the dangerous-spawn feel.

Can anarchy run on Bedrock?

Technically possible via GeyserMC + Floodgate on Paper. But the anarchy community is 99% Java, and Bedrock players miss the genre's cultural codes (minecart dupes, redstone quirks). Java-only is the recommendation.

Is 2b2t open-source? Can I copy it?

The 2b2t code is closed, but the plugin stack is known and reproducible. Open-source spinoffs exist (SimpleAnarchy and similar), and most anarchy servers are assembled from public components: Paper + Velocity + a queue plugin + a minimal set of anti-crash utilities. You can copy the function. You cannot copy the world history.

What about dupes?

Most vanilla dupes are closed by Paper through paper-global.yml. Serious dupes get patched in Paper updates, keep the core current. Don't try to eliminate every dupe on anarchy; many are considered legitimate genre mechanics. Disable only the ones that wreck the economy or crash the server.

Do I need a whitelist period at launch?

No. Whitelist defeats the point. Open up publicly from day one, but in the first 2 weeks keep admin panel and logs ready to react fast to exploit attacks. This is process protection, not behavioral moderation.

What's next

For your first anarchy, focus on three things: core stability (Paper plus correct flags), network defense (Velocity plus a DDoS filter), and refusing anything that breaks free play. Fewer plugins, fewer failure points.

The first thing players try after launch is crashing you with packet exploits or botnet logins. Normal for the genre. Survive the first month and it gets easier: a core community forms, attackers move on.

The main point: anarchy is a long game. The value isn't day one, it is year three, when you have ruins of old bases, legendary names, and stories veterans tell to newcomers.