# Start Here

**☣ NEW SURVIVOR FIELD GUIDE**  
Five short briefings to get you through the gates, into the wilds, and safely home again.

# PlagueMC Knowledge Base

<div class="grid half gap-l" id="bkmrk-%F0%9F%A7%AD-new-survivor%3F-star"><div class="card border-card p-l">## 🧭 New survivor?

Start at the gates. Learn how to connect, establish a shelter, protect your supplies, and locate home without leaving a breadcrumb trail of dropped equipment.

[Open Start Here →](/books/start-here)

 </div><div class="card border-card p-l">## ⚖ Know the code

Respect players, builds, fair play, and the shared world. The short version takes less than two minutes.

[Read Rules &amp; Community →](/books/rules-community)

 </div> </div>---

## ⚡ Enter the world

<div class="grid half gap-l" id="bkmrk-%F0%9F%92%BB-java-edition-play."><div>### 💻 Java Edition

 ```
play.plaguemc.xyz
```

Default port: `25565`

 </div><div>### 🎮 Bedrock Edition

 ```
play.plaguemc.xyz
```

Port: `19132`

 </div> </div><p class="callout warning">**Hard-mode survival.** Cross-play is enabled, the world is persistent, and your first priority should be food, shelter, light, and a home point—in roughly that order.</p>

---

## 🗺 Field links

<div class="grid third gap-l" id="bkmrk-live-map-survey-expl"><div class="card border-card p-l">### Live Map

Survey explored territory and get your bearings before settling.

[Open BlueMap →](https://map.plaguemc.xyz)

 </div><div class="card border-card p-l">### Discord

News, support, reports, and conversation beyond the reach of the night cycle.

[Join the survivors →](https://discord.gg/mT9TRHM)

 </div><div class="card border-card p-l">### Website

The front door to the wider PlagueMC community.

[Visit PlagueMC →](https://plaguemc.xyz)

 </div> </div>---

---

## 📚 Explore the library

<div class="grid third gap-l" id="bkmrk-%F0%9F%A7%AD-gameplay-guideworl"><div class="card border-card p-l">### 🧭 Gameplay Guide

Worlds, homes, economy, protection, progression, features, and responsible building.

[Explore gameplay →](/books/gameplay-guide)

</div><div class="card border-card p-l">### ⌨ Commands &amp; Features

A compact reference for commands, aliases, protection, ranks, flight, shops, and interactions.

[Open the reference →](/books/commands-features)

</div><div class="card border-card p-l">### 🛠 Troubleshooting &amp; FAQ

Connection, commands, teleporting, storage, shops, Bedrock, bugs, and useful reports.

[Fix a problem →](/books/troubleshooting-faq)

</div> </div>---

## 🆘 Need help?

For quick questions, ask in game. For connection problems, private reports, screenshots, or incidents requiring staff attention, use Discord. Bring evidence; the server produces enough folklore without help.

<div class="grid half gap-l" id="bkmrk-include-the-useful-b"><div>### Include the useful bits

- Your exact Minecraft username
- Java or Bedrock and your version
- What happened and what you expected
- Time, world, and coordinates when relevant
 
 </div><div>### Protect the evidence

- Take screenshots before changing the scene
- Do not retaliate or publicly escalate
- Never share passwords or recovery codes
- Give staff enough time to investigate
 
 </div> </div><p class="callout success">**Ready?** Read [Your First 15 Minutes](/books/start-here/page/your-first-15-minutes), join at `play.plaguemc.xyz`, and try not to become part of the scenery.</p>

# Welcome to PlagueMC

<p class="callout warning">**☣ SURVIVOR NOTICE**  
The gates are open. The world is not especially interested in keeping you alive.</p>

The gates are open. The world is not especially interested in keeping you alive.

PlagueMC is a **hard-mode survival server** wearing a few comforts over the top like a suspiciously clean bandage. Build something worth remembering, trade with the other doomed optimists, explore the map, and carve out a corner of the world before the world carves something out of you.

---

## ☣ What awaits you

- Survival at **Hard** difficulty
- A persistent shared world with Java and Bedrock cross-play
- Player economy, shops, homes, teleport requests, and random teleportation
- Protected containers and doors
- A live web map
- Levelled mobs and a handful of quality-of-life features
- A small community where your reputation matters

This is not a disposable minigame lobby. The things you build, the people you meet, and the trouble you cause all become part of the server's history.

<p class="callout info">**🗺 New arrival?** Read this book in order. In about fifteen minutes you can be connected, equipped, and established—assuming the night does not get to you first.</p>

---

## ⚖ The survivor’s code

Be decent. Do not steal, grief, cheat, or ruin another player's time. The mobs already handle senseless violence perfectly well; they do not need an assistant. Use common sense, ask when unsure, and report problems instead of escalating them.

Welcome to PlagueMC. Try not to become part of the scenery.

# How to Join

<p class="callout info">**⚡ CONNECTION BRIEFING**  
Choose your edition, copy the address, and step through the gates. The server has been informed that fresh meat is in transit.</p>

PlagueMC supports both **Java Edition** and **Bedrock Edition** players.

---

## 💻 Java Edition

Add a multiplayer server using:

- **Address:** `play.plaguemc.xyz`
- **Port:** `25565` (the default; you normally do not need to enter it)

Use a legitimate, online-mode Java account. Nearby client versions may work, but the current Java release gives the server fewer excuses to reject you before anything has had the chance to kill you.

---

## 🎮 Bedrock Edition

Add an external server using:

- **Address:** `play.plaguemc.xyz`
- **Port:** `19132`

Bedrock connections are handled through Geyser and Floodgate. Some interfaces, combat details, or Java-specific mechanics may look slightly different on Bedrock.

---

## 🧭 Your field links

- **Knowledge base:** [kb.plaguemc.xyz](https://kb.plaguemc.xyz)
- **Live map:** [map.plaguemc.xyz](https://map.plaguemc.xyz)
- **Website:** [plaguemc.xyz](https://plaguemc.xyz)
- **Discord:** [discord.gg/mT9TRHM](https://discord.gg/mT9TRHM)

You can also use `/discord` in game to find the community link.

---

## 🛠 If the gates stay shut

1. Double-check the address and remove any spaces.
2. Confirm you are using Java port `25565` or Bedrock port `19132`.
3. Restart Minecraft before changing several settings at once.
4. Check Discord for an outage notice.
5. When asking for help, include your edition, version, exact error message, and approximate time of the attempt.

Never post passwords, account recovery codes, or private authentication details when requesting support.

# Your First 15 Minutes

<p class="callout warning">**⏱ THE FIRST FIFTEEN**  
Empty inventory. Twenty-five coins. Hard difficulty. Make the daylight count.</p>

You have arrived with an empty inventory, a small starting balance, and the questionable confidence of every survivor before their first night.

---

## ① Get your bearings

Take a moment at spawn. Read the signs and holograms before entering the wilderness. Open the live map at [map.plaguemc.xyz](https://map.plaguemc.xyz) for a wider view of explored territory; the darkness beyond it remains deliberately under-documented.

Use `/spawn` whenever you need to return to the central area.

---

## ② Vanish into the wilds

Use `/rtp` to search for a safe random location away from spawn. Random teleportation has a cooldown, so look around before immediately trying again.

Do not build directly against somebody else's home, claim, shop, or obvious project without asking. Empty-looking land may still be part of a larger build.

---

## ③ Beat the first night

This is Hard difficulty. Gather wood, food, stone, wool, and light before worrying about architecture.

Half of the active players sleeping will accelerate the night. If somebody asks for sleepers, climbing into a bed helps everyone—and resets phantom trouble.

---

## ④ Leave yourself a way back

Stand somewhere safe and use:

```text
/sethome

```

Return later with:

```text
/home

```

New players begin with one home. Additional ranks may provide more. Your bed and home are useful safeguards, but neither makes a badly lit base safe.

---

## ⑤ Lock down your supplies

PlagueMC uses LWC-style protection for containers and other interactable blocks. Check that important chests, doors, and storage are protected before leaving them unattended. Use `/lwc` for protection help.

Protection tools are not permission to occupy somebody else's space. They prevent accidents and theft; community rules handle the rest.

---

## ⑥ Meet the other survivors

Use `/discord` to contact the other survivors outside the game. If you need a hand, ask clearly and give people a moment to answer. Rescue remains a community effort; recovery of the body is not guaranteed.

You earn money for active play over time, and you start with a modest balance. There is no need to speedrun wealth on day one. Establish food, shelter, and a reliable route home first.

# Essential Commands

<p class="callout info">**⌨ POCKET COMMAND CARD**  
You do not need every command—only the ones that get you home alive.</p>

You do not need to memorize everything. These commands cover most of a new survivor's needs, including the popular need to flee whatever is currently making that noise behind you.

---

## 🧭 Travel

<table id="bkmrk-command-purpose-%2Fspa"><thead><tr><th>Command</th><th>Purpose</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>`/spawn`</td><td>Return to the server spawn</td></tr><tr><td>`/rtp`</td><td>Find a random safe location in the world</td></tr><tr><td>`/sethome`</td><td>Set your current location as a home</td></tr><tr><td>`/home`</td><td>Return to your home</td></tr><tr><td>`/tpa <player>`</td><td>Ask to teleport to another player</td></tr><tr><td>`/tpahere <player>`</td><td>Ask another player to teleport to you</td></tr><tr><td>`/tpaccept`</td><td>Accept a pending teleport request</td></tr><tr><td>`/tpdeny`</td><td>Decline a pending teleport request</td></tr><tr><td>`/back`</td><td>Return to a previous location, when your rank permits it</td></tr></tbody></table>

Never use teleport requests to escape fair combat, bypass access controls, or enter a base without permission.

---

## 💬 Communication

<table id="bkmrk-command-purpose-%2Fmsg"><thead><tr><th>Command</th><th>Purpose</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>`/msg <player> <message>`</td><td>Send a private message</td></tr><tr><td>`/r <message>`</td><td>Reply to your latest private conversation</td></tr><tr><td>`/ignore <player>`</td><td>Hide messages from a player</td></tr><tr><td>`/discord`</td><td>Open the PlagueMC Discord information</td></tr></tbody></table>

Private messages are still subject to server rules.

---

## 💰 Economy &amp; play

<table id="bkmrk-command-purpose-%2Fbal"><thead><tr><th>Command</th><th>Purpose</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>`/balance`</td><td>Check your current balance</td></tr><tr><td>`/pay <player> <amount>`</td><td>Pay another player</td></tr><tr><td>`/baltop`</td><td>View leading balances</td></tr><tr><td>`/sit`</td><td>Sit where supported</td></tr><tr><td>`/lwc`</td><td>Show container-protection help</td></tr></tbody></table>

The economy is player-facing: agree on prices before trading and verify names and amounts before confirming payments.

---

## 🔎 Help &amp; discovery

- Use `/help` for general command help.
- Add `?` or use a plugin's help subcommand when available.
- If a listed command is unavailable to your rank, do not spam it—check the relevant guide or ask staff.

Commands and permissions evolve with the server. This page documents the useful baseline; the server keeps several less merciful verbs to itself.

# Where to Get Help

<p class="callout danger">**🚨 SOMETHING WENT WRONG?**  
Do not panic, retaliate, or feed your diamond count to the creepers. Start here.</p>

Something will eventually go wrong. A creeper will develop impeccable timing, a command will behave strangely, or a chest will seem to have developed legs. The fastest route to help depends on the problem.

---

## 💬 Ask in game when…

- You need a quick command reminder.
- You are unsure whether an area is occupied.
- A mechanic is confusing but nothing has been lost.
- You need another player rather than a staff decision.

Keep the question specific. “How do I set a home?” is much easier to answer than “nothing works.”

---

## 📡 Use Discord when…

- The server appears offline.
- You cannot connect.
- You need to attach screenshots or longer evidence.
- A report should not be discussed publicly.
- Nobody with the right permissions is currently in game.

Join via `/discord` or [discord.gg/mT9TRHM](https://discord.gg/mT9TRHM).

---

## 📋 Build a useful report

A useful report contains:

1. Your exact Minecraft username.
2. Java or Bedrock edition and your version.
3. What you expected to happen.
4. What actually happened, including the exact error text.
5. The world, coordinates, and approximate time when relevant.
6. Screenshots or short video if they clarify the issue.

Do not publicly share passwords, email addresses, IP addresses, recovery codes, or other private account information.

---

## ⚖ Player disputes

Do not retaliate. Preserve evidence, note coordinates and times, and contact staff. Returning grief for grief turns a clear report into two incidents.

---

## 💀 Lost items &amp; rollbacks

Describe what was lost and how, but do not assume replacement is guaranteed. Staff will consider server evidence, the cause, and the applicable rules. Honest, precise reports are far easier to investigate than inflated inventories.

<p class="callout success">**Remember:** Staff keep the server healthy; they are not an insurance company for valuables enthusiastically donated to lava. Bring evidence, be patient, and treat the person helping you like a person.</p>