BEGINNERS GUIDE
New to playing Minecraft online? Never done it before? No problem!
When you click on multiplayer you’re asked to fill in an IP address. That’s where the game leaves you. It doesn’t tell you how to find them, what it is, why you need it, or what it looks like.
WHAT’S AN IP?
An IP address is like a mailing address on the net. It tells your computer where to look to connect to a website, or a network, or in this case a Minecraft server. A Minecraft server can be computer dedicated to running a Minecraft world, or it can be run in the background on somebody’s personal computer.
Someone out there has a multiplayer world open and connected to the internet. When you enter in the IP address of that gameworld you’ll connect and be able to start playing alongside other players. As long as the server is running and connected to the internet you’ll be able to play in this world. Most people aim to get 100% uptime for their servers.
HOW DO I TALK TO THE OTHER PLAYERS?
Once you’re online you’ll come across a new command. Press T to open a chat window. This allows you to talk to other players in the world. Type whatever you want and then press enter.
Some servers use a 3rd party service like Ventrilo or Skype to allow voice chat. Just ask in game or look on that servers particular website to this information.
WHAT’S GRIEFING?
Griefers are people who have fun by ruining the fun of others. Usually griefing refers specifically to the destroying of other peoples work, which is different from stealing and killing. Each server will have different rules on each of them, so pay close attention or you’ll get banned.
OBEYING THE RULES
Most servers will have a series of signs put up around spawn explaining to you the basic rules of the server. If you don’t like the rules I suggest you don’t play. Find a server that suits your play style better. If you want to grief go find an anarchy server, if you want to steal find a server that allows it.
/HELP
Commands have a / in front of them, and are typed into the chat window. On most servers you can type /help and you’ll get a page of commands. /help 2 will show the second page, /help 3 the third page, and so on. Commands can warp you to far away places, or buy something from a shop. Get to know them
MULTIPLAYER MODS
There are Mods exclusive to Multiplayer play. There are mods which contain minigames, mods which prevent griefing, economy mods, mods to allow airships to be built and flown, amongst others. This list is constantly updating so I’m not going to get into it here in the beginners section, but be aware that each server will have different mods which can dramatically change the gameplay.
OTHER TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Mods (Moderators) are in charge of enforcing the rules of the server. Admins (administrators) are in charge of enforcing the Mods. PvP (player vs player) is combat amongst players. It’s allowed on some servers, isn’t allowed on others, and still others have it restricted to certain zones or areas. Spawn is the default spawn point for all regular players. Warping can be done via commands to various warp points (depending on which mods are being run). Vanilla refers to a server with no mods on it.