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Identifying the Source of Lag

In the Minecraft ecosystem, “Lag” is a generalized term that frequently describes two distinct technical phenomena. To resolve performance issues effectively, you must first identify the root cause:
  • Server Lag (Low TPS): The server’s CPU cannot process world events (ticking) within the required 50ms window. This results in “rubber-banding” and delayed entity movements. A “Perfect” server operates at 20.0 TPS.
  • Network Lag (High Ping): The physical latency between the player’s computer and the FREAKHOSTING data center. This results in delayed block-breaking and chat latency.
This guide focuses on maximizing your TPS to ensure a 20.0 high-performance experience for your community.

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

12 Minutes

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1. The Strategy of World Pre-Generation

Real-time terrain generation is the most CPU-intensive task a Minecraft server performs. When players fly into unexplored territory, the server must calculate biomes, structures, and block placement instantly, often causing massive TPS drops.
  • The Solution: use the Chunky plugin to programmatically render your world border during off-peak hours.
  • Technical Goal: Pre-generating a 5,000 to 10,000 block radius ensures that the server only needs to “read” existing files from the high-speed NVMe storage rather than calculating them on the fly, eliminating 90% of explorer-related lag.

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2. Technical Configuration Hardening

Tuning your core property files is the fastest method for reclaiming wasted CPU cycles.

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server.properties

  • view-distance: Set to 6. The vanilla default (10) requires the server to track and process nearly 400% more chunks than a setting of 6.
  • simulation-distance: Set to 4. This restricts active entity AI and ticking logic to a tight radius around the player, preserving resources for core world events.

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bukkit.yml

  • spawn-limits: Reduce monsters to 45 and animals to 8.
  • ticks-per.monster-spawns: Set to 4. This instructs the engine to check for new spawns every 4 ticks rather than every single tick, reducing AI overhead by 75%.

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spigot.yml

  • entity-activation-range: Set monsters to 24 and animals to 16. Entities outside this range will “hibernate,” pausing their AI logic until a player approaches.

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3. Advanced Diagnostic Profiling (Spark)

If lag persists after configuration hardening, a specific modification or entity farm is likely the culprit.
1

Initialize the Profiler

Install the Spark plugin and execute: /spark profiler start.
2

Data Capture

Monitor the server during a period of active lag for approximately 10 minutes.
3

Generate Flame Graph

Execute: /spark profiler stop.
4

Technical Review

Open the generated URL. The hierarchical graph will pinpoint exactly which plugin, event, or entity type is consuming the highest percentage of your CPU’s “tick time.”

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Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

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Last Updated: January 2026 | Performance: 20.0 TPS achieved.