What is a lifesteal server?
A lifesteal server is a survival server where every player kill moves one heart from the victim to the killer, so strong players grow past the normal 10 hearts and weak ones shrink. With LifeStealZ's default settings, every player starts with 10 hearts, can reach 20, loses 1 heart to a kill or a natural death, and is eliminated at 0. Players can craft extra hearts, turn their own hearts into items to trade, and bring an eliminated teammate back with a revive crystal.
Best lifesteal plugins, mods and datapacks
The best lifesteal plugins, mods and datapacks all move hearts on a kill; they differ in the server software they need and in what happens at 0 hearts:
- LifeStealZ for Paper, Spigot and Purpur, the most downloaded lifesteal plugin on Modrinth: crafted hearts, a revive crystal, switches to turn off totems and crystal PvP, WorldGuard flags and SQLite or MySQL storage. Modrinth lists builds up to Minecraft 26.2.
- LifeSteal by FluffyCat, a lighter plugin for Spigot, Paper and Purpur: players withdraw hearts as items with
/withdrawheart, and a setting bans players at zero hearts. Builds go up to 26.1.2. - LifeSteal Server-side for Fabric and Quilt, set up with game rules: a ban, a revive or spectator mode at the minimum, and revives at an altar. Builds go up to 26.3.
- LifeSteal FR, a datapack that brings lifesteal to a vanilla server without plugins, with builds up to 26.3.
- PvPManager next to any of them: combat tags that punish a logout, protection for new players and a block on killing the same player again and again.
How to make a lifesteal server
To make a lifesteal server, run Paper with LifeStealZ and PvPManager, then set the heart rules before anyone joins:
- Order an 8 GB plan for about ten players and choose Paper, on the newest Minecraft version your lifesteal plugin supports. If the server runs a newer version than the plugin lists, wait for an update first.
- Install LifeStealZ and PvPManager by putting the jars in the plugins folder, and restart.
- Set the hearts in plugins/LifeStealZ/config.yml:
startHearts,maxHearts,heartsPerKillandheartsPerNaturalDeath. - Check PvP: on Java 1.21.9 and newer it is the
pvpgame rule, on by default, and older versions usepvp=truein server.properties. Then set the combat tag time in PvPManager. - Write the rules and open the server, with a whitelist for a private SMP, and schedule a server backup before the first fight.
How to make a lifesteal server on Bedrock
To make a lifesteal server for Bedrock players, run the Paper server above on a crossplay plan with Geyser: Bedrock players on phones, Windows and consoles join the same world, and the plugin counts their hearts like everyone else's. Bedrock Dedicated Server has no plugins, so a pure Bedrock server would need a lifesteal add-on instead. See Minecraft crossplay hosting for the setup.
How to make a lifesteal server for free
You can make a lifesteal server for free on a free host that runs Paper with plugins, or on your own PC, but both stop when nobody keeps them running. A lifesteal SMP lives on players who log in at different hours to hunt each other, so a server that sleeps when it is empty loses most of the game. A paid 8 GB plan costs €6.40 a month; see free Minecraft server hosting for what the free hosts allow.
How much RAM does a lifesteal server need?
A lifesteal server needs about 8 GB of RAM for ten players, 13 GB for twenty and 18 GB for thirty with 10 to 25 plugins, by the finder's rule for plugin servers. Fights themselves cost little memory; the players spread out over the map, each loading the world around them, are what fill it.
| Players online | RAM needed | Plan size | Lowest price for that size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 10 | 8 GB | 8 GB | CheapestMinecraftHosting Plus, €6.40 a month in Poland (Warsaw) |
| 11 to 20 | 13 GB | 16 GB | CheapestMinecraftHosting Pro, €12.80 a month in Poland (Warsaw) |
| 21 to 30 | 18 GB | 24 GB | CheapestMinecraftHosting Crew, €19.20 a month in Poland (Warsaw) |
| 31 to 50 | 28 GB | 32 GB | CheapestMinecraftHosting Guild, €25.60 a month in Poland (Warsaw) |
Best server settings for a lifesteal SMP
The best server settings for a lifesteal SMP keep fights fair and stop the tricks players use to farm hearts:
- Turn on PvPManager's kill abuse check, so two friends cannot trade the same kill back and forth for hearts.
- Decide on totems and end crystals: LifeStealZ can turn both off, which slows fights down and makes hearts harder to protect.
- Protect new players with PvPManager's newbie protection, so nobody loses a heart in their first minutes.
- Keep a backup from before each season, because a reset or a plugin bug can change every player's hearts at once.
Best lifesteal server hosting plans
The best lifesteal server hosting for ten players is an 8 GB plan, on reserved threads once fights get busy:
For 6 to 10 players with 10 to 25 plugins on Java in Poland (Warsaw), the finder recommends Astroworld Hosting Starter Performance: 8 GB, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, DDR5, for €15.95 a month when you pay monthly. As a new customer you pay €6.38 a month for the first 3 months, 60% off. The best plans at the other two hosts are Lodehost Starter at €15.95 and CheapestMinecraftHosting Plus at €6.40.