How to Host a Better MC Server

What Is Better MC?

Better MC is a vanilla-plus modpack that takes the core Minecraft experience and improves it in every direction without fundamentally changing the game. There are no tech trees to learn, no magic systems to master, and no progression walls, just a better version of Minecraft with improved terrain generation, new structures to discover, quality-of-life tweaks, and visual upgrades.

The pack includes mods like Terralith (which overhauls world generation with dozens of new biomes and terrain types), YUNG's Better series (Better Dungeons, Better Mineshafts, Better Strongholds, Better Ocean Monuments, and more), and a selection of QOL mods like JourneyMap, Inventory Sorting, and AppleSkin. The result feels like what Minecraft 2.0 might look like if Mojang had unlimited development time.

Better MC is available in both Forge and Fabric editions. The mod lists differ between editions, each uses mods native to its loader, but the gameplay experience is similar. The Fabric edition tends to run slightly lighter because Fabric itself has lower overhead than Forge.

For server admins, Better MC is one of the easier modpacks to host. It is significantly lighter than kitchen-sink packs like ATM10, has fewer mod conflicts, and appeals to a broad audience including players who have never touched modded Minecraft before. If you are new to hosting modded servers, this is an excellent pack to start with.

Choosing Between Forge and Fabric

Both editions are maintained and updated regularly. Here is how to decide:

• Fabric edition, generally lighter on resources, faster startup, and has access to performance mods like Lithium and Starlight that are Fabric-exclusive. If your priority is smooth performance on limited hardware, go Fabric.
• Forge edition, has a slightly different mod selection that some players prefer. If your community is already set up with Forge clients, use this edition to avoid asking everyone to switch.

From a hosting perspective, the setup process is nearly identical for both. The main difference is which loader you install and which server pack you download.

Server Requirements

Version and Java

Better MC is typically available for the latest major Minecraft version. Check the CurseForge page for the specific Minecraft version. For 1.20.x, use Java 17. For 1.21+, use Java 21. The server pack documentation will specify the exact Forge or Fabric version required.

RAM Allocation

Player Count	Minimum RAM	Recommended RAM
1–5 players	4 GB	5 GB
6–15 players	5 GB	6 GB
15–25 players	6 GB	8 GB

Better MC is lighter than most modpacks you will encounter. It does not load hundreds of item registries or complex processing chains. The main memory consumers are the worldgen mods (Terralith stores biome data in memory) and the structure mods (YUNG's structures are more complex than vanilla, requiring more data per chunk). For a quick estimate tailored to your setup, use our RAM calculator.

Downloading and Installing

Go to the Better MC CurseForge page and download the server pack for your chosen edition (Forge or Fabric). There are separate CurseForge pages for each edition, make sure you grab the server pack, not the client pack.

Extract the archive into your server directory. The pack typically includes a startup script:

# For Linux
chmod +x startserver.sh
./startserver.sh

# For Windows
startserver.bat

On first run, the script installs the correct Forge or Fabric version and downloads required libraries. It will fail on the first attempt because you need to accept the EULA, edit eula.txt, set eula=true, and run the script again.

If you are using a hosting panel like Pterodactyl, upload the server pack files via SFTP or the file manager, set the correct Java version and startup command, and boot. If you need a step-by-step walkthrough of the basics, see our general server setup guide.

Terrain Generation: What Makes Better MC Different

The terrain in Better MC looks nothing like vanilla Minecraft, and this is by design. Terralith reshapes the entire world generation pipeline:

• Over 85 new biomes are added, from volcanic calderas to sakura groves to skylands floating above regular terrain.
• Mountain shapes, river paths, and cave systems are all dramatically different from vanilla.
• Biome transitions are smoother and more natural-looking.

YUNG's Better mods replace vanilla structures with handcrafted alternatives. Dungeons are multi-room affairs with traps and loot rooms. Mineshafts have support pillars and ore veins integrated into their design. Strongholds are genuine fortresses. Ocean Monuments have more complex layouts.

All of this terrain and structure generation is heavier than vanilla. When a chunk is first generated, the server needs to run Terralith's biome placement, carve custom cave shapes, check for structure placement, and then build any structures that qualify. A single chunk in Better MC can take 3–5x longer to generate than a vanilla chunk.

Common Issues

World Generation Lag

This is the primary performance concern with Better MC. When players explore new terrain, every new chunk triggers the full custom worldgen pipeline. If three players are exploring in different directions simultaneously, the server is generating chunks in three separate regions at once. On undersized hardware, this tanks the TPS.

The fix is pre-generation. Before opening your server to players, use Chunky to pre-generate a reasonable play area:

/chunky radius 4000
/chunky start

A 4,000-block radius covers a massive play area (over 50 million square blocks). Pre-generation takes a few hours on NVMe storage. Once done, players exploring within the border encounter already-generated terrain and the server does not stutter.

Set a world border to match your pre-generated area so players cannot wander beyond it and trigger on-the-fly chunk generation:

/worldborder set 8000

Structure Conflicts

Occasionally, multiple structure mods try to generate in the same location, causing visual glitches like a dungeon spawning inside a village or a mineshaft cutting through an ocean monument. These are cosmetic annoyances rather than crashes, but they can confuse players.

If you notice frequent structure conflicts in specific biomes, check the config files for YUNG's mods (located in config/yungsapi/ and individual mod configs) and adjust spawn rates or exclusion zones. Terralith's config can also control biome frequency, which indirectly affects how often structures generate.

First Boot Takes Forever

Better MC's first startup is slower than vanilla because every mod needs to register its content, generate config files, and set up data. On a mid-range hosting plan, expect 2–4 minutes for the first boot. Subsequent startups will be faster (30–90 seconds typically) because configs and caches are already in place.

Performance Tuning

View and Simulation Distance

Better MC's enhanced terrain looks best with a reasonable view distance. Set view-distance=10 so players can appreciate the custom biomes and terrain shapes from a distance. Set simulation-distance=6 to keep tick costs reasonable, most Better MC content is visual rather than mechanical, so chunks outside simulation range just need to be visible, not actively ticking.

Mob Spawning

Better MC uses mostly vanilla mob spawning, but the custom biomes from Terralith can affect spawn distributions. If players report too many hostile mobs in certain biomes or not enough passive mobs for food, adjust the spawn limits in server.properties. The defaults are usually fine, but dense forest biomes from Terralith sometimes have higher-than-expected hostile spawns because of the darkness under the canopy.

JVM Flags

Better MC does not need unusual JVM flags. Standard modern flags work well:

java -Xms4G -Xmx6G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=130
-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:G1NewSizePercent=40
-XX:G1MaxNewSizePercent=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=16M
-XX:G1ReservePercent=15 -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=20
-XX:+AlwaysPreTouch -jar server.jar nogui

If you are on the Fabric edition and have performance mods like Lithium installed, the server is already doing a lot of optimization internally. Focus on pre-generation and proper RAM allocation rather than micro-optimizing JVM flags. For the full flag breakdown, see our JVM flags guide.

Why Better MC Is Great for Beginners

If you have never hosted a modded server before, Better MC is one of the best starting points. The pack is stable, well-tested, and does not require deep Forge/Fabric knowledge to configure. Players do not need to learn complex mod mechanics, everything feels like an enhanced version of vanilla. The community is large enough that most issues have already been documented and solved. And the resource requirements are modest enough that you do not need a premium plan to run a smooth server.

Start with a 6 GB plan, pre-generate your world, set a world border, and you will have a solid experience right out of the box. As your community grows, scaling up is straightforward, increase the RAM, expand the world border, and pre-generate the new area. Astroworld Hosting makes modpack hosting simple with one-click installs and easy plan upgrades. For deeper optimization, the server optimization guide covers everything from tick analysis to entity management.

Looking for modpack-ready hosting? Astroworld Hosting offers NVMe SSD, up to 96 GB RAM, and the Pterodactyl panel on every plan. See modpack hosting , plans from €6.39/mo.