How to Set Up a KOTH (King of the Hill) Event

What Is a KOTH Event?

King of the Hill, often shortened to KOTH, is one of the oldest competitive event formats in multiplayer Minecraft. The concept is dead simple: a capture zone is placed somewhere on the map, and players (or factions/teams) fight over control of that zone. Whoever holds it uncontested for a set amount of time wins the round and collects rewards. KOTH events create intense PvP encounters, drive server activity during off-peak hours, and give your community something concrete to fight for beyond random open-world PvP.

On faction or survival servers, KOTH events are typically the highest-stakes recurring activity you can offer. They encourage players to form alliances, prepare gear, and show up at a specific time, all of which directly improve engagement and player retention.

Choosing a KOTH Plugin

There are two main plugin families worth considering in 2024 and beyond:

KoTH by Subside

This is the most widely used option and the one we recommend for most servers. It supports multiple capture areas, scheduling, loot tables, and integrates with economy plugins out of the box. Configuration is YAML-based and reasonably well documented. It works on Paper, Spigot and forks like Purpur without issues.

KingdomKOTH

If you run Kingdoms or a similar land-claim plugin, KingdomKOTH ties KOTH captures directly into your land/kingdom system. This means winning a KOTH can grant kingdom-wide buffs or territory bonuses rather than just individual loot. It is more niche, but for kingdom-based servers it saves you from writing custom hooks.

For this guide we will focus on KoTH by Subside since it covers the broadest range of server types. Download the jar from SpigotMC, drop it into your plugins folder and restart the server.

Creating a Capture Zone

After the plugin loads, you need to define at least one KOTH area. Stand at the first corner of your intended capture zone and run:

/koth create <name>

Then move to the opposite corner and run:

/koth set <name> area

The plugin will store the two corners as a cuboid region. The capture zone should be large enough that multiple players can fight inside it, roughly 7x7 to 15x15 blocks is a good range. Avoid making it too small because a single block of cobweb or a lava bucket can lock down a tiny zone entirely.

Zone Design Tips

• Place the zone on top of a structure (a ruined tower, a floating island, a volcano) so there is a natural chokepoint for attackers to push through.
• Add multiple entry routes, ladders, water columns, elytra launch points, to prevent one team from camping a single staircase.
• Use WorldGuard to protect the surrounding build from TNT and creeper damage. Define a region that covers the KOTH structure and deny block-break and explosions inside it.
• Consider placing the KOTH in a dedicated world using Multiverse so the fight does not interfere with your survival spawn area.

Scheduling KOTH Events

Running KOTH manually works for one-off tests, but long-term you want automated scheduling. KoTH by Subside supports cron-like scheduling in its config.yml:

schedules:
  daily-koth:
    koth: WarZone
    day: everyday
    time: "20:00"
    captureTime: 300
    maxRunTime: 1800

This configuration spawns the WarZone KOTH every day at 8 PM server time, requires 300 seconds (5 minutes) of uncontested capture time, and closes the event automatically after 30 minutes if nobody captures it. Adjust captureTime based on your server's PvP intensity, competitive servers with geared players should use 3–5 minutes, casual servers can go down to 60–120 seconds.

Announce upcoming KOTH events in chat using a broadcast plugin or a simple scheduled command through EssentialsX broadcast. A 15-minute and 5-minute warning gives players enough time to gear up.

Configuring Rewards

Rewards are the single biggest factor in whether players actually show up. Stale or underwhelming loot means empty events. Here are proven reward strategies:

Reward Type	Example	Why It Works
Crate Keys	3x Legendary Crate Key	Ties into your existing crate system and lets players gamble for top-tier gear
Economy Money	$50,000 in-game currency	Universal value, players spend it on whatever they need
Custom Items	KOTH Blade (Sharpness VI, Unbreaking V)	Exclusive items that cannot be obtained any other way create prestige
Rank Tokens	1x Rank Upgrade Token	Lets free-to-play players progress through ranks via skill, not just playtime

In the KoTH loot configuration, you can define a loot table with weighted chances:

loot:
  WarZone:
   , "give %player% diamond 16 : 40"
   , "crate givekey %player% legendary 3 : 30"
   , "eco give %player% 50000 : 20"
   , "give %player% netherite_ingot 4 : 10"

The numbers after the colon are weights. Higher weight means that reward is selected more often. Mix guaranteed base rewards with rare jackpot items to keep every event feeling worth attending.

Leaderboards and Stats

Tracking KOTH captures gives your competitive players a reason to keep coming back. KoTH by Subside stores capture data internally, and you can display it using PlaceholderAPI placeholders on scoreboards, holograms or NPC displays. Common placeholders include total captures, current streak, and time spent on the hill.

For a more visible leaderboard, create an NPC using Citizens at spawn with a hologram showing the top five KOTH champions. Update it weekly or monthly to keep competition fresh. Players who see their name on the board are measurably more likely to stay active on the server.

Announcing Events Effectively

• Use a title command (/title @a title "KOTH starts in 5 minutes!") for high-visibility on-screen alerts.
• Send a Discord webhook notification using a Discord-bridge plugin so offline players know an event is about to start.
• Play a server-wide sound effect (e.g. entity.ender_dragon.growl) when the KOTH goes live. Audio cues cut through chat noise.
• Add boss-bar countdowns during the capture phase so everyone on the server can see the remaining time and current holder.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Running KOTH events sounds straightforward, but there are a few pitfalls that trip up server owners regularly:

• No anti-cheat integration. KOTH attracts your most competitive players, and competitive players attract cheaters. Make sure your anti-cheat is configured and updated before running high-reward events.
• Scheduling too many events. If you run KOTH every two hours, it stops feeling special. One or two events per day is plenty for most servers. Let anticipation build.
• Ignoring terrain balance. A capture zone next to a cliff gives archers an absurd advantage. Playtest your arena with staff members before going live.
• Forgetting to set permissions. Use LuckPerms to control who can and cannot run KOTH admin commands. You do not want a helper accidentally stopping a live event.

See events done right: Astroworld MC runs economy survival with custom bosses, events, crates and crossplay. IP: play.astroworldmc.com