Minecraft Server Lag: 10 Proven Fixes to Boost Your TPS

Understanding Server TPS

TPS stands for Ticks Per Second. Minecraft runs at 20 TPS, meaning the server processes 20 game ticks every second. When TPS drops below 20, you get lag - mobs freeze, blocks take time to break, and the game feels sluggish.

• 20 TPS - Perfect, no lag
• 15-19 TPS - Minor lag, barely noticeable
• 10-14 TPS - Noticeable lag, delayed actions
• Below 10 TPS - Severe lag, unplayable

Use the Spark plugin or /tps command (Paper servers) to check your current TPS. New to hosting? Start with our complete guide to making a Minecraft server.

Fix 1: Use Paper Instead of Vanilla

If you're running vanilla Minecraft server software, switch to Paper. It includes dozens of performance patches that dramatically improve TPS without changing gameplay.

Paper optimizes:

• Entity AI processing
• Chunk loading and saving
• Redstone calculations
• Hopper mechanics
• Light engine updates

This single change can improve TPS by 30-50% with zero configuration.

Fix 2: Reduce View Distance

View distance controls how many chunks load around each player. The default is 10, but each additional chunk multiplies the load exponentially.

In server.properties:

view-distance=8

In Paper's config/paper-world-defaults.yml, you can also set simulation distance separately:

chunks:
  simulation-distance: 6

This keeps the visible area large while reducing the area where entities and redstone process.

Fix 3: Pre-Generate Your World

New chunk generation is one of the biggest sources of lag spikes. When a player explores new terrain, the server must generate all the blocks, caves, structures, and biomes on the fly.

Install Chunky and pre-generate your world:

1. Set a world border: /worldborder set 10000
2. Start generation: /chunky start
3. Let it run in the background until complete

Once generated, exploration lag disappears completely.

Fix 4: Limit Entity Counts

Too many mobs and entities tank your TPS. Common culprits:

• Mob farms producing hundreds of entities
• Item frames in large quantities
• Dropped items accumulating on the ground
• Villager trading halls with excessive villagers

In Paper's config, set entity limits:

spawn-limits:
  monsters: 50
  animals: 8
  water-animals: 3
  ambient: 1

Use /spark entities to see what's consuming the most resources.

Fix 5: Optimize Redstone

Complex redstone contraptions can devastate TPS. Each redstone update triggers block updates in surrounding blocks, creating a cascade.

Paper's alternate-current redstone engine (enabled by default) significantly optimizes this. But you should still:

• Avoid redstone clocks that pulse every tick
• Use observer-based designs instead of BUD switches
• Limit the size of flying machines and piston contraptions
• Disable unused redstone when not needed

Fix 6: Manage Hoppers

Hoppers are surprisingly expensive. Each hopper checks for items above it every game tick, even when empty. A room full of hoppers can drop TPS noticeably.

Paper optimizes hoppers by default, but you can further improve performance:

• Use water streams to move items instead of hopper chains
• Cover hoppers with composters (blocks item checking)
• Minimize the number of hoppers in your builds
• Use hopper minecarts for long-distance item transport

Fix 7: Allocate the Right Amount of RAM

Too little RAM causes constant garbage collection pauses. Too much RAM causes longer GC pauses when it finally runs.

Recommended RAM allocation:

| Players | Vanilla | With Mods/Plugins | |---------|---------|-------------------| | 1-5 | 2 GB | 3-4 GB | | 5-15 | 3-4 GB | 4-6 GB | | 15-30 | 4-6 GB | 6-8 GB | | 30-50 | 6-8 GB | 8-12 GB |

Add these JVM flags for better garbage collection:

-XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200

Most hosting providers like SlammedServers set optimal JVM flags automatically.

Fix 8: Audit Your Plugins

Some plugins are performance hogs. Common offenders:

• Dynmap - Real-time map rendering is CPU-intensive
• ClearLag - Ironically, the constant entity scanning can cause lag
• Citizens (NPCs) - Each NPC has AI overhead
• Older/abandoned plugins - May not be optimized for newer versions

Use Spark to profile which plugins consume the most CPU time:

1. Run /spark profiler start
2. Wait 5-10 minutes during normal gameplay
3. Run /spark profiler stop
4. Review the web report

Remove or replace any plugin using more than 10% of your tick time. Not sure which plugins to keep? See our list of the best Minecraft server plugins — all tested for performance.

Fix 9: Optimize World Settings

Several world settings impact performance:

Disable features you don't use:

# paper-world-defaults.yml
environment:
  treasure-maps:
    enabled: false
  find-structure-on-explore-map: false

Limit mob spawning ranges:

entities:
  spawning:
    despawn-ranges:
      soft: 28
      hard: 96

Reduce item merge radius to clean up ground items faster.

Fix 10: Upgrade Your Hardware

If you've optimized everything and still lag, your hardware may be the bottleneck.

What matters for Minecraft:

• Single-thread CPU performance - Minecraft's main thread is single-threaded. Clock speed matters more than core count
• NVMe storage - Fast chunk loading and saving
• Sufficient RAM - See the table above
• Low-latency network - Reduces perceived lag for players

SlammedServers runs all Minecraft servers on Ryzen 9 processors with NVMe storage and 1Gbps uplinks - hardware specifically chosen for game server performance.

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Still Lagging?

If you've tried all these fixes and still experience lag, it might be a hosting issue. Oversold shared hosting, slow storage, or weak CPUs can limit your server no matter how well you optimize.

Check out our Minecraft hosting plans - Ryzen 9 hardware, NVMe storage, and DDoS protection on every server starting at $2.50/GB. Or contact us and we'll help diagnose your issue.