Joining a vanilla anarchy server for the first time can be overwhelming. There are no rules protecting your builds, no teleport commands to whisk you away to safety, and no admin intervention when things go south. On a server like RefinedVanilla, you are dropped into a hostile world where every player decides their own fate. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to survive, thrive, and eventually dominate on a vanilla anarchy Minecraft server.
Step 1: Get Away from Spawn — Fast
Spawn is the single most dangerous place on any anarchy server. It is a wasteland of craters, lava casts, and withers. Veteran players camp spawn looking for fresh targets, and the terrain itself has been stripped of anything useful within thousands of blocks in every direction. Your number one priority when you first join is to leave spawn as quickly as possible.
Do not stop to mine. Do not stop to gather wood. Just run. Pick a cardinal direction and sprint. If you find a Nether portal near spawn, take it — every block you travel in the Nether equals eight blocks in the Overworld, which means you can cover ground eight times faster. Be cautious inside the Nether, though. Nether highways on popular anarchy servers are often trapped with crystals, lava curtains, or portal traps. Stay alert, hug the ceiling or floor of the highway, and keep moving.
Your goal is to get at least 10,000 blocks from spawn before you even think about settling down. Ideally, push for 50,000 or even 100,000 blocks. The further you go, the safer you become. On RefinedVanilla, the server runs custom Fabric-based software with multithreading, so even distant chunks load smoothly without the lag you might experience on other servers.
Step 2: Gather Initial Resources
Once you are a safe distance from spawn, it is time to gear up. Your first priorities should be straightforward survival basics that any Minecraft player knows, but the urgency is different on an anarchy server because every minute you spend exposed is a minute someone could find you.
- Wood: Punch trees immediately. You need a crafting table, wooden pickaxe, and a chest to stash items.
- Stone tools: Dig down a few blocks, grab cobblestone, and upgrade to stone tools within the first two minutes.
- Coal and iron: Find a cave or strip-mine at Y-level 16 for iron. Iron armor and tools are your baseline for safety.
- Food: Kill every animal you see. Cook the meat. Hunger drains fast when you are sprinting constantly, and starving to death near spawn is an embarrassing way to lose your progress.
- Bed: Craft a bed as soon as you find sheep. Setting your spawn point is critical — if you die without a bed, you go straight back to the chaos at world spawn.
Do not get greedy early on. You do not need diamonds in the first hour. You need iron armor, a shield, food, and a bed. Everything else comes later.
Step 3: Build a Hidden Base
Base location is the single most important strategic decision you will make on an anarchy server. A beautiful above-ground castle is a death sentence. Anyone who happens to fly over or pass through your area will see it, grief it, and loot everything you own. Instead, build underground.
The best anarchy bases share a few characteristics:
- Underground or underwater: Dig straight down, carve out a room at bedrock level, and seal the entrance. Underwater ocean bases are excellent because players rarely explore ocean floors.
- No landmarks: Do not build anything above ground that signals a player is nearby — no torches on the surface, no modified terrain, no obvious tree farms.
- Off-axis: Avoid building on the X or Z axis highways. These are the most-traveled routes. Build diagonally or at random coordinates.
- Multiple stash locations: Never keep all your valuables in one chest room. Spread your diamonds, enchanted gear, and backup supplies across two or three hidden spots at least a few hundred blocks apart.
On RefinedVanilla, there are no land-claim plugins or chest-locking features. Your security comes entirely from secrecy. If nobody knows where your base is, nobody can raid it. It is that simple. Be sure to review the full server rules to understand what is and is not allowed, but the core principle is that you are responsible for your own protection.
Step 4: Prioritize Food and Armor
Many new players on anarchy servers focus too much on building and not enough on sustaining themselves. On a server with no handouts and no admin shops, your food supply and armor quality determine whether you live or die in a surprise encounter.
For food, set up a simple crop farm as soon as your base is operational. Wheat is easy but slow. Potatoes and carrots are more efficient once you have a baked potato or golden carrot supply going. The absolute best food source for long-term survival is golden carrots — they provide the highest saturation in the game, and gold is abundant if you mine in the Nether (gold ore generates heavily in the Nether between Y-levels 15 and 117). A stack of golden carrots will last you through multiple PvP encounters and long exploration sessions.
For armor, rush diamond gear and then enchant it. On a true vanilla server like RefinedVanilla, the enchantment system works exactly like single-player Minecraft — no custom enchantments, no pay-to-win gear, no kits. You need Protection IV on every piece, and Unbreaking III plus Mending to keep your gear alive. A full set of Prot IV Netherite with a shield is the standard loadout you should work toward.
Step 5: Dealing with Hostile Players
Not every player you encounter wants to kill you, but you should assume they do until proven otherwise. Anarchy servers attract a wide range of players — builders, explorers, PvP enthusiasts, and griefers. The safest approach is to avoid other players entirely, especially early on.
If you spot another player in the distance, do not approach. Do not type in chat revealing your location or asking if they are friendly. On an anarchy server, information is power, and telling someone you are nearby is giving them a reason to hunt you. Instead, quietly change direction and put distance between you.
If combat is unavoidable, here are the basics:
- Always carry a shield: Blocking with a shield negates most melee damage and completely stops arrows.
- Use a bow: Ranged combat gives you the first-strike advantage. A Power V bow can end a fight before it starts.
- Eat golden apples: Regular golden apples give you Absorption hearts. If you have enchanted golden apples, save them for emergencies.
- Totems of Undying: Raid a Woodland Mansion or farm raids for Evokers. A totem in your off-hand means a second chance at life.
- Crystal PvP: On many anarchy servers, end crystal combat is the meta. Learn to place crystals, detonate them, and use obsidian for cover.
RefinedVanilla enforces a strict no-hacks, no-cheats policy. This means the PvP you encounter is fair — no kill aura, no reach hacks, no fly exploits. Your skill and gear genuinely determine the outcome. This is a massive advantage for players who invest time into learning vanilla PvP mechanics.
Step 6: Use the Nether for Fast Travel
The Nether is your best friend on an anarchy server. The 8:1 travel ratio means that walking 1,000 blocks in the Nether moves you 8,000 blocks in the Overworld. Experienced players build Nether highways — long tunnels at the roof or floor of the Nether — to travel massive distances quickly.
Building your own private Nether tunnel is one of the smartest investments you can make. Dig a 1x2 tunnel from your base portal to wherever you need to go. Keep it hidden by placing the entrance behind a wall or deep in the Nether wastes where nobody will stumble on it. Use ice or packed ice and a boat for even faster travel — boat-on-ice in the Nether is the fastest legitimate travel method in vanilla Minecraft, letting you cross tens of thousands of blocks in minutes.
Be careful linking portals. An improperly linked portal can send you to the wrong location or, worse, dump you near another player's base, which could invite retaliation. Always calculate your Nether coordinates precisely: divide your Overworld X and Z by 8 to find the corresponding Nether location.
Step 7: Long-Term Survival Tips
Once you are established with a secure base, reliable food, and enchanted gear, the game shifts from raw survival to strategic growth. Here are the habits that separate veterans from newcomers:
- Automate everything: Build iron farms, gold farms, crop farms, and XP farms. Automation frees you from repetitive tasks and gives you a massive resource advantage.
- Use allowed duplication mechanics: On RefinedVanilla, TNT duping, rail duping, and carpet duping are allowed. These are considered vanilla mechanics and let you build large-scale projects without spending weeks gathering raw materials. Check the server rules for the full list of what is permitted.
- Back up your gear: Keep at least one spare set of fully enchanted Netherite armor and tools in a separate stash. If you die and lose everything, having a backup means you are back in action immediately instead of starting from scratch.
- Stay off the radar: Do not brag in chat about your base, your coordinates, or your wealth. The most successful anarchy players are the ones nobody talks about.
- Build alliances carefully: Having trusted allies makes everything easier — shared farms, group raids, mutual defense. But one betrayal can wipe out months of progress. Only share your base location with people you genuinely trust.
Why Vanilla Mechanics Give You an Advantage
On semi-vanilla servers with plugins, everyone has access to teleportation, homes, and economy commands. This levels the playing field artificially and removes much of the strategic depth. On a vanilla anarchy server like RefinedVanilla, your knowledge of vanilla Minecraft mechanics is your greatest weapon.
Understanding Redstone lets you build automatic farms and trap systems. Knowing the enchantment system inside and out means you can optimize your gear faster than other players. Mastering boat-on-ice travel, Ender pearl stasis chambers, TNT cannons, and raid farms gives you tools that less knowledgeable players simply do not have. There are no shortcuts on a vanilla server — every advantage is earned through gameplay knowledge and effort.
RefinedVanilla's custom Fabric-based server software is designed to deliver the most authentic vanilla experience possible, with multithreading to prevent lag even with dozens of players online. This means your farms work reliably, your Redstone behaves predictably, and the game feels like single-player Minecraft — except with the thrill of real human opponents.
Ready to Test Your Skills?
Surviving on a vanilla anarchy server is one of the most rewarding challenges in Minecraft. There are no safety nets, no moderators to appeal to, and no rules beyond the ones the community enforces through strength and reputation. If you think you have what it takes, join RefinedVanilla at refinedvanilla.net and prove it. Connect on Java or Bedrock edition (version 1.21.11), and join our Discord community to find allies, share stories, and plan your next move.