Minecraft anticheat guide
Anticheat for BedWars, SkyWars, and Arena Minigames
How BedWars, SkyWars, and arena servers should set scaffold, reach, and combat checks around short rounds, player churn, and Bedrock players.
Which checks matter most in short-round minigames?
Short-round minigames need checks that reset cleanly between matches and tolerate heavy player churn. In BedWars, scaffold and block-placement checks usually matter most. In SkyWars and arena maps, combat, reach, and movement checks carry the load. Set round-state handling first, then tune each mode on its own staging arena.
The duels article covers one-on-one fights. Minigames add team play, respawns, many players joining and leaving, and maps with fixed geometry. The same check can behave differently on a bridge island than on an open flat arena, so tune per mode.
| Mode | Main abuse | Checks to enable first | Context to confirm |
|---|---|---|---|
| BedWars | Fast scaffold bridges, block placement while moving, reach toward beds | Scaffold and block-placement checks, reach | Team bridge layout and whether the bridge fits that map |
| SkyWars | Killaura-style hits across islands, reach over voids, speed or fly movement | Combat, reach, movement | Kit or loot tier and any active potion effects |
| Arena and event maps | Reach through glass or walls, movement into restricted zones | Reach and occlusion checks, movement | Map geometry around the hit |
How do you handle round resets and churn?
Before you tune any check, write down how each mode starts and ends a round. Note when players get items, when the map resets, and when the next round begins. Those three points explain most of the alerts that look odd in the log.
Round handling causes more false alerts than most checks. A speed effect or velocity change that survives a round end can look like cheating in the next match. Test the reset path before you trust any alert from a late round.
Players who leave mid-round are a separate case. A player who disconnects while bridging or fighting can leave a half-finished state behind, and rejoining can carry it into a new match. Test a disconnect during each mode, and check that the alert log shows the match they left rather than the one they joined.
match: <arena id>
round: <round number or start time>
player: <name>
check: <check name>
held item and blocks: <item, placement count in window>
ping: <value>
map location: <island, team base, or arena zone>How do Bedrock players affect minigame alerts?
Bedrock players connected through Geyser run on different client logic than Java clients, so Java-written checks can misfire on their movement or mining. Per GrimAC docs, Geyser players are exempt from its checks. Other anticheats handle Bedrock differently, so read your anticheat's own Bedrock documentation.
Floodgate identifies Bedrock players. Bypass permissions or Floodgate-aware settings are the usual fix when a check misfires on Bedrock movement or block breaking. Test a Bedrock account on staging before you rely on either approach.
Bedrock players also tend to join through a different launch path and may arrive with different input timing. A single Bedrock alert in a busy lobby is rarely enough evidence. Compare repeated alerts across several rounds, and ask the player about their device and controls before you read a movement alert as cheating.
What we have not verified
We have not measured false-positive rates for bridge or combat checks on any minigame server, and we have not tested round-reset behavior across minigame plugins. Use a staging arena with the same plugin versions before enabling mitigation on a live network.
Where does FairPlay fit in a minigame network?
FairPlay documents its checks and mitigation settings in the checks reference and the mitigation configuration pages linked here. Read those pages and the scaffold article against your mode before enabling anything. Apply the same staging rule to every anticheat you compare.
Mode-specific rollout works best when each arena type gets its own short test. Run a full round of each mode on staging with your real plugin versions, log every alert, and compare the results with the rollout table in the friends SMP guide. Expect the BedWars and SkyWars results to differ, because the geometry and the pace of play differ. Keep one folder of test logs per mode, so a future change can be compared with the baseline you recorded.
FAQ
Why do bridge alerts spike at round start in BedWars?
Players place many blocks quickly when they rush resources or build out to an island. Compare the spike with placement timing on a staging map before you treat it as scaffold.
Should we exempt bridging entirely?
Exempting bridging removes the main BedWars scaffold signal. Narrow the check to placement patterns your staff confirm are impossible for legitimate play.
Do short rounds need different punishments?
Often yes. A round can end before a mitigation sequence finishes, so review alerts per round and let staff decide instead of relying on automatic bans.
Why do SkyWars alerts cluster on a few players?
Fights are short and few players survive long, so each survivor produces many combat events. Count alerts per round before comparing players.
How do we handle Bedrock players in arenas?
Identify them with Floodgate, then apply the bypass or Floodgate-aware setting your anticheat documents. Test a Bedrock account on staging first.