Minecraft anticheat guide
Minecraft Anticheat Punishment Ladder: Warn to Ban
A warn, kick, tempban, and ban ladder for Minecraft anticheat cases, with the evidence each step needs, who can apply it, and when to skip steps.
What punishment ladder should an anticheat case follow?
Use four steps in order: warning, kick, temporary ban, permanent ban. Move up one step only when the case has evidence that the lower step did not resolve. Skip a step only for behavior that is clearly malicious, such as a confirmed duplication exploit, and record the reason in the case log. Write the ladder before the first case, not after.
Which evidence does each step need?
The table sets a starting point. Change the values to match your rules, but keep the structure: each step names its evidence and the rank allowed to apply it.
| Step | Evidence before applying | Who can apply |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | One alert from a check with a documented reason to review | Any trained moderator |
| Kick | Repeated alerts on the same check across sessions, or a warning that was ignored | Trained moderator with reviewer co-sign |
| Temporary ban | Several sessions of alerts with reviewed evidence and no plausible legitimate explanation | Senior staff |
| Permanent ban | Confirmed cheat use from more than one source, such as alerts plus staff observation or a recording | Senior staff with a second approver |
How do you handle a player who skips the ladder?
Some cases do not fit the ladder. A client that injects packets is a different case from a player with one low-confidence alert. For a clear case, document the evidence and the reason for the skip. For an unclear case, stay on the ladder and collect more evidence. Do not apply a ban to find out whether an alert is real.
Record every skip, including the approver. Review skips at the monthly staff meeting. If the same skip keeps appearing for one type of case, either add that case type to the written ladder or stop skipping it.
A skip that was right in one case can turn into a habit that nobody questions. A regular count of skips, grouped by rank and by check, makes that drift visible before it reaches an appeal.
Set timers and reset rules
Decide how long a warning or kick counts toward the ladder. A reset rule stops an old warning from pushing a player to a ban after months of clean play. Pick one rule, write it down, and apply it to every player, including staff accounts. Without a written rule, a player can wait out a short cooldown between sessions and start again at the warning step.
The example below is a placeholder. Replace each value with your own.
step: warning
counts_toward_ladder_for: <your period>
step: kick
counts_toward_ladder_for: <your period>
step: tempban
duration: <your duration>
step: ban
duration: permanentWalk one case through the ladder
A player triggers the same movement check in three separate sessions over two weeks. The first session produces a warning with the alert and the session time logged. The second session repeats the alert, so the case moves to a kick after a reviewer co-signs. The third session shows the same pattern, along with a staff observation that matches the alert timing. The senior reviewer applies a temporary ban and records the second approver.
If the third session had instead shown a packet pattern that clearly matches a known cheat client, a senior reviewer could skip directly to a permanent ban, provided the skip is recorded with the evidence. Without that evidence, the case stays on the ladder.
Write the same kind of walkthrough for each step of your ladder, using your own check names and your own timers. A worked example shows gaps in the policy faster than a list of rules does. If a walkthrough needs a step the policy does not mention, add the step before the next case, not after the player has already been punished.
What we have not verified
This ladder is a policy template. It does not show that any step reduces cheating on your server, and we have not measured how often each step gets used. Review the counts after a month and adjust the timers.
FairPlay's punishment settings are documented at /docs/configuration/punishments. Compare them with your written ladder before you copy any step into a config, and check the plugin docs for the exact keys.
FAQ
Can a single alert lead to a ban?
Under this ladder, one alert can start a warning review but not a ban. A ban needs several sessions and a second source of evidence. If you use instant bans for one specific check, write that exception down and state why you chose it.
Should every alert get a warning before a kick?
No. Send a warning when the evidence supports a review and the behavior may have a legitimate cause, such as a lagging connection. Repeated alerts on the same check move the case up the ladder.
How do we apply the ladder to staff accounts?
Use the same steps. Require a second approver for any staff ban, and record the approver in the case log, so nobody punishes a case they are involved in.
Do timers keep running when a player goes offline?
Your policy decides. Pick one rule, state it in the policy, and apply it the same way every time. A rule that pauses while offline and one that keeps running both work, as long as the choice is written down.