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Prison server guide

Minecraft prison server: how to plan mines, rank ups and prestige

A prison server starts every player in the lowest cell block with a pickaxe and one goal: mine enough to buy the next rank, and keep going until they are free. It is simple to learn and hard to put down, which is why prison has stayed a popular game mode for years. This guide explains how the loop works, how to plan a mine ladder from A to Z, how to price rank ups, how selling and prestige work, which upgrades keep mining fresh, what players can do besides mining and which rules keep a prison server fair.

The short answer

  • Start every player in mine A and make each mine pay a little more than the one before.
  • Price rank ups so each one takes longer than the last, with the final ranks taking days instead of minutes.
  • Give prestige a permanent bonus, so starting again at A still feels like progress.
  • Keep store ranks cosmetic. Rank ups and mines have to be earned in game.

Written and checked by the Astroworld team, last reviewed on .

A corridor of tuff bricks and copper between thick pillars, with teal floor tiles, stairs on both sides and two mobs beside a spawner glowing with small flames at the far end
Trial chambers are long corridors of stone and copper that lead from room to room. A prison server works the same way: one clear route from the first cell block to the last mine. Image: Trial Chambers Vibrant Visuals.png from minecraft.wiki, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

How a Minecraft prison server works

Every prison server runs on the same four steps, repeated hundreds of times. The skill in running one is making each round feel a little bigger than the last, without letting players race to the end in a weekend.

  1. Mine: players break blocks in the mine that belongs to their rank.
  2. Sell: they sell the blocks for in game money at a shop or with a command.
  3. Rank up: they pay for the next rank, which opens a richer mine.
  4. Prestige: after the last rank they start again at A with a permanent bonus.

Plan the mine ladder from A to Z

Twenty six mines sounds like a lot, but most of them share a layout and differ in the blocks inside. Group the ranks into stages, give each stage a new kind of block and a new look, and let the value of the blocks rise a little with every letter.

An example prison mine ladder in five stages
RanksBlocks in the minesWhat changes for players
A to EStone, coal ore and a little iron oreThey learn to mine, sell and rank up
F to JIron, copper and some gold oreThe first pickaxe upgrades start to pay off
K to OGold, redstone and lapis oreSelling in bulk starts to matter
P to TDiamond ore and blocks of iron and goldA rank up takes hours instead of minutes
U to ZEmerald ore, diamond blocks and ancient debrisThe last long push before Free
FreeA mine for free players onlyPrestige opens up
A long rectangular pit dug straight down through grass, dirt and stone, with a cobblestone staircase along one wall and bare stone at the bottom
A quarry cleared layer by layer from the top down. Prison mines are emptied the same way, and they refill once most of the blocks are gone. Image: Quarry to Bedrock.png from minecraft.wiki, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Mine size and resets

A mine reset plugin refills each mine on a timer or when most of its blocks are gone. Size the early mines so ten players can mine at once without emptying them in a minute, and reset busy mines more often than quiet ones. Protect everything around the mines with WorldGuard, so players can break blocks inside a mine but not its walls or the path to the next one.

Give each stage its own look

Build the early mines as a plain cell block, the middle ones as old mineshafts or caves, and the last ones somewhere players have not seen yet, such as the Nether or a vault. A mine that looks new tells players they have made progress before they even check the blocks.

Set rank up prices that grow

Rank up prices decide how long your server lasts for a player. Price each rank a bit higher than the last, so the step grows faster than what a player earns from the better mine. Think in time rather than in money: decide how long an active player should need for each stage, then set the prices to match.

An example of how long each stage should take an active player
StageTime per rank upWhy
A to EA few minutesNew players see the ladder work in their first session
F to J15 to 30 minutesPlayers settle in and try their first upgrades
K to OAbout an hourRank ups become a goal for an evening
P to TA few hoursPlayers plan ahead and trade with each other
U to ZHalf a day or moreReaching Free means something

Put the ranks on a track in LuckPerms, so a rank up plugin can move a player one step and take the price through a Vault economy. Check the prices again after the first week, when you can see how fast real players climb. The economy guide explains how to price items so money keeps its value.

Selling blocks and sell prices

Selling turns mined blocks into rank ups, so sell prices and rank up prices always have to be set together. EssentialsX has /sell and /worth commands that read from a price list, and many prison servers add a sell sign or a menu at each mine.

  • Let each block's sell price rise with the mine it comes from, so moving up always pays.
  • Show the sell price of each block at the mine, so players know what is worth their time.
  • Be careful with automatic selling and backpacks. They make the game faster, which shortens how long your ladder lasts.
  • Give prestige a sell bonus rather than a flat amount of money, so it grows with the player.
  • Look at the richest players each week. If one balance jumps, check for a bug before you check for a cheat.

Money keeps entering a prison economy every second someone mines, so it needs somewhere to go. The section on stopping inflation covers ways to take money back out, such as upgrades, cosmetics and taxes on trades.

Prestige: start again with a bonus

Prestige is what keeps players on a prison server after they reach Free. They choose to go back to rank A, and in return they keep something that makes the next climb faster. Without that bonus, prestige is just a reset nobody wants.

What a prestige resets and what it keeps
ResetsKeeps
The rank, back to AThe prestige level, shown next to the name
The balance, or most of itA permanent bonus on sell prices
Access to the higher minesPickaxe upgrades, if you choose to
Progress on the rank up ladderCosmetics and titles earned along the way

Ten prestige levels is a common number, with each one costing more than the last and a bigger reward at the final one, such as a unique title or a private mine. Tell players the full list of prestige rewards before they start, so there is always a next goal in sight.

Pickaxe upgrades and enchantments

The pickaxe is the one item every prison player uses all day, so upgrades to it feel important. Efficiency makes mining faster and Fortune gives more drops from ores, which already makes a big difference between rank A and rank Z.

  • Sell or hand out Efficiency and Fortune books as rewards for ranking up.
  • Add custom upgrades bought with points earned while mining, such as a small chance to break a wider area or to find a bonus item.
  • Keep every upgrade earnable in game, even the ones that can also come from events.
  • Cap how strong upgrades can get, so the top mines do not empty in seconds.
An underground room of deepslate with a wooden platform on two oak log pillars, chains hanging from the ceiling and a cobweb in one corner
Supports, chains and a little light turn a plain hole into a place. Mines that look different at each rank make the ladder feel like a journey instead of the same box twenty six times. Image: Supported Mineshaft.png from minecraft.wiki, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Cells, gangs and things to do besides mining

Mining alone gets repetitive. The prison servers that keep players for months give them other goals between rank ups.

  1. Cells

    A small room players can rent and decorate, with a sign showing their name. It gives them a home and a way to spend money.

  2. Gangs

    Teams of players with a shared name and a place on a gang leaderboard, so friends climb together.

  3. A PvP mine

    A mine with better blocks where PvP is on. Players choose between safe mining and a bigger reward.

  4. Mine events

    A mine that pays double for an hour, or a hidden block somewhere in the mines that gives a prize.

  5. Leaderboards

    The richest players, the highest prestige and the most blocks mined, updated every day.

The event ideas guide has more events that work with a small group, and a PvP mine needs its own region with PvP allowed, which WorldGuard sets with a region flag.

Rules and store ranks on a prison server

Prison is a race, so anything that makes one player faster than the rest without effort needs a rule. Keep the rules short and specific to mining.

  • No auto miners, macros, auto clickers or bots, also not while away from the keyboard.
  • No duplication or exploits. Report a bug instead, and reward the report.
  • Trade honestly. A trade that tricks someone counts as theft.
  • No blocking the entrance of a mine or trapping players inside it.
  • No selling in game money or items for real money.

Rank ups must be earned in game. Minecraft's usage guidelines only allow servers to sell cosmetic extras, and a rank that opens a better mine is a gameplay advantage. The ranks guide explains which paid ranks are allowed, and the rules guide has more rules for each server type.

Resetting a prison server

Once most regulars have reached the last prestige, a reset gives everyone a new race. Wipe ranks, balances and prestige, keep what players paid for, and reward the top players of the old map. The season reset guide walks through what to wipe and how to announce it.

How to show your mines and prestige levels on your website

The Prison template in the website builder opens with a Numbers section that says 26 mines from A to Z and 10 prestige levels, and has a Ladder page with steps, a leaderboard and a FAQ about ranking up. Change them to match your own ladder.

  1. Open the home page in the editor

    Go to Website in the server panel of Astroworld Hosting or minecrafthosting.cc and open the editor on the home page.

  2. Set your own numbers

    Click the Numbers section and change each Number and Label, such as 20 and Mines to freedom. Only use numbers that are true for your server.

  3. Add a number if you need one

    Use Add number for another fact, such as the number of gangs or cells. The section shows up to four numbers.

  4. Choose whether players online come first

    Leave Show the players online now first switched on to start the strip with the live player count, or switch it off to show only your own numbers.

  5. Answer ladder questions

    Open the Ladder page and use Add question in the FAQ for what new players ask, such as what prestige does or how long it takes to reach Free.

  6. Publish the changes

    Press Publish. Our team checks every change before it goes live, so publish before you open a new mine or prestige level.

Questions about Minecraft prison servers

What is a Minecraft prison server?

A game mode where every player starts in the lowest rank, mines blocks, sells them for in game money and buys rank ups that open richer mines. After the last rank, called Free on most servers, players can prestige and start again with a bonus.

How many mines should a prison server have?

Most have 26, one for each rank from A to Z, and often a mine for free players after that. A small server can use fewer mines, as long as each one clearly pays more than the one before.

What does prestige do on a prison server?

Prestige sends a player back to rank A in exchange for a permanent reward, usually a bonus on sell prices and a prestige level next to their name. It keeps players going after they reach Free.

Which plugins does a prison server need?

A permissions plugin such as LuckPerms for the rank ladder, an economy through Vault and EssentialsX, a mine reset plugin to refill the mines, a rank up plugin and WorldGuard to protect the areas around the mines.

Can players buy rank ups with real money?

No. Minecraft's usage guidelines do not allow selling gameplay advantages, and a rank up that opens a better mine is one. Sell cosmetic ranks instead and keep rank ups earned in game.

How long should it take to reach Free?

Days or weeks of play for an active player, not a single evening. If players reach Free on their first day, raise the prices of the last few ranks.

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