- Run two ladders: a free progression track (earned by playtime, money or quests) and a purchased track (cosmetics and convenience). Never one ladder that mixes them.
- Staff ranks live on their own track with higher LuckPerms weights, so a moderator who buys a rank still shows as staff.
- Perks that sell well and stay inside Mojang's rules: chat colors, particles, pets, nicknames, cosmetic kits, queue priority, more homes on a non-competitive server.
- Say what each rank includes in your listing description. It answers the pay-to-win question before players ask it.
Minecraft server ranks ideas fall apart when one ladder tries to do three jobs: reward players who play a lot, sell something to players who want to support the server, and mark who is staff. Split them. A free progression track gives every player something to climb. A purchased track sells cosmetics and convenience. A staff track is a job title, not a reward. Once those are separate, naming, prefixes and pricing get much easier, and you stop having the argument about whether your server is pay-to-win.
This guide gives you ladders by game mode, naming themes that are not the same five words every server uses, the perks that sell without breaking Mojang's rules, prefix colors that read well in chat, and pricing that does not depend on one whale. The LuckPerms side, groups and tracks and weights, is in the LuckPerms setup guide; this one is about what the ranks should be.
Two ladders and a staff list
Earned by playing: hours online, money, quests, votes, mcMMO levels. Every player can reach the top. This is your retention system and it should be visible from day one.
Bought in your store. Cosmetics, convenience, recognition. Three or four tiers, each a superset of the last. This funds the server and must not decide who wins.
Helper, Moderator, Admin. Given for work, removed when the work stops. Their own LuckPerms track, weights above every donor rank, prefixes in a color donors cannot buy.
The separation is mechanical in LuckPerms: one track for progression, one for supporters, one for staff, and a player can hold a rank on each. A moderator who bought the top supporter rank is still shown as Moderator because the staff group's weight is higher.
Rank ladders by game mode
Progression ladders should fit the mode's core loop. Purchased ladders can be the same across modes on a network, which keeps the store simple.
| Mode | Progression ladder (free) | What unlocks a step |
|---|---|---|
| SMP and survival | Newcomer, Settler, Villager, Citizen, Elder | Playtime plus a few quests: first claim, first trade, a week of daily logins. More claim blocks and homes at each step. |
| Prison | A to Z, then Prestige 1 and up | Money from mining. Each letter opens a mine; prestige resets letters for a permanent multiplier. This is the classic ladder and players expect it. |
| Skyblock and OneBlock | Island levels or Castaway, Survivor, Islander, Chieftain | Island level from blocks placed, or generator tiers unlocked. Steps grant island size and team slots. |
| Factions and HCF | Recruit, Soldier, Veteran, Warlord | Kills, faction power, events won. Keep perks cosmetic here; combat advantages by rank kill a PvP server's reputation. |
| Minigames network | Level 1 to 100 with named bands | Experience from games played. Bands (Bronze, Silver, Gold) show in the lobby tab list. |
| Towny and nations | Resident, Mayor, King, plus a wealth ladder | Towny's own hierarchy already is the ladder. Add a wealth or age ladder for individuals so a lifelong resident has something too. |
Five to seven steps is enough for a free ladder. Fewer and there is nothing to chase after week one; more and the middle steps are indistinguishable.
Naming ideas
VIP, MVP, Elite, Legend and Ultimate are on thousands of servers. Players do not care much, but a theme tied to your server is a free bit of identity and it makes the ladder easier to remember in order.
- Gems and metals: Coal, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Netherite. Order is obvious to every player and the prefix colors are built in.
- Ranks of a crew: Deckhand, Sailor, Bosun, Captain, Admiral. Works for a pirate, earth or exploration server.
- Medieval titles: Peasant, Squire, Knight, Baron, Duke, Monarch. Natural fit for towny, kingdoms and RPG servers.
- Mythic tiers: Wisp, Sprite, Warden, Titan, Deity. Fantasy and dungeon servers.
- Mode-flavored: Prison uses Inmate through Warden; skyblock uses Castaway through Chieftain; a cobblemon server can use trainer badges.
- Supporter names that say what they are: Supporter, Patron, Benefactor, Founder. Honest, and they age better than "Ultra."
Keep prefixes to one word or an abbreviation of four letters at most. Chat lines are narrow, and a prefix like [Grand Archmage] pushes every message onto two lines. Staff prefixes should be one syllable if you can manage it: Mod, Admin, Owner.
Perks that stay EULA-safe
Mojang's usage guidelines draw a line between cosmetic or convenience perks and anything that gives a gameplay advantage over players who did not pay. Our EULA guide walks through the actual text; this is the short version applied to ranks.
| Sells well and is fine | Risky or plainly out |
|---|---|
| Chat colors, name colors, nicknames, join messages | Kits with better gear on a survival or PvP server |
| Particles, trails, hats, pets, cosmetic disguises | Extra hearts, damage, speed, or any combat stat |
| Cosmetic crate keys, cosmetic armor skins | Money, items or resources that others must grind for |
| Queue priority and reserved slots when the server is full | Exclusive access to worlds, mines or bosses with better loot |
More /sethome slots, /nick, /hat, /craft on a cooperative server | Those same commands on a competitive mode where they change outcomes (/fly in factions, /heal anywhere) |
| Discord role, name on a supporter wall, early access to a new map for a short window | Permanent access others cannot earn |
Prefix colors and rank icons
Chat prefixes use the game's sixteen color codes, listed on the formatting codes page: &a green, &b aqua, &c red, &d light purple, &e yellow, &6 gold, &9 blue, &7 gray, and the dark variants. A ladder reads best when color climbs with rank and staff sit outside the sequence:
lp group settler meta setprefix 5 "&7[Settler] "
lp group villager meta setprefix 10 "&a[Villager] "
lp group citizen meta setprefix 15 "&b[Citizen] "
lp group elder meta setprefix 20 "&6[Elder] "
lp group patron meta setprefix 30 "&d[Patron] "
lp group mod meta setprefix 100 "&9[Mod] "
lp group admin meta setprefix 200 "&c[Admin] "Reserve red for staff and do not sell it. Hex colors and gradients work through MiniMessage on modern chat plugins and in TAB, but keep the tab list plain: a column of gradients is unreadable. Rank icons are custom font glyphs delivered by a resource pack; they look excellent and cost you a pack every player must download, and Bedrock players through Geyser will not see them. Our resource pack guide covers the tradeoffs. Ship icons only if you already require a pack for other reasons.
Pricing tiers
Numbers below are common ranges on small and mid-sized servers, not rules. What matters is the shape.
- Three or four tiers. Roughly $5 to $10, $15 to $25, $35 to $50, and an optional $75 to $100 top tier. Each includes everything below it. Two tiers leaves no middle; six is a spreadsheet.
- Upgrade pricing. A player who owns tier one pays the difference for tier two. Stores such as Tebex and CraftingStore support this, and it removes the "I should have waited" regret that stops second purchases.
- One-time over monthly for cosmetics. Subscriptions fit a perk that costs you money to provide (a private Discord tier, a monthly cosmetic drop). A rank that is a set of permissions should be lifetime; players resent paying rent for a prefix.
- Sales twice a year, not monthly. A store that is always 40 percent off has a real price 40 percent lower and players know it.
- Give the first rank away sometimes. Vote streaks, events, a launch giveaway. A player who already has Patron is more likely to buy Founder than a player with nothing.
Free rank-up versus purchased ranks
Free progression is the thing players actually chase. Prison's A to Z with /rankup is the purest form: a price per step, paid from money earned in the mine, with a prestige reset that keeps the loop going. On an SMP the same idea uses playtime and quests instead of money. In LuckPerms it is one track and one command, /lp user <user> promote <track>, which any rank-up plugin, quest plugin or vote reward can run from console when the requirement is met.
Purchased ranks should sit on a separate track so buying never skips a free step and grinding never grants a paid cosmetic. The one place to bridge them: let the top free rank unlock a single cosmetic from the paid set. It tells players the free ladder is respected and shows them what the store sells.
Show the ranks on your listing
Players decide from a listing page whether a server is worth a click, and "is it pay-to-win" is one of the three questions they bring. On our list only 15 percent of servers have a description of 250 or more characters, and they have a median of 20 players online against 11 for the rest. A paragraph that names your free ladder ("Settler to Elder, earned by playtime and quests") and says what paid ranks include ("cosmetics and extra homes, no gear or stats") answers the question and earns the 2.5 listing-strength points a full description is worth. Claim your listing from its server page to write it, and if the store is not open yet, say that too; a launch with a clear rank plan is a better story than a store that appears in week one.
Quick questions
Which plugin handles Minecraft server ranks?
LuckPerms holds the ranks as groups on a track. Rank-up plugins, quest plugins and store webhooks then run its promote command when a requirement is met. Prefixes need a chat plugin such as EssentialsX Chat with Vault, and a tab list plugin such as TAB if you want ranks there too.
What is the rank command in Minecraft?
There is no vanilla rank command. With LuckPerms, /lp user <player> parent set <group> puts a player in a rank and /lp user <player> promote <track> moves them up a ladder. Many servers alias those behind /rankup or /setrank.
How many ranks should a small server have?
Five to seven free steps, three paid tiers, three staff roles. A server with 12 players online, which is the median on our list, does not need more, and every extra tier is one more thing to explain on the first join.
Can I sell a rank that gives more claim blocks?
On a cooperative SMP it is generally treated as convenience, since free players accrue blocks by playing and end up with plenty. On a competitive land-grab map it changes who wins. Read the guidelines yourself in the EULA guide before you decide, and if in doubt, sell the cosmetic instead.