Before BedWars, there was Capture the Wool. The Overcast Network ran objective PvP games, Capture the Wool, Destroy the Core, Destroy the Monument, on a plugin called PGM, and for a few years it was the most competitive thing in Minecraft. It closed in 2016. Stratus Network was "founded in early 2017" with a single stated aim: "to become the next home for the PGM plugin." Nine years and 26 ranked seasons later, it is.
Objective PvP, explained
PGM games are team fights with a goal that isn't kills. In Capture the Wool you steal wool from the enemy's side of a symmetrical map and carry it home. In Destroy the Core you tunnel to a lava-filled core and break it open. Blitz is lives-limited team deathmatch; Destroy the Monument is obsidian pillars under siege. The maps are hand-built and the match is short, which is why the format bred the first real Minecraft esports scene.
PGM is public code, maintained by the Stratus community on GitHub and documented at pgm.dev. Anyone can host the games; Stratus is where people play them.
Competitive queues with elo and seasons; the MOTD we captured advertised "Ranked Season 26" with a $90 prize pool.
Team events with brackets and casters, the closest thing the Overcast scene has to a continuation.
Small on purpose
Stratus will never post Hypixel numbers, and doesn't try. It's a community of players who want exactly this format, many of them Overcast veterans, and a queue that fills for scheduled matches rather than around the clock. If you loved Overcast, this is where the maps and the people went. If you never played it, it's the best way to find out why the old guard still talks about wool.
Live counts from our pinger:
Live from our pinger · checked 1 min ago
Joining
Add play.stratus.network on Minecraft 1.20.1 (check the MOTD for the version range). Join the Discord to find match times and the ranked schedule; the busy hours are evening in the Americas and Europe.
For a modern take on team objectives, read our BedWars servers guide. For 1v1 practice, see Minemen Club. Browse our capture the flag and PvP lists.
Quick answers
What is the Stratus Network IP?
play.stratus.network, on Minecraft Java 1.20.1 at last check.
Is Stratus the Overcast Network?
No. Overcast closed in 2016. Stratus was founded in early 2017 to host PGM, the plugin Overcast's games ran on.
Is Stratus free?
Yes. PGM is open source and the server is community-run.
What is Capture the Wool?
A team game where you steal wool from the enemy's side and bring it back to your monument. The signature PGM mode.
Sources
Player counts, votes and uptime on this page are live from our own checks. Everything else comes from the sources above. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
