Optimization Ultimate Minecraft 1.21 Server Optimization Guide (Paper, Purpur & Folia)

[Ravi Rai]

Ultimate Minecraft 1.21 Server Optimization Guide
Improve TPS, reduce lag, and support 50-200 players smoothly​

Introduction​

Running a Minecraft server can become difficult when player counts increase.
If your server starts dropping TPS or freezing, the problem is usually poor optimization.

This guide explains how to optimize a Minecraft 1.21 server using:

• Paper / Purpur / Folia
• Correct JVM flags
• View distance tuning
• Plugin optimization
• Spark profiling

Recommended Server Hardware​

Minecraft servers rely heavily on CPU performance.

Component	Recommended
CPU	Ryzen 7 / Ryzen 9 high clock speed
RAM	12-16GB for 100 players
Storage	NVMe SSD

Important: Minecraft mainly uses a single thread, so higher clock speed is more important than having many CPU cores.

Best JVM Flags for Minecraft 1.21​

Using proper JVM flags reduces garbage collection lag.

-Xms10G
-Xmx10G
-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200

These settings help maintain stable TPS during heavy player activity.

Network Compression Optimization​

Minecraft servers compress packets before sending them to players.

If the compression value is too low, it can increase CPU usage.

Recommended setting:

network-compression-threshold=256

Use Spark to Detect Lag​

Spark is one of the best tools for profiling server performance.

Spark Profiler

Spark allows you to identify:

• Slow plugins
• Heavy tasks
• Lag spikes
• CPU usage

Recommended Plugins​

These plugins are commonly used on optimized PvP servers:

• LuckPerms
• WorldEdit
• EssentialsX
• DonutTeams
• DonutCrates
• RTP Queue

Conclusion​

Proper optimization can allow your server to support more players without lag.

If you're running a PvP server setup, you may also want to check:

• ShyamPractice Advance FFA & Duels Setup
• RTP Queue Plugin

If this guide helped you, feel free to share your optimization tips below!