Setting up an RLCraft server: hardcore survival, no surprises

RLCraft is a hardcore survival modpack on Forge for Minecraft 1.12.2, with well over 27 million downloads on CurseForge. Because the pack stays on 1.12.2, the server needs the Java runtime that belongs to that old Forge version, not the Java 21 of modern packs like All the Mods 10. Its RAM appetite is lower than ATM10's (which asks for 10 GB minimum), but the older Forge version is less careful with chunk loading, so dragons, mob swarms and exploring players cost you TPS faster than a modern pack would.

Why is this old pack still going so strong?

By download count RLCraft is still one of the biggest modpacks in existence: 27+ million, against well over 18 million for All the Mods 10, 11.7 million for Prominence II: Hasturian Era and 10.2 million for DawnCraft. Only Cobblemon, at 25.5+ million, is in the same league.

Two things explain that. First, the core loop is unlike almost every other big pack. Where ATM10 and Create-style packs are about building and automating, RLCraft is about staying alive: you die of thirst, of cold, of a mob far stronger than you, and of broken bones.

Second, the pack is finished, in a sense. There are no quarterly updates upending your world or your config files, and the guides you find online are usually still accurate. If you have never worked with packs before, our article on what a Minecraft modpack actually is and how to install one is a good starting point.

Which Java version does your RLCraft server need?

This is where most RLCraft servers break before they have ever started. Minecraft 1.12.2 and its matching Forge version come from a completely different era than the Java releases you get by default today. Drop the newest runtime underneath it and you do not get a tidy error message, you get a crash while the mods are loading. Check the pack documentation for the runtime that belongs with it and set exactly that version.

The reverse holds just as firmly: All the Mods 10 runs on NeoForge and Minecraft 1.21.1 and needs Java 21, where even Java 17 will not do. One server runs one Java version, so offering RLCraft and a modern pack side by side means two separate instances. In a panel like Pterodactyl you pick the Java version through the docker image or the egg; check it before you upload the server files.

How much RAM do you need for an RLCraft server?

There is no magic number that fits every server. What is certain: RLCraft sits below the 10 GB floor ATM10 works to, because the pack loads far fewer mods than the 400 to 500+ of a kitchen sink pack. What drives RAM use up here is not the mod list but the world: how many chunks have been generated, how many entities are wandering about and how many players are exploring in different directions at once.

Do not underestimate storage. On ATM10 an SSD is the difference between 10+ minutes to start on a hard disk and 2-3 minutes; on RLCraft you see the same thing in chunk generation, because one player exploring on a dragon forces the server to write new chunks continuously. Every Minecraft hosting plan at MC-Node runs on NVMe SSD storage; the budget line costs EUR 1.10 per GB of RAM per month, so 4 GB comes to EUR 4.40 and 8 GB to EUR 8.80.

How do you set up an RLCraft server step by step?

1. Pick a plan and a location. If you play with a Dutch group, a node in the Netherlands (in our case Previder PDC2 in Hengelo) is nicer than a server in North America.
2. Set the Java version the pack calls for and choose Forge for Minecraft 1.12.2. Do this before step 3.
3. Download the RLCraft server pack, not the client pack. The latter contains client-only mods and will stop your server with an error.
4. Unpack the files into the server root, accept the EULA in eula.txt and start up once to generate the config folder.
5. Set up server.properties. Start modestly with the view-distance and only raise it once your TPS allows.
6. Make sure every player runs exactly the same pack version and Forge build: with Forge, client and server need identical mods.
7. Check that the automatic backup is running before you make the server public. Our step-by-step guide to making a Minecraft server covers the general groundwork.

Why do dragons and mobs cost so much performance?

RLCraft does not load 400 mods, but it does lean on the part of the server that scales worst: entities and chunk loading. Dragons fly long distances, keep a nest with a loaded area around it and drag chunk activity across the world with them. On top of that come the aggressive mobs the pack puts everywhere, each with an AI that has to be run every tick.

On modern loaders you can absorb some of that with optimisation mods: on NeoForge, FerriteCore (30-40% lower RAM use), Canary and ModernFix do a lot of the work. For Forge 1.12.2 that landscape is smaller and older, so you mostly steer with settings instead: view-distance, mob caps in the pack configs and the number of players heading into unexplored territory at the same time. A profiler such as spark shows whether your time is disappearing into entity ticks or into chunk generation. Our guide to optimising your Minecraft server goes deeper into that trade-off.

What you would do on a Paper server is not available here: Forge loads mods, not Bukkit plugins. So installing ClearLagg, EssentialsX or LuckPerms is out.

Why do temperature and thirst catch your players out?

Most support questions on an RLCraft server are not about lag but about mechanics. Players come in, die of thirst or hypothermia within a couple of minutes, and assume something is broken. Drinking water from a puddle has consequences, temperature depends on biome, clothing and time of day, and a fall of a few blocks can leave you with a broken leg. That is design, not a bug, but a new server with no explanation loses players in the first ten minutes. Put the core mechanics on a sign at spawn or in a Discord channel.

Plenty of admins also soften the difficulty a little: gentler thirst or temperature values, lower mob spawn rates or a milder death penalty. That works especially well for groups who mainly want to play together. Do not overdo it: strip out all the friction and you are left with a 1.12.2 pack minus the reason people came to it.

What do you give up by staying on 1.12.2?

An old pack gets no new Minecraft content. Everything added to the base game since 1.12.2 will never reach your RLCraft world. Concretely: no Trial Chambers, Vaults or the Mace from 1.21 "Tricky Trials", nothing from 26.1 "Tiny Takeover" or 26.2 "Chaos Cubed", and not the dappled forest biome sitting in the 26.3 snapshots either. Minecraft Java has used year-based version numbers since 2026; RLCraft stands entirely outside that.

There is a practical cost too. Your players have to install a Forge client for 1.12.2, so ViaVersion-style solutions for multiple client versions are not an option. Bedrock players cannot join in: Geyser and Floodgate bring Bedrock clients to a Java server, but those clients cannot load Forge mods.

When should you pick something else?

RLCraft is narrow and deep, and that does not suit every group. If you mainly want to build and automate, All the Mods 10 on Minecraft 1.21.1 makes more sense, provided you have the RAM for it. If you are after story, quests and progression, Prominence II: Hasturian Era and DawnCraft - Echoes of Legends are more polished in that department. If you only want a smoother client without new content, Fabulously Optimized on Fabric is purely performance-focused with Sodium, Lithium and relatives. And if you want to play vanilla with friends plus a few plugins, a Paper server is easier to run than any modpack.

If you do go for RLCraft, running it comes down to two things: keeping the Java environment stable and keeping the number of entities and loaded chunks under control.

Frequently asked questions

Which Java version does an RLCraft server need? The one that belongs with Forge for Minecraft 1.12.2; check the pack documentation and set that runtime in your panel. Do not assume a modern runtime will work: All the Mods 10, by contrast, requires Java 21 and will not run on Java 17. One server instance runs one Java version, so two packs means two instances.

How much RAM does an RLCraft server need? Less than All the Mods 10, which asks for 10 GB minimum and 14-16 GB with five or more players. There is no fixed figure for RLCraft: it depends on your player count, view-distance and how much world has been explored. At MC-Node the budget line costs EUR 1.10 per GB of RAM per month, so you can start small and scale up later.

Can Bedrock players join my RLCraft server? No. Geyser with Floodgate lets Bedrock clients play on a Java server, but only on vanilla mechanics. Forge mods have to be loaded in the same version on client and server, and a Bedrock client cannot do that.

Does RLCraft still get new Minecraft features? No. The pack stays on 1.12.2, so content from 1.21 "Tricky Trials" such as Trial Chambers, Vaults and the Mace will not appear in it, and nor will anything from 26.1 "Tiny Takeover" or 26.2 "Chaos Cubed". What you get is the content of the pack itself, not that of modern Minecraft.

Can I use plugins such as EssentialsX or LuckPerms? Not directly. Those plugins belong to Bukkit, Spigot, Paper and Purpur, whereas RLCraft is loaded by Forge. For homes, warps and permissions, look for Forge mods for 1.12.2 that fill the same role.

Further reading

• Better MC (BMC4) on a Server: What You Need to Know
• DawnCraft Server: Souls-Like RPG With Friends
• Folia: Multithreaded Minecraft, and Why It Is Not for You Yet