Server Update 2.6 — custom crafts, economy rebalance, and the biggest patch of the season

1. What’s new in 2.6

We focused this release on the three areas players asked for most: spawn hub quality, economy balance, and competitive play. Every change ships across all servers simultaneously.

We focused this release on the three areas players asked for most in the spring survey: spawn hub quality, economy balance, and competitive play. Every change ships across all servers simultaneously, so nothing is locked behind a specific world.

• Refreshed spawn hubs on LuckySurvival, MineWars, and CalmSky.
• Twelve new custom crafts, including the Ender Compass.
• Economy rebalance covering prices and rewards.
• Brand-new Tournament mode with weekly brackets.
• Cross-server friend list and improved chat.

• Refreshed spawn hubs with clearer warps and tutorial NPCs on every server.
• Twelve new custom crafts, including the long-requested Ender Compass.
• Economy rebalance covering vendor prices, taxes, and reward curves.
• Brand-new Tournament mode with weekly brackets and seasonal trophies.
• Cross-server friend list, party invites, and improved chat tooling.

2. Spawn hub refresh

Spawn hubs on LuckySurvival, MineWars, and CalmSky were the oldest areas on the map — built before we added tutorial NPCs and cross-server warps. We rebuilt all three with clearer signage and faster routes to the wilderness.

Spawn hubs on LuckySurvival, MineWars, and CalmSky were the oldest areas on the map — built before we added tutorial NPCs and cross-server warps. We rebuilt all three with clearer signage, refreshed market stalls, and faster routes to the wilderness on each server.

Each hub keeps the same world seed and claim boundaries — only the spawn build changed. Your existing bases and chests are untouched.

Each hub keeps the same world seed and claim boundaries — only the spawn build changed. Your existing bases, chests, and /home points are untouched; use the new warp signs to reach the wilderness faster.

3. Twelve new custom crafts

Custom crafts are recipes that only exist on our servers. With 2.6, we are shipping twelve new ones — six utility, six cosmetic.

Custom crafts are recipes that only exist on our servers. They use vanilla materials but produce unique tools and decorative items. With 2.6, we are shipping twelve new ones — six utility, six cosmetic. The full list is in the in-game compendium under Recipes → Server.

Utility crafts

1. 1Ender Compass — points to your last death.
2. 2Bulk Smelter — smelts a full stack at once.
3. 3Server Pickaxe — works across claim boundaries.
4. 4Quick-Stack Pouch — auto-sorts into nearby chests.
5. 5Friend Beacon — pings your party on the map.
6. 6Spawner Lasso — relocates monster spawners.

1. 1Ender Compass — points to your last death.
2. 2Bulk Smelter — smelts a full stack at once.
3. 3Server Pickaxe — works across claim boundaries (with permission).
4. 4Quick-Stack Pouch — auto-sorts into nearby chests.
5. 5Friend Beacon — pings your party on the map.
6. 6Spawner Lasso — relocates monster spawners.

Cosmetic crafts

Six new decorative items joined the catalog, including the Glowing Banner Set, the Floating Lantern, and three Iron Trophy variants.

Six new decorative items have joined the catalog, including the wildly popular Glowing Banner Set, the Glowing Floating Lantern, and three variants of the seasonal Iron Trophy used in tournaments. All cosmetic crafts are also available as a bundle in the in-game store.

4. Economy rebalance

We adjusted every vendor price, every event reward, and the daily tax curve. Most are small percentage changes — but a handful of items are now significantly cheaper to help early progression.

We adjusted every vendor price, every event reward, and the daily tax curve. Most of these are small percentage changes that should be invisible during a normal session — but a handful of items are now significantly cheaper to encourage early-game progression.

“We wanted new players to feel real progression in their first three hours of play — not a slow grind.”

“We wanted new players to feel real progression in their first three hours of play — not a slow grind. Most of the rebalance is aimed at hour one and hour two of a fresh account.”

— Mike Rasmus, Lead Server Engineer

A complete diff of the changes is published on the developer blog if you want to see every line. The TL;DR is below.

• Tools and basic armor are 15-25% cheaper.
• Beacons and enchanted gear are 5-10% more expensive.
• Daily login bonus increased by 20%.
• Tournament prize pools roughly doubled.

• Tools and basic armor are 15-25% cheaper.
• Beacons and enchanted gear are 5-10% more expensive.
• Daily login bonus increased by 20%.
• Tournament prize pools are roughly double last season.

5. Tournament mode

The biggest single feature in 2.6. Every week a new bracket opens Friday at 18:00 UTC and runs through Sunday 23:59 UTC. Top finishers earn trophies, prize-pool currency, and exclusive cosmetics.

The biggest single feature in 2.6: Tournament mode. Every week a new bracket opens on Friday at 18:00 UTC and runs through Sunday at 23:59 UTC. Top finishers earn season trophies, prize-pool currency, and exclusive cosmetic skins.

Brackets are auto-balanced by playtime, so brand-new accounts compete with peers of similar experience.

Brackets are auto-balanced by playtime and historical performance, so brand-new accounts compete with peers of similar experience. We will publish a full strategy guide once the first season closes in three weeks.

6. How to update

The patch installs automatically on next launch. To force the update, follow the steps below.

You do not need to do anything — the patch installs automatically on next launch. If you want to force the update, follow the steps below.

1. 1Close the game completely.
2. 2Open the launcher and click the refresh icon.
3. 3Wait for the update banner to disappear.
4. 4Launch the game; you should land on the 2.6 splash.

1. 1Close the game completely.
2. 2Open the launcher and click the small refresh icon next to the play button.
3. 3Wait for the update banner to disappear.
4. 4Launch the game as usual; you should land on the 2.6 splash screen.

7. Known issues

Here is what we already know and are tracking for hotfix 2.6.1, scheduled for next Tuesday.

Every release ships with a few rough edges. Here is what we already know about and are tracking for hotfix 2.6.1, scheduled for next Tuesday.

• Ender Compass occasionally points to spawn — fix in 2.6.1.
• Friend Beacon does not display on some viewports.
• Tournament chat delayed by 5-10 seconds at peak.
• Three minor lantern glitches in low-light biomes.

• Ender Compass occasionally points to the world spawn instead of last death; fix in 2.6.1.
• Friend Beacon does not display correctly on certain mobile viewports.
• Tournament chat is sometimes delayed by 5-10 seconds during peak hours.
• Three minor visual glitches with the new lantern cosmetic in low-light biomes.

8. What’s next

We are already planning 2.7. Headline features: a creative-mode sandbox, expanded redstone components, and an in-game macro recorder. Public test branch opens mid-June.

We are already deep into planning for 2.7. The headline features are a creative-mode building sandbox, expanded redstone components, and an in-game macro recorder for repetitive builds. Expect the public test branch to open around mid-June.

Thanks for being part of the community. See you on the islands.

Thanks, as always, for being part of the community. See you on the islands.