Game mode · PvP

SkyWars

Loot your island, bridge to the middle and be the last one standing.

Everyone starts on a small island of their own. The cage drops and PvP is on at once — SkyWars is a race to the middle. Solo, duo or quads.

SkyWars: everyone on their own island, all heading for the middle

GameplayPvP on islands

GoalBe the last one alive

FocusSpeed & looting

How a round works

Pick a kit
In the glass cage on your island you pick your kit. With 2 players the 20-second countdown starts.
Loot
The cage drops and PvP is on at once. Two chests on your island hold blocks, weapons, armor and food.
To the middle
Bridge to the middle. The better chests are there — with ender pearls and golden apples.
Deathmatch
After 7 minutes all survivors are brought to the middle. The last one standing wins.

Which kit suits you?

Kit	What's inside	Strength
Fighter	Stone sword with Sharpness I, two steaks	wins the first melee
Builder	48 blocks, 12 ladders, 15 seconds of Speed I	reaches the middle first
Hunter	Bow, 12 arrows, wooden sword; arrows refill in combat	hits whoever is on a bridge
Smith	Full chainmail armor that never breaks	takes what knocks others over
Firestarter	Flint and steel, lava bucket, fire resistance potion	makes a path impassable
Fisher	Fishing rod, wooden sword, 16 blocks	pulls enemies off the bridge
Miner	Iron pickaxe with Efficiency II, 16 blocks, two steaks	comes from below and breaks bridges
Healer	Splash potion of Healing II, potion of Regeneration, wooden sword	wins the second fight

Tips for your first rounds

Loot first, then build.
Arriving in the middle empty-handed almost never ends well.
Put armor on at once.
Even a single iron piece makes a big difference.
Keep a water bucket.
It puts out fire, stops lava and saves you from a fall.

Every rule in detail

The complete guide — every number exactly as set on our servers.

At a glance

Goal: be the last player (or the last team) alive.
Sizes: Solo, Duo (teams of two) and Quads (teams of four).
Length: rarely more than three minutes; after 7 minutes at the latest the deathmatch starts, 3 minutes later it is over.
How to join: in the lobby via the navigator or with /play → SkyWars.
Kits: eight starting kits, all free for everyone.

How a game works

In the cage: you wait in a glass cage on your island. The countdown takes 20 seconds and starts with 2 players. Now is the time to choose your kit.
Start: the cage disappears – and PvP is on immediately. There is no grace period: SkyWars is a race to the middle.
Looting: your island has two chests with blocks, weapons, armor and food.
To the middle: bridge over to the middle. The better chests are there – and that is where everyone meets.
The end: whoever dies or falls into the void is out and spectates. The last one standing wins.

The timeline

Time	Event	What happens
0:00	Start	the cage drops, PvP is on
3:30	Refill 1	all chests are filled up again
5:36	Refill 2	second refill, with even better loot
7:00	Deathmatch	all survivors are brought to the middle in a circle
10:00	End	if more than one is still alive, the player with the most health wins – on a tie, the most kills

Each refill only fills the empty slots, and every wave adds better items. A second trip to the middle is worth it.

The chests

Where	What you find
Your island (2 chests)	blocks, basic weapons and armor (wood, stone, leather, gold, sometimes iron), food, often a water bucket
The middle	one tier better: weapons from iron up, no more leather, gold or wood; a diamond piece in 4 out of 10 chests
Only in the middle	ender pearls and golden apples

No TNT, and the map does not rebuild itself: whatever you tear down stays gone until the end of the game.
If someone hits you and you fall into the void within 10 seconds, they get the kill.
In Duo and Quads teammates can't hurt each other, and you share a team chat.

The kits

Choose your kit in the cage with the Choose kit button or with /kit. If you don't choose, you start without a kit, with only what is in your chests.

Kit	What's inside	Strength
Fighter	stone sword with Sharpness I, two steaks	wins the first melee
Builder	48 blocks, 12 ladders, 15 seconds of Speed I	first one to the middle
Hunter	bow, 12 arrows, wooden sword; in combat 2 more arrows every 45 seconds (up to 16)	hits whoever stands on a bridge
Blacksmith	full chainmail armor that never breaks; no weapon (your first chest is guaranteed to have one)	takes hits that knock others over
Pyromaniac	flint and steel, lava bucket, Fire Resistance potion (3 minutes)	makes a path impassable
Fisherman	fishing rod, wooden sword, 16 blocks	pulls enemies off the bridge
Miner	iron pickaxe with Efficiency II, 16 blocks, two steaks	comes from below and tears down bridges
Healer	Splash Potion of Healing II, Regeneration potion, wooden sword	wins the second fight

Tips

Loot first, then bridge. Arriving in the middle empty-handed almost never ends well.
Put armor on right away – even a single iron piece makes a big difference.
Watch the other bridges: one hit, a fire or a fishing rod at the right moment is enough.
Keep a water bucket: it puts out fire, stops lava and saves you from a fall.
Ender pearls are the fastest way – into the middle and into the void. Never throw one without a plan.
In the deathmatch every heart counts. When time runs out, the player with the most health wins.

Map choice and slots

From VIP upwards you choose the map for your next game in the lobby. When a game is full, ranked players get priority over players without a rank – and all humans over bots.

Rewards and stats

For	Experience
Taking part	20
Win	+60
Top 3	+15
Kill	+5

In SkyWars every experience point turns into 0.2 coins, credited in the lobby (more with a coin booster and rank bonus). Games played, wins, kills and deaths are tracked – see them with /stats sw anywhere on the network and on the leaderboard on the website. Bots never appear on a leaderboard.

Commands