Why Firecone Limited Free Minecraft Hosting to Select Countries

Why Performance is Our Priority

Running a Minecraft server is about more than just clicking a “start” button. It is about creating a smooth world for your players. At Firecone, we believe that high performance comes from efficiency, not just raw power. Whether you are optimizing your own server settings or understanding our latest hosting updates, our goal is to keep your “TPS” (Ticks Per Second) at a perfect 20.

Part 1: How to Fix Minecraft Server Lag

Lag usually happens when a server has too much work to do in a single second. To fix this, you need to look at three main areas.

1. Technical Requirements for Your Icon

Believe it or not, even your server icon matters. A heavy or broken icon can cause issues for players trying to join.

The Rule of 64: Your icon must be exactly 64×64 pixels.
Format: It must be a PNG file.
Square Shape: Even if your logo is a circle, the canvas must be a square. Using a clean, small icon ensures the server list loads fast for every player.

2. High-Impact Software Tweaks

Don’t use the standard Minecraft software for a multiplayer server. It is not built for high player counts. Instead, use a “fork” like Paper or Purpur. These versions allow you to:

Reduce View Distance: Setting this to 6 or 8 can save a huge amount of CPU power.
Limit Mob Spawns: Too many entities in one area will cause the TPS to drop.
Pre-generate Worlds: Use the Chunky plugin. This generates the world while no one is playing. It stops the server from lagging when players fly into new areas.

3. Professional Profiling with Spark

If your server is lagging and you don’t know why, use the Spark plugin. It acts like a doctor for your server. It scans your CPU and tells you exactly which plugin or entity is causing the problem. At Firecone, we recommend all owners run a Spark report before making random changes to their settings.

4. More Help

For even more info, check out our in-depth post on reducing lag.

Part 2: Changes to Our Free Hosting Plan

To keep our servers fast and reliable, we have made the decision to limit our free hosting plan to specific countries. This was a difficult choice, but it allows us to focus on quality over quantity.

Why We Limited Regional Access

As our free plan grew, we faced several big challenges. We wanted to avoid a “brute-force” approach where we just add more hardware. Instead, we want to build a smarter infrastructure.

Better Support: By focusing on specific regions, our team can answer support tickets much faster.
Server Stability: Too much global demand can slow down the experience for everyone. This change ensures that our active users get the best performance possible.
Abuse Prevention: Some regions see higher rates of “abuse” or fake accounts. By limiting access, we save resources for real players who want to build a community.

A Sustainable Future for Firecone

We are not just a hosting company; we are a technology team. We are working on new ways to serve more people without high costs. This includes:

Smarter Resource Sharing: We are building systems that use “idle” hardware more effectively.
New Ways to Play: We are exploring non-traditional ways for users to earn free hosting through community participation.
Future Expansion: This regional limit is temporary. As our efficiency grows, we will bring free hosting back to more countries.