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For a small private Vault Hunters 3rd Edition server, plan on about 8 GB of RAM for two to four players, then add roughly 2 GB for each additional concurrent player. That puts a five-to-10-player server around 12 GB as a practical starting point. Give yourself more headroom when several players enter vaults at the same time, because each active vault can temporarily use about 1–2 GB.
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The official guidance is not completely consistent: the official site uses a 4 GB base plus 2 GB per online player, while the official wiki uses a more conservative 6 GB minimum or 8 GB recommended base, plus 2 GB per player. For a three-player server, those formulas produce 10 GB, 12 GB minimum, or 14 GB recommended. If you want one safe purchase decision rather than a minimum, choose 12 GB for three to four players and leave additional memory for the operating system.
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Quick RAM targets by player count
These figures are planning targets for concurrent players, not the number of people whitelisted. A server with 20 registered users but only three online at once should be sized for three players, while a server with 10 people online together needs the 10-player tier.
| Concurrent players | Practical starting target | When to add more |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 6–8 GB | Add headroom for a shared host machine or simultaneous vaults. |
| 2–4 | 8–10 GB | Use 12 GB if several players routinely run vaults together. |
| 5–10 | 12 GB | Move toward 14–16 GB for frequent simultaneous vaults or heavier worlds. |
| 10 or more | At least 14–16 GB as a starting point | Test under the real peak load; the official formulas scale higher. |
The 8 GB figure for two to four players is a practical community target, not a universal minimum. Vault Hunters’ official pages use different bases, and hosting companies publish recommendations that vary by several gigabytes for the same player count. Treat the table as a starting configuration, then watch memory use and tick performance during your busiest play sessions.
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What the official requirements actually say
Official wiki formula
The Vault Hunters Official Wiki’s server-install guidance lists a 6 GB base plus 2 GB for every concurrent player as a minimum. Its recommended formula is an 8 GB base plus 2 GB per concurrent player. Applying those formulas gives the following values:
| Players online | Wiki minimum: 6 GB + 2 GB/player | Wiki recommended: 8 GB + 2 GB/player |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 GB | 12 GB |
| 3 | 12 GB | 14 GB |
| 4 | 14 GB | 16 GB |
| 10 | 26 GB | 28 GB |
This is the more conservative official number set. It is useful when you are planning for a public server, want generous headroom, or expect several active vaults. The wiki page identifies Java 17, Minecraft 1.18.2 and Forge as the software stack, and calls for at least 5 GB of free disk space.
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The official how-to-play page gives a lower, simpler rule: “4GB plus 2GB for every player who will be online at the same time.” That means 8 GB for two players, 10 GB for three, 12 GB for four and 24 GB for 10. The same page warns that you need extra memory when the server runs on the computer you are using to play, and tells players to allocate at least 8192 MB to the client in the launcher.
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These pages are not interchangeable guarantees. The 4 GB rule is a generic baseline; the wiki’s 6 GB minimum and 8 GB recommendation provide more safety for the modpack’s world, Forge overhead and vault activity. For a private server, 8 GB can work at the low end, but 10–12 GB is a safer choice for three or four regular players.
Why a player entering a vault changes the calculation
Concurrent players are only part of the load. Space-Node’s hardware guidance estimates that each active vault can add roughly 1–2 GB temporarily. A three-player server where everyone remains in the overworld may behave very differently from one where three players open vaults simultaneously.
- Count the normal online population first.
- Add headroom for the number of vaults likely to be active at once.
- On machines under 12 GB, limit simultaneous vaults to about three or four, as the Space-Node guidance suggests.
- If memory pressure appears only when vaults open, reduce simultaneous vaults before changing the player limit.
Vault memory is temporary, so buying enough RAM for the absolute worst theoretical combination may be unnecessary for a casual group. It is nevertheless the reason a configuration that appears adequate in the lobby can run out of heap during a busy vault session.
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Java, Minecraft and storage prerequisites
| Requirement | Value or instruction | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Java | Java 17 | The stated server software requirement for the documented setup. |
| Minecraft | 1.18.2 | The version identified by the official wiki page; later pack editions may change requirements. |
| Mod loader | Forge | Vault Hunters requires the Forge-based installation described by the official documentation. |
| Free disk | At least 5 GB | The wiki’s minimum; allow additional space for saves, logs and backups. |
| Client allocation | At least 8192 MB | The official how-to-play page’s launcher guidance for the player client. |
The wiki’s Forge-install step and manual-install section are marked as pending, and its page points to version 3.18.3 in the CurseForge files tab. That reference may be outdated. Confirm the current Vault Hunters edition, pack version, Forge build and Java requirement before installing; modpack updates can change both memory behavior and startup instructions.
RAM recommendations from hosting and community guides
Third-party numbers are not pack-author requirements, but they show how providers size real deployments. They also explain why quotes differ. Commercial hosts may include performance headroom, support margins or their own node policies, while community guides may describe a lightly loaded private server.
| Source | Published guidance | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| BisectHosting, Vault Hunters 3rd Edition page | 10 GB for smooth operation | A single provider recommendation, not an official minimum. |
| Space-Node hardware guide | 1–4 players: 6 GB minimum / 8 GB recommended; 4–8: 8 / 10 GB; 8–15: 10 / 12 GB; 15+: 12 / 16 GB | Also estimates 1–2 GB per active vault and recommends limiting simultaneous vaults below 12 GB. |
| Obsidian Servers | 1–5 players: 8 GB minimum / 10 GB recommended; 5–10: 10 / 12 GB; 10+: 12 / 14 GB | A more generous tiered hosting estimate. |
| ServerPrism | 12–16 GB for 5–10 players | The highest range among the cited hosting figures. |
| Prism Nodes | 6–8 GB | Its own production-based recommendation, explicitly not a pack-author minimum. |
| Vintage Is The New Old fan FAQ | 6 GB minimum; 7 GB or more for friends or a public server | A community FAQ rather than an official specification. |
The spread is normal: at five to 10 players, published guidance ranges from 10 GB to 16 GB. Use the lower end only when the machine is dedicated, vault activity is modest and monitoring confirms that memory remains available. Choose the higher end when uptime and predictable TPS matter more than minimizing the monthly cost.
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Self-hosting versus managed hosting
Self-hosting on a separate machine
A dedicated machine lets you give the Java process most of the available memory, but the operating system still needs headroom. Do not assign every gigabyte to the heap. A server configured with 8 GB of total RAM should not receive an 8 GB heap if the operating system, monitoring tools and backups must run there; use a smaller heap or install more physical memory.
Running the server and client together
This is the most demanding arrangement because the client, server, Java process and operating system compete for memory. The official site specifically says to allocate extra RAM when you play on the same computer that hosts the server. In practice, use a machine with substantially more RAM than the server target and leave enough for the client allocation of at least 8192 MB.
Managed hosting
With a host, the advertised plan size is usually the amount available to the server process, while the provider manages the operating system. Compare the assigned RAM, CPU model, backup policy and upgrade path rather than choosing by RAM alone. A 12 GB plan on a fast single-threaded CPU can provide better TPS than a larger plan on a slower processor.
Configure the Java heap correctly
- Install the required Java version. Use Java 17 for the documented Minecraft 1.18.2 Forge setup, and verify that the server launch script calls that Java installation.
- Choose a heap below total machine RAM. For example, a dedicated 16 GB machine might reserve 12 GB for Java and leave the remainder for the operating system and services. The exact value depends on what else runs on the machine.
- Set the initial and maximum heap to the same value. Community setup guidance commonly uses matching flags such as
-Xms8G -Xmx8G. Equal values avoid repeated heap resizing and can improve stability, but the example is optional tuning rather than an official requirement. - Start with the player target, not the maximum possible roster. An 8–10 GB heap is a reasonable starting point for a small private group; increase it when measured vault activity or garbage-collection pauses show that the server needs more.
- Restart after changing flags. Heap settings are read at startup. Confirm the startup log reports the intended maximum memory before inviting players.
Increasing -Xmx cannot fix a CPU bottleneck, and assigning more memory than the machine physically has will cause swapping or startup failure. Treat heap size as one part of capacity planning.
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Prism Nodes notes that Minecraft’s main game loop runs largely on a single core. That makes single-thread clock speed a key limit for ticks per second (TPS). If the server has free memory but players report slow block updates, delayed mobs or rubber-banding, a faster CPU may help more than another few gigabytes of RAM.
Quick Recap
- Memory pressure: the process approaches its heap limit, garbage collection becomes frequent, or the server throws an out-of-memory error. Reduce simultaneous vaults or increase the heap while preserving operating-system headroom.
- CPU pressure: TPS falls while substantial RAM remains free. Move to a faster single-thread processor or reduce CPU-heavy activity; adding RAM alone is unlikely to solve it.
- Startup errors: check Java 17, the Forge installation and the exact pack version before changing memory flags.
- Disk errors: verify that at least 5 GB remains free and that the save directory can write logs and world data.
A sizing checklist before you invite players
- Identify the current Vault Hunters edition and exact pack version.
- Count the maximum number of players online at one time.
- Start with roughly 8 GB for two to four players, then add about 2 GB per additional concurrent player.
- Use 10–12 GB for a three-to-four-player group if you want practical headroom; consider 12–16 GB for five to 10 players.
- Allow another 1–2 GB for each vault likely to be active simultaneously, or limit simultaneous vaults on smaller machines.
- Install Java 17, Minecraft 1.18.2 and Forge where those are the versions required by your pack.
- Keep at least 5 GB free on the server disk and more for saves, logs and backups.
- Set
-Xmsand-Xmxequally, and keep the heap below total physical RAM. - Test during a peak session with the expected number of players and vaults, watching both memory use and TPS.
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