Velocity and Folia now available to turbocharge your Minecraft network
We have just rolled out two major performance upgrades to our Minecraft server hosting: Velocity for your proxy layer and Folia as a new high-performance server type. If you run a hub, a multi world network, or a large SMP, these changes are for you.
Velocity added to our BungeeCord hosting: next-gen proxy
Velocity is a modern Minecraft proxy built from the ground up for speed, safety, and scalability.
What this means on BoxToPlay
- Included in the BungeeCord plan: Velocity is now part of our standard BungeeCord server hosting at no extra cost.
- 1-click install: from your BoxToPlay control panel, you can choose BungeeCord or Velocity and install it on your proxy instance with a single click.
Key benefits for your network
- High performance: optimized architecture that can handle a large number of players on a single proxy.
- Low memory footprint: efficient resource usage, ideal when you run multiple backend servers such as Paper or other forks.
- Built-in protection: strong connection handling and packet processing that help mitigate many connection related exploits by design.
- Modern version support: advanced protocol handling to support recent Minecraft versions more smoothly.
So, BungeeCord or Velocity?
To help you decide, here is how the two proxies compare:
- BungeeCord remains the legacy, « universal » solution. If your network runs on an older Minecraft version or relies on legacy plugins that were never ported, BungeeCord is the easiest path. It also benefits from a massive library of tutorials and guides accumulated online over the years.
- Velocity is the modern, high-performance option. It has a much smaller resource footprint, handles massive connection spikes far better, and provides native protection against network spam. Most importantly, if you run modded servers (Forge, NeoForge, or Fabric), Velocity is the only proxy that connects them stably thanks to its advanced forwarding protocols.
In short: stick to BungeeCord if you absolutely need backward compatibility for old plugins, but choose Velocity for any new project or modern network setup.
If you already run a BungeeCord setup, you can spin up a Velocity instance, test it under load, measure latency and stability, then decide which proxy best fits your community.
Folia server type: region-based multithreading for huge worlds
We are also introducing Folia as a new server type focused on raw performance and scalability.
What is Folia?
- A fork of Paper that brings region-based multithreading to Minecraft.
- Instead of one single main thread, Folia splits your world into independent regions, each running its own tick loop on a separate thread.
Real world benefits
- More players on one single world: players in distant areas do not make each other lag, because their regions tick independently.
- Perfect for large scale servers:
- big survival or SMP worlds,
- factions with huge territories,
- event servers with several active zones.
- Designed for modern CPUs: Folia takes advantage of multiple cores, which pairs perfectly with our infrastructure powered by AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950X3D and DDR5 RAM.
If your goal is to push very high player counts on a single Minecraft server, Folia is a strong candidate.
You can test and install Folia with a single click on BoxToPlay.
Plugin compatibility with Folia: what you need to know
Folia dramatically changes the threading model compared to classic Paper. This has direct consequences for plugins:
- Standard plugins are not guaranteed to work: plugins built for Paper or Spigot may misbehave or even break under Folia.
- Use Folia ready plugins whenever possible: make sure your plugins explicitly support Folia and respect its multithread rules. You can browse the list of Folia-ready plugins on Hangar.
Keep in mind:
- The world is split into regions ticking in parallel.
- The same plugin may see its events executed on different threads.
- Any logic that assumes a single global main thread must be redesigned or replaced with Folia compatible plugins.
Before switching your main production server to Folia, we strongly suggest you:
- Create a separate Folia test instance.
- Validate all critical plugins (claims, economy, permissions, anti cheat, etc.).
- Monitor performance and stability under realistic load.
The Pufferfish alternative: high performance with 100% plugin compatibility
If you are looking to boost your Minecraft server’s performance (CPU optimizations and better entity tracking) while keeping 100% compatibility with all existing Spigot and Paper plugins, Pufferfish is the perfect alternative to Folia.
Unlike Folia, Pufferfish does not split your world into multi-threaded regions, completely avoiding compatibility issues with your claims, economy, or mini-game plugins. You can test and install Pufferfish with a single click on BoxToPlay.
How to enable Velocity or Folia on your BoxToPlay servers
- Velocity: create or edit your BungeeCord proxy server, select Velocity as the proxy software in the panel, and install it in one click.
- Folia: on your Minecraft game servers, choose Folia as the server type instead of Paper or Spigot, then restart.
Both options are available instantly and do not require extra system administration work on your side.
Hardware and software aligned for Minecraft performance
At BoxToPlay, our goal is to combine:
- High-end hardware with modern CPUs such as AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950X3D and DDR5 RAM.
- Cutting-edge software like Velocity and Folia to fully leverage that power for your Minecraft network.
Whether you run a growing SMP or a full-sized network with hub, mini games, and factions, these new options give you more headroom to scale smoothly while keeping gameplay responsive.
By combining Velocity, Folia, and our optimized infrastructure, you get a strong foundation for building a fast, scalable Minecraft network ready for your next wave of players. If you want to try these new options on a powerful platform, you can start your free trial or order your BungeeCord / Velocity proxy and enable Folia or Velocity directly from your panel.