How to turn PvP on or off

PvP decides whether players can damage each other directly. Turn it off for a friendly build or creative server, or leave it on for survival and combat.

Change it

1. Open the Settings tab.
2. Toggle Enable PVP on or off.
3. Save, then Restart the server.

What "off" actually stops

Switching PvP off is narrower than most people expect. With it off, players still take damage from:

• Mobs, including a creeper explosion set off by another player
• Falling, drowning, fire and lava
• The void, starvation and suffocation

What they cannot do is hit each other directly, or hurt each other with a bow, splash potion or trident.

It does not stop players stealing from unlocked chests, breaking someone's build, or luring a mob into someone's base. If you need protection from those, you want a claims or protection plugin rather than the PvP switch.

Per-world and per-area control

The setting is server-wide. If you want a PvP arena inside an otherwise peaceful server, or the reverse, you need a plugin. On Paper, region plugins such as WorldGuard can override PvP inside an area you define, and they take priority over this setting.

Running Paper? See Install mods and plugins.