CivMC's main focus is the simulation of civilization. There are mechanics unique to the server like protecting blocks individually by reinforcing them with resources. This gives buildings, cities, and whole nations a layer of control and protection, neither of which are infallible unlike other genres such as Factions, or Towny. This, in conjunction with another unique feature of imprisoning other players through combat, allows nations to enforce their laws and will on others through force when other means fail.
The most important thing on CivMC is community, it makes you more resistant against enemies looking to do you harm. But combat is not the only place community comes in handy. Forming friends and connections in the right places will allow you to influence the course of events in your country, or even on the world stage of international politics.
CivMC has a very unique economy centered mostly around the production and selling of experience (XP). This is because XP can only be gained through farming a wide variety of crops, that all require specific biomes and take much longer to grow than normal, due to the plugin Realistic Biomes. These crops then get put through an expensive "Factory" which produces the XP in the form of emeralds. The emeralds can then be consumed to gain XP directly or be crafted into Bottles O' Enchanting. This is the only way to make XP, allowing players to make enchanted tools/armor after this labor intensive work has been done. This also means that only competent communities/nations are capable of efficient XP/enchanted item production.
Another large part of the economy is ran by a plugin named ItemExchange that functions as a shop chest which allows players to trade with one another without being personally there.
Since CivMC's main focus is on civilization building, player driven politics decide the course of the server. Countries are organized and controlled solely by players who negotiate with each other in diplomacy. They create alliances, organize events and parties all without the help nor intervention of admins. This is why people might call CivMC a semi-anarchy server, because of the freedom provided while still disallowing hacks or bigotry. This also means wars are the organic results of diplomacy breaking down, countries with ambitions, or chaotic characters looking to sow disorder.
War, like the real world, can drag out for awhile. Wars on CivMC in some cases have lasted months, during which battles were fought, plans were executed, people were imprisoned and a lot of hours were spent preparing for these events. This happens by crafting armor, weapons, potions, and the creation of military infrastructure. Such military infrastructure can consist of bunkers, underground ice roads and the ultimate defensive structures known as vaults, where imprisoned players are kept, as well as usually the nation's wealth if it's not drop chested. These structures consist of giant obsidian hulls spanning chunks dug down to bedrock, which take an extraordinary amount of effort to make.
While
CivMC can be quite the grind sometimes, there are also many things to do that are less intensive. Besides building nice things (it is Minecraft after all), you can become a merchant and sell your goods in shops around the world... Or delve into brewery and discover new drinks, foods and drugs with their unique effects. Or maybe you're a fighter looking for the thrill of battle, either lending out your sword to nation states or taking the more risky route of raiding? Or perhaps you'd simply enjoy a nice group of friends to play Minecraft with.
The sky is the limit when you log onto CivMC.
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