01Different kinds of conflict
Factions is about groups. Your crew lives or dies by its walls and its power level. CHEAT SMP is about individuals. One player overheats, the server lights them up, and anyone with PvP on can chase.
Both reward aggression. They just aim it at different targets: bases on Factions, players on CHEAT SMP.
That changes who has fun. On Factions, a strong team can dominate a whole map. On CHEAT SMP, a solo player with good movement and smart Heat management can outrun a crowd or cash a big bounty alone. Neither is better. They reward different skills: coordination and engineering on one side, timing and nerve on the other.
02How Factions works
Per WiseHosting's glossary, each member adds to a faction's power, and that total caps how many chunks it can claim. Claims block outsiders from building or breaking. If power drops below claimed chunks, rivals can overclaim that land. Kill members, drain power, take the base.
Claimed blocks are normally protected, but TNT cannons can breach them. Factions also run diplomacy: allies, truces, neutral and enemies. WiseHosting dates the mode's peak to 2012 to 2016 with renewed interest since 2023. The Minehut Wiki notes a harder offshoot, Hardcore Factions (HCF), that leans on leadership and teamwork.
03What Factions does well
Nothing beats a successful raid with your team. It's one of Minecraft's oldest competitive formats for a reason. Factions rewards planning, engineering and politics. Cannon design is a craft of its own, and alliances create real drama. If you have a tight squad that wants war, it's hard to top.
04Side-by-side comparison
| CHEAT SMP | Factions | |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of play | Solo, with optional crews | Teams |
| Claims | /claim protects chunks | Claims limited by faction power, can be overclaimed |
| Raiding | Not a core loop | Core loop, TNT cannons |
| PvP | Opt-in with /pvp | Usually always on |
| Main target | WANTED players and bounty targets | Enemy bases and members |
| Rewards | Server bounty 250 to 1,000 Cheater Cash (scaled) | Loot from raided storage |
| Abilities | Earned powers like Dash and Shockwave | Custom enchants on many servers |
05How bounties replace raids
On CHEAT SMP, the server mints a bounty when you land a valid kill on a WANTED player: 250 Cheater Cash, +100 for each extra overheat, capped at 1,000 and scaled by the market index. WANTED players' stolen Cheat Charges can drop, too.
Players can also put a price on anyone with /bounty <player> <amount>. The cash sits in escrow from 100 up to 10,000 per bounty and 50,000 total per target, refunded after 48 hours if no one claims it. Read player bounties and Most Wanted.
06Why builders like it
If you love PvP but hate logging in to a crater, CHEAT SMP separates the two. Your base stays yours, and fights happen when you choose. Season 1 "Most Wanted" runs Dec 1, 2026 to Feb 8, 2027, and the top bounty hunter gets the MOST WANTED title. For the build side, see claims and homes.
Paid plans add extra homes and claims, from +1/+1 on CHEATER up to +20/+40 on ULTRA, but no rank buys combat power. If you want a base to defend, you defend it by staying out of trouble or by hunting the people who would cause it.
07Rules that stop kill farming
Factions servers handle abuse in their own ways, and every server is different. CHEAT SMP bakes its anti-farming rules into the bounty system so PvP rewards stay honest.
- A victim must have 2 hours of playtime and 25 lifetime Patches before their death pays anything.
- Revenge trades within 30 minutes pay nothing.
- The same killer and victim pair pays out once per 24 hours.
- Max 3 Cheat Charges per hour.
- Kills between players on the same IP are blocked.
Player bounties have their own limits too: 5 active per poster and a 30-second cooldown. The point is simple. If you're climbing the bounty leaderboard, you earned it by hunting real targets. See how the bounty server works.
08Start hunting
Join at play.cheatsmp.dev on Java 26.3, run /wanted to see who's lit up, and /bounty list to see who's worth the trip. More PvP detail on our PvP SMP page.
FAQFrequently asked questions
Can you raid bases on CHEAT SMP?
Raiding isn't the core loop. /claim protects your chunks, and PvP centers on WANTED players and bounties.
What is power in Factions?
Each member contributes power to the faction, and the total caps how many chunks it can claim. If power drops below the claimed count, rivals can overclaim land.
Does CHEAT SMP have teams?
There are crews (/crew), and Cheat Cup teams go up to 4 players. PvP rewards are mostly individual: WANTED kills and bounties.
Is PvP always on in CHEAT SMP?
No. You opt in with /pvp, and only PvP-on players can become WANTED.
Earn your first cheat in two minutes
Join on Java Edition 26.3, type /survival, and Dash is yours. Nightly events at 7 PM Central. Free to play.
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Last updated 2026-10-30. Facts match the live server; prices scale with the market index.