Progression presets
McProgression includes three starter presets. Choose one that fits the kind of server you run, then adjust its XP awards and access rules to suit your players.
| Preset | Good fit for | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Casual, creative-friendly, or community servers that want progression without skill-based access restrictions. | XP, skills, and ranks remain active. The preset leaves block and dimension access gates open. |
| Progressive | A guided survival experience with a shorter early game and gradual access to advanced resources. | Uses the standard skill XP curves and awards, with configured gates for selected ores, woods, stations, and dimensions. Common starter materials remain available. |
| Long-form | Servers that want longer goals between some mining and woodcutting milestones. | Keeps the same rank tiers and access-gate structure, but raises the Mining and Woodcutting XP needed for levels. Other skills keep their standard curves. |
Open and Progressive use the same shipped skill XP curves and awards; their difference is access rules. Long-form does not simply multiply every skill's XP: its Mining and Woodcutting curves are higher, while the other skills retain the standard curves. The actual activity awards are still configurable.
Skill levels and rank subtiers
Each skill has its own level from 0 to 99. The shipped rank subtiers mark milestones within that skill:
| Skill level | Subtier |
|---|---|
| 0 | Novice |
| 10 | Apprentice |
| 25 | Journeyman |
| 50 | Expert |
| 75 | Master |
| 99 | Grandmaster |
The presets ship these same subtier levels. A server owner can change the thresholds or names in skills.yml.
Cumulative XP examples
These are the total skill XP needed to reach each level from level 0, using the shipped curves. They show why XP totals differ by skill and preset; they are not hours or days of play.
| Skill and preset | Level 10 | Level 25 | Level 50 | Level 75 | Level 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining — Open / Progressive | 963 | 9,945 | 75,015 | 251,460 | 577,843.2 |
| Mining — Long-form | 1,384 | 13,510 | 100,520 | 336,030 | 771,447.6 |
| Woodcutting — Open / Progressive | 342.5 | 2,950 | 21,212.5 | 70,412.5 | 161,254.5 |
| Woodcutting — Long-form | 1,170 | 11,300 | 83,850 | 280,150 | 643,038 |
XP can be fractional, so the table keeps decimal totals where needed. For example, the Progressive Mining curve awards 1 XP for ordinary stone and typically 8 XP for ores; its Woodcutting curve awards 5 XP for common logs. These are configured starting values, and material-specific awards can differ.
One illustrative time example
Suppose a player focuses on Mining and earns 4,000 Mining XP per week, starting from level 0. Dividing each cumulative threshold by 4,000 and rounding up gives this example:
| Mining rank | Open / Progressive | Long-form |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice (level 10) | 1 week | 1 week |
| Journeyman (level 25) | 3 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Expert (level 50) | 19 weeks | 26 weeks |
| Master (level 75) | 63 weeks | 85 weeks |
| Grandmaster (level 99) | 145 weeks | 193 weeks |
This is a worked example from configured XP thresholds, not a measured player rate or a server promise. It assumes one skill starts at zero, the player sustains that Mining XP rate every week, and no other skill or General XP contributes to the Global Rank timeline. Real rates vary with mining choices, server activity filters, and custom settings. Use the progression planner to explore different assumptions.
Global Rank is a separate ladder
Skill subtiers describe progress in one skill. Global Rank combines the levels of enabled skills with optional General XP points, then compares that score with the Global Rank thresholds. Its shipped tiers are Novice (0), Apprentice (35), Adept (100), Expert (250), Master (500), Grandmaster (750), and Legend (925).
General XP is separate from skill XP: it does not advance a skill or meet a skill-based access requirement. By default, each 100 General XP adds one Global Rank point. Owners can change that conversion and the Global Rank tiers in config.yml; disabling the conversion excludes General XP from the score.
The preset packages replace only skills.yml, items.yml, and world-access.yml. They do not replace config.yml or general-xp.yml, so the Global Rank formula, Global Rank thresholds, and General XP rewards remain as configured by the server.
XP is not a playtime estimate
The tables show required XP. They do not predict how long a player takes to earn it. Time depends on what the player does, how often eligible activities happen, which activities the server enables, and any custom XP values or gates. A miner, builder, explorer, and player who mainly earns General XP will progress at different rates.
For a server-specific estimate, use the progression planner to explore activity rates and configuration values. Treat any time result as an estimate based on its stated assumptions, not a promise of time-to-max.
Choosing and applying a preset
Preview a preset before applying it, especially on an established server. Applying one makes backups and requests a restart; existing player progression remains in the selected storage backend, while the three gameplay configuration files are replaced.
/mcpadmin preset list
/mcpadmin preset preview progressive
When the preview looks right, apply it with:
/mcpadmin preset apply progressive
See the server admin guide for setup and safe preset application steps.