How to change the difficulty on a Minecraft server?

Want chill gameplay or a hardcore grind? In two minutes, you can switch difficulty and reshape combat, nights, and hunger. Upgrade your experience on our premium Minecraft hosting.

Prerequisites

• Access to your Oxygenserv panel (login and password)
• OP permissions in-game or access to the server console
• Server running for commands; server stopped to edit server.properties
• Your exact player name (case-sensitive) if you need to grant OP
• A recent backup (always a good idea before changes)

Step-by-step

1. Change difficulty in-game (command)
   Join your server and make sure you are OP. If not, open the panel console and run op YourName, then relog. In chat, type exactly /difficulty peaceful, /difficulty easy, /difficulty normal, or /difficulty hard. Press Enter and look for the confirmation like “Set the difficulty to Hard”. If you see “You do not have permission”, you’re not OP; if it says “Unknown or incomplete command”, check spelling or your server version.
2. Change difficulty from the console (no slash)
   Open the Oxygenserv panel and go to the “Console” tab. In the input box, type difficulty hard (or peaceful, easy, normal) and press Enter. The console will confirm with something like “Set the difficulty to Hard”. If you get “Unknown command”, make sure the server is running and that you didn’t include the slash (/). To check the current value, run difficulty with no arguments.
3. Edit the server.properties file
   Stop the server from the panel (red “Stop” button). Go to “Files” and open server.properties with the editor. Find the line difficulty= and set it to peaceful, easy, normal, or hard (older versions may accept numbers: 0=peaceful, 1=easy, 2=normal, 3=hard). Click Save, then start the server again (green “Start” button). In-game, use /difficulty to confirm the change.
4. Quick troubleshooting if it doesn’t change
   If mobs don’t spawn even on hard, set the gamerule via console: gamerule doMobSpawning true. Modpacks or plugins can force difficulty (e.g., hardcore packs); configure their files too if needed. On multi-world setups (e.g., Multiverse), set difficulty per world. Always restart after editing server.properties or the new value won’t load.

Tips & optimization

Pick normal for balanced community servers; go hard for tougher combat and stricter hunger. peaceful disables hostile mobs and regenerates health—great for building. Prefer words over numbers in server.properties to avoid version quirks. On Bedrock, console command is also difficulty hard, and the default port is 19132 for connectivity tests. Keep nether/end difficulty aligned with overworld for consistent challenge.

FAQ

/difficulty does nothing. What now?

Make sure you’re OP. From the panel console, run op YourName, relog, then retry /difficulty normal. If you see “Unknown or incomplete command”, check spelling and that you’re not using the slash in console. On the console, use difficulty normal (no slash).

What exactly goes in server.properties?

Use words: difficulty=peaceful, easy, normal, or hard. If your version expects numbers, use 0=peaceful, 1=easy, 2=normal, 3=hard. Save and restart the server.

Is Bedrock different from Java?

Same idea: console command difficulty hard and key difficulty= in server.properties. On Bedrock, verify the server listens on port 19132 when testing connectivity; difficulty applies immediately via console.

You’re set. Flip the difficulty anytime and match your server to your community’s playstyle. Need help? We’re here to fine-tune every setting.

Related articles

• Introduction to the world of Minecraft servers
• How do you choose the right features for your Minecraft server?
• It’s done… (Well not really)