SlowGrind

SlowGrind makes survival progression more challenging by slowing down resource gathering, exploration, trading, and farming. Every feature is configurable in config.yml, and each module can be enabled or disabled independently.

Features

Loot Tables

Loot from chests, shipwrecks, and vaults can be reduced. Rare items—including diamonds, Netherite, enchanted books, Totems of Undying, Elytra, and smithing templates—are more likely to be removed.

Ore Generation

Newly generated chunks can have ores replaced with stone, deepslate, or netherrack. Each ore has its own configurable replacement chance, with diamonds and Ancient Debris receiving the highest values.

End Portal Frames

Stronghold portal frames generate with no Eyes of Ender.

Structure Generation

A configurable portion of structures can be cancelled during generation (50% by default). Strongholds are excluded so players can still reach the End.

Villager Trading

Powerful trades—such as diamond gear, Bottles o' Enchanting, Ender Pearls, and enchanted books, especially Mending—can be removed by chance. Remaining trades become more expensive and have fewer uses.

Additional Difficulty Tweaks

• Mobs drop fewer items, with rare drops reduced even further.
• Non-boss hostile mobs have more health and spawn less frequently.
• Experience gains are reduced.
• Fishing takes longer, and treasure catches are more likely to be lost.
• Crops and trees grow more slowly.
• Spawners spawn mobs less frequently.
• Furnaces take longer to smelt items.
• Tools lose durability faster.
• Anvil costs are increased.

Commands

Command	Description
/slowgrind info	Shows which modules are currently enabled.
/slowgrind reload	Reloads the plugin configuration.

Configuration

All gameplay modules can be configured independently in config.yml, allowing you to tailor the difficulty to your server.

Important Notes

• New chunks only: Ore generation, structure generation, and portal frame changes apply only to newly generated chunks. Villager changes apply only to newly learned trades.
• Processing existing chunks: Set worldgen.process-existing-chunks: true to process already generated chunks once. This may remove ores from explored areas.
• Structure generation is best-effort: SlowGrind attempts to cancel structure generation through a Paper event. If the required event is unavailable, the plugin logs a warning and structures remain unchanged; the rest of the plugin continues to work.
• Anvil limits: Anvil operations reaching 40 levels display “Too Expensive!”. This is intentional, especially with higher configured cost multipliers.
• Build setup: The Paper API dependency, Java version, and api-version in the project currently use placeholders and must be set to match your server environment before building.