Are Minecraft Bedrock Edition Realms Worth It?

Minecraft Realms are a staple in the Minecraft Bedrock multiplayer space, with many creating realms to have a simple and reliable server that can hold up to 10 players. Over the past few years Minecraft Realms have increased in popularity significantly and nowadays many question whether Minecraft realms are worth it or if it would be better to create a Minecraft server.

WHAT ARE MINECRAFT REALMS?

Minecraft realms are a small scaled vanilla Minecraft server where up to 10 players can join at a time. This realm will be active even when Minecraft is closed on your device. Realms are able to maintain the vanilla Minecraft experience. Realms costs around $7.99 USD a month which is a considerable amount of money since Minecraft PE already costs $7.99 USD. These realms are able to run without any lag and are extremely customizable.

WHO ARE MINECRAFT REALMS FOR?

We recommend Minecraft realms for those who are constantly playing with a group of friends of around 5 to 10 players but prefer playing Minecraft survival with a group rather than playing in a multiplayer minigame server. Minecraft survival is perfect for realms since many servers tend to limit some aspects of the survival experience such as restricting certain Minecraft dimensions. Minecraft realms are costly, so only those with the budget should consider purchasing a Minecraft realm. Realms are also perfect for those who play Minecraft Bedrock on consoles such as the Xbox Series S, and the PS5 or PS4 since these platforms do not allow players to join public servers. However, realms are available for all platforms of Minecraft so realms will be able to hold people from consoles to mobile devices and much more! More players are able to join realms than servers.

WHO ARE MINECRAFT REALMS NOT FOR?

We do not recommend Minecraft realms who find Minecraft survival mode stale or boring. The main appeal of realms is the fact that realms are able to run vanilla Minecraft with up to 10 people. Players who enjoy quick paced, interactive, competitive game modes are most likely better off joining Minecraft Bedrock Edition servers such as the Hive. Realms are usually a long term experience that players can spend months on to build a massive survival world. However, some may not have the time or patience. If that's the case they should play Minecraft via servers instead of purchasing a realm.

REALM CUSTOMIZATIONS:

Owners of realms have unique customization options that can fit anyone's needs. For starters, realm owners are able to:

- Upload unique and pre existing worlds onto the realm

- Download frequent backups of the realm every hour

- Set player permissions

- Add a texture pack that is downloaded whenever a user joins the realm

- Have command blocks to control the realm

THE CONS OF MINECRAFT REALMS:

While Minecraft Bedrock realms are extremely easy and convenient, there are still some flaws with the realm system. For starters, realms are only able to hold 10 people maximum at a time while free servers such as Cubeecraft can hold thousands of players at a time. Realms also do not feature custom plugins like servers do. Plugins enable servers to have more complex and custom features such as anti-cheat. Realms do not have any form of anti-cheat to prevent hackers which is something to keep in mind before purchasing a realm.

HOW TO JOIN A REALM:

Joining a realm can be done via two different methods. The realm owner can either add you manually to the realm list by typing in your Minecraft username and request you to join. Alternatively, the realm owner can send you a code and you will have to input the code in the "join realm" button and manually type in the code. 

CONCLUSION:

Minecraft realms are amazing and for the cost of a realm, you are truly getting a good deal. Realms are always being updated so there might be some new features to consider in the future. Realms are a good purchase and definitely make Minecraft Bedrock a more enjoyable experience! I have made many realms in the past few years and for the most part I have had a stable and easy experience with them. One major flaw with realms is that they lack protection from hackers and any other threats. Regardless, realms can be useful for many users!