Join a town or found one?
The pros, costs and responsibilities of each choice, to pick the right start.
2 min read 4 sections
On Survival, almost everything happens in towns: they protect your builds, give you neighbours and an economy. Your first big choice is whether to join an existing town or found your own.
⚖️ Side by side
| 🧑 Joining a town | 👑 Founding a town | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Free | $5,000, then $25 per chunk claimed |
| Daily cost | The town's taxes, if the mayor sets any | $10 a day of upkeep, paid by the town bank |
| Land | A plot given or sold by the mayor | As many chunks as the town allows: 8 per resident |
| Freedom | You follow the town's rules and style | You decide everything: name, rules, style, taxes |
| Work | Build and play | Recruit, manage the bank, permissions and plots, settle disputes |
| Risk | Low: if you leave, you start again elsewhere | If the bank can't pay the upkeep, the town is deleted |
🧑 Join a town if…
- 🌱 You're new and want to learn the server with experienced players.
- 🏗️ You'd rather build than manage money and permissions.
- 🤝 You want friends and activity from day one.
- 💵 You don't have $5,000 yet. Most players found a town after a few days.
👑 Found a town if…
- 💰 You have at least $5,500–6,000: $5,000 to found it, plus money for claims and a few days of upkeep.
- 👥 You already have friends ready to join: every resident adds 8 chunks to your limit.
- 🎯 You have a project: a style, a theme, a trade town, a port city…
- ⏰ You can log in regularly: a town without an active mayor slowly dies.
The best of both worlds
Join a town first, learn the ropes, save up, and found your own later, maybe as part of the same nation. It is the most common path on Survival.
📚 Next steps
🎮 Try it in game
Join the server and type /help any time.