Why a VPS for game servers
Game servers like Minecraft, FiveM (GTA V roleplay), Rust or ARK must run 24/7, consume CPU/RAM continuously and need a static IP. Hosting on a home PC means power cuts, dropped connections, electricity bills and exposing your home IP to attacks. A VPS fixes all of it: the machine lives in a data center with redundant power and networking, you get full root access to install anything, and you can upgrade specs instantly as your player base grows.
Specs by player count
| Game | Players | RAM | vCPU | Approx. Triplify plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft (Vanilla) | 5–10 | 4 GB | 2 | ฿349/mo |
| Minecraft (plugins/mods) | 20–40 | 8 GB | 4 | ฿699/mo |
| Minecraft (heavy modpack) | 40+ | 16 GB | 6+ | ฿1,299/mo |
| FiveM (32 slots) | ~32 | 8 GB | 4 | ฿699/mo |
| FiveM (64+ slots, custom scripts) | 64+ | 16–32 GB | 6–12 | ฿1,299–2,199/mo |
| Rust / ARK | 50–100 | 16–32 GB | 6+ | ฿1,299+/mo |
How much ping matters
Ping is the round-trip time between a player and the server. Above 100ms, action and roleplay games feel noticeably laggy. Thai players connecting to a server in Thailand see roughly 5–20ms; Singapore adds 30–70ms and Europe/US climbs past 150–250ms. If your player base is in Thailand, hosting in Thailand is always the right call.
DDoS: the #1 threat to game servers
- Game servers are attacked more than any other workload — by rival servers and banned players alike.
- Choose a VPS with network-level DDoS mitigation, not just an on-box firewall.
- Hide the server's real IP — never post it in public Discords; use a domain plus a proxy layer where possible.
- Open only the ports you actually use — e.g. 25565 (Minecraft) or 30120 (FiveM) — and drop ICMP if not needed.
Step-by-step setup
- 1Rent a VPS per the table above and pick Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (the most documented choice).
- 2SSH in and update the system: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
- 3Install the game runtime — Minecraft needs Java 21 (Paper MC recommended for performance); FiveM uses the official artifacts.
- 4Set up a systemd service, or a panel like Pterodactyl, so the server restarts automatically after reboots.
- 5Open only the required firewall ports, then invite friends to test ping and TPS before launch.
- 6Automate daily backups of the world/database and keep at least one copy off the machine.
Common mistakes
- Choosing plans by core count when single-core speed is the real bottleneck.
- Skimping on RAM — big modpacks eat it fast, and a full heap means lag/crash loops.
- No backups — a corrupted or griefed world is gone forever.
- Running everything as root with every port open — an open invitation to attackers.
- Ignoring transfer policies — game servers are bandwidth-hungry, so pick unlimited-transfer plans like Triplify's.
