1v1 duels the guide
How to win a 1v1 duel on Minecraft Bedrock: the classic and Stick kits in detail, when to eat, when to throw potions, and how to play sudden death.
Published 23 October 2026 by the PaffMC team
FFA: free for all
On PaffMC, /ffa sends you to the Crater, an open arena of 101 × 101 blocks. Pick your kit and keep fighting. /rankedffa starts ranked FFA, in the Colosseum, with season points.
Never finish a fight in the open
The danger in FFA is the third player: the one who arrives while you finish an opponent and catches you at half health. Before engaging, look at who is around. After a kill, back off towards an edge or some terrain, eat, then go again.
Play around kill streaks
Kill streaks grow as long as you do not die, and they feed the leaderboards. A long streak is worth more than one more kill: when you are low, leaving the fight is often the right call.
Combat logging
When you hit or get hit, you are in combat for 15 seconds. Disconnecting during that time makes you lose your items, and everyone sees the message. If you want to leave, get out of the fight and wait for the timer to end.
KOTH: hold the hill
King of the Hill is played as a crew, in the middle of the Crater. The goal: hold the zone for 90 seconds without interruption. If an opponent enters the zone, the capture is interrupted: the zone is contested. You need to be in a crew (/crew). Times are announced in game and on the Modes page.
Split the roles
- The capturer stays in the zone, chases nobody and eats as soon as they get a break.
- The defenders cover the entrances and break the combos of players rushing the zone.
- A scout watches the other crews waiting for you to get weaker.
Arrive at the right time
The crew that arrives first is not always the one that wins: it takes the first hits. Arriving as a group, right after a big fight between two other crews, often pays off more.
Choosing a kit
Outside duels, kits come from /kit. Two kits are free and others unlock with money earned in game; no kit can be bought with gems. Start with the free kit: it is the balance reference.
The open zones: PvP, Zombie and Loot
Outside the Crater, three open maps each have their own rule. The Bastion (/pvp) hands out diamond gear at the entrance: everyone starts equal. The Dead City (/zombie) sends zombie hordes, including special monsters, that drop money and gear. The Golden Quarry (/loot) is played for loot.
In the Dead City, a hit from a monster also puts you in combat: disconnecting to escape it counts as combat logging.
Bounties: when your head is worth money
With /prime, a player can put a price on another player's head. Whoever kills them takes the money. If you have a bounty on you, play more carefully in FFA: everyone has a reason to target you. If you are hunting a bounty, wait until the target is busy fighting someone else.