PickupArrows: Custom Arrow and Trident Pickup Control

What is PickupArrows?

Ever lost a perfectly good arrow after a skeleton ambush, or watched your trident vanish into a lava pool after a missed throw? PickupArrows is the Minecraft server plugin that puts you back in control of your projectiles. It lets you reclaim arrows fired by skeletons, players, dispensers, and even drowned or pillagers. Whether you use an Infinity bow and want to finally collect those spectral arrows, or you need to disable the pickup of fire arrows in certain areas, this plugin delivers flexible, per-source configuration that adapts to your server’s unique mechanics.

Why You Need PickupArrows on Your Server

Vanilla Minecraft treats many arrows as one-time-use items, which can be frustrating in survival, PvP, or custom game modes. PickupArrows solves this by giving you granular control over what gets collected and from which sources. It supports normal, fire, spectral, and tipped arrows, plus tridents and even crossbow multishot projectiles. The plugin works with permissions, WorldGuard regions, and a handy toggle command, so you can fine-tune the experience without altering core gameplay balance.

Key Features at a Glance

• Pick up arrows from skeletons, players, dispensers, drowned, pillagers, and crossbows.
• Separate toggles for fire, normal, spectral, tipped arrows, and tridents.
• Special handling for multishot crossbow shots.
• Permission-based pickup (optional) with nodes for each arrow type.
• WorldGuard support to allow or deny pickup in specific regions.
• In-game command to toggle personal pickup status.
• Fallback configuration for unknown sources.
• bStats metrics for anonymous usage statistics (opt-out available).

Configuring PickupArrows to Fit Your Playstyle

The heart of the plugin lies in its config.yml file. You can define exactly which sources allow arrow retrieval and even set different rules for fire arrows versus normal ones. The configuration is split into sections for each entity or block type, so you could, for example, let players collect normal arrows from skeletons but deny fire arrows from pillagers. A fallback unknown category catches any entity not explicitly listed, preventing unexpected behavior.

Understanding the Configuration Options

Here’s a simplified look at the pickupFrom section:

• skeleton, player, drowned, pillager – each can have fire, normal, spectral, tipped, and trident set to true or false.
• crossbow – includes an additional multishot subcategory, so you can treat multishot arrows differently.
• dispenser – yes, even arrows fired from your own redstone contraptions can be reclaimed.
• unknown – a safety net for modded or future entities.

If you’re running a server with multiple worlds or minigames, the WorldGuard integration becomes invaluable. You can set a list of regions and decide whether it acts as an allowlist or denylist. For instance, you might disable arrow pickup in a PvP arena but enable it everywhere else, all with a few lines of YAML.

Permissions and Commands

PickupArrows ships with a comprehensive permission system that remains dormant unless you set usePermissions: true in the config. When enabled, players need specific nodes to pick up each arrow type. This is perfect for rank-based servers where you want to reward donors with the ability to reclaim tridents or spectral arrows.

Permission Nodes

• pickuparrows.allow.normal – pick up normal arrows.
• pickuparrows.allow.fire – pick up fire arrows.
• pickuparrows.allow.spectral – pick up spectral arrows.
• pickuparrows.allow.tipped – pick up tipped arrows.
• pickuparrows.allow.trident – pick up tridents.
• pickuparrows.* – grants all sub-permissions.
• pickuparrows.allow.* – grants all arrow collection permissions.

In-Game Toggle Command

Players can quickly switch their personal pickup status with /pickuparrows (aliases: /pa, /arrow, /arrows, /pickuparrow). This is especially handy during combat when you want to stop collecting stray arrows to keep your inventory clean, then turn it back on after the fight.

WorldGuard Integration and Regional Control

For servers that rely on WorldGuard to manage protected zones, PickupArrows offers seamless integration. You can define a list of region names and choose whether the plugin is active only inside those regions (allowlist) or everywhere except those regions (denylist). This gives admins precise control over where arrow retrieval is permitted, without needing to fiddle with per-player permissions.

Compatibility and Updates

Version 7.0.0 of PickupArrows has been updated to support Minecraft 1.20.6 and newer versions, with older servers encouraged to use v6. The codebase is actively maintained, and the changelog reflects steady improvements like the renaming of the list option to useListAsDenylist for clarity. Keeping plugins up to date can be tedious, but if you use the foxygame.net launcher, you can manage updates and install new versions right from the launcher’s menu, making server maintenance a lot simpler. Development builds are available on the continuous integration server, and the source code is hosted on GitHub under the MIT license.

Conclusion

PickupArrows transforms a small but persistent annoyance into a fully configurable feature that enhances survival, adventure, and minigame servers alike. Its per-source toggles, permission nodes, WorldGuard support, and simple toggle command give server owners the tools to craft exactly the arrow economy they want. Whether you’re tired of losing tridents to the void or want to stop skeleton farms from cluttering your inventory, this plugin delivers a polished, lightweight solution. Give it a try on your next world and watch your arrow collection woes disappear.