Introduction to EliteLeaderboards
Every Minecraft server owner knows that player engagement thrives on friendly competition. Whether you run a survival world, a minigame hub, or a creative build server, showing off top players can motivate your community to play more, build better, and stay longer. EliteLeaderboards is a lightweight yet powerful plugin that lets you create dynamic leaderboards for any numerical placeholder available through PlaceholderAPI. With just a few commands, you can track playtime, kills, deaths, money, or any custom statistic and display it in chat, on scoreboards, or even on holograms. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to set up, customize, and manage leaderboards that keep your players striving for the top spot.
What Exactly Is EliteLeaderboards?
EliteLeaderboards is a Minecraft plugin designed to work seamlessly with PlaceholderAPI, the go-to placeholder expansion system for servers. Instead of being limited to built-in stats, it can pull any numerical value from any installed placeholder expansion. That means you can create leaderboards for playtime, mob kills, blocks broken, in-game currency, or even custom data from other plugins. The plugin handles the sorting, pagination, and formatting, so you can focus on where and how to display the rankings. It is especially useful for servers that want to add a competitive layer without complex scripting or database management.
Creating Your First Leaderboard
Setting up a leaderboard is straightforward. The core command is /lbadd, which takes a name, a placeholder, and an optional time-format flag. The syntax looks like this:
- /lbadd <leaderboard_name> <placeholder> [transform_to_time? (y/n)]
For example, to track total playtime using the Statistic expansion, you would run:
- /lbadd playtime %statistic_seconds_played% y
This command creates a leaderboard called playtime (names cannot contain spaces). The placeholder %statistic_seconds_played% comes from the Statistic expansion of PlaceholderAPI, which returns the number of seconds a player has been on the server. The final argument y tells the plugin to transform the raw number into a readable time format (hours, minutes, seconds) instead of displaying a huge integer. If you omit the y or set it to n, the value will appear as a plain number. This flexibility makes EliteLeaderboards suitable for both time-based and count-based statistics.
Displaying Leaderboards Anywhere
Once a leaderboard is created, you can show it using PlaceholderAPI placeholders in any plugin that supports them. This includes chat messages, tab lists, scoreboards, holograms, and even NPC names. The plugin offers three main placeholder types:
- %eliteleaderboards_<name>_page_<number>% – displays a full page of the leaderboard. The number of players per page is configurable in the plugin’s settings file.
- %eliteleaderboards_<name>_position_<number>% – shows the player name and value at a specific rank, such as position 1 for the top player.
- %eliteleaderboards_<name>_own% – shows the current player’s own rank and value, which is perfect for personal scoreboards or messages.
For example, to display the first page of the playtime leaderboard in a hologram, you would use %eliteleaderboards_playtime_page_1%. To show the top player’s name and time in chat, you could use %eliteleaderboards_playtime_position_1%. And to let a player see their own standing, %eliteleaderboards_playtime_own% works perfectly in a sidebar or a personal message. The plugin automatically updates these values, so your leaderboards always reflect the latest data without manual refreshing.
Managing and Removing Leaderboards
If you need to delete a leaderboard, the command is just as simple:
- /lbremove <leaderboard_name>
This instantly removes the tracking and frees up the name for reuse. There is no complicated database cleanup required. The plugin handles everything behind the scenes, making it easy to experiment with different leaderboard ideas. For instance, you might create a temporary leaderboard for a weekend event, then remove it once the event ends.
Permissions and Access Control
EliteLeaderboards keeps permissions minimal. Only one permission node is needed:
- eliteleaderboards.admin – grants access to the /lbadd and /lbremove commands.
Without this permission, players cannot create or delete leaderboards, but they can still view any leaderboard that you display through placeholders. This separation ensures that only trusted staff members can modify the tracked statistics, while all players benefit from seeing the rankings. It is a clean, secure approach that fits into any server’s permission hierarchy.
Practical Use Cases and Creative Ideas
EliteLeaderboards shines when combined with other plugins. For a survival server, you might track %statistic_mob_kills% to create a hunter leaderboard, or %statistic_deaths% for a humorous “most deaths” board. Economy servers can use %vault_eco_balance% to show the richest players. Minigame servers can pull custom placeholders from their game plugins to rank wins, scores, or fastest times. The only limit is the range of numerical placeholders available on your server.
Many server owners also appreciate how easy it is to integrate EliteLeaderboards into a modern setup. For those who want a hassle-free way to manage their entire server environment, the foxygame.net launcher provides a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu. While EliteLeaderboards itself is a plugin, the launcher simplifies the process of keeping your server’s mods and plugins organized, allowing you to focus on building engaging leaderboards rather than wrestling with file management.
Configuration and Customization
The plugin’s configuration file lets you adjust how many players appear per page, the format of the displayed text, and other visual aspects. You can change the separator between rank, name, and value, or even add color codes to make the leaderboard match your server’s theme. Because the output is plain text with PlaceholderAPI support, you can wrap it in whatever formatting your display plugin allows. This means you can create sleek, professional-looking leaderboards without any coding knowledge.
Why EliteLeaderboards Stands Out
Compared to other leaderboard plugins, EliteLeaderboards is remarkably lightweight and focused. It does not try to be a full statistics tracker or a scoreboard manager. Instead, it does one thing extremely well: turning any numerical placeholder into a sortable, paginated leaderboard. This simplicity reduces server lag, avoids conflicts with other plugins, and makes troubleshooting a breeze. The time transformation feature is a particularly thoughtful touch, saving you from having to manually convert seconds into a readable format.
Conclusion
EliteLeaderboards is a must-have tool for any Minecraft server that wants to add competitive leaderboards without complexity. Its tight integration with PlaceholderAPI means you can track virtually any statistic, and the straightforward commands make setup a matter of seconds. Whether you are highlighting top builders, richest players, or most dedicated grinders, this plugin delivers clean, real-time rankings that boost player engagement. With minimal permissions, easy removal, and flexible display options, EliteLeaderboards fits seamlessly into any server type. Start creating your own leaderboards today and watch your community compete for the top spot.