Join the server
You need Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.8 or newer: every version above 1.21.8 can join too, thanks to ViaVersion. It's a survival-mode server.
Server address
minetheftauto.org
- 1. Open Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.8 or newer.
- 2. Choose Multiplayer, then Add Server.
- 3. Paste the server address and press Done.
- 4. Join, pick your class, and welcome to the city.
In your server list it shows up as Mine Theft Auto ✔ VICE CITY!.
Your first 10 minutes
Seven things to do, in order. Nobody needs a manual to have fun here, but this helps.
- 1
Join
Accept the server resource pack when asked: it makes the vehicles look right. You spawn in Vice City with $50,000 cash.
- 2
Pick your class
A menu opens the first time you join. It's free and can't be skipped. Your class is your job, income and toolkit. Later, visit the Hospital NPC to switch: $50,000, 30 min cooldown, not while wanted. In game,
/classhelp <class>explains any class and/guideopens the full guide. - 3
Do your class's thing
Every class plays differently. Read the class guides or take the quiz.
- 4
Watch your stars
Crimes earn wanted stars (0–5).
/wantedshows yours. - 5
Bank your cash
Cash can be stolen. The bank is safe.
/depositmoves money in. - 6
Insure yourself
Death costs you a slice of your wealth. Life Insurance (General Store or Hospital NPC) protects you once.
- 7
Get wheels
Visit the Vehicle Dealer NPC: a bike for a few thousand dollars, a sports car when you're flush. Lock it with
/lkwhen you get out.
Two ways to play, and a middle path
Against the law
Pickpocket, Kidnapper, Patient Zero, Car Jacker, and dealers who deal in illegal goods. Your enemy is the police, and each other.
For the law
Police Officer. Catch them, earn rewards and climb the ranks, and fly the police helicopter.
In the middle
Weapons, Potion and Items dealers, the Deliveryman, the Taxi Driver and the Hitman: the economy and specialists that keep both sides running.
Everyone can also do holdups, truck deliveries, the daily lottery, money-bag hunts and fishing, and everyone can play the stock market or try their luck at the casino.
Two kinds of money
Cash
What you carry. Spendable, robbable, and part of what you can lose when you die.
Bank
Safe savings that can't be pickpocketed. Move cash in and out with /deposit and /withdraw. Send money to a friend with /transfer (cash, and they must be within 3 blocks). Bank-to-bank transfers (/transferbank) are switched off.
The wanted-star system
Steal something and you'll feel it: one star, then two, then the sirens start. Reach five and every cop in the city knows your name.
| Stars | What police can do |
|---|---|
| 1–3★ | Ticket you (a fine) |
| 4–5★ | Arrest you |
Stars fade over time (roughly every 6 min). They fade faster with no police nearby and freeze while a cop is within about 50 blocks. Everyone can see everyone: police glow blue, civilians white, and wanted players glow yellow, gold, red, then dark red as their stars climb.
What earns stars (examples)
- Robbing a player: +1★ if it fails, +2★ if it works
- A bank job: at least 4★
- A store holdup: 4★
- Robbing a house: +4★
- Kidnapping: 3★
- Infecting someone: 1★
- Fishing without a permit: +1★
- Planting drug seeds: +1★
- A successful lockpick: +1★
- Taking over a vehicle that isn't yours: +1★ (once each time it changes hands)
- Destroying someone else's vehicle: +2★
- Buying weapons or weed from the server stores: +1★
Repeating the same crime within about 2 min doesn't keep stacking stars.
Getting caught: ticket, arrest, jail
Ticket (1–3★)
$1,500 / $5,500 / $9,500
Pay within 120 seconds or your stars jump.
Arrest (4–5★)
A cop right-clicks you with their Stick and holds the cuff for about 3 s (4 s at 5★). It breaks if you're hit or move out of range, so your friends can save you by hitting the officer.
Not in a vehicle. A suspect sitting in a vehicle can't be cuffed. Police pull the vehicle over instead: stay close with the Stick for 3 s and the driver is thrown out and can't get back in for 8 s. Jumping into a vehicle mid-cuff still breaks the arrest.
| Wanted level | Jail time | Bail |
|---|---|---|
| 4★ | 5 min | $7,500 |
| 5★ | 7 min | $12,500 |
Ways out:
- Wait it out.
/escape: 30% chance, one try per jailing, +2 min on a fail.- Pay the bail.
- A friend uses
/breakout <you>: 50% chance. /bribea nearby officer before it comes to this (max $30,000, 4 per day, not during a robbery).
Dying
The death tax is 3% of your cash and bank, up to $500,000. Life Insurance blocks it once, and also lets you keep Efficiency V diamond and netherite pickaxes. You respawn at a random respawn point. Your vehicles aren't lost: the vehicle item comes back with you.
Staying alive: your hunger bar never drops, so there's no food to worry about. Health still matters: it regenerates slowly (the default is about one heart every 5 minutes), so a fight, a crash or a fall is something you feel for a while. Potions from the Potion Dealers help you stay ahead of it.
Tips & strategy
Seven rules of thumb for staying rich and out of jail.
Getting rich (legit)
Deliveries, taxi (as a Taxi Driver), patrol (as police), fishing with a permit, the daily reward, the money-bag hunt and a slow stock portfolio. Bank everything.
Getting rich (criminal)
Pickpocket busy areas, bank it, then pull a holdup or a bank job with a friend and a Crowbar. Bank jobs pay more when the city is full, so heist at peak hours. Watch your cooldowns.
Never get caught
Stay away from blue glows, don't repeat a crime back-to-back, keep an eye on /wanted, keep bribe money (you can't bribe mid-heist) and know your escape route. A car is not a shield: police can pull it over or wreck it.
Be a great cop
Take patrols for pay, use /gpstrack and /backup, and arrest at 4–5★ for the big payouts. Keep a partner to protect the cuff, and pull the getaway car over before you cuff.
Be a great dealer
Undercut the server store, stock what people actually buy, advertise, and stay near crowds.
Protect your house and your ride
Keys only for friends, cash in the vault, a friend nearby, and remember that lockpicks alert you so you can hunt the thief. Lock your car with /lk every time you get out, and park it at home with /vdespawn.
Don't
Carry $500,000, fight cops at 5★ unprepared, skip Life Insurance, leave a car unlocked with a Car Jacker on the street, or trust a random "friend" with your key.
Commands worth knowing
Most of the game happens at NPCs and in menus. These are the few you'll use every session. Click one to copy it.