Build more than a base.

Start here

Build it.

Anyone can build a base or a town right now — no approval needed to place blocks. Recognition comes later, after players create a real place worth recognizing: somewhere with roads, purpose and a reason for other players to visit.

How recognition works

Earn recognition.

A single base with one house isn't automatically a settlement. Recognition is for places that genuinely function as towns, villages, ports, frontier communities, trade centers or similar — reviewed by staff, not scored by an automated checklist.

• Free to applySubmitting a settlement for review costs nothing.
• A real settlement requiredIdentity, infrastructure, public space, accessibility, functional diversity, world fit and activity are all part of what's reviewed.
• Staff-reviewedA person looks at your settlement — not an automated score.
• Gameplay fee after approvalRecognition Activation is a planned 1,000 Emeralds, paid only once a settlement is approved — never before, and never in real money.
• A permanent identityA recognized settlement's name and history are intended to remain part of the world.

Build a station. Open a route.

Connect to Monster Transit.

Recognized settlements will later be able to apply to join Monster Transit — a physical network of real stations and routes, not a teleport list. A settlement doesn't connect to everywhere at once, and it has to build its station before a connection can activate. Distance still matters; infrastructure still matters.

Current design pricing — planned gameplay fees, subject to tuning before launch. Not chargeable yet.

Bring services to your town

Local services, not NPC shopping.

Approved settlements will be able to establish local services — never bought as objects. Each one needs approval, a gameplay fee, a suitable physical building, an inspection and activation, the same way Transit does.

Local services stay local. World-authority roles — the Harbor Authority, Customs, Wanted, the Three Trials Arbiter, the Fence, and Ocean Cartographer world-firsts — aren't something a settlement can establish; they remain part of the wider canonical world.

Grow into something bigger

Growth comes from activity, not just Emeralds.

A settlement's public status is intended to reflect what it actually is — not how much has been spent on it. Each stage still requires its own separate approval for any new service or connection.

A service slot is capacity for a future service — each one still needs its own separate approval, not an automatic grant.

Built with Emeralds, not money

No real money, no shortcuts.

Settlement recognition, Transit and local services are gameplay systems, paid for in Emeralds earned in the world — never real money.

Leave a history

A settlement can outlive its founder.

VanillaMonster isn't designed around routine seasonal wipes, so a settlement's name, routes and history are intended to stay part of the world rather than resetting with a season.

• The Wayfarer Journal, recording discoveries and reputation.
• The Wild Ledger, the server's public competition and infamy record.
• Monster Transit, connecting a settlement to the wider network.
• BlueMap, opt-in for settlements that want to be visible on the public map.
• Future community projects tied to established settlements.

How the process works

Build first. Everything else follows.

1. Build your settlementA real place, not a single house.
2. Submit for recognitionFree to apply, once the system is open.
3. Staff reviewA person looks at what you've built.
4. Pay the gameplay feeOnly after approval — Emeralds, never real money.
5. Become recognizedYour settlement is now officially part of the system.
6. Apply for Transit or servicesOptional next steps, each reviewed separately.
7. Build required infrastructureA station or service building must physically exist first.
8. InspectionConfirming the infrastructure is really there.
9. ActivationThe service or route goes live for your settlement.

What recognition does not mean

Recognition does not mean free teleportation, free services, unlimited merchants, bypassing travel, pay-to-win benefits, automatic world authority, or protection from normal server rules.

Build something that stays.

Player Settlements are currently in development. Build your town now, prepare the roads, prepare the station — when recognition opens, the strongest settlements will already have a story worth recognizing.

play.vanillamonster.eu