How to Host a Restless Horizons Server

Start from a 6 GB RAM floor, not a guess. That's the recommended minimum for Restless Horizons on Forge 1.20.1 — the pack keeps multiple biome-specific chunk regions and dimensional exploration gates loaded as players spread out across the map instead of camping in one base, and that movement-driven world state is what the RAM needs to cover.

Import the modpack cleanly through a proper modpack install flow rather than copying a client export onto a server folder. That avoids dragging in client-only mods or mismatched configs that break the biome loot tables or exploration gate logic on boot.

Watch the console through the first boot until it finishes loading completely. Restless Horizons needs to register its dimensional exploration gates and biome-specific loot tables during startup — if the log stalls or throws errors here, the progression system that requires visiting multiple environments won't work correctly for players later.

Only invite players once that first boot has completed cleanly with no errors in the log. Letting people in during a shaky first startup is the fastest way to end up with a world where exploration gates or biome loot never initialized properly.

Take a backup before importing an existing world, updating the Forge loader, or changing exploration/progression configs. Because advancement in Restless Horizons is tied to having actually visited specific biomes and dimensions, a bad config change or failed update can wipe out exploration progress that players can't simply regrind in an afternoon.