Respawn is broken (respawn at spawn, spectator on death) — how do I fix it?

"Broken" respawning — always waking up at world spawn, or dropping into spectator mode after death — is usually working as intended once you know the setting behind it. This guide walks through both cases.

Why respawn behaves this way

• Always respawning at world spawn is normal when a player has no bed or respawn anchor set. Players choose their own respawn point by sleeping in a bed. Settings like spawn-protection and the /spawnpoint command also affect where you land.
• Spectator on death comes from spectateOnDeath/hardcore behavior or a plugin. On hardcore worlds, dead players become spectators by design.

How to fix it

1. For the spawn issue: have players sleep in a bed to set a personal respawn point, or use /spawnpoint <player> to assign one.
2. For spectator-on-death: check hardcore=false in server.properties via the Files tab.
3. Review death/gamemode plugins — any plugin that manages death or gamemode can force spectator; adjust its config.
4. Restart after changing any config so it applies.

Tip: If you didn't intend a hardcore world, hardcore=false plus a normal difficulty restores standard respawning.

Frequently asked questions

Players keep returning to spawn even after sleeping. Why? Their bed may be obstructed or destroyed, which clears the respawn point. Have them re-set it in a safe spot.

I set hardcore=false but still go to spectator. A plugin is likely overriding it. Check any death or gamemode plugin's config, and the Console for its messages.

Does spawn-protection change respawn? It protects the area around world spawn and can influence where players can build near it, but the core respawn point is set by beds/anchors.