Released 2015-12-09
Minecraft 1.8.9 needs Java 8
What keeps 1.8.9 alive is PvP nostalgia — it has the combat system from before 1.9 introduced the attack cooldown. Practice servers, minigame networks and a stubborn slice of the competitive community still play on it.
Java version required
8or newer
An older Java will not start it. A much newer Java normally does, but that is up to the server software rather than Minecraft.
Availability
Paper is available for 1.8.9
It accepts Bukkit / Spigot / Paper plugins.
Will the file I downloaded work?
Mods and plugins are two different things that both come as a .jar. Use the wrong kind and there is usually no error: the server boots and the content is simply missing.
running on Paper
No. Forge is a mod platform and Paper runs plugins — two separate systems that just share a file extension. Nothing loads, and you get no warning.
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Things to know about this version
Paper technically reaches back this far, but the 1.8.8 branch left active support long ago and gets none of the performance improvements that make current Paper worthwhile. If what you actually want is the old combat feel rather than one particular mod, a current version plus a combat plugin will perform better and keep receiving fixes.
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This version on the Java timeline
- Java 81.7 through 1.16.5
- Java 161.17 and 1.17.1
- Java 171.18 through 1.20.4
- Java 211.20.5 and everything after