The combat tag
Why you can neither flee nor log out for 15 seconds after a hit, and what is still allowed.
Updated on September 24, 2026 by joueur-1800bd0d2 min readContents
As soon as you hit a player or a player hits you, you are tagged in combat for 15 seconds. Every new hit restarts the timer. The tag exists for one reason only: a fight must end with a victory, not with a teleport or a disconnect at the right moment.
How to tell you are in combat
- a red "COMBAT" boss bar shows the seconds left;
- the action bar shows a timer, your opponent's name and their health;
- your name gets a ⚔ prefix with the time left, followed by your health;
- you glow: your opponents can see your outline through obstacles.
You can also type /pvptag (aliases /combattag or /tag) to see the time left.
When the tag starts, any inventory you had open (chest, crafting table…) closes. Don't sort your stuff in the middle of a fight.
What is blocked during combat
| Action | In combat |
|---|---|
Teleporting (commands, zaaps, /rtp, /end tp…) | Forbidden |
| Commands | Only /msg, /tell and /combattag remain available |
| Ender pearls | Allowed, with a 5-second cooldown; throwing a pearl renews your tag |
| Wind charges | Allowed, with a 1-second cooldown; they renew your tag too |
| Chorus fruit | Allowed |
| Eating, placing or breaking blocks, opening your inventory | Allowed |
| Elytra and fireworks | Allowed (2 seconds between two fireworks) |
| Totem of undying | Allowed |
Hitting someone also cancels some states that would give an advantage: flying (faction /fly,
for example) and any special game mode are turned off on the first hit.
Item cooldowns
Some items have a cooldown so that a fight doesn't come down to who eats the fastest.
| Item | In combat | Out of combat |
|---|---|---|
| Golden apple | 30 s | 30 s |
| Enchanted golden apple | 60 s | 60 s |
| Ender pearl | 5 s | none |
| Wind charge | 1 s | none |
Logging out in combat
Quitting the game while tagged means dying: you are killed on logout, and your inventory, armour and experience are lost as in a normal death (see /wiki/death). Being kicked from the server during a fight counts as a logout.
Your connection dropped mid-fight? It is treated as an escape — the system cannot tell the difference. Better not to start a fight on an unstable connection.
Fleeing into a protected area
Running into an area without PvP won't save you: a tagged player who enters a protected area is pushed back out and stays vulnerable. Graveyard sanctuaries even refuse you entry until your tag has ended (see /wiki/graveyards).
Kill farming is punished
Killing the same player more than five times in twenty seconds triggers a warning, then a kick from the server. After respawning, you also get 3 seconds of invulnerability against players, so you can't be killed over and over.
Commands
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
/pvptag | Combat time left. |
/pvpstatus | Your PvP status. |
/pvpinfo | Summary of your PvP state. |
/pvplist | PvP state of online players. |
See also: /wiki/combat-overview, /wiki/newbie-protection.