The new Anti cheat is designed to work with 1.8 and above only

is designed to work with 1.8 and above only We are now able to fix many bugs we were unable to before due to 1.7 issues

we were unable to before due to 1.7 issues We will be able to add new pets and cosmetic content with 1.8 and above only

and with 1.8 and above only There's no competitive advantage anymore to which minecraft version you use.

Keeping dual compatibility requires extra work, and we would rather allocate that work to compatibility and work on 1.9

1.8 Improved a lot since it's initial launch, and it can be improved further with some mods like Optifine.

a lot since it's initial launch, and it can be improved further with some mods like Optifine. +Many more smaller reasons.

As you all know, 1.9 is coming soon! When Mojang releases a new Major version of Minecraft (1.7 , 1.8, 1.9 etc) we must to update our servers to be compatible.This aspect should really not come as any surprise to long term players as we've always done that in the past. This is something we have no control over and is basically required for any server network.Minecraft 1.9 will be shortly after Christmas according to the latest info, and the Admins need adequate time to prepare the server for the transition to be as smooth as possible.Basically, we don't really have a choice in this and it must be done, this is one of the negative things about the nature of servers like ours.Fortunately only about 3% of the network in total are playing on 1.7 still, the vast majority of players having moved on since 1.7 was released over 2 years ago now. We gathered a lot of stats on this and waited until it was as low as possible before making the switch.We are aware that some of that 3% consists of hardcore and dedicated PvPers, and we are sorry to have to make the change - but the simple truth is that there is no other choice and our hands are tied, one positive thing is that there is now no longer an advantage to choosing which version you prefer to use. So the games should be fairer for all.It's important to bear in mind that we've done all we can to keep 1.7 support for as long as possible, and that the majority of other server networks are now 1.8 and above only, almost all of our new content for quite some time has been 1.8 and above only, so that has eased this transition.There are a bunch of other good reasons as to why ceasing is a good idea.We are sorry if you are one of the users who feel strongly about the issue, but progress must be made and backwards compatibility is something which can't be maintained forever. It is not within our control and we are sad to see some people upset about this.The server must move forward, and we have an awesome schedule of December Updates for you guys.Thanks for your attention and have an awesome day!