How to Fix “This Server Requires You to Connect With Velocity”

Direct answer

Paper/Velocity documents this exact message when Velocity modern forwarding is enabled on the backend but the connection did not arrive with the expected Velocity forwarding data. Connect through the proxy and align the proxy/backend modern-forwarding settings and secret.

What it means

Correct Velocity modern forwarding and make sure players enter through the proxy instead of the protected backend.

If you are a player

Copy the exact connection/kick message and note the timestamp; similar-looking login errors can have different causes.
Check the address, port, Minecraft version, and whether other players can connect at the same time.
Tell the owner whether the problem follows your account/device/network or affects everyone.

If you run the server

Targeted diagnosis: This message generally appears when a backend expects Velocity modern forwarding but receives a connection without valid forwarded player data. Confirm the player joins via the Velocity public listener rather than the backend address.

Confirm players are using the Velocity listener address/port instead of the backend.
Set Velocity to the forwarding mode the backend expects. For Paper modern forwarding, use player-info-forwarding-mode = "modern".
Match the Paper proxies.velocity.secret to Velocity’s forwarding.secret and align proxies.velocity.online-mode with Velocity online-mode.
Restart proxy and backend after changing forwarding configuration.

Fix and verify: Check player-info-forwarding-mode = "modern" on Velocity and the matching Paper modern-forwarding enabled setting and secret, using the configuration names for your actual Paper version. Keep the backend behind a firewall; a shared secret is not a replacement for network isolation.

References

Use the documentation for the exact software and release you run. These sources support the settings or diagnostic behavior used in this fix.

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