Edit contracts mid-rotation

This isn’t as much of a guide as it is information about what to expect when you edit a contract while it is already in an active category rotation. The short answer is: in most cases, this is not a problem and the plugin will handle this gracefully. That being said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind depending on the state of a player’s contract progress when the edit takes effect.

How edits take effect

Edits do not reach live players the instant you save. They apply on the next data reload (a plugin reload or server restart). At that point every player’s saved progress on the contract is re-evaluated against the new version and quietly (sometimes loudly) repaired so it stays consistent. Two rules govern that repair:

1. Claimed contracts are frozen. Once a player has claimed a contract’s reward, nothing you change can revoke it or ask more of them. If your edit adds requirements, their progress is auto-satisfied to match, so a claimed contract stays claimed.
2. Unclaimed progress is re-evaluated. Progress on a contract the player has started but not yet claimed can go up, down, complete, or un-complete to line up with the new objectives and amounts.
3. Not-yet-accepted contracts are unaffected. If a player has not accepted the contract yet, there is no saved progress to reconcile, so your edit simply applies.

What each edit does

The columns are the player’s state on that contract when the reload happens.

Edit	In progress	Completed (unclaimed)	Claimed
Add objective	New objective starts at 0 (if amount-based); the player must complete it too, and the contract stays in progress	Reverts to in progress; the player must complete the new objective before they can claim	New objective is auto-filled to its required amount and completed; stays claimed
Remove objective	Its progress is dropped; if it was the last incomplete objective, the contract auto-completes and the player is notified	Its progress is dropped; the contract stays completed	Its progress is dropped; the contract stays claimed
Increase amount	More to do; still in progress	Reverts to in progress; the player must reach the new amount	Progress is bumped up to the new amount; stays claimed
Decrease amount	If the player is already at or above the new amount, the objective auto-completes and may complete the contract	Stays completed	Stays claimed

Adding an objective or raising an amount can un-complete a finished contract

Adding an objective, or increasing an objective’s required amount, on a contract a player has completed but not yet claimed pulls it back to in progress. They must satisfy the new requirement before they can claim it. Claimed contracts are exempt: their progress is auto-satisfied for them and they keep the reward.

Prefer editing over deleting

When you want an objective gone, consider whether you can change it instead of deleting it. Editing an objective keeps each player’s progress on it; deleting the objective discards that progress for everyone, and it cannot be recovered if you add the objective back later.

Reload when few players are online

Because edits apply on the next reload, schedule reloads for quiet hours (or when your server restarts). The fewer players are mid-contract, the fewer are affected by any mid-flight adjustment.