Anti xray servers run survival worlds where the server prevents x-ray cheats from revealing ores and other valuable blocks through stone. The goal is not to punish legitimate miners, but to restore a fair baseline. When diamonds and ancient debris cannot be scanned from a tunnel wall, progression settles back into a normal pace and resource value stops hinging on who is willing to cheat.
The day-to-day loop is basically vanilla, just with less doubt hanging over it. Cave runs, branch mining at the right Y-levels, and investing in enchanted tools or a Haste beacon all pay off because they are no longer competing with terrain vision. On servers with trading, shops, or claims, this is often what keeps gear and materials from becoming trivial in the first week.
Most implementations work by limiting what your client is told about hidden blocks until they are exposed. That can create small visual quirks such as ores appearing a moment after you break a block, or brief odd textures on chunk updates. A well-tuned setup keeps those effects minor, and the upside is a world that does not depend on constant manual policing to stay playable.
