Buy the java edition then buy a key for like 2$ for the Windows 10 version from someone that bought the game when it came for free with Java edition (like me) then you get the best of both worlds
Badlion isn't a "shady site" lmao They're literally owned by ESL which makes anticheats for tournaments on a lotta games and Badlion was one of the biggest minecraft servers before it shut down to focus on their anticheat client (badlion client)
weird because Notch doesn't agree (at least used to) with you "Piracy is not theft, If you steal a car, the original is lost. If you copy a game, there are simply more of them in the world. There is no such thing as a 'lost sale' Is a bad review a lost sale? What about a missed ship date?" He even encouraged people to pirate the game if they buy it later twitter.com/notch/status/157261795139125248
It's pretty good but multiplayer servers are limited and usually pay to win It is illegal but nobody will give enough of a crap about it to do anything, especially since Notch didn't even care and didn't even think it was a bad thing to do. Honestly you should do it until you buy the game if you truly intend on buying the game later as that's what Notch intended when he made the game
Honestly when I used to run my own server I'd just go on bukkit and look at random plugins until I see one that seems cool/actually changes the game significantly
An SMP with a good twist would be better than a bland anarchy server with no twist You can find a good twist for an anarchy server but it's waaaay harder than to find a good one for SMPs