10 best shaders for Minecraft 1.20.1

Minecraft remains one of the most fascinating open-world games, limited only by players' imaginations. While the graphics are already impressive enough on their own in the normal mode, many gamers crave even more enticing scenery than what comes standard with vanilla gameplay elements. Thankfully shader mods exist, providing limitless possibilities to enhance tools available in-game.

But with so many shaders adding up daily, choosing what works best is essential and can be confusing. With that in mind, we have created a list featuring the best ten shaders for Minecraft 1.20.1.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

Best shaders for Minecraft 1.20.1 including SEUS, Continuum, and more

1) Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders (SEUS)

This shader pack needs no introduction. It is one of the most popular shaders for Minecraft that adds a beautiful lighting effect to your game with realistic shadows, reflections, and water effects.

If you want to enjoy Minecraft with shaders, this should be the one to start with. This shader pack is compatible with OptiFine only.

2) Sildur’s Vibrant Shaders

One of the most beautiful shaders packs (Image via CurseForge)

With its vibrant colors, dynamic lighting, waving grass and leaves, and beautiful water, Slidur's shaders add beautiful effects to Minecraft.

It also has different presets for various performance levels. You can choose the one that suits your device best. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

3) SEUS PTGI

One of the most realistic shader packs (Image via sonicether.com)

Using path tracing and ray tracing, this shader pack creates stunning lighting effects and reflections in your game.

It also adds realistic clouds, fog, rain, and snow to your world. However, this shader pack is not free and requires a high-end device to run smoothly. It is compatible with OptiFine only.

4) Continuum Shaders

Cinematic shader pack (Image via continuum.com)

Continuum is designed for high-performance machines and cinematics and adds realistic textures, shadows, reflections, and ambient occlusion to the game.

It also has a custom weather system that changes the mood of your world. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

5) Chocapic13’s Shaders

Adding vibrant colors to your game (Image via shadersmods.com)

This shader pack is a special kind of shader that changes your game's color palette to make it more vibrant or realistic, depending on your preference.

It adds shadows, water effects, motion blur, and lens flare to your game. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

6) BSL Shaders

If you want to add a warm and cozy feel to your world, this shader is for you, with its soft lighting, smooth shadows, and realistic water.

It also has customizable options for color correction, bloom, depth of field, and more. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

7) Complementary Shaders

Cross between BSL and SEUS (Image via Modrinth)

Complementary shaders is a branch of BSL Shaders that improves its performance and compatibility with other mods.

It also adds some features such as volumetric light, custom skybox, parallax mapping, and more. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

8) Rethinking Voxels Shaders

Rethinking Voxels is a famous shader that depicts three-dimensional objects in your game with voxels instead of polygons. It also adds realistic lighting, shadows, and water effects to your game. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

9) GLSL Shaders

GLSL shaders (Image via Minecraft forum)

This pack is a basic shader that adds shadows, dynamic lighting, and waving grass to your game.

It also supports multiple draw buffers and shadow maps for more advanced shaders. This pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

10) SEUS Renewed

Lite version of SEUS (Image via sonicether.com)

This shader pack is a renewed version of SEUS Shaders, improving performance and quality. It is less heavy than its counterpart SEUS PTGI.

SEUS Renewed adds a beautiful lighting effect to your game with realistic shadows, reflections, and water effects. This shader pack is compatible with both OptiFine and Iris Shaders Mod.

What are shaders in Minecraft?

Shaders change the way game looks and feels (Image via Mojang)

Shaders are mods that change the graphics setting of your Minecraft world. They are used to give the world a more realistic feel, with enhanced lighting and sunlight.

Shaders do a stunning job of making the atmosphere beautiful and realistic, modifying the look of several game details, such as sun rays, grass, and water.

Shaders are stored in the assets/minecraft/shaders/ directory of minecraft.jar and are replaceable. If any error occurs when loading the shaders, just disable the resource pack and turn off fabulous graphics from the default settings.

How to install shaders in Minecraft?

You can install shaders to enhance your experience with stunning visuals and improved performance. These modifications, such as OptiFine HD or Iris Shaders Mod, not only allow you to use shaders in your game but also optimize compatibility and performance.

To get started, visit the official websites of OptiFine HD or Iris Shaders Mod and download the latest version that matches your game version. Once downloaded, run the installer file and follow the instructions to install the mod into your game.
Next, you'll need to install a shader pack. Find a trusted source and download the shader pack file. Then, navigate to your Minecraft directory and locate the shaderpacks folder. You can find this folder by opening your game launcher, clicking Options, then Resource Packs, and finally, selecting Open Pack Folder. Once you're in the shaderpacks folder, copy the downloaded shader pack file into it.
To activate the shader pack in your game, make sure you launch Minecraft with either OptiFine HD or Iris Shaders Mod enabled. Then, within the game, go to Options, Video Settings, and select the Shaders menu. From there, choose the shader pack you want to use. Additionally, you can adjust the shader options and quality settings to customize your visual experience.

By following these steps, you can install and activate shaders in Minecraft, immersing yourself in breathtaking visuals while enjoying the optimized performance.