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Minecraft has two different ways to influence the look of the game: resource packs and shaders. Resource packs change the textures in the game, making every item and block look different. On the other hand, Shaders change how the game processes things such as shadows, water, and foliage. They are known for adding water waves and reflections, waving leaves and grass, and real-time lighting.
However, many of the most well-known shaders are made for beefy PCs, pushing the game to its limits. This is not great for many players who may be playing on older PCs or laptops. Thankfully, there are numerous shaders out there that focus on adding to the beauty of the game without majorly impacting the game's performance, allowing all players to enhance their experience.
Top 5 shaders available for Minecraft 1.19 for low-end systems
OptiFine vs Iris Shaders
There are two major and well-known foundations for shaders: OptiFine and Iris Shaders. OptiFine is the older, incorporating code straight from the old shaders mod. Iris is a relatively new kid on the block, though it has some major advantages in performance due to improvements in the rendering process of shadows and entities.
As of the writing of this article, OptiFine is not out for Minecraft 1.19 The Wild Update, with the development team stating on Twitter that the 1.19 update was 80% complete as of June 27, 2022. This means that Iris is the best way to use shaders for 1.19 as it is the only way to use shaders for 1.19 at the moment.
5) YoFPS Shader
The first thing players using YoFPS Shader might notice is how bright it is. This shader is very bright when compared to the vanilla game, which is a double-edged sword. This means that it is easy to see in dark environments, though it might be harder to tell what areas are dark enough to spawn hostile mobs.
The colors in this shader are more vibrant than their base game counterparts. This is especially noticeable in leaves, which have a much more vibrant emerald green color to them. The water in this shader is much more translucent than in the base game, making it easier to see what is in the depths. There is also a light fog on the horizon, casting the distance in shadow.
4) Complimentary Reimagined
One thing that sets Complimentary Reimagined, or CR, apart from many of the other shaders on this list is the inclusion of directional shadows for things like trees and grass based on the sun's position. However, they are not as exaggerated as they are on other shaders included on this list, which may be good or bad depending on player preference.
There is a moderate amount of fog that takes up the distance, presumably a performance-saving measure. Also, there is a kind of slight fog or haze over more medium distances. The water included in this shader is lighter and more transparent than vanilla water.
3) Tea Shaders
This shader is quite bright. It is best exemplified in the edges of hills and cliffs, which, in vanilla, are usually quite dark but in Tea are just as bright as the tops of the blocks. Most of the colors used are very similar to the vanilla game's colors, though the added shadows help make things like grass stand out from all angles.
One of the more iconic parts of this shader is the water. Water in this shader avoids looking like water in every other shader by either being hyper-reflective or totally transparent. Instead, the water is a beautiful deep blue color, with roughly the same level of transparency that water in the base game has.
Unlike some other shaders on this list, the distance lacks any kind of fog, meaning players can see perfectly up until their game is not loaded, meaning there is complete situational awareness.
2) Builders QoL
Builder's Quality of Life, or BQL, is a shader with some very interesting effects on Minecraft. The most obvious effect this shader has that sets it apart from other performance-oriented shaders is just how aggressive the fog is over medium to long ranges. Things more than a few dozen blocks away are almost totally obscured by fog as if Minecraft were part of the Silent Hill franchise.
One thing that BQL has over other performance shaders is its water. It is beautiful water, with slight waves, a light blue coloration, and high transparency. This is by far the best-looking water of the shaders listed here. Colors are also more vibrant, with the grass being the best place to see this. The grass is much more emerald green using BQL than vanilla.
Unlike some other shaders on this list, there are no directional shadows created by the sun in BQL. This can be a negative or a positive, depending on preference.
A fun additional tidbit for BQL is that the enchantment aura for things like weapons and armor is no longer purple but a fun rainbow.
1) Sildur’s Enhanced Default Fancy
The best part of this shader is the impact on the game's lighting. No place exemplifies this better than the shadows that can be seen across many features. For example, trees, fences, grass, and even caves and ravines cast shadows based on the sun's current position.
The water featured in Sildur's is more opaque than in the base game, meaning it is harder to see what is in it. Additionally, this is one of the only areas where there might be a change in the game's colors. The water appears to be a slightly darker shade of blue, though this could also be a result of the decrease in transparency.
The colors featured in this shader are pretty much identical to the colors in the vanilla game, which is both a good and bad thing. It's good in that players will not have to adjust to any new colors for the game, but bad in that the game's vanilla colors are not especially vibrant.
For players with computers that cannot handle the fancy version of Sildur's Enhanced Default, there is also a fast version that strips some features and helps performance even more. However, Enhanced Default Fancy strikes an amazing balance between visuals and performance.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
