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Vanilla Minecraft certainly has its fans, but modding the game can also be incredibly fun. If players want to enhance their gameplay experience, there's likely some best Minecraft mods out there to do exactly that.
From adding new content to improving existing vanilla features, there's something for everybody in Minecraft's modding community. The tireless work of developers has resulted in the world's beloved sandbox game becoming one of the most mod-friendly titles of all time.
However, since there's such a massive number of mods out there to download, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to use.
If Minecraft fans are looking for some great core mods to get their experience started, there are a few notable examples to look to.
Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer.
Best Minecraft mods in 2024
1) Just Enough Items
A foundational mod seen in countless Minecraft modpacks and on plenty of multiplayer servers, Just Enough Items (JEI) overhauls how players interact with their inventory and crafting recipes.
The mod provides a list of every block and item in the game when the player's inventory is opened, complete with each of their crafting recipes. This way, players will always know what they need for their crafting and can easily find the materials thanks to the list and search function.
JEI is a fantastic way to save time rummaging through the recipe book or a player's inventory attempting to use the right resources for the job.
2) JourneyMap
Minecraft worlds are incredibly vast, and it can be pretty easy to get lost. Furthermore, scoping out the terrain and looking for specific areas can be difficult even when using a third-party seed map website.
Enter JourneyMap, which provides a customizable minimap to help players navigate their world and keep track of points of interest. Even better, the mod can even be opened in a player's browser, allowing them to view their entire world seed as they see fit and mark important areas for later reference.
Put plainly, JourneyMap is the best map mod players can ask for in just about any situation.
3) Enchantment Descriptions
The number of enchantments available in Minecraft is only getting larger, and it can be tricky, particularly for newcomers, to remember what each enchantment does.
The Enchantment Descriptions mod is an incredibly simple and effective mod that provides information on each enchantment when players hover over enchanted items. It doesn't matter if the item in question is an enchanted armor piece, weapon, tool, or book; it will still display the necessary information on all enchantments applied to it.
Some Minecraft veterans may not need Enchantment Descriptions, but it's a great quality-of-life mod for new and intermediate-level players.
4) Supplementaries
Decoration can be just as impactful as building in Minecraft, and the smallest details added to a project can make it much more satisfying. Using vanilla blocks and decorations is one way to accomplish this, but Supplementaries takes things to the next level.
The mod adds decorative options that fill in the extra space in players' builds to make them look a little more cozy and lived-in. Stack pancakes on the dining table, place books on miscellaneous surfaces in the library, or add pointed signs to a fence post to direct players where to find points of interest.
All of these blocks and many more are available, thanks to Supplementaries.
5) Create
For Minecraft's most dedicated innovators, Create is one of the best modifications in the community. By setting up contraptions and automated modifications, players can create complex machines capable of performing various tasks, including production, building, and decoration. Form sprawling factories for resource storage, automated entryways for a base, and machines that create needed materials on demand.
Create takes some time to get used to, but before players know it, they'll become machinery masters capable of automating their world down to the slightest detail.
6) Farmer's Delight
There are certainly more than a few food sources in Minecraft, but cooking and eating them isn't exactly anything special. Farmer's Delight changes this fact in a big way by adding more food sources as well as an entire host of kitchen appliances.
By combining these new implementations, players can create new food dishes and make savory meals for themselves and their friends. They can even improve the soil their crops are growing in, increasing the final quality of the tasty vegetables being grown. Plus, the new kitchenware looks fantastic in player-made homes.
7) Alex's Mobs
Minecraft has steadily increased the number of mobs in the game over the years but has yet to have a huge infusion of animals and creatures. This is where Alex's Mobs comes in, as it adds over 89 mobs to the game throughout various biomes and dimensions. Players can witness wild animals like elephants, Tasmanian Devils, gorillas, and bears throughout the game world.
However, Alex's Mobs doesn't stop at animals, as it also introduces dangerous and otherworldly creatures like Farseers, Void Worms, and Skreechers. The mod makes the world of Minecraft much more dangerous and more diverse as well.
8) MrCrayFish's Furniture Mod
While Minecraft builders and decorators have become very creative with vanilla blocks to create furniture, the game still lacks tried-and-true furniture of its own for the most part.
If players want to step up their furniture game, then MrCrayFish's Furniture Mod is one of the best ways to do so. The mod adds over 80 pieces of furniture, many of which are fully functional instead of just decorative. This includes cooking appliances, mailboxes, and cabinets.
MrCrayFish's Furniture Mod is one of the surefire ways to turn a house into a home where Minecraft is concerned.
9) Biomes O' Plenty
Minecraft has come a long way from its early days, especially when it comes to different biomes in the world. However, there are some that are still missing and have been requested by fans for years.
Biomes O' Plenty is a mod that aims to introduce as much biological diversity in the game as possible by adding dozens of new biomes to the Overworld and Nether. New plants, flowers, and building blocks are even provided in these biomes, giving players more options for building and decorating projects.
Biomes O' Plenty also works magnificently with other mods, including Alex's Mobs, improving the world of Minecraft as a whole.
10) Ars Nouveau
Magic has been a part of Minecraft for a while in some respects, but players haven't exactly been able to sling spells and conjure creatures in the vanilla game. However, with Ars Nouveau, the game world and the beings in it overflow with mystic power.
This mod lets players craft custom spells to defeat enemies and change the world around them. They can create magical trinkets to enhance their abilities, build arcane machines, and even summon familiars and other creatures to join them on adventures.
The amount of content in this single mod is staggering. The only way to experience all of the arcane splendor is to install Ars Nouveau and witness it firsthand.
11) AppleSkin
Staying fed is one of the most important aspects of Minecraft’s Survival Mode, but simply scarfing down any and all food items can be wasteful and even potentially dangerous. Since this is the case, beginners and intermediate players may benefit from using a mod like AppleSkin.
This mod provides visual confirmation of what a held food item restores for both a player’s hunger bar and their total hunger saturation, making it invaluable for crunchtime decisions. It’s also a huge help for showing Minecraft fans the best food items to carry regularly.
12) Debugify
Although Mojang goes through fastidious efforts to eliminate bugs in Minecraft, new ones pop up with each sequential update and hotfix. Fortunately, Mojang keeps a bug tracker specifically for this purpose, which is what the Debugify mod assists with. This mod uses the official bug tracker to locate bugs as they’re reported and fix them.
Mojang can only work so quickly, and fortunately, Debugify’s developers have shown that they’re fully capable of fixing dozens of bugs on their own with one simple mod.
13) Xaero's Minimap
Minecraft worlds are massive even by sandbox game standards, making it easy to get lost if proper steps aren’t taken. This is doubly true for beginners who may not know how to mark their progress effectively. It’s one of many reasons why Xaero's Minimap has become an essential mod for many players, and it isn’t hard to see why.
Xaero's Minimap adds a fully-interactive game map as well as a minimap complete with coordinates and the ability to mark points of interest. Even better, these maps update in real-time based on changes made in the environment, so players won’t ever have to worry about topographical data that is out of date.
14) FallingTree
Every Minecraft player knows the value of cutting down a tree to collect its wood and other resources like sticks and apples. The only problem is that players have to break multiple blocks to completely eliminate the tree, which can be tricky with larger tree types. Fortunately, FallingTree has a very simple solution.
This mod performs a straightforward purpose of allowing players to break one block in the center of a tree’s trunk, which will resultingly break the rest of the blocks and allow players to collect the resources in an instant.
15) Repurposed Structures
While Minecraft has plenty of unique structures scattered around its vast worlds, players may soon get bored of discovering the same designs again and again. Luckily, there are mods out there specifically for adding fascinating new structures, such as the Repurposed Structures. This mod introduces many new structures to different biomes, such as Badlands Temples, Ocean Mineshafts, Nether Temples, biome-based Mineshaft variants, new village types, and more.
16) Replay Mod
If Minecraft players have ever watched a content creator’s video and wondered how they achieved certain camera angles, it may very well be attributed to the Replay Mod. This incredibly in-depth mod allows fans to take complete control of a game session and save it for posterity, complete with editing tools and the ability to change camera angles and points of view.
In just a few minutes, players can create Minecraft videos of their very own that look professionally produced without too much time invested in learning the ropes.
17) Oh The Biomes You’ll Go
Minecraft has certainly gone through plenty of updates that add new biomes, including the new cherry groves in the Trails & Tales update. Be that as it may, there are still so many more biomes that players have requested to make their worlds more vibrant and diverse, but fortunately, there are mods to help fill in the games.
Oh the Biomes You’ll Go is arguably one of the best mods in this regard, adding over 80 biomes to every inch of a player’s world to provide an adventuring and exploration experience that is unparalleled. Even better, the mod comes complete with distinct blocks and items that generate within these biomes and which can be used elsewhere.
18) Sodium
Although Minecraft tends to run pretty well on most hardware configurations, performance issues can still occur here and there. Sometimes this is attributed to a player’s hardware or their virtual resources, but sometimes the game’s rendering engine just has issues it has to overcome.
The good news is that Sodium is a fantastic mod that rebuilds Minecraft’s internal graphics rendering essentially from the ground up. This results in massive performance boosts on nearly any device, making Sodium one of the must-have modifications for just about any player.
19) Physics Mod
Quite possibly the most transformative physics alteration the Minecraft community has seen, the Physics Mod breathes new life into the game by drastically improving in-game physics across the board. Waters rush with their own tides, blocks break into customizable fragments, cloth banners wave in the wind, and mobs can be dismembered.
Additionally, the Physics Mod revamps the concept of gravity within Minecraft and adds ragdoll physics to many entities. It may seem a little strange at first, but the Physics Mod is one of the most realistic mods that players can implement.
20) Not Enough Animations
Minecraft has a ton of in-game animations for players’ characters, but only a handful of them are viewable with the third-person camera. For others, characters tend to be stuck in a specific standing or crouching pose and don’t animate as they appear to when the first-person camera is used. This is exactly what Not Enough Animations aims to fix.
This mod correctly animates various actions in third-person view including eating and drinking, viewing maps, using weapons, rowing boats, riding horses, crawling, climbing ladders, and even viewing the orientation of a player’s compass. It may not be a deal-breaker for some players, but it goes a long way to enhance a player’s immersion when installed.
Best Minecraft mods for building
1) WorldEdit
WorldEdit is an extremely powerful mod that does exactly what its name suggests. It adds a variety of useful commands to help players shape their vast worlds in whatever way they see fit. It greatly aids innovative builders in creating massive builds with just a few commands.
For example, if a build has been created in the wrong direction, players can select the build and easily rotate it in any of the four directions. WorldEdit allows players to copy and paste builds instantly with minimal effort. For players looking to create massive builds like cities, using WorldEdit can significantly simplify the work. Additionally, there are several other powerful commands available in this mod as well.
2) Panda’s Falling Trees
Panda’s Falling Trees mod enhances the experience of chopping down trees by adding a realistic physics system. Every tree falls like the ones from Dynamic Trees, while still preserving the original trees from Vanilla Minecraft. This mod supports other mods if log and leaves blocks are part of the log and leaves Block Tag. If not, users can easily add the block via the config. Builders will appreciate the immersive and dynamic wood harvesting experience this mod brings to the game.
3) Stratospherical Expansion
Stratospherical Expansion is a world generation mod that completely transforms the overworld into a sky island paradise. It reimagines vanilla biomes and presents a new element of wonder and discovery in gameplay. Players can explore a floating world with varied and stunning landscapes.
This mod introduces a new world type called "Stratospheric World," where the world is composed of islands floating in the sky. It also adds new biomes accessible after flying above Y420. This mod is perfect for builders seeking a scenic and awe-inspiring sky base experience in Minecraft.
4) Tectonic
Tectonic is a world generation mod that aims to revolutionize how terrain is shaped in Minecraft. It introduces features like massive mountain ranges, underground rivers, oceanside cliffs, smoother surfaces, dunes in desert biomes, and deeper oceans. These changes bring a more realistic and diverse landscape to the game, making it an excellent choice for builders who want a more authentic and captivating world to build upon.
5) V-Tweaks
V-Tweaks is a mod that adds new game mechanics and features by enhancing existing items and blocks. It includes various tweaks and changes to the game, such as lumbering, enchantment extracting, additional mob drops, tool repairing, torch lighting, and more. This mod offers builders more options and convenience in their gameplay without introducing entirely new items or blocks.
Best Minecraft mods for multiplayer
1) Magic Wand
Magic Wand is a multiplayer mod that introduces various magic wands to the game, each capable of casting different spells. Players can craft and upgrade these wands using the Magic Workbench item. The mod also adds enchantment crystals, staffs, and spell books that can be found in loot chests or traded with Mages.
The magical experience extends to a new biome called Mage Camp, where players can interact with Mages to obtain wands and spells. This mod is perfect for multiplayer fans seeking magical adventures and fun in Minecraft.
2) Better End
Better End is a mod that completely revamps the End dimension, adding 24 new biomes, 6 new mobs, and numerous new blocks, items, and mechanics. It also includes a custom End generator and custom structures for the Central Island. The mod generates various land, cave, and void biomes while retaining the original vanilla biomes, making the End dimension more exciting and engaging for exploration.
3) Better Nether
Better Nether is a mod that enhances the Nether, introducing more biomes, plants, and materials into the fiery dimension. It features a vertical and volumetric biome system, supporting other mods and datapacks. The Nether Jungle, Nether Grasslands, and other biomes add diversity and uniqueness to the Nether experience, making it more appealing to multiplayer players seeking an enriched dimension.
4) Bountiful
Bountiful is a mod that adds the Bounty Board and bounties to the game, providing players with tasks and rewards to accomplish. The Bounty Board generates bounties that players can complete for rewards, with different tiers of rarity and difficulty.
Players can take on bounties based on their reputation level, which increases as they complete bounties and decreases when they fail or abandon them. This mod offers multiplayer fans an extra layer of goals and rewards to pursue in Minecraft.
5) Bosses of Mass Destruction
Bosses of Mass Destruction is a mod that adds four epic and challenging boss fights to the game, each with unique abilities and mechanics. Rare structures in the world house these bosses, which players can find and summon. The mod also introduces new items and blocks related to the bosses, enhancing the boss battle experience. With formidable foes to face, this mod offers multiplayer servers constant excitement and challenging boss battles in Minecraft.
Best Minecraft mods for survival
1) Dynamic Crosshair
While Minecraft’s crosshair is very useful, particularly for combat, it can get in the way at times. The standard in-game crosshair can occasionally obscure faraway blocks and entities, making it a little annoying for players to get a good view of the landscape. This is exactly where the Dynamic Crosshair mod comes in.
This mod provides a specialized crosshair that can be customized to a player’s liking appearance-wise. Furthermore, the crosshair will fade away when it isn’t being used in combat or other activities that warrant its inclusion.
2) Player Health Indicators
Adventures in the world of Minecraft can be dangerous, and it’s only natural for players to take some damage along the way. While fans can keep track of their own health well enough, following other players’ health bars is a different store. Fortunately, the Player Health Indicators mod is here to provide a solution.
There’s not much that’s fancy about this Minecraft mod, as it performs a very simple function. Specifically, it adds health bars above other characters in the game world, friendly or otherwise.
3) Inventory Tabs
Inventory management can be a struggle for some Minecraft players. One’s personal inventory can only hold so many items and blocks, and fans have to store the rest of their goodies elsewhere. This can sometimes mean running back and forth between storage blocks and opening a player’s inventory to source the necessary resources.
Inventory Tabs presents a new way to manage items in Minecraft. This mod adds tabs to a player’s inventory screen, which allows them to switch between their own inventory as well as nearby storage blocks without leaving the inventory screen.
4) Waystones
Minecraft worlds are immensely vast, making it tough to travel across them without spending quite a bit of time doing so. Even when using a perfectly-bred horse or a pair of Elytra, moving across the world can be a time-consuming undertaking. The good news is that the Waystones mod provides an excellent means of fast travel.
By introducing waystone blocks, players can mark locations of interest by building a waystone nearby. These stone obelisks are magically connected, allowing players to fast travel between them or even use items like warp stones/warp scrolls to recall or teleport back to a waystone if a player gets lost.
5) Traveler’s Backpack
A Minecraft player’s storage is finite and can fill up ridiculously fast during an average mining or farming excursion. Traveler’s Backpack is a mod that gives players a hand with item and block storage by introducing backpacks that can be equipped to vastly enhance a player’s storage capacity.
Even better, the backpacks introduced in this mod can be customized to suit a player’s personal style.
Best Minecraft mods for low-end PCs
1) Lithium
Much like Sodium, Lithium is a must-have mod for just about any Minecraft player thanks to its spectacular performance-boosting capabilities. The mod optimizes several different aspects of the game’s engine, including the physics, intelligence of mobs, block ticks, and much more.
Even better, Lithium can be installed both client-side or server-side, meaning players and entire servers can benefit from the mod’s optimizations.
2) Entity Culling
Minecraft’s engine is responsible for generating tons of different entities in loaded chunks, but they aren’t always necessary because players aren’t near them or interacting with them. Since this is the case, couldn’t the game just remove or hold off those entities until their presence is warranted?
Entity Culling is a mod that can both block the rendering of entities like mobs in the game world as well as remove them. However, players shouldn’t worry about mobs disappearing for no reason, as the mod only targets entities that players don’t see in their field of vision or those who aren’t in direct proximity around the player.
3) Ferritecore
Although Ferritecore can be one of the best Minecraft mods to install, players will never even see it working its magic. This mod uses a long list of memory-based optimization methods to save players’ RAM and other virtual resources while the game is being played. FPS will typically boost as a result, and the game will run more smoothly overall.
This mod operates down to the most intricate levels of the game’s code, so players won’t notice any in-game changes aside from the performance boost they should receive as a result of installation.
4) Distant Horizons
Minecraft’s render distance settings, particularly on lower-end devices, can be a massive hog of resources and result in suboptimal framerates. Even on quality hardware, increasing the in-game rendering distance can bring a pretty substantial performance impact.
The good news is that the Distant Horizons mod is an incredible workaround by simplifying distant terrain without rendering it the way Minecraft would traditionally. This allows players to see distant scenery exceptionally well without even needing to increase their render distance much.
5) VulkanMod
Minecraft: Java Edition utilizes an iteration of OpenGL to render in-game assets like terrain, mobs, and more. While this serves the purpose of the game perfectly well, there are better renderers that can be used. Vulkan is one that has seen widespread use through a variety of different games to great success when it comes to performance.
VulkanMod replaces the default OpenGL rendering in Minecraft with one that utilizes Vulkan’s API, which should vastly improve overall performance even on lower-end machines.
Check out our other Minecraft listicles:
Best servers || Best seeds || Best Bedrock seeds || Popular texture packs || Best shaders || Best enchantments || Best commands
