25 Best Minecraft Mods to Download for 2024

25 Best Minecraft Mods

Let’s check out these 25 incredible Minecraft mods, each one adding its own special twist to how you play the game.

1. Pixelmon

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

Unlike other mods in this section, the creatures in Pixelmon are the very same Pokémon you know and love, hailing from the well-known Japanese media franchise. This mod also incorporates Pokémon-like gameplay into the Minecraft world. In fact, it was designed to mimic the mechanics of the actual Pokémon games as closely as possible.

Using this custom Minecraft mod, players can catch, battle, trade, and breed their Pokémons. It also introduces various new items, such as Poké Balls, Pokémon Technical Machines, Bauxite Ore, and Apricorns.

In addition, players can create and achieve their own goals, from winning one-on-one Pokémon battles with other players to completing the Pokédex.

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2. Mowzie’s Mobs

Minecraft version: 1.7.10 – 1.16.5

The Mowzie’s Mobs mod adds various enemies to Minecraft. This is one of the best Minecraft mods for experiencing more challenging gameplay, as the mod increases the game’s difficulty level by including tougher hostile mobs.

These creatures behave according to unique custom-built AI and lurk in different biomes throughout the world. For example, players may encounter the man-eating plant Foliaath in the jungle, while the heavily armored Ferrous Wroughtnaut can only be found underground.

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3. The Twilight Forest

Minecraft version: 1.7.10 – 1.17.1

This mod focuses on adventure and exploration, putting an emphasis on traversing dungeons and forests. Players can also gather various items with unique functionalities, meet odd creatures, and engage in boss battles.

The Twilight Forest provides three types of creatures — passive and harmless creatures, hostile mobs, and bosses or larger enemies. Boss creatures tend to reside in their respective structures, and defeating them will unlock new areas of the Twilight Forest.

For example, the Naga can be found in the Naga Courtyard, while the Knight Phantom can be encountered in the Dark Forest.

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4. Ice and Fire: Dragons

Minecraft version: 1.10.2 – 1.16.5

This Minecraft mod adds dragons into the base game! What’s more awesome than that?

The dragons in this mod are unique in that they’re not purely hostile creatures, as it’s also possible to tame them.

Players can engage in various adventures as dragon hunters, including collecting Dragon Bones, Scales, Eggs, and all sorts of other treasures. You can craft tools and weapons using said Dragon Bones, while Dragon Scales can be used to create armor. Those who have successfully tamed their dragons can even ride on them!

There are three types of dragons — Ice, Fire, and Lightning. In addition to dragons, this Minecraft mod provides other magical creatures, such as Trolls, Hydras, and Pixies.

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5. Lycanites Mobs

Minecraft version: 1.7.10 – 1.16.5

Built specifically for the Forge Mod Manager, this Minecraft mod adds over 100 new mobs to various dimensions and biomes. The creatures include harmless and farmable animals, hostile beings, and elementals spawning from nature.

A Minecraft player can tame these creatures and bind them with something called the Soulstone, allowing them to summon and dismiss the being at will. Players can also summon a horde of creatures on the battlefield to aid their fight or at their base camp to guard it while they’re away using a Summoning Staff or Pedestal.

Other activities include creating powerful tools and weapons, exploring dungeon systems and adding new ones, and summoning boss creatures by building altars.

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6. OptiFine

Minecraft version: 1.7.2 – 1.18.1

One of the most popular Minecraft mods out there, OptiFine is an optimization mod for running the game faster and smoother. In addition to its numerous graphics and rendering options, users can run various shader packs as well.

In terms of improving gameplay, this essential mod features an FPS boost and options to enable VSync. The FPS boost option helps increase the framerate by optimizing the game further, while VSync (short for Vertical Synchronization) synchronizes the game frame rate with the monitor’s refresh rate and removes split frames, a feature that is common in most of today’s games.

It also offers features for modifying how different elements of the game look, letting you change the appearance of water, snow, grass, trees, rain, fog, and objects in the sky. In addition, OptiFine supports HD textures and fonts, as well as custom colors, lighting, and block color palettes.

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7. Sodium

Minecraft version: 1.16.1 – 1.17.1

Much like OptiFine, Sodium is a Minecraft mod for improving the game’s overall performance and visuals. However, this one was built specifically for use with the Fabric mod loader.

It offers better visual quality, all while minimizing strain on the machine. Examples of its features include its smooth lighting and biome blending for fluids and other special blocks.

This mod brings a bunch of neat features that all team up to help Minecraft run smoother. For example, it uses a multi-threading system for block updates to reduce lag spikes and culls invisible chunk faces when rendering graphics to decrease memory bandwidth usage.

In addition, users can use this Minecraft mod to run various shaders at a high frame rate and switch between them with ease.

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8. Here’s What You’re Looking At

Minecraft version: 1.10.2 – 1.16.5

One of the most helpful and lightweight Minecraft mods out there Here’s What You’re Looking At, or HYWLA for short, helps users identify any block or item within the game.

Hover the cursor over an item, and the tool will tell you what it is. It can even tell you which mod the item comes from.

This simple mod is the successor of a popular utility mod called What Am I Looking At, which is no longer updated.

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9. Clumps

Minecraft version: 1.10.2 – 1.18.1

In terms of optimization, this Minecraft mod focuses on one of the main reasons behind FPS drops — numerous experience orbs floating around in the area simultaneously!

Players need these orbs to gather enough experience to enchant their tools and armor. However, your system will typically struggle when rendering all the floating objects.

Clumps fixes this problem by grouping all of the experience orbs floating around in a small area into one single orb, reducing lag and the amount of rendering the system has to do. This simple Minecraft mod also allows the player to collect orbs automatically upon touching them.

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10. JourneyMap

Minecraft version: 1.0.0 – 1.17.1

While a map item has existed in Minecraft for a while now, many players are left underwhelmed by its clunky functionality. It only displays so much, and the geographical data it offers is blurry and often unhelpful.

This is where JourneyMap comes into play, pun intended. It allows users to view the world they’re in through a custom-made map. Players can display a mini-map in the corner of their screens, a fullscreen map, or even a map opened in a separate web browser window as they play.

The real-time map shows the lay of the land, where they’re going, and various in-game elements. Moreover, this Minecraft mod provides plenty of customizable settings so you can pick and choose the info you want to see. For example, players can see biomes, waypoints, icons, villagers, and other players.

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11. RLCraft

Minecraft version: 1.11.2 – 1.12.2

With the RL in its title standing for Real Life or Realism, RLCraft is one of the most popular Minecraft modpacks out there. It contains over 100 different Minecraft mods tweaked and bundled together to form a more challenging survival game. With this mod, players will encounter all sorts of unpredictable elements, such as dungeons, castles, and new crafting systems.

Most of the mechanics found in vanilla Minecraft have been modified to make the game more realistic and elevate the level of challenge. For example, while a player can punch down a tree to obtain wood in regular Minecraft, this mod requires you to use a flint hatchet.

There is also the addition of the player’s body temperature and thirst level, extra health for players and mobs, and sound filters, adding reverb to caves and muted sounds when the player is underwater or in lava.

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12. Farming Valley

Minecraft version: 1.10.2

Built for fans of such games as Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, Farming Valley is a modpack that turns Minecraft into a game centered on building a farm and developing a small town.

Players can plant, harvest, and sell crops to obtain cash. There are four seasons within the game, and each season has its own special set of plantable crops. Some examples include Cabbage, Corn, and Eggplant.

In addition to crops, gamers can take care of animals like Cows, Chickens, and Sheep and sell animal goods like Milk, Eggs, and Wool.

You can sell crops and animal products to local NPCs, who have their own names and personalities. Players can nurture relationships by talking to them and giving gifts. Eventually, they can even get married!

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13. JurassiCraft

Minecraft version: 1.8.9 – 1.12.2

A great mod for Jurassic Park fans, JurassiCraft adds prehistoric plants and dinosaurs into the Minecraft world. Players can generate baby dinosaurs by extracting DNA from fossils and processing it using various machines.

Examples of dinosaurs in the mod include Velociraptors, Triceratops, and, of course, the famous Tyrannosaurus. You can find dinosaur DNA in various kinds of intriguing fossils, such as Fossil Ores, Petrified Logs, or Fossilized Nests.

This Minecraft mod also adds a variety of tools and items for creating dinosaurs and dinosaur museums or parks. Yes, just like in that movie!

This includes machines such as DNA Synthesizers, Embryonics Machines, or Incubators. Players can get around the park using three vehicles — a Helicopter, a Ford Explorer, and a Jeep Wrangler.

In addition, you can collect a prehistoric creature’s bones and assemble them on a Skeleton Assembly Table. Once finished, these skeletons can be displayed in your museum.

In other words, welcome… to JurassiCraft!

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14. The Lost Cities

Minecraft version: 1.11.2 – 1.12.2

This Minecraft mod lets you spawn in an old and abandoned city instead of the regular Minecraft world. You can find partially destroyed bridges, tunnels, highways, dungeons, buildings, and even a subway system.

Players can add new blocks and buildings as well as control how these cities are generated. Folks who love engaging in combat will most likely enjoy the haunted buildings that spawn hostile mobs continuously until the player has destroyed a specific number of them.

In addition, gamers can combine The Lost Cities with the Lost Souls mod. This additional mod will make haunted buildings more challenging by increasing the number and power of said creatures.

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15. SkyFactory 4

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

Containing over 200 Minecraft mods and over 30 world types, SkyFactory 4 is the fourth version of the original 2014 SkyFactory skyblock modpack.

Skyblock is a popular survival game mode requiring people to create and expand their own Minecraft worlds with minimal materials. With this mod, the player typically starts in an empty world on top of a tree with a block of dirt underneath it.

A notable improvement of this version of SkyFactory is its unique resource-gathering system. Players can plant Sky Orchard Saplings that grow into trees that drop resources such as Iron, Gravel, and Gold. This Minecraft mod also includes an optional Prestige Mode that lets players unlock new items, mobs, and mechanics via an open progression system.

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16. Just Enough Items

Minecraft version: 1.8 – 1.12.2

Minecraft has hundreds of items and recipes, so keeping track of them may become rather bothersome. Also known simply as JEI, Just Enough Items is a straightforward mod used to address this problem, allowing users to view items and recipes in Minecraft with ease.

Although the latest version of Minecraft has an in-game recipe book, it’s rather tricky to use and only shows up to 25 items at once. On the other hand, JEI allows players to view and search through hundreds of Minecraft items or sort them according to their source and function.

When you click on an item, the mod will also show you how to obtain it. In addition, Just Enough Items is compatible with the majority of other Minecraft mods.

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17. Create

Minecraft version: 1.14.4 – 1.18.1

Create is a mod that helps players create different odd yet useful contraptions and automate processes with laws of rotational power. In other words, lots of gears and cogs. It also adds new building blocks and mechanical components to the vanilla version of Minecraft.

The Minecraft mod offers numerous different generators for producing rotational force. Examples include a water wheel, the generator that produces power when water flows over it, and a furnace engine, which generates power when an item is smelted or cooked in a furnace or smoker.

The power produced by generators is then used to power machines. Some examples of craftable machines are the Mechanical Press and the Blaze Burner. The Mechanical Press is for packing, pressing, or compacting items, while the Blaze Burner is for heating basins when following mixing recipes.

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18. Chisels and Bits

Minecraft version: 1.8.9 – 1.16.5

One of the best Minecraft mods for creating structures with intricate designs, Chisels and Bits lets players sculpt blocks using chisels of different kinds. Players can choose whether to break down a full-sized block or a single voxel. For example, a normal-sized block can be broken down into 64 smaller pieces!

There are five chisel types — Stone, Iron, Gold, Diamond, and Netherite. The Stone Chisel is an entry-level chisel with limited usage, allowing users to chisel up to 131 blocks. The most powerful one, the Netherite Chisel, can chisel up to 2031 blocks.

Players can use a chisel to sculpt custom stairs, pillars, statues, and even signs with detailed designs. It also lets players copy and paste designs they make, removing the need to create the same design over and over again manually.

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19. WorldEdit

Minecraft version: 1.7.10 – 1.18.1

Providing all the tools to speed up building processes, WorldEdit is a handy construction mod for Minecraft. Players can use different mathematical equations, shared construction files, and 3D brushes to build various structures.

With Minecraft commands, players can construct, copy, and paste blueprints for different areas. They can also use different tools to select and fill areas instantly and create numerous shapes using blocks, including cylinders, spheres, or cuboids.

This construction tool can add or delete thousands of blocks in seconds, making creating large structures that much simpler. If that’s not enough, there are also tools for manipulating terrain! For example, players can generate snowy areas, forests, and pumpkin patches. You can also build mountains using brushes and handheld tools. How awesome is that?

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20. BuildCraft

Minecraft version: 1.5.2 – 1.7.10

This building mod lets players explore their creativity and scale production processes. The main feature of BuildCraft is that it provides pipes for transporting fluids, items, and mechanical energy between machines.

There are many different pipe types, each having its own distinct function. For example, a Wooden Pipe is one of the most basic pipe types that can extract items from mod items, furnaces, and chests. Another example is a Gold Pipe used to accelerate the transporting process by speeding any item passing through it.

In addition to the many different pipes, there are automatic mining devices and building tools to increase productivity. Furthermore, players can use different types of engines to generate power.

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21. MC Eternal

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

Bringing around 300 mods, MC Eternal is a modpack promising something for everyone. It offers more than 700 quests, some consisting of simple and quick tasks, while others have more challenging goals that can take days to achieve.

This mod brings some RPG elements to the game as well, letting players choose roles such as a Farmer or a Mage and build a town filled with citizens from all walks of life. MC Eternal brings a custom economy system with its own currency and trading system.

With this custom Minecraft mod, players get to explore multiple dimensions with their own structures and bosses, automate crafting processes, and create various items such as Jetpacks, Solar Panels, Power Suits, and Rocketships. There are numerous collectibles and artifacts to find, many monsters to fight, dozens of tameable creatures, and lots of new dungeons to explore.

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22. Roguelike Adventures and Dungeons

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

This modpack is centered around exploration, adventure, looting, and fighting. Roguelike Adventures and Dungeons sets itself apart from other modpacks by having the unique quality of containing no tech-based mods.

The fantasy-themed modpack contains over 100 different mods. As players complete quests, they will discover new dimensions and explore roguelike dungeons and structures to find loot, improving their skills and equipment along the way.

There are doors and portals teleporting players to different traps, puzzles, and mazes. Players can also cast spells, tame creatures, and fight new mobs of all kinds. Upon finishing quests, players will earn coins that can be exchanged for valuable rewards.

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23. Enigmatica 2: Expert

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

Just as its title suggests, this is an Expert version of the Enigmatica 2 modpack. In other words, its difficulty level is much higher since it contains tougher enemies, like an Ender Dragon, and more complex crafting recipes. This modpack also contains more than 600 quests!

Progressing through its questing system requires almost every mod in the modpack. Players can view quests in the Questing Book acquired after spawning into the world. The main objective of E2E is to complete the Bragging Rights questline by creating at least one of each creative item.

As many crafting recipes require a huge amount of materials, automation is an integral aspect of this modpack. In addition to enjoying the new world generation, players can follow custom recipes, fight unique mobs, and learn new magic, adventure, tech, and building mechanisms.

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24. Dungeons, Dragons, and Space Shuttles

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

Packing an impressive number of more than 1000 quests, this modpack allows players to dabble in various professions such as Adventure, Agriculture, Magic, Science, and Technology. Most of its quests give players special rewards that can help them progress in the game.

In terms of food, this expansive mod adds its own customized food and alcohol brewing systems. In addition to enjoying new ways to take care of animals, players can genetically manipulate Trees, Butterflies, and Bees. There are also crops to plant and grow for obtaining materials.

Players can also craft customized tools and start scientific projects like building Airships, Jetpacks, or Power Generators. Furthermore, they can use unique magical abilities, such as Blood Magic or Power of the Stars.

The mod also contains cave networks, underground structures, ruins, planets, and over 20 different dimensions!

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25. SevTech: Ages

Minecraft version: 1.12.2

SevTech: Ages modpack focuses on providing a long-term quest progression experience, guiding players through different time periods using an advancement time travel system. At the same time, however, the pack still encourages players to explore their creativity through an open sandbox setup.

Players will unlock six ages as they go — Stone, Bronze, Medieval, Industrial, Modern, Futuristic, and Creative. Stone is the first and most basic age, while Creative is the last. Players can access it after unlocking the Futuristic age and crafting an Ultimate Crafting Table.

Each age comes with its own mobs and items. For example, when players get to the Medieval Age, they will unlock four ores — Iron, Gold, Lapis Lazuli, and the Rock Crystal Ore. Examples of mobs players can unlock are the space-themed creatures they will encounter in the Futuristic Age, consisting of Hungry Zombies, Skeletons, Witches, and Endermen.

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Conclusion

Players can choose to install Minecraft mods to alter the different aspects of Minecraft, providing new gaming experiences, adventures, and items, increasing the game’s already monumental replay value further.

There are many different mods out there, and most are available for free! They serve different purposes, from improving graphics rendering to adding new biomes, worlds, and creatures.

We have discussed 25 of the very best mods, with five Minecraft mods for each of the five different categories. If you are overwhelmed by all the choices, our own Minecraft wizards have narrowed down the selection to five essential mods, recommending the best Minecraft mod for each category:

• Best building mod → WorldEdit. Provides numerous new features to speed up building structures and manipulating terrain.
• Best mob mod → Pixelmon. Incorporates elements of the Pokémon world into Minecraft.
• Best mod for solo play → RLCraft. Adds many new gameplay elements and modifies the mechanics of vanilla Minecraft to make the whole experience much more life-like.
• Best quest mod → SevTech: Ages. Guides players through different time periods via a long-term progression system.
• Best utility and performance mod → OptiFine. Optimizes game speed and Minecraft’s graphics rendering.

We hope this article has helped you decide which mods to install to get the most out of your Minecraft game.

Good luck, and see you in the game!

Best Minecraft Mods FAQ