Top 52 Best Minecraft Mods [2024]

There’s no modding community quite like the Minecraft modding community.

Between the game being extremely easy to tweak and having an absolutely enormous player base, there’s a seemingly endless supply of mods out there for players to choose from.

The base game already offers a vast world to explore and the means to build almost anything the player fancies; add to that the sheer amount of mods and the game really does border on being able to do pretty much anything.

With the volume of choice out there, you could probably ask a hundred different Minecraft players what their favorite mods are and get a hundred different answers.

However, to give the first-time Minecraft modders a little bit of direction when wading through the countless options available to them, we’ve listed below 52 of our favorite Minecraft mods.

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Best Minecraft Mods

Best Minecraft Mods

1. Crafttweaker

Every game with a big modding community needs at least one major mod dedicated to letting players make their own tweaks and alterations. At the moment, CraftTweaker is the major one for Minecraft.

A popular resource for mod creators, CraftTweaker lets you tweak everything from recipes and commands to items’ basic properties through a simple interface.

It’s ideal for when you truly want to tailor your Minecraft experience to perfectly match your gaming sensibilities.

2. Optifine

One of Minecraft’s many appealing elements is that thanks to its simplistic visual style, it can run pretty smoothly on even a seriously outdated machine.

However, for those of us serious gamers who like Minecraft on a more powerful rig, OptiFine is a popular choice.

Adding support for shaders, dynamic lighting, HD textures, and other slick visual features, OptiFine centers on making Minecraft look a whole lot more visually sharp while at the same time boosting performance and FPS.

It’s basically ideal for when you really want to get the most out of your machine when running the game.

3. Fastcraft

Essentially the opposite of OptiFine, FastCraft is the mod for the players running Minecraft on a more humble machine.

While it’s true that Minecraft has relatively simplistic visuals, it does have a lot of different resources and elements that can put a strain on older computers.

FastCraft is essentially built around improving the game’s FPS, startup times, and other performance elements on simpler machines, with minimal impact on actual gameplay.

It’s tremendously useful for the Minecraft player on a budget.

4. Openblocks

Not every mod has a theme or mission statement. OpenBlocks is centered on the concept of the mod creators adding anything they feel makes the game more enjoyable.

There’s new ways to transport items, a sponge to soak up liquids, a way to bottle XP – basically, a ton of stuff.

If you’re willing to put your faith in the developers (and they’re generally agreed to be pretty trustworthy), this mod will likely improve your Minecraft experience in various imperceptible ways.

5. Quark

Another mod without a set theme, Quark’s creator, describes it as containing everything they’d add to Minecraft if they worked for Mojang.

There’s everything from feeding troughs for animals, to different styles of chests, to a fresher shade of green for the grass.

Basically, all these minor tweaks that really work together to make the whole thing a slightly more enjoyable experience.

6. Computercraft

ComputerCraft is a mod that really showcases the versatility and creative freedom offered by Minecraft’s engine.

In brief, this mod allows players to create in-game computers that can then be coded with the Lua programming language.

These can be used to lend an extra level of automation to your game, letting you create automated mining computers, reactors, doors with passwords, and various other features.

You’ll need some basic knowledge of coding to get started on this one, but it really does show just how wonderfully imaginative the modding community has gotten.

7. Controlling

Once you’ve installed enough mods, Minecraft’s key binding menu can start to look a little intimidating.

The base game already has so many actions as it is; with all the new features that mods add, you’re left with a bulky list to scroll through.

The Controlling mod is a slick little mod that makes the key binding menu a lot easier to navigate.

With it, you can search for various actions in the menu by name or hold down the control key to see which ones haven’t been bound.

It’s ideal for ensuring that the various new actions introduced by your mods are bound to keys you’re comfortable using.

8. Mine Colonies

One of the more ambitious mods, Mine Colonies, bumps up Minecraft from a survival crafting game to something more along the lines of a city-building sim.

With this mod, the player is given the means to construct everything needed for a town with a thriving economy, from plantations and mills to barracks and hospitals, and assign various NPCs to work in them.

You’ll be responsible not just for your own survival and prosperity, but for that of your town and its inhabitants.

It’s a wonderful piece of experimentation with the limits to which Minecraft’s engine and interface can be pushed.

9. Journeymap

One of the things you’ll spend most of your time doing in Minecraft is exploring. And there’s plenty of exploring to do, given that the game world is larger than the surface of the Earth.

However, if you’d like to keep a more definitive record of your explorations, the mod JourneyMap does a great job of building on Minecraft‘s rather rudimentary mapping options.

This mod creates a map that updates in real-time as you explore and can be viewed in-game or on a browser.

Besides making it far easier to keep track of where you are, this mod makes for a very satisfying way of visualizing just how far your wanderings across this wide world have taken you.

10. Mekanism

The world that Minecraft takes place in is rather limited in technological advancement by modern standards. Mekanism, in answer to this, is a mod all about modernizing your Minecraft world.

Players can construct jetpacks to make travel faster and more fun, digital miners to greatly enhance their efficiency at gathering resources, and even a personal robot assistant.

It’s a mod that really lets you feel like you’re bringing this wild world into the 21^st century.

11. Ancient Warfare 2

Ancient Warfare 2 might be described as a mod with a similar basic mission to Mekanism – that of bringing technology to the world of Minecraft – combined with a more old-school aesthetic.

With this mod, players can create automated machines to perform basic mining, farming, and fishing tasks.

Besides this, though, the mod also enhances the game’s exploration elements, adding new structures to loot and settle in, as well as various NPCs to recruit as companions.

It’s essentially a combination of an RPG and an RTS basics, which works very well for Minecraft.

12. Waystones

On the subject of mods based around navigation and travel, Waystones is a simple mod but invaluable for players who like to make regular trips across the map.

The mod provides a means of crafting “waystones,” stone pillars that can be linked together and used to travel from one spot to another in an instant.

Give how vast the average Minecraft overworld is, this can be tremendously handy for skipping over areas of land you feel have been explored sufficiently.

13. Mystcraft

A great many mods are built around the concept of creating new dimensions for players to explore. Mystcraft, however, is all about allowing the players to create their own dimensions.

Utilizing a system based on the lore of Myst, a series of graphical adventure games from the 90s, the mod lets players “write” new dimensions in “Description Books” and travel between them via “Linking Books.”

It allows players a level of power and creative freedom that’s not featured in many mods but which feels appropriate to a creativity-based game like Minecraft.

14. Open Terrain Generator

Minecraft is all about exploring a completely randomly generated world that you know nothing about. This is great for when you’re in the mood for discovering the unknown; but sometimes, you want to

Open Terrain Generator is all about giving you the means to tweak and create the next world you step into.

You can control the size and placement of biomes and mobs, design procedurally generated features like dungeons and cities, and even decide where individual kinds of blocks will be placed.

It’s the ideal option for the player who has a particular vision for how they’d like their next session of Minecraft to go.

15. Just Enough Items

Like any good crafting-centric game, Minecraft has countless crafting recipes; and unless you’re the world’s most dedicated player, you’re not going to be able to remember them all off-hand.

Just Enough Items, a spiritual successor to the no-longer-updated Not Enough Items Mod, is designed to save you all that time normally spent alt-tabbing the game to check the Minecraft wiki by giving you a simple, easily accessible interface through which you can check all the available items and recipes. Convenience is invaluable in a game this multifaceted.

16. Here’s What You’re Looking At

Another convenience-centric mod that’s a successor to a now-abandoned mod Here’s What You’re Looking At…shows you what you’re looking at.

It provides a text pop-up for every block or objects you point your cursor at, telling you what it is, whether it’s from a mod, and what mod it’s from if so.

It’s extremely convenient for mod enthusiasts orienting themselves around a newly-installed set of mods.

17. Galacticraft

Some people say that almost any game would be better if it were set in space. Not everyone agrees, of course, but if you do, Galacticraft is the mod for you.

Unsurprisingly, this mod allows you to build your own spacecraft and explore the galaxy.

You’ll discover new planets with unique biomes and face off against new, extraterrestrial mobs. Minecraft is a game all about exploration; after all, it only makes sense to take that intrepid spirit beyond the stars.

18. Rlcraft

This one’s definitely not for everyone; but those Minecraft veterans who know the tricks of the game inside and out, and are looking for a fresh level of challenge, absolutely love RLCraft.

This does two things to the game: it makes it more realistic (it’s called RLCraft, after all), and, more prominently, it makes it harder. Much, much harder.

Healing can only be done with specially crafted items; new factors such as thirst and temperature affect players’ health; new features such as headshots mean that even basic enemies can one-shot kill you, and dragons fly around the Overworld in the middle of the day.

You’re going to die constantly.

There’s going to be a lot of screaming, cursing, crying, and rage-quitting with this one, so be sure you’re ready for it.

When you are, though… well, suffice it to say, you’ll never complain about Minecraft having gotten too easy for you again.

19. Conquest Reforged

An update on a number of older mods, Conquest Reforged is a mod for the truly aspirational Minecraft builders out there.

Introducing hundreds of new, highly realistic textures, this mod is precisely what you need to build something truly beautiful – a set of Roman ruins or a Tudor-style village or a recreation of St Paul’s Cathedral. Used right, it can make your world absolutely breathtaking.

20. Thaumcraft

Magic-themed mods are a major subgenre in the Minecraft modding community.

There’s a great many to choose from, but Thaumcraft remains one of the most iconic. Drawing on the main game’s theme of construction, the mod adds a number of new blocks that can be used to create various different wands.

Not only do these give the player the ability to use magic, but they integrate that magic very organically into the base gameplay and give the sense that the magic stems from an actual source.

21. Botania

Yet another magical mod, Botania, arguably integrates itself even better into the game’s mechanics than Thaumcraft, as it focuses on tech rather than spells.

Tapping into the instinct for gathering crafting resources we all develop after playing the game long enough, Botania introduces a complex new system of magical flowers and plants.

With these, the player can create magical weapons and armory, and ultimately, they can automate their world with magic.

22. Twilight Forest

Yet another popular magical mod, Twilight Forest, gives players access to an entirely new magical dimension.

With its fantastical atmosphere and various mythological beasts, it’s especially thrilling to explore for fans of the fantasy genre and western RPGs.

23. Ars Magica 2

Okay, just one more magic mod for now. This one is for those serious fantasy nuts who really like their magical systems to be multifaceted and complicated.

Ars Magica 2 is a mod that has its own compendium, which really tells you all you need to know about how complex its spell crafting system is.

But then again, Minecraft is a game built on the appeal of complex crafting systems. Odds are, Minecraft players understand the appeal of a mod like this more than most.

24. Decocraft

One of the major joys of playing Minecraft is creating your own distinct living space. There’s something very satisfying about carving out your own piece of this extremely wild world.

However, for some folks, vanilla Minecraft’s decoration and customization options can start to feel a little limited after a while, which is where mods like Decocraft come in.

In short, Decocraft adds a number of easy recipes that allow you to craft new pieces of furniture, art, and other forms of décor, all of which can be used to make your Minecraft home all the more distinctly yours.

25. Bibliocraft

Bibliocraft is a mod that makes for a great pairing with Decocraft. As the name indicates, this mod initially centered on aesthetically pleasing bookshelves.

However, it’s since expanded considerably and now gives a sharper and more refined look to a great number of different “storage” blocks, such as armor stands and weapon racks.

When used alongside Decocraft, this mod makes interior décor in Minecraft feel almost as fun and fulfilling as it can be in reality.

26. Chisel

If you’re looking to give your structures a somewhat more robust form of décor, Chisel might be the mod for you.

A little tribute to the fine art of stoneworking, Chisel allows players to add a wide variety of new patterns to various blocks with the new chisel tool.

There’s something very satisfying about constructing a building that looks like it’s going to make a magnificent ruin in a few centuries.

27. Lotsomobs

The vanilla Minecraft world is absolutely teeming with animal life, both real and fantastical.

This is part of what makes it such a thrilling place to explore, which is why there are so many mods out there dedicated to making the wildlife even more diverse.

One of the best such mods is LotsOMobs, which adds a variety of new real-world animal species to the game.

These species vary from lions and elephants to dinosaurs and mammoths, each living in distinct biomes, and many of them offering new resources. It’s a rich mod that adds a whole new layer of both discovery and peril to the game.

28. Animalia

This one’s a similar deal to LotsOMobs, but whereas that one adds a variety of new animal species, Animalia replaces and improves the passive species that already exist in the game.

Each one is replaced with new, sharper models and diversified into a variety of different breeds and sub-species.

Moreover, they’re given more dynamic behavior, with their moods changing and shifting if they aren’t looked after properly.

It really makes the Minecraft fauna feel a lot more organic and alive.

29. Biomes O’Plenty

If you’d like to go even further than diversifying the game’s animal life, you might want to opt for the Biomes O’Plenty mod.

As the name indicates, it further diversifies the game’s already varied biomes and environments. There are 75 different natural environments to explore here, from alps and coniferous forests to meadows and tropical islands, each with new blocks, items, and fauna.

It’s a mod that really scratches that explorer’s itch that so many Minecraft players develop after wandering those vast worlds.

30. Additional Structures

This is a mod that makes for a great complement to biome-based mods like Biome O’Plenty.

As the name implies, additional structures add a number of new features and structures to the Overworld, ranging from natural features like rock formations and dead logs to man-made things like temples and campsites.

It really makes the world feel more lived-in and further enhances the thrill of discovery as every corner you turn has more potential features.

31. Pam’s Harvestcraft

If you’re one of those players who appreciate the slow but satisfying process of farming in Minecraft, you might well appreciate Pam’s HarvestCraft.

The mod greatly expands upon the base game’s rather limited selection of crops, adding, as of now, no less than 80 new crops and 50 new trees that bear fruit or other items, along with an expansive variety of new foods and food recipes.

The mod also tweaks the restoration value of different foods, encouraging players to vary their character’s diet.

After all, despite what the vanilla game tells you, eating nothing but pork chops isn’t very healthy.

32. Hunger Overhaul

Recommended as a companion mod to Pam’s HarvestCraft by the creator themselves, Hunger Overhaul injects a fresh level of realism into the game by making hunger a more prominent feature.

The mod reduces the amount of hunger each food item fulfills, meaning that players will need to be much more mindful of their hunger and pack well for a lengthy journey.

And of course, as mentioned, it’s made all the more fun with the extra choice and variety offered by Pam’s HarvestCraft.

33. Serene Seasons

Crafted by the creators of Biomes O’Plenty, Serene Seasons adds a different sort of variety to Minecraft’s natural world, in the form of, well, seasons.

Foliage and grass change color as the seasons pass, temperatures drop in winter, and crops grow better in some seasons than others. It’s one of those mods that do a lot to make the Minecraft world feel truly alive.

34. Aquaculture 2

Vanilla Minecraft has many features, but fishing is arguably the most underdeveloped. It’s purely functional and not very fun, and there are only four fish types to catch.

Aquaculture 2 expands this neglected part of the game tremendously.

Not only does it give players more than 30 new fish types to catch, but the rods, lines, and bobbers are now fully customizable. Fishing may not be everybody’s hobby, but this mod really spices it up.

35. Bacterium

Bacterium is an unusual mod, but a surprisingly useful one. In essence, it allows you to engineer various forms of bacteria.

They can be made to devour only certain types of blocks or replace them with other blocks. It’s a very unusual but unusually efficient way of clearing out an area.

Of course, just like with real bacteria, there’s a very real chance your creations could spread out of control if not properly contained. Either way, this one is definitely one of the most…unique Minecraft mods.

36. Advanced Hook Launchers

Traversing the world of Minecraft is anything but a cakewalk. You’ll often have to scale sheer cliff faces or be trapped in a cave by a rock wall.

And while you could always dig your way to the top, you’ve not always got the time.

The Advanced Hook Launchers mod adds a variety of hook launchers to the game. Some are good for traversing up and down tall obstructions, while others are better for launching spears at dragons and other flying foes.

Either way, they’re seriously useful.

37. Rope Bridge

Here’s another mod built around making it easier to traverse the Minecraft world – trekking everywhere on foot is immersive at first but loses its novelty after a while.

The Rope Bridge mod adds rope bridges and ladders to the game. And don’t worry, unlike most things in the game, you don’t need to construct them piece by piece.

Instead, you need simply construct a hookshot gun that, when fired, instantaneously constructs a bridge or ladder across space it’s been shot over.

It’s a real blessing when you’ve come across a chasm or cliff face and really aren’t in the mood to take a long way.

38. Vampirism

Here’s one for the fans of stuff like Vampire: The Masquerade. Vampirism…well, it’s a mod that adds vampires to Minecraft. And depending on your taste, you can become one.

You’ll get all the classic benefits and drawbacks. You’ll have to stay out of the sun and subsist only on blood, but as you perform various rituals, you gain benefits such as speed, strength, the ability to turn into a bat, and suchlike.

It’s a great way to bring a bit of that classic Gothic feel to your Minecraft game.

39. Doggy Talents

There are few things in the world quite as precious as a dog that can do tricks. At least, that’s what many people believe. If you’re one of them, then the Doggy Talents mod might be ideal for you.

As you might guess, this is a mod that allows you to teach various tricks to your dog.

Through a new command and leveling system, dogs can be taught up to 19 different talents, including the ability to smell approaching creepers, heal quicker, and poison enemies. Oh, and you can give them colorful new collars, which look simply adorable.

40. Expansive Fantasy

At some point, everyone has wanted their own pet dragon. That’s just a fact. Expansive Fantasy is the mod for bringing this dream into the world of Minecraft.

You can find dragon and wyvern eggs, hatch them, tame and raise the dragons, and take to the air on their backs. It’s pretty awesome.

There are other fantastic features, such as pegasi and orcs that you can trade with, but let’s face it, the dragons are the main draw.

41. Reliquary

Reliquary is another mod that adds an RPG-ish twist to Minecraft by way of a number of extra items that are challenging to get but boast some fantastic properties that make the game a lot easier.

There’s a coin that draws experience and items to you, a cup that makes you immune to lava, a handgun that can be loaded with various forms of specialized ammo…the list goes on.

It’s a great means of adding some extra challenge that rewards the player with strategic advantages.

42. Doomlike Dungeons

If you’ve ever played old-school first-person shooters like Doom, you’ll know how important level design was to those games.

The fast-paced, over-the-top combat just wouldn’t have worked if the levels hadn’t been designed around it.

Doomlike Dungeons is a mod essentially a mod designed to create Minecraft dungeons that mimic the level design style of these old FPSes.

They’re multi-level and designed to facilitate the same sort of fast-paced combat and fun exploration that these games were built around.

It’s also designed to be compatible with mob packs, meaning you can throw a great variety of enemies into these arenas.

43. Roguelike Dungeons

Roguelike Dungeons is, unsurprisingly, another mod for dungeons. However, this one is more closely modeled after RPGs, creating procedurally generated dungeons that offer up long, dark corridors and handsome amounts of loot.

It very much calls back to exploring the kind of dungeons that populated games like Ultima and the early Elder Scrolls games.

44. Backpacked

There’ve been several backpack-centric mods made for Minecraft, but this one’s the most up-to-date.

It’s pretty bizarre that Steve doesn’t already have a backpack in the base game, of course, considering his carrying capacity, but that’s another matter.

Anyway, Backpacked is a mod that lets you construct a simple backpack that gives you nine extra slots in your inventory.

Just like in real life, this extra storage space can be invaluable when you’re taking a long trek. And as a nifty bonus, stuff stored in the backpack remains in your inventory even when you’re killed.

45. Betterportals

With all that dimensional travel, portals are, to state the obvious, pretty important in Minecraft. BetterPortals is a simple mod that aims to make them a bit slicker, allowing you to see through to the other side, so you know what you’re in for, and removing the loading screens to increase immersion.

It really helps you feel like you’re actually stepping through a portal, rather than just transferring to another section of the game.

46. Gravestone

Dying in Minecraft is a pain in a single-player, but it can be a nightmare in multiplayer. Not only do you have to track down where you died in order to get your possessions back, but you have to fight over what belongs to who.

The GraveStone mod removes this headache by spawning a gravestone wherever a player dies, labeled with their name.

You need simply break it, and you’ll retrieve all your dropped equipment. Removing basic logistical headaches like this can do wonders to make the game more fun.

47. Storage Blocks

Play Minecraft long enough, and you’re going to rack up a massive collection of excess items and tools.

And while chests are all well and good, keeping track of which chests hold what can start to get tricky after a while, when they get more cluttered.

The Storage Drawers mod is designed to straighten out this rather frustrating inconvenience.

It introduces, well, drawers, which can be placed on the floor and mounted on walls, each of which displays its current contents on the front.

This makes all your stuff way easier to find, which is an absolute blessing when you’re packing for a trip, or looking for the right material to craft new items.

You don’t realize how refreshing it is to NOT have to sort through various overstuffed chests for ages until you don’t have to do it anymore.

48. Instant Lake Block

Instant Lake Block is a minor, aesthetic mod that nonetheless can be of great help in making the local region of your Minecraft world look a little nicer.

Once you’ve been playing in a specific region of your Overworld for long enough, chances are the area is going to have some unsightly holes all over the place.

Some will be from creeper explosions. Some will be from abandoned mining efforts. Some will be from experimenting that first time you made TNT.

Anyway, this mod lets you craft simple blocks – one for water and one for lava – which instantly fills it with the liquid of your choice when used on a hole.

As a handy bonus, it also includes a magic bucket that lowers the level of the liquid a lot more quickly than regular buckets, making it much easier to get it to whatever level you fancy.

49. Chance Cubes

Sure, gambling may not be the healthiest habit to develop, but sometimes, a simple roll of the dice can be quite thrilling.

The Chance Cubes mod spawns sets of dice-like cubes all across the world. When you come across them, you can break them open for a random reward or devastating consequence, depending on your luck.

The surprises they conceal are pretty wild, too – they might automatically construct a building around you, or they might summon a horde of deadly mobs to your location.

It adds a few exciting dice rolls to your game and ramps up the tension when exploring.

50. Swing Through the Grass

This is a minor one, but it adds a little bit of realism that can be life-saving in an intense battle.

Basically, the Swing Through The Grass mod allows you to hit enemies standing behind the grass without having to hack away at it first.

This removes grass’s rather annoying tendency to act as a shield for mobs, which, let’s face it, is both unrealistic and annoying. This could be a life-saver for those battles where that one blow makes all the difference.

51. Chameleon Creepers

Some Minecraft mods out there are for true masochists. For instance, mods like Chameleon Creepers, which, as the name implies, gives the dreaded, kamikaze-happy creepers the ability to change their texture and color to better blend into whatever terrain they’re on.

It’s apparently a callback to Minecraft’s early days when creepers’ natural colors were closer to that of the grass.

It’s a mod that’ll have you jumping at every stray movement, ears constantly open for that dreaded hissing, but if you fancy that extra challenge, this one might be for you.

52. Minecraft in a Chest

Okay, admittedly, this one is more for the novelty than anything else, but it really is another wonderful testimony to Minecraft‘s player base’s creativity.

Minecraft in a Chest is just what it sounds like: Minecraft‘s game, recreated in a chest within the game.

In the square grid of the chest, players can do basic things like wander around a map, harvest blocks, and construct buildings.

It’s a fun concept that can really push aspiring mod creators to see what weird and wacky things they can do with Minecraft’s resources.