The best Minecraft mods, and how to use them
Plenty of mods to choose from!
Mods in Minecraft have long been popular additions to the game and 2020 saw a massive influx of them with gamers stuck at home with more time on their hands to make them.
And that means the list of mods to pick from is longer than ever and there are countless numbers of them out there - narrowing them down to 10 was certainly a challenge.
Looking for more Minecraft? Check out our guides on how to tame a fox in Minecraft, and how to enable ray-tracing in the block-builder.
But back to Minecraft Mods and for all you need to know about the ones we have chosen as some of the best, read on!
How to install Minecraft mods
Follow these steps if you have never installed a mod before and you want to know how to do it - and following a guide is a must for a beginner as you could end up deleting the whole world that you have created by mistake.
- Make a backup file of your Minecraft world so that you have it saved if something does go wrong.
- Download Minecraft Forge so you can install mods easily.
- Now download the compatible mods that you want to have installed.
- Copy the files into the /mods/ folder to install them.
- Now run the mod!
And that's it, you're done! Now to choose some mods that you may want to have running while you play...
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The best Minecraft mods
There are a huge number of Minecraft mods out there with more coming all the time that change and add many different things to the game.
We are just scratching the surface of what is out there with this list, but here are some of the best ones that we have found and like to use - kicking off with one that adds a ton of options to the food situation in the game.
Pam’s HarvestCraft Mod
The food and farming mechanics in Minecraft are not as great as they could be and while it would be nice to for the actual developers to solve this problem, at least we have the handy Pam's HarvestCraft Mod to install.
It adds 80 new crops, 6 garden bushes, 50 fruit/item bearing trees, and 19 new fish to the game along with nearly 1500 other items - so it really is worth having!
Minecraft: FastCraft Mod
This is a great mod to get if you find that Minecraft is running slowly for you and you want to speed things up without the gameplay being affected in the process.
Essentially what the mod does is to remove anything that may be slowing things down that you don't really need to have running but technical things aside, it makes the game faster and if speed is a problem for you this should clear the issue right up.
Aether 2: Genesis of the Void
This mod sounds like a game title in its own right and happily, it is one that is just as cool as the name would suggest it to be.
This is a follow up to the original Aether mod and it is a heavenly looking floating location that you will end up in - just one that is complete with new advanced party systems and dungeons to explore.
The Lost Cities
We have a couple of apocalyptic mods lined up for you now and we'll begin them with The Lost Cities!
This is an exploration mod and it is one of the best out there, allowing you to explore the cool area with unique, mod-added loot to find if you head to the dungeons. But will you find out what happened to the city and all the people that used to live there?
Crafting Dead Minecraft Mod
Want to up the stakes when you are playing Minecraft? Want to them up by a significant level? Well, Crafting Dead is the mod that you are going to want to install.
There are numerous reasons to install this mod, from character customisation to the alternative inventory system but the main reason is to turn the game into a zombie apocalypse - and who doesn't love the inclusion of zombies in gaming?
Read more:
- How to tame a fox in Minecraft
- Doctor Who series 8 titles recreated in Minecraft
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian video game reportedly in development
Optifine
You will be hard-pressed to find a more popular mod in the world of Minecraft than Optifine - one that has been popular since launch and remains just as popular to this day.
The number of customisation options for Minecraft's graphics and rendering is increased by a huge amount with this mod and that difference alone is enough to make this one worth getting.
Useful Backpacks
While there are several different mods out there that allow you to increase your inventory space, something that we find we need a lot when we are playing Minecraft, Useful Backpacks is easily one of the best.
With it, you can craft three levels of backpacks with different amount of storage space and it looks like it was something designed for the game too. Spacious and stylish then!
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Corail Tombstone
Losing all your possessions when you accidentally die in the game is the worst, right? Well, Corail Tombstone is on hand to make things a whole lot easier for you.
Now when you die, all you own will end up in the tombstone ready for you to collect - so you can start taking a few more chances as you wander about in the game once this has been installed.
WorldEdit
If you want the best building and construction tool in Minecraft then it is WorldEdit that you are going to want to get installed and there is really no other one that does the job anywhere near as well as this one does.
Whatever it is you are looking to build or construct, the command based WorldEdit makes the process so much simpler and you will glad you have it within seconds of trying it out.
Fast Leaf Decay
Tired of having to sit around and wait for a trunk-less tree to despawn all its leaf blocks? Get this mod in your life right now then as the process will be significantly speeded up.
Instead of taking a couple of minutes for the tree to do its thing, this mod will have the leaf blocks all respawned within seconds - that immediately makes this mod a must-own one.
Discover more with the best mods:
Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you're looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide.
Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
