12 Cool Minecraft Mods to Give Your Game a Boost

Add even more content to your Minecraft world with these mods

Co-authored by Zac Churchill and Travis Boylls

Last Updated: July 14, 2026 Fact Checked

Minecraft mods can vastly improve the game. There are some mods that improve graphics and optimization to make the game look or run better. Other mods add new content. This can include mods that add new animals and mobs, mods that add new weapons and vehicles, and creepy mods that turn Minecraft into a survival-horror game. Most mods are designed for Minecraft: Java Edition and require a mod loader, such as Forge, NeoForge, or Fabric to load. This wikiHow article lists some cool mods that you need to try.

Cool Minecraft Mods

There are many mods that can improve the look, feel, and performance of the game, such as Optifine, Iris Shaders, Sodium, and Lithium. Then there are mods that add new content, such as Naturalist, Pixelmon, Superb Warfare, The Dwellers, The Obsessed, OreSpawn, and more.

1

Optifine

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Optifine is one of the most popular performance mods. Optifine is a great utility mod that is designed to improve Minecraft performance for Java Edition. It adds a variety of new graphics settings. You can enhance the lighting and textures to make the game look better, or you can reduce the lighting and textures, as well as disable certain animations to make the game perform better. Optifine can be installed with or without Minecraft Forge.^{[1]
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- You can download Optifine at optifine.net.

2

Iris Shaders & Sodium

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Iris Shaders is a shader pack loader that improves the look of the game. Iris Shaders allows you to run high-performance shader packs that improve lighting and shadows. Iris also comes bundled with Sodium, which improves frame rates, micro stutter, and other graphics issues while still maintaining compatibility with other mods. In recent years, Iris Shaders and Sodium have started to overtake Optifine in popularity.^{[2]
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- You can download Iris Shaders and Sodium at irisshaders.dev for Fabric and NeoForge.

3

Lithium

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Lithium fixes a number of game mechanics and improves performance. Lithium is another optimization mod, often used in conjunction with Sodium. It improves many game mechanics, such as physics, mob AI, and block tick. It can be installed on your single-player game or a multiplayer server, without requiring other users to install the mod on their own game.
- You can download Lithium at www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lithium for Fabric and NeoForge.

4

Pixelmon

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Pixelmon adds Pokémon to your Minecraft game. Have you ever wanted to hunt Pokémon while playing Minecraft? Now you can! Pixelmon gives you 5 starter Pokémon to choose from. Then you search for wild Pokémon in the Minecraft universe rendered with Minecraft graphics.^{[3]
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- You can download Pixelmon at www.9minecraft.net/pixelmon for Forge and NeoForge.

5

The Obsessed

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The Obsessed adds a creepy and obsessive new mob. The Obsessed is a relatively new psychological horror mod for Java Edition. The Obsessed is a shadow-like creature that watches you from the shadows and leaves gifts. How you react determines the mood of The Obsessed. If The Obsessed is happy, it will protect you. If it is unhappy, it will invade your space and try to abduct you.
- You can download The Obsessed at www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/obsessed for NeoForge.

6

Survivor’s Arsenal

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This mod adds post-apocalyptic survival to Minecraft. This adds several new features to survival mode, including new weapons, medical items, a loot system, and recycling. It works well with other mod packs. This mod is currently in the early beta stages of development, but it is already one of the best apocalypse mods. Expect good things to come from this mod.
- You can download the beta version of Survivor’s Arsenal at www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/survivors-arsenal

7

The Dwellers

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The Dwellers adds new terrifying mobs to the game. With The Dwellers, you will encounter a variety of new entities, including The Knocker, Herobrine, Krampus, Shadow Dweller, Cavern Dweller, Goatman, Unseen Death, The Watchtower, The All-Seeing One, and more. This mod also features unique shaders and sound effects for enhanced immersion, and a sanity system. The Dwellers is available for Minecraft: Java Edition and Bedrock.^{[4]
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- You can download The Dwellers at CurseForge for Forge, or you can purchase for Bedrock from the Marketplace.

8

Superb Warfare

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Superb Warfare adds military weapons and vehicles to Minecraft. Superb Warfare features a variety of guns, cannons, tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, and more, each with high quality animations. This pack also features many add-ons, such as the Frontline Combat pack.
- You can download Superb Warfare from Curseforge for Forge and NeoForge.

9

Naturalist

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Naturalist adds a variety of new animal mobs to the game. Naturalist features new animals, such as alligators, bears, birds, deer, elephants, hippos, lions, snakes, giraffes, zebras, and more. Each allows you to interact with them in various ways. Some of them can be tamed and ridden. Naturalist is available for Java Edition and Bedrock Edition.^{[5]
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- You can download Naturalist for Java at starfish-studios.com/mods for Forge, or it can be purchased for Bedrock Edition from the Marketplace.

10

Flywheel of Terror

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Flywheel of Terror is a psychological horror mod with quite a history. Flywheel of Terror turns the game against you. It tracks you, steals items from your chest, teleports you to random locations, gives you random hallucinations, makes villagers and mobs afraid of you, causes golems to be hostile towards you, and even makes your own house attack you. Flywheel of Terror is rumored to have been banned at CurseForge and various other mod websites, but versions of it are still available for download for Java Edition.
- You can download Flywheel of Terror from modrinth.com/mod/flywheel-of-terror for Forge.

11

OreSpawn

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OreSpawn adds a variety of new content to the game. OreSpawn is an older mod, but it adds all sorts of new things to the game, including new weapons, mobs, bosses, and tameable mobs, including boyfriends and girlfriends. You will need to install an older version of Minecraft Java Edition (1.6.4, 1.7.10, or 1.12.2).^{[6]
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- You can download OreSpawn from orespawn.fr for Forge.

12

Lucky Block

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Lucky Blocks adds a block that adds random outcomes. Lucky Block can be installed as a mod or played on a multiplayer server. It can be installed as a mod for Minecraft: Java Edition, and it can be purchased for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition from the Marketplace. Lucky Block adds a new block called the Lucky Block. When you break it, something totally random happens. You may receive an item, it may spawn a hostile mob, or it may explode. The outcome can be good or bad.
- Lucky Block can be downloaded from CurseForge for NeoForge or purchased from the Marketplace on Bedrock Edition.