Let’s check out the best Minecraft mods on windows pc 2021. Minecraft is already an incredibly modular game on its own, but just like most other PC games, mods can enhance and expand the experience in many ways. Minecraft mods have been a thing for a long time, so if you’re new to the game’s modding scene, there are a ton of surprises awaiting you.
From performance improvements to new items and ores to all-new mobs, there’s a never-ending supply of new mods you can install for Minecraft that can completely change the way you play the game. If you choose to install any of the mods below, pay attention to the supported versions.
You may not have updated some of them to support the latest version of Minecraft. However, these are the best Minecraft mods you can get in August 2021.
The Best Minecraft mode on Windows.
Minecraft is more than just a game. It’s a fully-embraced learning tool that educators have credited for increasing problem-solving skills among students who use it. Part of the appeal is the endless supply of Minecraft mods, ways to change everything from your character’s hair color to the world around you.
But with so many ways to customize the game experience, it can be hard to know where to start. So here are the top kid-approved Minecraft mods we see as must-haves for 2021. They are ideal for beginner users and seasoned gamers alike.
The following list compiles some of the best Minecraft mods out there right now. All are divided into sections, depending on what you want to do with the game – from simple changes to deep, intricate Minecraft mods you can get lost in for months.
These are the best Minecraft mods in August 2021:
- Optifine
- Fastcraft
- Miner’s Helmet
- Chisel
- Pixelmon
- Carpenter’s Blocks
- Just Enough Items
- Fast Leaf Decay
- Here’s What You’re Looking At (HWYLA)
- Pam’s Harvestcraft
- Macaw’s Bridges
- Biomes O’Plenty
- Journeymap
- Traveler’s Backpack
- Inventory Tweaks
- Storage Drawers
- Decorative Blocks
- AppleSkin
- Gravestone
- Iron Chests
These mods accomplish everything from adding new mobs and items to streamlining the vanilla game’s features. Some of these mods might only work on certain versions of the game, so be sure to check before installing any of them. Keep reading below for more information about each mod.
Optifine
One of the most popular mods in the history of Minecraft, Optfine can dramatically improve your game’s performance and allow you to achieve a butter-smooth framerate on low-end hardware. Even if you’re rocking a super-powerful PC, Optifine can still help you out by providing an expanded graphics menu that gives much more control over the game’s finer details.
Fastcraft
If you’re running Minecraft on weak enough hardware that even Optifine can’t help you, then Fastcraft might come in handy. It primarily aims to eliminate lag spikes and sporadic framerate drops, so it can help a lot if you’re playing Minecraft on a machine that stutters every time you load a new chunk.
Miner’s Helmet
Are you tired of placing torches down every time you go on a mining excursion? Well, the Miner’s Helmet mod lets you carry your own personal light source with you into the depths of the darkest caves, freeing up inventory slots while still allowing you to navigate complex cave systems.
Chisel
While some people can do some crazy things with Minecraft’s limited selection of blocks, sometimes you want to be able to build whatever you want without having to use creative workarounds. The Chisel mod adds a huge variety of decorative blocks to the game, granting you greater control over your creations and creating some pretty unique structures.
Pixelmon
What’s better than Minecraft? Minecraft with Pokemon, of course! Pixelmon is one of the longest-running Minecraft mods, adding hundreds of Pokemon to the game. The mod is continually updated to this day, including even the newest collectible creatures like Scorbunny, Grookey, Cobble, and other Galar favorites to the blocky world of Minecraft.
Carpenter’s Blocks
Each Minecraft block occupies one cubic meter, but sometimes creations call for more precision than that. The Carpenter’s Blocks mod adds several smaller versions of Minecraft’s blocks to the game, letting you break free from the construction grid and freely customize your creations as you choose.
Just Enough Items
The Just Enough Items mod lets you view every item in the game and its recipes, which can especially come in handy when you have tons of mods installed that add all sorts of new items to the game. Even if you’re familiar with every crafting recipe, nothing can beat the convenience of having each item just one click away at all times.
Fast Leaf Decay
Cutting down trees in Minecraft can be a particularly arduous process, especially when you can’t find that last piece of wood that’s keeping all the leaves afloat. What’s even worse is waiting for the leaves to fall after you’ve completely chopped all the wood, which is where this mod comes into play. The Fast Leaf Decay mod increases the speed at which leaves break after a tree loses all its wood, and this is a mod you won’t be able to play with after getting used to it.
Here’s What You’re Looking At (HWYLA)
Sometimes, you don’t know what a block is. If you’re a lapsed Minecraft player, then there are all sorts of new blocks you won’t be able to identify, and if you have dozens of mods installed, it’s nearly impossible to memorize every block added by every mod. The Here’s What You’re Looking At mod tells you exactly what type of block you’re looking at, which is practically required if you’re playing with a large mod pack.
Pam’s HarvestCraft
Food is a key aspect of Minecraft, but the game’s farming mechanics have gone years without any substantial update. The Pam’s HarvestCraft mod aims to remedy this fact, adding dozens of new crops to grow, nearly 20 new fish to catch, and over 1000 new items and food to craft.
Macaw’s Bridges
If you love building bases in hill or mountain biomes, then the Macaw’s Bridges mod will grant you much more control over how your base looks. Of course, bridges are nothing new in Minecraft, but this mod allows you to craft actual bridges that look a little bit nicer than generic wooden planks and fences.
Biomes O’Plenty
Wish Minecraft had more biomes? Well, the Biomes O’Plenty mod is for you! This mod introduces 80 new biomes to the game, giving you plenty of new locations to explore. These biomes are also filled with new items, plants, and blocks for you to find. There are even new biomes in the Nether!
Journeymap
As important as maps are in Minecraft, they’re a bit basic. The Journeymap mod aims to add a little more complexity to Minecraft’s maps, making them much more useful for navigating and exploring. A journey map lets you view your world in real-time on the map, and it even gives you a minimap to help you get around.
Traveler’s Backpack
The Traveler’s Backpack mod does exactly what it sounds like – it adds backpacks to Minecraft. While this may seem like a small addition, it actually does a lot to make mining and exploring much less of a headache. The backpacks add several inventory slots and even have separate fluid slots for buckets or potions.
Inventory Tweaks
Because you spend so much time gathering new blocks, inventory management can become a bit of a pain in Minecraft. However, once you install the Inventory Tweaks mod, you won’t ever want to return to vanilla Minecraft. It automatically replaces your tools as they break, it sorts your chests with the press of a button, and it organizes your inventory with ease.
Storage Drawers
Chests are useful, but sometimes, you want a storage solution that’s a little more discreet. The Storage Drawers mod adds drawers to Minecraft, allowing you to store smaller amounts of items but in a much more organized manner. The drawers even have icons and indicators to tell you exactly how many blocks are stored inside.
Decorative Blocks
Experienced Minecraft builders know all sorts of tricks to build intricate things using the vanilla set of blocks, but why go through all that trouble when you can install a mod to help? The Decorative Blocks mod adds several new blocks that can breathe new life into your builds, including beams, supports, and bonfires.
AppleSkin
Did you know Minecraft food has a lot more going on under the hood than you’d think? Hunger has all sorts of hidden mechanics like saturation that are impossible to see in vanilla Minecraft. The AppleSkin mod lets you see everything you need to know about your food, including how long it’ll keep you full.
Gravestone
It happens to the best of us. That walk of shame to reclaim your dropped items after death is never fun, but the Gravestone mod makes it a whole lot easier. Rather than having your items explode onto the surrounding environment, potentially landing in lava, this mod creates a gravestone when you die that acts as a chest containing all your items.
Iron Chests
Chests are great and all, but sometimes they don’t have enough space to store everything you want. The Iron Chests mod attempts to remedy this, adding multiple new types of chests based on the various metals found in vanilla Minecraft. These chests can hold more than standard wooden chests, but the capacity varies based on the material used to create them.
How do I install Minecraft mods?
Every Minecraft mod on this list comes with its own installation instructions that you should follow closely, and you’ll likely also need to downgrade your Minecraft version for many of them – in most cases, version 1.7.10 works best. To help with that, you can try MultiMC– a useful bit of software that lets you manage multiple Minecraft mods installs.
Only download from sites that specifically require mods to be:
- Functioning, even if they aren’t in the final version
- Original and not plagiarized from other sources
- Family-friendly and without nudity, swearing, drugs, or inappropriate violence
- Free from cheat suggestions, such as hacking or griefing
Alternatively, if faffing around in obscure folders isn’t your cup of tea, then grab a mod-pack instead – which comes with everything preinstalled and preconfigured. We recommend either Feed The Beast’s Direwolf20 1.7.10 pack (which comes with a YouTube series that’ll teach you how to use many of the included mods), the Tekkit Pack, or making your own mod pack with Curse Voice. If you have trouble with any of them, Google is probably a good bet.
One other way to download and install Minecraft mods that require little experience and let you use a variety of mods is to use a management tool like Forge:
- Extract the mod file, if necessary, by right-clicking on the file or folder and selecting Extract. This new file will be saved in a new location under the same folder path
- Copy the mod file by pressing Ctrl+C (You’ll know it’s the right mod file, as it will have a .jar extension)
- Open Minecraft from your desktop or Start menu
- Select the latest release
- Find your Minecraft installation folder by clicking on the green arrow on the right side of the game directory. You should see program files for Minecraft
- Open the Mods folder
- Inside the Mods folder, click your mouse in any blank space and press Ctrl+V to paste that mod file you had copied earlier.
Now that your new mod is installed, you can start playing it. First, look for the mod’s name in your menu, and remember that it may not be the exact mod name you call it.
The Bottom Line
Minecraft is considered by many to be one of the best computer games for kids, and it’s available on more than just PC. There are Mac and mobile versions of the game, as well as console versions. Because not every version being played out there is the same, not every version can be modded.
Play on PC if you can
As a general rule, the updated, full version of the PC game can use most mods. So if you want the most flexible experience possible, this is the way to go. Many people play this title on their Windows 10 operating system and enjoy great gameplay.
There are some packs and features you can download or buy for the PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo versions and the mobile Pocket Editions (Minecraft PE). However, they don’t have the same modding abilities. Also, people often confuse the Minecraft Windows 10 Edition with the standard game played on a Windows 10 operating system. These are two different game versions, so check the documentation of any game you buy to know you’re getting the right one.
You can also read user reviews to learn how others use the game and what features they enjoy if you’re not completely sure. For example, many people have been disappointed to learn that the mobile version doesn’t let you create new mods or that it doesn’t transfer over to the full version of the PC game. The official website is also a good source of information on the various editions and what they offer.
What mod trends will we see next? While new mods are being developed and shared, our list contains some of the more unique and exciting Minecraft mods that will appeal to players of all ages. And if you haven’t downloaded the Backpacked mod yet to expand your inventory, what are you waiting for?
