Are you tired of the typical Minecraft gameplay? Are you looking for new mechanics, challenges, and content? Modpacks are the perfect solution for you if you want to breathe new life into your Minecraft world. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for something true to the vanilla style or a total transformation of the game, because in this blog I’ve prepared the 5 best survival modpacks you can choose from.
1. RLCraft
The name RLCraft comes from “Real Life Craft” which means Real Life Creation. It is a modpack that completely reconfigures Minecraft survival mechanics with a focus on realism and fantasy.
Essentially, in RLCraft you will have to face a hostile world where you must manage mechanics such as health, which has been replaced by a system that tracks damage to each individual part of the body (like the head, torso, arms, and legs) with each part having its own health bar:
As for hunger mechanics, RLCraft introduces thirst and body temperature as new needs to take into account:
You will have to find sources of clean water because drinking from untreated sources can lead to parasites and negative health effects for your character. Similarly, exposing yourself to cold biomes without proper clothing can cause hypothermia, while deserts can cause hyperthermia.
As for combat, we’re talking about a much more complex and dangerous experience, because the Rough Tweaks mod eliminates the traditional health regeneration through food. Instead, you will have to use bandages, band-aids, or healing potions to restore your character health:
On the other hand, RLCraft incorporates a skill system that you will have to improve in order to use higher-level weapons and tools, as simply having the materials to craft a weapon won’t be enough. For example, if you want to use a diamond sword, you will have to reach a required attack level to be able to wield it, which makes it an RPG-like (Role Playing Game) experience:
Regarding the world of RLCraft, we are talking about a world populated by a large number of new mobs, most of which are very dangerous, because the modpack includes mods like Lycanite’s Mobs and Ice and Fire, which introduce dragons that will burn the landscape and so-called elementals, mobs that emerge from the earth, as well as beasts that stalk in dark areas, making exploration even more perilous.
You can download the RLCraft modpack by clicking here.
2. Better MC
Better MC is a modpack designed to enhance the base Minecraft experience, as it aims to take the original formula and improve it in terms of exploration, adventure, building, and combat mechanics. As a result, Better MC is a modpack that is familiar to the vanilla experience but significantly expanded in content and dynamism.
Better MC includes a wide variety of mobs (both passive and hostile) featuring real-world animals that add atmosphere and realism to the new biomes, as well as monsters and bosses that present new combat challenges throughout the world:
Thanks to mods like Biomes O’ Plenty and Oh The Biomes You’ll Go, there are now hundreds of new biomes, each with its own unique flora, fauna, and structures:
The diversity of biomes isn’t just limited to aesthetics, it also adds unique resources and specific challenges, as Better MC also includes a quest system that guides the player through the new mechanics and dimensions, providing a sense of direction and progression. These quests encourage players to explore, build, and fight to unlock new stages of the game.
Regarding dimensions, we have The Aether (the famous sky dimension), which consists of floating islands above the clouds where the physics make gravity in this dimension lower:
On the other hand, the traditional dimensions like the Nether and the End receive a complete overhaul, with new biomes and structures added to them that make them far more interesting to explore than their original versions.
Better MC adds navigation mods like Xaero’s World Map & Minimap, which allows you to see your position on the map in real-time as you explore and it also lets you mark points of interest (waypoints) for your base, a village, or a dungeon whose location you want to save. Likewise, it includes a very important feature such as the death marker, which automatically places a waypoint at the exact spot where you died.
You can download the Better MC modpack by clicking here.
3. Prominence II: Hasturian Era
Prominence II is a modpack focused primarily on fantasy RPG and “cosmic” horror, as the name “Hasturian Era” is a direct reference to Hastur (an entity from the literary universe of H.P. Lovecraft), which adds a touch of mystery, madness and a threat that goes beyond hostile mobs throughout this modpack.
In Prominence II, players do not simply appear in the world and that’s it, because they are introduced to a universe with a fragmented story they must uncover, as the narrative is revealed through exploration (they must find ancient texts, interact with mysterious structures, and face hostile mobs).
The atmosphere of this world is dense, and the sound along with the visual aspect create a sensation that seeks to make the player feel like a small part of a vast and indifferent cosmos.
Regarding combat mechanics, a higher level of strategy is required compared to traditional Minecraft combat, as active and passive abilities are introduced that can be customized through a talent tree (which includes different fighting and magic styles), as well as an equipment system with complex statistics (such as elemental resistances, critical hit chance, or life steal):
Boss battles feature encounters with complex mechanics that require preparation and strategy, as defeating them is key to progressing in the main storyline and obtaining the most important resources.
As for the world of Prominence II, it has been expanded with new biomes, dungeons, structures, and interactive civilizations, where exploration is rewarded with unique equipment, powerful artifacts and fragments of the story.
On the other hand, the new dimensions included in this modpack are not simple variants of the Nether or the End, since they are alien realms with landscapes and creatures of a cosmic horror atmosphere:
You can download the Prominence II: Hasturian Era modpack by clicking here.
4. Cursed Walking
Cursed Walking turns Minecraft into a modern post-apocalyptic survival experience, immersing you in a desolate and brutal world devastated by a zombie apocalypse.
The inspiration for this modpack is very similar to games like Project Zomboid or series like The Walking Dead. The goal of Cursed Walking is simply: to survive one more day, where every decision (from making noise to choosing where to spend the night) can have fatal consequences.
The core of Cursed Walking is the zombies, but these aren’t the typical slow and clueless Minecraft versions, because their artificial intelligence has been modified so that zombies pose a real and dynamic threat. For example, zombies can see and hear players from much greater distances. An unsilenced gunshot, breaking glass, or even running can attract a horde of nearby zombies:
As for hunger and crafting mechanics, players will have to manage new needs such as thirst, body temperature, and mental health. Water must be purified to avoid illness, and canned food is a very scarce resource.
The crafting system has been adapted to a modern setting, instead of diamond swords, you will have to craft improvised weapons like nailed bats or find components to repair firearms:
These weapons range from pistols to assault rifles and are very effective, but the noise they generate is a huge risk, and ammunition is extremely limited, making every bullet a precious resource.
The world of Cursed Walking is surrounded by the remnants of the past civilization: ruined cities, abandoned highways, looted hospitals, and military bases. Exploring these areas is the primary way to obtain vital resources like medicine, weapons, ammunition, and tools. However, these areas are also, of course, the most infested with zombies.
This modpack also includes functional vehicles like cars and trucks, as they are essential for traveling long distances and escaping dangerous situations (though they require fuel and maintenance).
You can download the Cursed Walking modpack by clicking here.
5. SkyFactory 4
SkyFactory 4 is a modpack that offers a skyblock-style survival experience, meaning your character will spawn on a small platform with a single tree on a dirt block floating in the void. Your goal here will be to survive and thrive using the resources provided by your small island, with the purpose of leveraging every block, leaves, and seeds to expand your island and make progress in the game:
A feature that distinguishes SkyFactory 4 is the variety of its initial worlds, because although the default option is the classic map of one tree and one dirt block, there are over 30 different world templates to choose from. For example, you can start in a “Compact Sky” where all the game’s islands are compressed into a limited space, or in an “Amplified” world with much broader and aesthetically aggressive terrain.
There are also “themed” options that allow you to start in a specific biome or within an enclosed structure, forcing the player in a certain way to plan completely different starting strategies in each game.
On the other hand, SkyFactory 4 (unlike its previous versions) introduces an innovative system through the Sky Orchards mod, which allows you to grow trees that, instead of producing conventional fruits, also yield “resin” and “acorns” that can be processed to obtain minerals and other materials such as iron, gold, and even diamonds.
This modpack features around 200 mods that allow you to build factories, nuclear reactors, witchcraft systems, and much more, where progress is guided by an advancement system that suggests goals and rewards you for achieving them.
Additionally, SkyFactory 4 introduces the “prestige” system, which is an optional mode that, once activated, allows you to earn “prestige points” by completing significant advancements:
Prestige points are a global currency that you can spend in a special menu to unlock mods, items, or mechanics that will be available from the start in all your future SkyFactory 4 games. For example, you can unlock early access to a builder’s bag or a basic power generator, which significantly accelerates the first hours of gameplay and allows you to experiment with alternative progression paths from the beginning.
You can download the SkyFactory 4 modpack by clicking here.
An Extra Modpack: The Pixelmon
The Pixelmon Modpack transforms the world of Minecraft into a world inspired by the Pokémon universe, as you will encounter a world inhabited by Pokémon creatures that roam freely through different biomes. Each biome will be home to different specific types of Pokémon, so exploration will be important to find and capture your favorite Pokémon.
The gameplay of The Pixelmon Modpack focuses mainly on capturing, training, and battling Pokémon. That’s why you can use your own Poké Balls and craft them using Apricorns (a type of fruit that grows on special trees) and iron ingots:
Regarding combat mechanics, these follow a turn-based system very similar to the original Pokémon games, as you can challenge wild Pokémon or other trainers:
Likewise, progression is not linear like in the main series games, meaning there is no fixed gym path you must follow (although in the multiplayer section, they implement their own gym leaders and leagues to provide a more structured experience).
This modpack in addition to adding Pokémon, also includes a large number of items and mechanics associated with this universe, such as Pokémon Centers to heal your team, shops with useful items and fossils that you can revive:
Complementary mods are included that enrich the gaming experience, such as JourneyMap which provides a real-time map with your position on it, as well as biome expansion mods like Oh The Biomes You’ll Go, which encourages the search for exclusive Pokémon throughout the world.
You can download the The Pixelmon modpack by clicking here.
