The annoying thing about Mojang’s updates is that they render a lot of cool mods unplayable. This means that we’re forced to play previous builds of the game (1.6, 1.7, 1.8.10, etc.) in order to play our favorite mods. It’s annoying – I like playing with the most recent features from Mojang through my upgraded Mojang account, but the sheer variety of awesome mods has me jumping from build to build. If you’re feeling the same way, check out some of the following mods that are compatible with the most recent update.
I’ve already done a mod review for Pixelmon, but my undying love of Pokemon has forced my hand. Plus, this is one of the most awesome mods around, and it’s for 1.8.4. Pixelmon populates the world with catchable, trainable, battle able Pokèmon companions, as well as all the good stuff that comes along with the lovable beasts.
If you’ve ever had the desire to catch various fantasy creatures and make them attack one another, this is the mod for you. Plus, just look at those awesome models. If you need more convincing, check out what I said about it in my aforementioned review.
Since we were on the subject of fantasy creatures, I figured it natural to deescalate to actual, earthly animals. I’ve said on numerous occasions that vanilla Minecraft feels empty. This mod rectifies this by adding over twenty unique creatures to the natural world, from moths to chameleons to manta rays.
This mod is fully functional with the most recent updates and is well worth checking out. Anything that makes the world feel more vibrant without affecting the general playstyle is a no-brainer, in my opinion. Unless you’re scared of sharks.
My logical progression stops here. Luckily, this mod is all about un-stopping those silly little blocks that make up the world, so I figure it about balances out. This is an epic mod – with it, you can build fully functional and mobile airships, boats, and other moving vehicles. Explosive aerial battles, anyone?
This mod is pretty in-depth. It adds a fuel system, a falling block system (so if your vessel blows up midair, it will fall in pieces to the ground), and some functional weaponry. This is a must-have for you corsairs and navigators out there – and it’s flush with update 1.8.4.
Soo, I kind of lied. I want to show off more than five mods, but I chunked the last four into two separate categories. I think it’s fair game – choices are always good things, right? Anyways, dungeons are a really cool part of Minecraft. Diversifying the kinds of dungeons and the challenges/rewards they proffer only improve vanilla Minecraft, and here’s two that are pretty doggone awesome and, you guessed it, work seamlessly with the latest update.
Based on the algorithms that generated dungeons for games like Doom, Quake, and similar retro games, this mod generates classic-feeling RPG/FPS dungeons. Entrances will spawn randomly on the surface, leading down into the bowels of the earth. Climbing down a ladder will plop you in the middle of a dungeon full of lava, monster spawners, hidden passages, and, most importantly, treasure. The difficulty level is relatively high, but so are the value of the rewards! These are great to put your skills and your high-end items to the test.
I know that going through the process of installing a mod can be a real hassle. So while this mod is already awesome for the dungeons it produces, it’s made doubly awesome by the fact that it doesn’t modify Minecraft’s code and doesn’t require an installation. Simply go to its site, download the launcher for your OS, and follow the prompts to modify your worlds!
Not only is this mod easy to get going, but it also makes some beautiful, almost ethereal dungeons that really bring a game world to life. Nothing’s quite as cool as cresting a hill to discover a decrepit castle, rife with enemies and rewards. Compared to the previous dungeon mod, I like the aesthetics of MCDungeons better, but the Doomlike Dungeons feel better laid out and more challenging.
How complete can your upgraded Minecraft experience be if you don’t also augment the visual experience? Minecraft has a unique aesthetic, but it can be vastly improved – just check out these shaders for 1.8. Shaders improve the lighting and ambient effects of the game, making it overall more immersive.
Shaders can be very graphically intensive. For those who lack the ultimate gaming machine, but who still want to make Minecraft pretty, Sildur’s Shaders are the way to go. This mod improves not only bloom, torch effects, and general lighting, but also adds swaying grass and other minuscule aesthetic tweaks. They add together to make something that will unequivocally enhance your Minecraft experience.
If you do have a sweet rig, this right here is the bee’s knees. Instead of a resource or texture pack, which tend to be matters of taste, Sonic’s Shaders improve the core graphics of Minecraft. And man is it pretty.
From a new water surface effect to bloom enhancement to enhanced weather and lighting, this mod makes Minecraft gorgeous. Streams of clouds will flow across the sky, leaves will shift in the wind, lava will glow beautifully in the dark – this is the ultimate visual enhancement. If you have the processing power to run it, I can’t recommend downloading it enough – you’ll never go back.
