Xaero’s Minimap Mod 1.9.2 is exactly what it claims to be – a mod that adds a minimap to Minecraft. However, this map mod goes a bit further than many other mapping mods, which makes it one of the better ones hands down. Not every minimap gives you waypoints like Xaero’s Minimap, and not every minimap will show you approaching enemies, players and NPC characters like animals or villagers like this mod will either. These are a couple of the main ways Xaero’s Minimap stands out from other map mods, but the mod is good for other reasons too.

The Dynamic Lights Mod is a much welcomed mod that adds a feature into the game which players would usually expect to exist by default. Basically, the problem with Minecraft is that whenever you’re holding a glowing object, the light doesn’t really spread or go around but what this mod does is that it basically allows the light to expand and illuminate all objects near it which adds a sense of reality into the game that in all honestly should’ve existed before but thankfully the mod is here to fix that issue.

The GLSL Shaders mod is a simple thing. For people who become bored with the flat and unrealistic shades, shadows and other lighting effects in Minecraft, a mod like this is the perfect addition to the game. Not only does it allow for truly smooth lighting, shadows that reflect the shape creating them and other helpful effects, but it is also easy to install and compatible with a lot of other mods. You won’t understand what a big deal the compatibility is unless you’ve been modding Minecraft for a long time. Many mods can totally break the game when you try to use them in tandem, so this is a nice touch.

Some mods will make no sense to a player who hasn’t in the past tried the source materials the mod was based upon. For instance, the Continuum Shader mod is actually an addition for another mod, Cody Darr’s Shaderpack, or SEUS. If you haven’t tried SEUS before, you probably won’t understand Continnum shaders, but besides that, Continuum won’t do anything for you. This add-on improves some features of the original shader mod, and it also increases the demands on your computer and its resources when it comes to rendering graphics and creating the light and shadow effects.

If you’re a fan of Star Wars you’ll know the importance of droids. With this mod you can finally have them at your disposal. These are indeed the droids you’re looking for.

LotsOMobs adds more than 25 new mobs to Minecraft including birds, fish, lions, mammoths, snakes and even dinosaurs. As well as making the Minecraft world much more interesting to explore, many of the mobs have unique drops, for example deer fur can be used to create armour. Camels, mammoths and pterosauruses can all be ridden in the same way as horses in vanilla Minecraft.

Eydamos’s Backpack Mod adds craftable backpacks into the game that really improve inventory management. Backbacks can either be stored in your inventory or worn by placing one in the chest armour slot.

You also get lots of armor types from the game which is really nice to begin with and that does help take the experience to the next level at all times. Of course, there are many things to keep in mind with the Frozencraft Mod, such as the fact that these not only look similar to what you can find in the movie, but actually work in a similar fashion as well.

The Rope Bridge Mod is a great and simple new way to cross long chasms with ease. It’s particularly useful early in the game or if you just want to travel across vast canyons with minimal effort. Plus the bridges are very aesthetically pleasing and a great way to avoid enemies below you.

The Bloodmoon mod adds an eerie and difficult new feature to Minecraft. By default it has a 5% chance of happening whenever the sun sets and if it does you had better be prepared for an onslaught of fast and difficult enemies.