5 best Minecraft Java Edition mods to improve vanilla experience

Minecraft has loads of mods that players can download to improve their gameplay experience. The sandbox title is still one of the most popular games in the world, partially because it offers almost anyone to modify the game and add new features. Over the years, a highly active community of modders has come up with some of the best mods.

From completely overhauling the game to slightly changing a few settings, there are all kinds of mods. Players bored of the game's vanilla version often download heavily modded modpacks to change the Mojang title's look and feel. However, if players are new to the game and want a few mods to improve their gameplay experience, they can check out some of the famous mods below.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Top 5 Minecraft Java Edition mods to improve the vanilla gameplay experience

5) Dark Mode resource pack

Difference between vanilla GUI and Dark Mode resource pack GUI (Image via Mojang)

Although this is a resource pack, it does modify the game ever so slightly while keeping everything vanilla. When players open any GUI window in the game, they will notice that the interface is white or light gray in color.

Many users prefer dark mode on their applications and OS. Hence, there is a resource pack that simply changes the color of the GUI boxes to dark gray. This minimal visual change can be much more pleasing to the eyes of those who like dark mode.

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4) Mouse Tweaks

Players can easily sort cluttered inventory with the Mouse Tweaks mod (Image via Mojang)

As players progress further in the game, they must manage loads of items in inventories and constantly drag and drop them. This can be pretty time-consuming and irritating. Hence, players can check out the Mouse Tweaks mod that adds a few helpful drag and drop mechanics to the mouse buttons.

In the long run, where players will have to manage even more items between chests and inventory, this mod will be beneficial. It has been downloaded over 132 million times and is among the most famous mods.

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3) Just Enough Items

Crafting GUI is drastically improved with the Just Enough Items mod (Image via CurseForge)

New players just starting out on their Minecraft journey will face a lot of difficulties while crafting new items. Though the game offers a crafting and smelting book to help players with complex recipes, Just Enough Items is a great mod that enhances this concept even further.

This mod will showcase all kinds of crafting, smelting, and even brewing recipes for each and every item in the game. Players can easily search for any item and see all the possible crafting recipes.

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2) JourneyMap

JourneyMap allows players to see the entire map of a Minecraft world (Image via Mojang)

New players might be confused after entering the Minecraft world for the first time since the game does not offer any maps to help players navigate. Though in-game maps can be crafted and used, they are limited and will not move as the player explores new areas.

JourneyMap mod brings all kinds of map-related features to the game. Players will have a minimap in the HUD to easily see where they are going. Players can even change Y levels to see underground caves and mobs that spawn in any particular chunk.

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1) OptiFine

OptiFine in Minecraft allows players to tweak many graphical settings (Image via Mojang)

This is arguably the best performance mod for Minecraft. Since the sandbox game has a near-endless map, the device running the game will struggle to keep up with all the information and chunks that are being constantly loaded and unloaded.

OptiFine is a performance and graphics mod that drastically smoothens the game by implementing a new and effective chunk rendering system. Along with this, it also allows players to change a lot more graphical settings. Furthermore, Minecraft players can also enable beautiful shaders through OptiFine to improve the gameplay experience.