Fresh Animations vs Actions & Stuff: Which Minecraft resource pack is better?

Fresh Animations and Actions & Stuff are two of Minecraft's finest resource packs for introducing trailer-like animations to the game, but which is the better option for players? While both are great packs, Actions & Stuff (which still hasn't been publicly released quite yet) has shown immense promise as the better option even when compared to the beloved Fresh Animations.

Both of these Minecraft resource packs are worth using and offer animations on the level of Mojang's very own trailers for the game. However, Actions & Stuff has shown that its offerings are a sizable improvement. To examine why, it doesn't hurt to take a look at what both resource packs offer.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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Pros and cons of the Minecraft resource packs Fresh Animations and Actions & Stuff

Fresh Animations

Villager expressions are richly detailed in the Fresh Animations resource pack for Minecraft (Image via FreshLX/Modrinth)

Fresh Animations provides a new and more expression-filled experience when interacting with Minecraft's countless mobs. Dozens of mobs, ranging from passive to hostile and neutral, have unique animations that fit their overall aesthetic, making them significantly more lifelike. Some mobs like villagers and pillagers even have the ability to change their facial expressions.

Unfortunately, because it relies on the Optifine mod as a dependency, the animations are for mobs. There are no player animations that have been implemented.

Fortunately, despite being a resource pack that remains in active development, Fresh Animations brings trailer-worthy animations to the game's mobs and may be able to do so for players depending on Optifine developments.

Pros

• Brings magnificent and unique trailer-level animations to most in-game mobs in Minecraft.
• Works seamlessly with the Optifine mod that can improve visual fidelity while also offering superb animations.
• Available across a wide variety of different Java Edition versions.
• Can be paired with texture packs like Bare Bones to create an experience that is almost indistinguishable from Mojang's trailers for major updates and events.

Cons

• Reliance on Optifine or the Entity Model Features/Entity Texture Features mods can sometimes result in situations where the resource pack can be incompatible with its dependencies.
• Lack of player animations is unfortunate, and it may be a while before they're implemented.
• The developer has stated that a Bedrock Edition iteration may never be developed.
• Until the resource pack is finished with its development, some mobs haven't been animated and, therefore, stand in stark contrast to those that do benefit from Fresh Animations.

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Actions & Stuff

Actions & Stuff provides unique animations for Minecraft's players, mobs, and even some entities and blocks (Image via Actions & Stuff/YouTube)

Despite not being publicly available quite yet, Actions & Stuff has already proven to surpass Fresh Animations with magnificent idle and action animations for both players and Minecraft mobs.

Player characters move with a full walk-and-run cycle, have revamped crouching, crawling, and swimming animations, and even new animations for consumables, tools, and weapons.

Various mobs also have incredibly unique facial animations, including villagers, pillagers, iron golems, ravagers, the Wandering Trader, and more. Players can even notice blinking and eye-tracking.

Additionally, this resource pack offers wonderful combat animations, even for the mace in Minecraft 1.21 and its smash attack.

As a currently unreleased resource pack, it's unclear what mods Actions & Stuff may be dependent on, how it will function with other packs and modifications, or if it will receive a Java Edition port.

Still, even early on, Actions & Stuff is showing an immense amount of promise, and fans who have been able to get their hands on it have praised it as possibly the best Minecraft resource pack.

Pros

• Eye-popping animations for both player characters and mobs, including movement, combat, facial expressions, weapons, item usage, and much more.
• Animations are tailor-made for mobs and players. They fit their overall themes and in-universe aesthetic, allowing them to be noticed at a distance based on how they behave in the environment.
• Based on early reviews from fans and content creators, Actions & Stuff appears to be compatible with many different content add-ons.

Cons

• Actions & Stuff is still in active development and has not yet been released at the time of writing, making it difficult to ascertain how its future will play out.
• The resource pack is currently being developed for Minecraft Bedrock, and it's unclear at present if it will also receive a Java Edition iteration.
• Given the complexity of the animations involved, Actions & Stuff may take quite a while to update when new mobs are introduced to the game.

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Overall, both resource packs are excellent choices for Minecraft players. However, even in its early development, Actions & Stuff still appears to be an improvement over Fresh Animations by most indications.

Players will likely have their preference when both packs are available, but nonetheless, Actions & Stuff looks like the better pick at the moment.