Minecraft Artifacts mod: Features, installation guide, and more

Minecraft's Artifacts mod is a standalone modification created by Ochotonida and Florens for Java Edition. The mod provides powerful items and gear pieces that cannot be crafted but are found by exploring various in-game structures, giving players even more reason to set out into the world. However, there's a fair bit to know about this modification before giving it a try.

This guide explains how to install the Artifacts mod for your version of Minecraft and examines some of its features.

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Features, installation guide, and more for the Artifacts Minecraft mod

Features

The Plastic Drinking Hat in the Artifacts mod for Minecraft (Image via Ochotonida/Modrinth)

Instead of crafting the new treasure items provided by this Minecraft mod, Artifacts introduces dozens of pieces of gear, tools, and other items with unique abilities that can be found in vanilla generated structures. Some of these items also appear on certain mobs, so players can kill the latter and force them to drop these valuable treasures when the situation arises.

Each new item added in this mod has its own unique model complete with textures, allowing players to give themselves a unique appearance to pair with their armor and in-game skin. Because each item comes with powerful benefits, players might be surprised at just how helpful they end up being and how well they can complement a player's existing gear and enchantments.

Among the new treasure items, players can find digging claws to increase their mining speed, a pickaxe heater that can automatically smelt mined ores, and even an umbrella that doubles as a shield and a glider. Dozens of other items are available, giving players several reasons to explore every in-game structure they come across for a chance to collect loot and improve versatility.

Moreover, not every new treasure item will be found in loot chests, as they can also be uncovered from suspicious sand/gravel blocks via archeology. Players will also have to be careful about which loot chests they open, as Artifacts also introduces mimic mobs that will attack when players draw near in the hope of collecting loot.

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How to download the Artifacts mod for Minecraft

The Artifacts mod is supported by both of Minecraft's major mod loaders (Image via Ochotonida/Modrinth)

To install the Artifacts mod, you'll need a mod loader program. Fortunately, Artifacts is supported by both major mod loaders known as Forge and Fabric. The Artifacts mod is also supported by the NeoForge mod loader. Here are the steps to install the mod using these three loaders:

Forge

1. Visit the URL https://files.minecraftforge.net/net/minecraftforge/forge/ and select the version of the mod loader that matches your Minecraft version. Click the installer button and then wait a few seconds and click the skip button in the top right of the Ad.fly page. You'll receive a .jar file. Run this file to open the setup wizard and choose "install client" then press OK. This will install Forge and its mods folder to your game directory.
2. Head to the mod site of your choice such as CurseForge or Modrinth, and find the Artifacts mod. Find the mod file for the version that matches your version of Forge/Minecraft and download it to your computer.
3. Open your Minecraft launcher and select Java Edition, then click the installations tab. There should be a listing for the Forge mod loader. Click the folder button next to the listing to open its directory.
4. Take the .jar file for the Artifacts mod you downloaded earlier and place it in the mods folder of the Forge directory.

Fabric

1. Head to https://fabricmc.net/ and click the download button, then choose either the Windows installer or the universal .jar download link. Run the .exe or .jar file you downloaded and select the version of the game you'd like to install Fabric to. Ensure that the "create profile" option is also enabled, then click the install button and complete the setup wizard.
2. Like before, head to your mod site of choice and find the file for the Artifacts mod that matches your game and Fabric version and download it.
3. Open the game launcher, select Java Edition, then the installations tab. Fabric should have a listing in the installations tab just like Forge would. Click the folder icon next to the listing to open Fabric's directory, then place the Artifacts mod .jar and place it within your mods folder.

NeoForge

1. Visit https://neoforged.net/ and download the NeoForge installer .jar for the version of Minecraft you wish to run. Run the .jar file once downloaded and choose to install the client in the setup wizard as you would Forge or Fabric, then complete the installation process.
2. Like the other options, head to your modding site of choice and download the file for the Artifacts mod that's compatible with your NeoForge version, you should receive a .jar file like in the other options.
3. Return to your Minecraft Launcher, select Java Edition, open your installations tab, click the folder button next to the listing for NeoForge, and place the Artifacts .jar into the directory's mods folder.

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Artifacts is currently not available for the 1.21 update at the time of writing, so you may have to use an older mod loader version for the time being until the mod is updated. From there, you can install the latest version of Forge/Fabric/NeoForge and download the updated Artifacts .jar file to make them compatible with the Tricky Trials update.