Minecraft fans can finally get OptiFine for Tricky Trials update

The OptiFine mod team has finally released a preview version of their mod for the Minecraft 1.21 Tricky Trials update. Players will now be able to use the performance and graphics-enhancing mod in the latest version of the sandbox by downloading it from its official website. This is massive news since OptiFine is one of the most popular performance mods out there.

Here is everything to know about the latest OptiFine mod version for the Minecraft Tricky Trials update.

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All details about OptiFine for Minecraft 1.21 Tricky Trials update

Once the Minecraft 1.21 Tricky Trials update was released in June 2023, most mod makers updated their mods to make them compatible with the latest version. As the player base waited patiently, several popular mods, including Sodium, Lithium, JourneyMap, Clumps, and Entity Culling came out with newer versions. However, OptiFine was stuck in its 1.20.6 development.

As mentioned earlier, OptiFine has enjoyed a lot of popularity as one of the easiest-to-use performance enhancement mods in Minecraft. Although it lost a bit of traction due to recent competition from Sodium, it is safe to say that OptiFine is still used by thousands of players worldwide.

On August 24, 2024, OptiFine's official account on X revealed that the developers have finally released the mod's first preview version which will be compatible with the 1.21 update. The preview version has been named - OptiFine HD U J1 pre1.

It is also worth mentioning that though this particular preview version is compatible with 1.21, it does not have the ability to run or support Forge API and Forge mods.

OptiFine Discord shows a progress bar for each of their development cycle (Image via Discord)

Since this is a preview, it means that the official stable version of the mod is still being worked on. However, OptiFine's official Discord server informed us that the development for a stable version is almost complete.

As per the Discord channel, it is 90% complete, although players should expect a few more previews before the final release.

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How to download OptiFine preview for Minecraft 1.21 Tricky Trials update

Download the latest OptiFine version from its official website (Image via OptiFine)

Since OptiFine is extremely famous, every new updated version is easily accessible through its official website. Players can visit the website and head to the 'Downloads' tab. There, they will find the latest preview version of the mod, compatible with the Minecraft 1.21 Tricky Trials update.

The current version as of now will be named 'HD U J1 pre1.' As the developers refine the mod, the stable version will also be available for download on the website itself.

Once on the Downloads page, players can click on '(Mirror)' instead of the 'Download' button, as the former will take them directly to the main download page of the mod. Once the new page loads, they can simply press the 'Download' button to save the .jar mod file. The file will be 7 MB, which is relatively small compared to other mods for Minecraft.

After the download is complete, simply open the jar file. A dialog box will appear, showing the directory where the mod will be installed. Thankfully, the software will find the main game folder on the computer and select it automatically.

Finally, players can open the official game launcher, select OptiFine's custom version, and enjoy the 1.21 update with the performance mod.

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Check out other Minecraft OptiFine-related articles:

• 5 underrated Minecraft OptiFine features you probably didn't know about
• Why OptiFine is no longer a top performance mod for Minecraft?
• Minecraft Optifine vs Sodium: Which one is better for FPS?