Dungeons need a lot of improvements in Minecraft. Vanilla Dungeons are a simple box, with nothing interesting to offer. That’s why in this list, we’re going to cover the Top 10 Best Dungeon Mods available for Minecraft 1.16.5.
All the buttons in this list link back to CurseForge. There, you can find more information about these mods, and download them for Minecraft. Make sure to read our other Minecraft 1.16.5 Mod Lists too, for more great mods.
10Dungeon Crawl

Dungeon Crawl is a remake of Roguelike Dungeons, an incredibly popular mod for Minecraft 1.12.2. With it installed, you’ll find Dungeon entrances spawning on the surface of your world.
There’s a few different designs they can look like, such as Towers or Houses. If you come across the Houses, then there’s usually some items inside which could be helpful, like a Cake to restore health.
To enter the actual Dungeon, you’ll need to go down a spiral staircase, and destroy the Iron Bars to enter one of the optional corridors. As you work your way through the Dungeon, you’ll mostly defeat mobs like Zombies and Skeletons, which are going to be equipped with Enchanted Armor.
There’s multiple floors to these Dungeons, and you’ll need to find the spiral staircase on each level. You’ll find tons of loot, with the most usually being found on the bottom level of the Dungeon. Keep an eye out for some secret rooms too, usually hidden behind walls.
9When Dungeons Arise

When Dungeons Arise will add Dungeons to the surface of your world, as well as underground. You’ll have no problems finding them, as the structures added by the mod are huge.
They’re probably going to be the biggest structures in the game. These Dungeons might take the form of Palaces, Towers, Fortresses, Temples and Mines. Personally, I find the Bandit Towers the most interesting, as they look post-apocalyptic, and like they’re out of the Mad Max movies.
Although there are smaller structures too, like Windmills, Airships and Houses. This is by far the largest Dungeon mod currently available for Minecraft, and the one offering the most unique structures which really aids with exploration.
8The Conjurer

The Conjurer only adds a single Dungeon, which can be found in the Dark Forest. It looks like a Theater, as the Conjurer is a magician who runs its own shows there. When you come across the Theater, you’ll be able to enter through the lobby.
In this room, you have a small chance of finding a Totem of Undying. As you head to the stage area, you can find Pillagers in the stands, who’ll need to be defeated. Next, you’ll fight the Conjurer. As you get close, the fight will activate.
The Conjurer is a magician, so is able to go invisible, pull hostile Rabbits out of its hat and teleport throughout the Theater. As some attacks, it’ll also fire magic orbs at you, and playing cards. But by defeating The Conjurer, you’ll obtain its hat as a drop.
7Castle Dungeons

Castle Dungeons will cause large Castles to spawn in your world. There’s a few variations, depending on the biome they spawn in.
Castles can be made out of blocks like Stone Brick or Sandstone. The layout of these Castles aren’t too complicated, as they mostly just consist of hallways which are filled with Chests and Spawners.
Though there are occasionally rooms like Bedrooms and Libraries which can be found. No new blocks are added. So if you’re looking for a Dungeon mod that’s more simple, this is one of your better options.
6Goblins and Dungeons

Goblins and Dungeons adds a few new structures to Minecraft, which look like different Camps and Keeps. These are run by different species of Goblins, which are included with the mod.
At the smaller camps, you can quickly overtake them to obtain small amounts of loot. But if you come across the large Goblin Keep, then the entire Dungeon will need clearing. At the Keep, you’ll find a Mini-Boss and regular Boss fight.
In total, the mod adds 4 new Structures, 7 new Goblins, an Ogre Mini-Boss, the Goblin King Boss and some new unique items, like the Goblin King’s Wand.
5Awesome Dungeons

Awesome Dungeons adds some Dungeons to the Overworld of Minecraft. Included with this mod are locations like the Giant Jungle Tree, Abandoned Oak Palace, Swamp Temple, the Witch Castle and more.
In total, there’s 12 structures provided with the mod, which definitely has a more Vanilla feeling. At each of these locations, you’ll find mobs from Vanilla Minecraft, as well as Chests that follow the regular Dungeon-loot table.
If you look at the mods description, then you’ll find other mods available to download. These are expansion packs, and will add Awesome Dungeons to the Oceans, Nether, and End Dimension.
4Dungeons Mod

Dungeons Mod will add an assortment of locations throughout the Overworld. The Kraken, a large sea creature can be found below the surface near a large shipwreck.
Or if you come across the Science Lab, then you’ll find Scientists who’ve been experimenting on Slimes and Wolves, turning them into some weird hybrid creature. At the center of the Science Lab is the Crawler, a giant Worm Boss.
At the Castle, you can find the King, another Boss who is surrounded by his Guards. In total, there’s 7 new Bosses. There’s also 19 new mobs, which can also be found randomly spawning outside of Dungeons. Mob wise, you can find Piranhas, Mimics, Rogues, Crows and even Note Head.
3Cataclysm

Cataclysm is a new mod, but already shaping up to be a great Dungeon addition to Minecraft. It adds 2 Bosses, one which can be found in the Nether, and one in the End.
These are definitely end-game fights, and not something you want to try and beat until you have Enchanted equipment. These Bosses are the Netherite Monstrosity and the Ender Guardian, but there’s also the Ender Golem, who needs to be defeated before the Guardian.
Some unique items can be obtained from these Bosses, like weapons which deal area of effect damage. Or weapons which summon magic runes.
2Yung’s Better Dungeons

Yung’s Better Dungeons is the best Vanilla+ themed Dungeon mod available for Minecraft. Firstly, the mod overhauls the original Minecraft Dungeon, so that it has more detail, instead of being a simple Cobblestone box.
3 new Dungeons are added with the mod, which are the Catacombs, Fortress of the Undead and the Spider Caves. These are themed around different creatures like Skeletons, Zombies and Spiders. They’re of different sizes too, although they should each only take a minute or two to clear out.
1Dungeons Plus

7 new Dungeons are included with the Dungeons Plus mod. These are the Tower, Buried Dungeon, Leviathan, Snowy Temple, Warped Garden, End Ruins and Soul Prison.
You can stumble across these Dungeons randomly. Although in each one, you can find maps that lead to the next Dungeon, so it almost feels like there’s a bit of progression to the mod.
You can find them across all 3 dimensions, in the Overworld, Nether and End. When it comes to mobs, you can find all sorts of creatures spawning.