The Aether is a dimension mod that adds a whole sky world of floating islands above the Overworld, reached through a portal made of Glowstone instead of Obsidian. It has its own trees, ores and tools, its own mobs, a rideable bird called the Moa and three dungeons, each with a boss at the end of it.
It’s been around since the early days of modded Minecraft, and the current version plays like a full second survival run, just set in the clouds. This guide goes through how to get there, which gear to make and in what order, the three machines you’ll need and how to beat the Slider, the Valkyrie Queen and the Sun Spirit.
How to Get to the Aether
To get to the Aether you’ll need to build a portal, and it’s built the same way a Nether Portal is, just using Glowstone rather than Obsidian. You don’t need anything special to light it either, as it’s water that opens it up, so all you really need is some Glowstone and a 
Water Bucket.
Collect Glowstone
Ten blocks for a small frame
For the frame you’ll need Glowstone blocks, and it’s ten of them for the smallest portal if you don’t bother filling in the corners, the same as you would with a Nether Portal. Glowstone comes from the Nether, so you’ll usually need a trip there first, and four Glowstone Dust crafts back into one block if you only picked up dust.
Build the frame
Same shape as a Nether Portal
Build the frame four blocks wide and five tall, standing upright, with a two by three gap in the middle. The portal has to be built in the Overworld, as it won’t open from the Nether or the End, and you can make it bigger if you like, as long as it’s a proper rectangle.
Pour water inside
The portal lights straight away
Empty your Water Bucket into the middle of the frame and the water will turn into the blue Aether portal straight away. Once you step inside you’ll be taken up to the Aether, and there’ll be a portal waiting on the other side too, so you’re able to use it to get back home whenever you want.
The Aether is floating islands, so it’s easy to walk off one. If you fall out of the bottom of the Aether you don’t die in the void, you come back out high in the Overworld sky instead, so you’ll still need a way to land safely, like a Water Bucket or a parachute.
Your First Day in the Aether
Everything in the Aether has to be rebuilt from the start, as the wood, stone and ores are all different. It’s always daytime too, which sounds nice but also means you can’t sleep the night away, and it stays that way until the Sun Spirit at the end of the mod is beaten.
Chop Skyroot trees
Planks, Sticks and a workbench
Skyroot is the Aether’s normal wood, and it’s what you’ll use for planks, a Crafting Table and 
Skyroot Sticks. The Aether’s tools are made with Skyroot Sticks rather than normal ones, so get a good pile of Skyroot Logs before you do anything else, as you’ll go through them quickly.
Make Skyroot tools
They double your drops
Skyroot tools are the Aether’s wooden tier, and their trick is that they double the drops from blocks that generated naturally in the Aether, which doesn’t work if they have Silk Touch. A 
Skyroot Pickaxe is the first thing to make, as it mines the Holystone you’ll need for everything that comes after.
Holystone is the Aether’s version of Stone, and it’s all over the islands. Make a set of Holystone tools as soon as you can, as a 
Holystone Pickaxe is needed to mine Zanite Ore, and Holystone tools have a small chance of dropping an Ambrosium Shard every time you break a block with them.
Light it with Ambrosium Torches
Normal Torches don’t work
Normal Torches, Lanterns, Fire and Flint and Steel can’t be used in the Aether at all, so bring your light with you another way. 
Ambrosium Shards come from Ambrosium Ore, which is the most common ore up there, and one on top of a Skyroot Stick makes an 
Ambrosium Torch, which works just like a normal one.
4Ambrosium Shards are also what the Altar burns as fuel, and you can eat them to heal a little, so keep a stack of them spare. They drop from Ambrosium Ore, the Holystone tool bonus and the odd Mimic, and they’ll be your main fuel for a good while.
Tools, Ores and Gear Tiers
The Aether has four tool tiers of its own, and each one has an ability that vanilla tools don’t have. You’ll go from Skyroot to Holystone, then Zanite and finally Gravitite, and each tier needs the pickaxe from the tier before it to mine its ore, so you can’t skip ahead.
| Tier | Made From | Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Skyroot | Skyroot Planks | Double drops from natural Aether blocks |
| Holystone | Holystone | Small chance of an Ambrosium Shard per block |
| Zanite | Zanite Gemstone | Gets faster and stronger as it wears down |
| Gravitite | Enchanted Gravitite | Right-click a block to make it float |
Overworld tools still work up there, so a Diamond Pickaxe you brought with you will mine anything, but you’ll lose the tier abilities, and the Aether’s own recipes all want Skyroot Sticks. The Aether tiers are still worth making though, as the Zanite and Gravitite abilities are too good to skip.
Zanite
Zanite Ore is found low down in the islands and needs a Holystone Pickaxe, dropping a 
Zanite Gemstone that works like an Iron Ingot for crafting. Zanite gear is odd in that it starts out weaker than normal and gets faster the more it’s used, ending up at well over twice its speed when it’s close to breaking.
That makes Zanite great to use hard and then repair at the Altar before it breaks, as a nearly worn out Zanite Pickaxe mines faster than anything else at this stage. The same goes for Zanite swords and armor, which also get stronger as their durability drops, so don’t repair them too early.
Gravitite
Gravitite Ore is the rarest ore in the Aether and it needs a 
Zanite Pickaxe to mine. It floats upward as soon as there’s nothing above it, so watch it drift off when you break the blocks around it, and then enchant the ore at the Altar to turn it into 
Enchanted Gravitite, which is what the tools and armor are made from.
Gravitite tools can pick blocks up without breaking them, as right-clicking a block with one will make it float into the air. It costs a bit of durability each time, and it’s a handy way to move blocks around or clear a path, though the real reason to make Gravitite is that it’s the strongest tier in the Aether.
The Altar, Freezer and Incubator
The Aether uses three machines of its own, all made mostly from 
Holystone. They work a bit like Furnaces, with a fuel slot and an input slot, but each one does a different job, and you’ll want all three set up at your Aether base before you start heading into the dungeons.
Altar
The 
Altar is eight Holystone around a Zanite Gemstone, and it runs on Ambrosium Shards. It does two jobs, enchanting certain Aether items, like turning Gravitite Ore into Enchanted Gravitite or Cold Aercloud into Golden Aercloud, and repairing damaged tools and armor, including most vanilla gear.
Repairing at the Altar is something you’ll do a lot, as it’s how you keep Zanite gear going and it costs you nothing but fuel. An Ambrosium Block lasts ten times as long as a single Shard, so make a few blocks once you’ve got a surplus of Shards piling up in your chests.
Freezer
The 
Freezer is made from Holystone, 
Icestone and Skyroot Planks, and it runs on Icestone, which is an ore found across the Aether. It turns Cold Aercloud into Blue Aercloud, freezes buckets of water or lava into Ice and Obsidian and turns Iron or Golden rings and pendants into their Ice versions.
The Ice Ring and Ice Pendant are worth making, as they freeze the water and lava you walk near. That makes them handy for crossing lava in the Nether, and Blue Aercloud is fun to have as well, as it bounces you high into the air whenever you land on it.
Incubator
The 
Incubator is eight Holystone around an Ambrosium Torch, and it runs on Ambrosium Torches. It only does one thing, which is hatching Moa Eggs, and it’s the only way to get a Moa of your own, so it’s the machine to build next if you want something to ride between the islands.
Keep the Incubator at your Aether base with a few Ambrosium Torches stored next to it, as it burns through them while the egg warms up. Collect some Aechor Petals before the egg hatches as well, as the baby Moa needs feeding three times before it’s grown enough to ride.
Moas
Moas are big flightless birds that wander the Aether, and they’re the mod’s mount. Wild ones can’t be tamed or ridden though, so the only way to get your own is to hatch one from an egg, raise it and then put a Saddle on it once it’s fully grown.
Taming a Moa
Wild Moas lay eggs of their own color, so follow a few around or check the Silver Dungeon, which can have Blue and White Moa Eggs in its chests. Put an egg in the Incubator with Ambrosium Torches as fuel, and after a while a baby Moa hatches, and that one belongs to you.
The baby needs feeding before it grows up. When it gets hungry, feed it an 
Aechor Petal, which drops from the Aechor Plants growing on the islands, and after three feedings it will be an adult. Put a Saddle on it and you can ride it, jumping in midair to get from island to island.
| Moa | Jumps in Midair | How Common |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Moa | 3 | Most common |
| White Moa | 4 | Less common |
| Black Moa | 8 | Rarest |
The color decides how many times it can jump before landing, and a Black Moa can jump eight times, which makes it far better for crossing big gaps. Black Moas are the rarest in the wild though, so if you spot one, follow it around until it lays an egg you can take home.
Clouds, Parachutes and Golden Amber
Clouds in the Aether are solid enough to stand on, and they come in a few colors. 
Cold Aercloud is the common white one, which slows your fall, while 
Blue Aercloud bounces you high into the air, and Golden Aercloud is made by enchanting Cold Aercloud at the Altar.
Parachutes
Four Cold Aercloud make a 
Cold Parachute, and right-clicking one while you’re falling opens it up and floats you down gently. A Cold Parachute only works once though, while a 
Golden Parachute made from Golden Aercloud can be used twenty times, which is well worth the Ambrosium it costs at the Altar.
Keep one in your hotbar whenever you’re out exploring, as falling off an island is the most common way to die in the Aether. Zephyrs in particular love to knock you off edges, and a parachute turns what would be a long fall into a slow, safe landing.
Golden Amber
Golden Oak trees have golden leaves and logs, and chopping the logs with a Zanite, Gravitite or Valkyrie Axe drops 
Golden Amber along with a normal Skyroot Log. A Skyroot or Holystone Axe won’t do it, so wait until you have Zanite before you start cutting them down.
Golden Amber is mostly used for Golden Darts and the Golden Dart Shooter, which are the Aether’s version of a bow and arrows. Fortune on the axe raises how much you get, and each log gives one or two pieces of Golden Amber, so a few Golden Oak trees go a long way.
Aether Mobs
Most of the Aether’s mobs are harmless, like the Phyg, Flying Cow, Sheepuff and Aerbunny, which are the Aether’s versions of farm animals. There are a few you need to watch out for though, and the Zephyr is the one people search for the most, as it causes more deaths than anything else up there.
Zephyr
The Zephyr is a floating white cloud that shoots snowballs at you from a distance. The snowballs don’t hurt, but they launch you up and away from where you’re standing, which is a real problem on the edge of an island, and that’s why most Zephyr deaths are falls rather than hits.
It only has a few hearts, so a couple of arrows or darts will bring it down. Blocking with a Shield stops the snowballs from knocking you back, and Sentry Boots from the Bronze Dungeon make you completely immune to them, which is one of the best reasons to clear that dungeon early on.
| Mob | Health | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|
| Zephyr | 5 | Snowballs that knock you off islands |
| Cockatrice | 20 | Hostile bird that attacks on sight |
| Blue Swet | 12 | Slime that drops Swet Balls and Blue Aercloud |
| Aechor Plant | 15 | Plant that attacks when you get close |
| Mimic | 40 | Chest in dungeons that bites back |
| Valkyrie | 50 | Silver Dungeon guard, drops a Victory Medal |
Mimics are the other one to be careful of, as they look exactly like a normal Chest inside the dungeons. Opening one or breaking it starts the fight either way, so go in with your health topped up, and a Mimic drops a Chest and useful loot like Ambrosium and darts when it dies.
Dungeons and Bosses
The Aether has three dungeons in total, and they’re meant to be done in order, starting with the Bronze Dungeon, then the Silver and then the Gold. Each has a boss at the end, each boss drops a key, and the key opens the Treasure Chest in that same dungeon, which is where the best gear in the mod comes from.
| Boss | Dungeon | Health | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slider | Bronze Dungeon | 400 | Bronze Key |
| Valkyrie Queen | Silver Dungeon | 500 | Silver Key |
| Sun Spirit | Gold Dungeon | 500 | Gold Key, Sun Altar |
The Bronze Dungeons are the easiest ones and you’ll come across them the most, whereas the Silver and Gold Dungeons are a lot bigger and a lot harder to find. Each key is used up when it opens the Treasure Chest, so you get one chest per dungeon, and the keys only fit the chest from their own dungeon.
The Slider
The Slider is a big stone block that sits at the end of the Bronze Dungeon, and it slides across the room at you in straight lines. It can only be hurt with a pickaxe, so leave your sword in your inventory, and you have to be inside its room to damage it, so there’s no attacking it from the doorway.
Watch its movement and step out of the way as it charges, then hit it with your pickaxe once it stops. A good Zanite Pickaxe works well here, as it’s fast and strong, and when the Slider dies it drops the 
Bronze Key, which opens the Bronze Treasure Chest behind it.
Bronze Treasure Chest
Neptune Helmet 
Valkyrie Lance 
Hammer of Kingbdogz 
Sentry Boots 
Shield of Repulsion 
Phoenix Bow 
Flaming Sword 
Agility Cape 
Cloud Staff The Bronze Treasure Chest always has one piece of Neptune armor, and a full set of it makes you swim faster, along with one prize like the Valkyrie Lance, the Hammer of Kingbdogz or the Sentry Boots. A few extras like the Shield of Repulsion, Phoenix Bow or Agility Cape can turn up alongside them.
The Valkyrie Queen
The Silver Dungeon is guarded by Valkyries, and each one you kill drops a 
Victory Medal. The Valkyrie Queen won’t fight you until you have ten of them, so talk to her when you reach her room, and she’ll take the medals from your inventory and start the fight, though she won’t fight at all on Peaceful.
She’s a melee fighter who hits hard, harder than anything else you’ll have faced in the Aether, so full Zanite armor or better is a good idea, along with some healing. When she dies she drops the 
Silver Key, which opens the Silver Treasure Chest, and the chest always has a piece of Valkyrie gear inside.
Silver Treasure Chest
Valkyrie Helmet 
Lightning Sword 
Holy Sword 
Invisibility Cloak 
Regeneration Stone The rest of the Silver Dungeon’s chests are worth checking too, as they can hold Moa Eggs, Enchanted Berries and Gravitite. The Regeneration Stone is one of the best accessories in the mod, as it slowly heals you whenever you’re hurt, so it’s a nice one to come away with.
The Sun Spirit
The Sun Spirit is the final boss, at the end of the Gold Dungeon, and it can’t be hurt by normal attacks at all. It throws fire and Ice Crystals around the room, and the trick is to hit an Ice Crystal back at it, which freezes the Sun Spirit for a few seconds and lets your attacks land.
Each time you freeze it a Fire Minion appears, so deal with those as they come, and get your hits in quickly while the Sun Spirit is frozen before it thaws out. When it dies it drops the 
Gold Key and a 
Sun Altar, and the Aether finally gets a proper day and night cycle.
Gold Treasure Chest
Phoenix Helmet 
Life Shard 
Vampire Blade 
Pig Slayer 
Iron Bubble 
Ice Ring The Gold Treasure Chest has two to five pieces of Phoenix armor, and a full set puts out fire on you and lets you move quickly through lava, though water and rain slowly turn it into Obsidian armor. Life Shards are the other thing to look for, as each one you use gives you an extra heart, up to ten of them in total.
Accessories
The Aether uses accessory slots from the Curios mod, which the Aether needs to run, so rings, pendants, gloves and capes go in their own slots rather than your armor slots. A lot of the best rewards in the mod are accessories, and they stack up nicely with the armor you’re already wearing.
| Accessory | What It Does | Where From |
|---|---|---|
| Zanite Ring and Pendant | Zanite-style boost that grows as they wear down | Crafted from Zanite |
| Ice Ring and Pendant | Freezes water and lava you walk near | Freezer |
| Agility Cape | Lets you step up full blocks | Bronze Dungeon |
| Valkyrie Cape | Slows your fall | Silver Dungeon |
| Regeneration Stone | Slowly heals you when hurt | Silver Dungeon |
| Iron Bubble | Keeps your air topped up underwater | Gold Dungeon |
The 
Zanite Ring is the easy one to start with, as it’s four Zanite Gemstones in a circle. The Regeneration Stone and Iron Bubble are the two to hope for from the later dungeons, and the Valkyrie Cape pairs well with all the falling you’ll do in the Aether.
Rings and pendants take damage as you use them, like armor, so repair them at the Altar along with the rest of your gear. The Ice versions come from putting an Iron or Golden ring or pendant through the Freezer, which is why that machine is worth setting up early.
Tips
Always carry a parachute or a Water Bucket, as falling is what kills most players in the Aether. Falling out of the bottom takes you back to the Overworld sky, so even that won’t save you on its own, and a Golden Parachute with twenty uses is one of the best early things to make at the Altar.
Use your Zanite gear until it’s nearly broken before repairing it. It gets stronger as it wears, so a fresh one is actually weaker than a worn one, and repairing at the Altar only costs Ambrosium, so there’s no reason to be careful with it the way you would with Diamond.
Clear the Bronze Dungeon early for the Sentry Boots if you get them, as they make you immune to Zephyr snowballs. Bring a pickaxe for the Slider, collect ten Victory Medals from the Valkyries before you go looking for the Queen and save some Ice Crystal practice for the Sun Spirit.
Set up the Incubator as soon as you find a Moa Egg, especially a Black one. A Moa with eight midair jumps makes getting around the islands far easier, and a saddled Moa is a lot safer than bridging across gaps, which is how a lot of falls happen in the first place.
FAQ
Build a frame of Glowstone in the Overworld, four blocks wide and five tall, the same shape as a Nether Portal, then pour a Water Bucket into the middle. The water turns into the Aether portal, and walking into it takes you up to the Aether, with a matching portal built on the other side for getting home.
The Aether isn’t part of vanilla Minecraft, it’s a mod you need to install, which also needs the Curios mod to run. Once it’s installed, the Aether is a full dimension you can visit in survival, with its own ores, tools, mobs and three boss dungeons, all reached through a Glowstone portal.
The Sun Spirit can’t be hurt by normal attacks. Hit one of its Ice Crystals back at it, which freezes it for a few seconds, and attack it while it’s frozen. Each freeze spawns a Fire Minion, so deal with those too, and it drops the Gold Key and a Sun Altar when it dies.
Kill the Valkyries in the Silver Dungeon until you have ten Victory Medals, as each one drops a single medal. Then talk to the Valkyrie Queen in her room and she’ll take the medals and start the fight. She won’t fight you on Peaceful, and she drops the Silver Key when she dies.
