The Betweenlands Mod

The Betweenlands is a large dimension filled with mystery. As you try to survive in this hostile land, you’ll discover new foods, mobs, structures, biomes and dungeons.

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Opening a Betweenlands Portal

To enter The Betweenlands, you should first look for a Swamp Biome. There, you need to find a Druid Circle, which is an outdoor structure. It will look like an area filled with tall stone spires.

A Druid Circle
A Druid Circle, and Dark Druid

The area is guarded by Dark Druids, who are able to cast magic. Once you get close, they’ll attack instantly, and will need to be defeated. After killing a Dark Druid, they have a chance of dropping a Swamp Talisman Piece.

In total, there are 4 Swamp Talisman Pieces. Stand near the Altar in the middle of the Druid Circle, and Dark Druids will continuously spawn who can be killed for Talisman Pieces. The Dark Druid Spawner can be found below the Altar.

Crafting the Swamp Talisman
Crafting the Swamp Talisman

Once you have all 4 Swamp Talisman Pieces, right click the Altar in the middle of the Druid Circle and place each piece inside. After a short animation, the Swamp Talisman will be created, and can be retrieved from the Altar.

Now it’s time to create a Portal to The Betweenlands. Place any Sapling in a relatively open area of your world, and right click it with a Swamp Talisman. The Portal to The Betweenlands will be created, which is in the form of a tree.

The Betweenlands Portal
The Betweenlands Portal

Chances are that the Portal Tree will spawn around you, with you inside it. On each side of the tree is a Portal, which will teleport you to The Betweenlands.

Do note that the Portal Tree is quite large, and creating it too close to your base may destroy parts of it. If you want to exit the Portal Tree without teleporting to The Betweenlands, destroy some of the wood blocks to escape.

Before Going In

Before heading into The Betweenlands, some things should be noted. Taking in food and potions is pointless, as these will immediately turn rotten. Instead, you’ll need to find food within The Betweenlands.

Tools and weapons work, but their performance is massively reduced in The Betweenlands. As you progress through the dimension, new materials will be unlocked to create equipment from.

damp torch
Glowstone Block vs Damp Torches

If you plan on immediately building a base, don’t bring Torches. These become damp instantly and will go out. Instead, focus on more solid sources such as Glowstone Blocks or Sea Lanterns.

Portal Tree in The Betweenlands
Portal Tree in The Betweenlands

It’s a good idea for players to hollow out the Portal Tree, so that it can make a nicely sized starter base. You can return through the Portal Tree to leave The Betweenlands, and teleport back to the Overworld. Or use a Swamp Talisman on a Sapling.

Decay

A new survival mechanic can be seen once you enter The Betweenlands, and it’s called Decay. Above your hunger bar, the decay bar can be seen, and it will decrease over time no matter what activity you’re doing.

Though there are some activities that will further increase your rate of decay. Being in combat or standing in Swamp Water are just some of many ways that rapidly increase decay.

player in the betweenlands swamp water
Standing in Swamp Water Increases Decay

Decay getting too low will massively reduce your chances of survival. At a minimum, your health can reduce down to 6 (3 Hearts), and you might be inflicted with the Slowness Debuff, up to a maximum of 3.

The easiest way to reduce Decay is by looking for a Sap Tree. These can be found spawning throughout The Betweenlands, and are identifiable by their tall and thin nature.

A Sap Tree
A Sap Tree

When breaking the logs of a Sap Tree, you can receive Balls of Sap. Consuming these will restore 2 points of Decay. Other items that can be consumed to reduce Decay are Weeping Blue Petals and Forbidden Figs.

Spawn Point

One of the first things you might want to do in The Betweenlands is set a spawn point. Regular Beds from the Overworld don’t work in The Betweenlands, players will need to create a Moss Bed instead.

Moss Bed Recipe
Moss Bed Recipe

A Moss Bed can be crafted from 3 Weedwood Planks, which can easily be obtained from the Portal Tree. Moss is slightly harder to obtain, as it can only be collected with Syrmorite Shears or a Sickle.

Syrmorite Shears

Obtaining the Sickle to collect Moss is probably easier than the Shears at the start of the game. The first thing you should do is head underground and search for Valonite Ore. It’s slightly pink in color, and can be found between layers 45 and 0.

valonite ore
Valonite Ore

Use a Pickaxe and mine at least 3 of these, so that you have 3 Valonite Shards. Head back to the surface and obtain a Weedwood Stick. These can either be crafted from 2 Weedwood Planks, or obtained from breaking Weedwood Bushes.

Next, collect 3 Swamp Reed. These are most commonly found growing upwards from Swamp Water. When placing the 3 Swamp Reed above eachother in a Crafting Table, you’ll get a Reed Rope in return.

sickle recipe
Recipe for the Sickle

Combine the 3 Valonite Shards, Weedwood Stick and Reed Rope together in a Crafting Table, and you’ll have a Sickle. You’re now able to go out and collect Moss, as well as other fauna.

The Betweenlands Mod Download

VersionAvailable
1.12.2Forge
1.13.2No Release
1.14.4No Release
1.15.2No Release
1.16.5No Release
1.17.1No Release
1.18.2No Release
1.19.2No Release

The links above will take you to the CurseForge page for The Betweenlands Mod. It’s recommended to only download mods from CurseForge, as they are vetted to ensure that they’re safe, and you’re also supporting mod developers.

How to Install

If you haven't already, make sure to install Forge for Minecraft. It's a simple process and takes just a few minutes. Once Forge is installed:
  1. Download the mod for your Minecraft Version. It will be a .JAR file.
  2. Take this file, and place it in the 'mods' folder of your Minecraft directory. If this folder doesn't exist, create it. The easiest way to access your Minecraft directory is opening the game, going to Resource Packs and pressing the 'Open Resource Pack Folder' button.
  3. Once it's inside the mods folder, run Minecraft with the Forge preset selected. The mod will be installed and can be played with in-game.


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