Best of Both Worlds 2

9/24/2025 – alongside a new update, I wrote up a small introductory guide for those unfamiliar with skyblock modpacks, or the specific mods I use, taking you from spawn to building a portal out to the “normal overworld dimension” I created for this pack: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zMajofN9GbK_dIDIL55KnsjEtHAKVcTYgExMF0RrSDU/

Long time no see! After a long time taking a break from modding, I present: Best of Both Worlds 2, a sequel to Best of Both Worlds (https://legacy.curseforge.com/minecraft/modpacks/best-of-both-worlds), a pack I designed around liking both skyblocks and normal exploration in Minecraft.

Between the two, I have hopefully learned enough to make this new pack more manageable for me to improve. I’ve done my best to keep as many of the old mods in the pack as possible; this isn’t always possible, though, since Minecraft has aged, and different versions and modloaders have arrived, different mod authors have found different homes they prefer for their mods. Lamentable, but understandable, where possible I have tried to install mods with similar scopes to replace the dearly missed absences. Lacking a modem capable of accessing alternate timelines where those mods were, indeed, made for 1.20.1, or a genie to wish for the ability to make mods work together regardless of the Minecraft version or modloader they were built for, all we can do is hope for someone to back- or side-port those mods eventually. Since I’m certainly not capable of it.

On the other hand, we have plenty of new mods to play with, as well! New magic, tech, QoL, and optimization mods; unlike the first one, this pack doesn’t take half an hour to boot! The mods currently in the pack are not the final ones, more may qualify to join, feel free to offer suggestions, my own desires obviously bias my selection.

Also unlike the last version, I figured out how to run it as a dedicated server. Now, Curseforge does have an option to export packs in with only server mods, but since not every mod is marked appropriately, I simply installed the forge server 47.4.0 into a folder, and copied the folders in my single player instance into that folder. Worked well enough, but if you have a better method, feel free to let me know.

Now, onto the playing of the mod itself. It will start you in the void, on top of a tree from which you build everything else… or at least until you get 16 blocks of coal and a couple diamonds to make a hoe. Using the blocks to create a portal frame, and the hoe to ignite it, will give you a portal to a more normal overworld, though you’ll haveto build a nether portal in the void dimension, not this new overworld.

JEI will help you find the recipes for things, usually. I recommend a crook to begin with, from Ex Deorum; use it on the leaves to increases the sapling and food drops from them. Actual documentation is forthcoming, I haven’t decided whether to write it in Google docs or an in-game book yet, but this is a kitchen-sink style modpack with little in the way of guiding rails.

Discord link: https://discord.gg/7ncnQpuwNT Stop by and ask questions, I’m sure I’ve forgotten something in this description! I’m also more likely to read that in place of the comments, though hopefully I’ll see those too.