Minecraft has its fair share of mods and modpacks. Anything the player wants to try is most likely out there in some way, shape, or form. RLCraft has emerged as one of the most popular modpacks out there, in part thanks to Shivaxi's brilliant videos introducing his ultra-difficult Minecraft modpack.
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RLCraft was also somewhat recently updated, which significantly nerfs to otherwise game-breaking features. The new version is much more challenging and makes certain features more endgame. Those who have never played the modpack before and have no idea what they're getting themselves into will need these beginner tips for RLCraft before jumping right in.
Updated on July 15, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: RLCraft continues to be one of the most popular modpacks for Minecraft thanks to the immense challenge it brings. However, the modpack has gone through a major update within the last year or so, which means returning players might be confused by certain mechanics and features. Those who are only starting their journey in the modpack's unforgiving world, however, will further benefit from this guide with some additional helpful beginner tips for RLCraft.
15 Ignore Lockpicking (For Now)
One of the newer features of RLCraft is lockpicking, which spawns certain chests in the world with locks of various tiers. Diamond, enchanted locks are the toughest to open, and require a diamond lockpick and a bit of ingenuity.
Lockpicking at the beginning of the game can be insanely tempting, especially for new players looking to get their hands on some powerful loot. That being said, crafting lockpicks can be a slight waste of resources early on, so it's best to just focus on other craftable items, such as a basic shield.
14 Work Towards Taming A Mount ASAP
Mounts and taming have been made significantly harder in RLCraft's newest version. That being said, players should still work towards taming something easy such as a Roc that spawns frequently at night time, as having a flying mount greatly trivializes most dungeons in the game.
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The main priority for players will be to craft a Soulgazer, which will be used to increase the player's knowledge of various tamable mobs, as well as Avian Treats. Players will need a level of 100 knowledge on a mob before it can be tamed, so make sure to get a Soulgazer as soon as possible. For taming a Roc, SomeNutzGuy has a guide that makes the process extremely easy.
13 Work Towards Getting A Summoning Staff
Another priority grind that players should undertake is to have a bunch of mobs they can summon. This requires a Summoning Staff, which players will need to craft, as well as a high enough knowledge level of a specific mob type before it can be summoned.
One of the easiest and best mobs for this purpose is the Aegis. Players only need to find a village and regularly increase their knowledge of the Aegis by using a Soulgazer. Aegis make for powerful friends in combat, hence why the grind is worth the effort.
All crafting recipes can be searched for in-game in RLCraft, and don't need to be unlocked. Pressing E to open up inventory will bring up the item screen, and clicking on different items after searching for them shows their respective crafting recipes.
12 Craft An Antique Atlas
RLCraft is all about adventure and exploration, so being able to mark down any points of interest and find one's way back home is key. The Antique Atlas is perfect for that, and will even tag some locations in the world if the player is in their vicinity (though this isn't always 100% reliable).
The best way to use the Atlas is to mark down any Waypoint Stones in villages, making traveling much easier in RLCraft, at least until the player gets their first flying mount. Just keep in mind that Waypoint teleportation requires XP to use.
11 Complete Bounties To Get Rare Items
Villages now have a new mechanic where there's a bounty box that players can interact with. Bounties are timed mini-quests where players need to complete an objective, such as gathering certain items and depositing them into the bounty box, within a time limit. The rewards are often nothing to scoff at either, with access to some rare items that would otherwise be difficult for the player to get early on in the game.
Some bounties can be tough to finish initially, but since they are randomized regularly, players should check back as often as possible for some easy and profitable bounties to complete.
10 Don't Use Shaders Or Texture Packs
Although RLCraft looks absolutely stunning when played with shaders and realistic texture packs, having these graphics features enabled can significantly hinder Minecraft's performance while playing with the modpack.
The best addition to RLCraft is to actually download OptiFine, which will improve performance. Given how hectic the game can get with elaborate dungeons and tons of mobs, it's vital that players have a good performance.
9 Everything Is Useful, So Keep It
Unlike in vanilla Minecraft where some items have questionable utility, RLCraft makes everything useful to some degree in true survival fashion. That includes the worst offenders like Rotten Meat, which can be turned into Undead Treats used for taming.
Whatever players come across while looting and exploring, it's always best to save it, even when it looks useless. Plus, having backup tools, armor, and weapons that might not necessarily be good is still useful towards mid-game, since it saves players from having to craft new gear every time they die.
8 Find A House, Don't Build One
The cool thing about RLCraft is the sheer abundance of structures scattered around the world. There's no shortage of dungeons, villages, massive houses, and ruins that players can explore, though caution is always advised.
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Villages in RLCraft are a great find since many of them have waystones that let players teleport in-between them. Moreover, Aegis tend to spawn in villages, and these mobs will attack any hostile creatures that wander in and pose a threat to the villagers. This makes villages the best place for players to set up camp.
When first jumping into the game, players might be confused to find out that tools are actually hard to come by. Moreover, most tools require a specific skill level before they can be used. If players don't find stone or wooden tools right off the bat, they can craft flint tools. Flint tools are crafted with flint shards, string or plant string, and sticks. The exact recipe can be found by typing "flint" in the item catalog.
- Flint Shards: Gather flint from punching gravel. Hit the flint against a solid stone floor to produce flint shards.
- Sticks: Break tree leaves to find Sticks.
- Plant String: Craft a flint knife with a stick and a flint shard. Use the knife to cut grass to receive Plat Fiber. Three Plant Fibers can be crafted into a Plant String.
Once players have all three items, they can craft a Flint Hatchet and Pickaxe. The Flint Knife is also a great emergency weapon.
6 Change The Limb Health Display
Locational damage is the primary way RLCraft's damage functions. That means mobs are able to headshot players or slow them down by breaking their feet. The default display is a green body on the right side of the screen. When limbs are hit with damage, they slowly turn from green to yellow to red, depending on how many hearts they still have left.
This display is a bit inconvenient and can be hard to visualize. Players can tweak it by going into their Menu > Mod Options > Search for First Aid > Overlay > and then switch the display to Hearts. Then click on "displaymode" and change the tick rate number from 200 to -1. Credit for this tip goes to SumNutzGuy.
5 How To Get Clean Water In RLCraft
The next concern players will have is water. There's a new thirst bar above the hunger bar, and if it gets low, the player's screen will experience some funky visuals. It's possible to crouch and right-click on any body of water to drink, but this will give the thirst equivalent of the Hunger debuff, and is only a temporary solution. Dirty water will also sometimes infect players with Parasites, which can kill them.
The right answer to the issue is to craft a canteen. A basic leather canteen requires six pieces of leather. This allows players to carry a bottle of water with them everywhere, but the water will still need to be cleaned with Charcoal Filters. To craft filters, players will need two pieces of paper and one charcoal. After filling the canteen with water, combine it with a filter to purify the water.
4 Be Ready For Summer And Winter
It's not just mobs and parasites that will want to slay the player, but also the weather. RLCraft has actual seasons, and with seasons come changing weather, unless the player is in an extreme weather biome such as the desert or an ice biome.
Summers can get so hot that players risk saying of hyperthermia when burning up, and winters are cold enough to induce hypothermia. Tackling these with proper armor is more of an endgame or midgame challenge, but to get around it easily early on, players should craft a full set of Cloth Armor, which is made out of wool blocks. During summer, players can cool themselves off by standing in water or in shade and avoiding standing next to active furnaces.
3 Craft A Shield
The main danger of RLCraft still remains its many mobs. Anything and everything will want to kill the player, so staying away from mobs is a top priority. Some mobs, like boss mobs and dragons, just can't be dealt with and must be avoided entirely at all costs, as they can easily burn down houses and one-shot players.
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For basic mobs like Skeletons, Zombies, and some lower-level Lycanite mobs, players can craft a shield. Six planks and a stick can be used to craft a Crude Shield, which can give players a bit of protection early on. There are many other lower-end shields in the modpack, so make sure to check out the catalog for them and their respective crafting recipes.
2 Battle Towers Are The Best Beginner Dungeon
Once players have settled down a bit and gathered food, armor, and most basic supplies, they might be interested in challenging themselves with a dungeon. There are small overground dungeons that feature one spawner, which is great for basic XP and loot once the spawner is broken. However, battle towers provide a bit more variety and loot.
These towers are quite common and appear as tall cobblestone constructions. Not all of them are the same. Some of them have underground levels, while others go upwards to a big golem boss that can explode. Though they will present a great challenge, they're the perfect gateway to more hardcore dungeons which makes the majority of the modpack.
1 Level Skills As Soon As Possible
Many basic tasks and features are locked behind a level requirement in RLCraft. In order to mine certain blocks, players will have to level their Mining skill. To wear diamond armor, players will need to bump their defense level to at least 16. This can take a while, but doing it consistently will ensure players won't waste levels by dying with them. The levels stay, even if players do die, so long as the XP has been spent.
Attack and Defense are great priorities, followed by Farming, Gathering, and Mining. Magic shouldn't be neglected either, since it allows players to use first aid items like bandages to heal themselves.
RLCraft is available now on CurseForge for PC only.
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