Advanced Tower Defense Mod
Advanced Tower Defense adds turrets and mechanisms that help players defend a fortress, and it is built for Forge on 1.20.1.
What it does
Turrets in the mod can run on an automatic fire mode, where a turret only attacks enemies inside its own radius and the winding mechanism sets how it is powered. Each turret type covers a different radius, so a base can mix short-range and long-range defenses. The mod is aimed at players who want defensive structures in a Technology-style progression, from the Middle Ages toward future branches of technology.
A second mode is manual. A turret is deployed and then controlled directly by the player with the keyboard arrow keys, and its fire is bound to a button. Mixing both modes lets a player keep some turrets on automatic and aim others by hand. Every player and the server need a copy of the mod. Files are published for Forge 1.20.1 only, with 3.7 as the latest beta build from 2026-08-24.
Key features
Automatic turret fire
Turrets can fire on their own and attack only enemies within their radius, once the winding mechanism is set.
Manual turret control
A deployed turret can be aimed with the arrow keys and fired with a bound button, for direct control during a fight.
Different turret radii
Turrets come with different firing radii, so defenses can be placed at varying distances from the base.
Defense-focused mechanisms
Turrets and mechanisms are added to help defend a fortress, the main purpose stated by the author.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Fortress defense
A player builds a fortress and places automatic turrets around the walls, letting them engage enemies that approach within range.
Hand-aimed defense
A player who prefers active play deploys manual turrets and fires them with the keyboard during a raid.
Who it’s for: Players who want turret-based defenses in a Forge 1.20.1 world. Servers that run the mod need it installed on the server and on every player's client.
How it compares
Defense Turrets is published for Forge and NeoForge across 1.20.1 – 1.21.1, under the MIT License, and runs on client and server. Turret Simple is Forge only, for 1.20.1, under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 4.0 license, and also runs on client and server. TurretCraft炮台 is Forge only for 1.20.1 and is client-side only, so servers do not need it. None of these are open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Tower Defense Mod | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-24 |
| Defense Turrets | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-10-14 |
| Turret Simple | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-03-20 |
| TurretCraft炮台 | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2026-02-08 |
Questions
Which loader does Advanced Tower Defense need?
Does the server need Advanced Tower Defense?
In the catalog
Advanced Tower Defense Mod is one of 8,499 Technology mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,122 Technology mods for Forge. 34,764 mods support Minecraft 1.20.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
(Updates may be delayed here since I have issues with accessing modrinth from my country) Welcome to Advanced Tower Defense! Here you will find many interesting and funny things that will help you with the defense of your fortress. So far, the modification only has the Middle Ages, but in the future there will be…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/advanced-tower-defense-mod
- Owner
- FrostThePenguin
- Published
- 2025-08-11
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15