Atlatls
by Unknowneth
Atlatls adds an ancient ranged weapon that is thrown like a dart, with spammable fire that behaves like Beta bows.
What it does
The atlatl launches darts, arrows and small spears by hand and uses an attack cooldown meter like melee weapons do. How full the meter is when the shot is released sets the accuracy and the distance an arrow travels. Spamming shots fires many arrows quickly, but each one loses range and accuracy.
Using the atlatl drains hunger, and sprinting while shooting produces a critical arrow that drains a lot of hunger and resets the sprint. Its damage is much lower than bows and crossbows, which offsets how quickly it can be fired. Atlatls receive both bow and crossbow enchantments, and the mod is available on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 – 1.21.11. Both the server and every player need it, and the code is under the MIT License, though it is not open source.
Key features
Cooldown-based shooting
The weapon charges an attack meter like melee gear, and the meter level decides accuracy and distance.
Spammable arrows
Rapid shots fire many arrows in a row, trading range and accuracy for speed.
Hunger cost
Each shot drains hunger, and a sprinting shot drains more and resets the sprint.
Bow and crossbow enchantments
The atlatl accepts the enchantments that bows and crossbows receive.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Early ranged combat
Players who want a ranged option before crafting bows can use the atlatl with darts and small spears.
Fast volleys
Spammable shots suit situations where many weak arrows matter more than a single strong hit.
Who it’s for: Players who want an ancient-style ranged weapon in survival or adventure play, and server owners who run the mod for everyone on a server.
How it compares
Beta's Better Weapons is server required with an optional client, is published for 1.20.5 – 1.21.7 and is licensed under the MIT License without being open source. More Bows and Arrows is client and server, under All rights reserved, for 1.18.2 – 26.1.2. Too Many Bows also runs on client and server under All rights reserved, with files for 1.20.1 – 26.2.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlatls | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-09-23 |
| Beta's Better Weapons | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.20.5 – 1.21.7 | Server required, client optional | 2025-07-04 |
| More Bows and Arrows | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.18.2 – 26.1.2 | Client and server | 2026-08-23 |
| Too Many Bows | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 26.2 | Client and server | 2026-09-25 |
Questions
Does Atlatls need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Atlatls support?
Why does the atlatl drain hunger?
In the catalog
Atlatls is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 19,862 mods support Minecraft 1.21.11.
More from Unknowneth
Similar mods
What the author says
This mod adds Atlatls, which are ranged weapons that let you spam arrows like how you used to in Beta 1.7. An atlatl is an ancient piece of equipment which was used to launch darts, arrows and small spears by hand.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/atlatls
- Owner
- Unknowneth
- Published
- 2025-12-07
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-23
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15