Cursed Difficulty
by Jusey1
Cursed Difficulty is a Forge and NeoForge mod that raises the challenge of survival play through a set of configurable rule changes, with optional extra rewards.
What it does
When a player first joins a world, the game asks whether they want the cursed difficulty, with a short summary of what it changes. The start option can also increase difficulty while granting extra awards. Changes include double damage from knockback sources, fire that burns until a player puts it out by hand, and neutral mobs that turn hostile when a player is within 28 blocks and in line of sight for 4 blocks.
The mod also restricts sleeping, so beds cannot be used to skip the night. In exchange, mobs drop triple experience, and players collect bonus leather, feathers and slime balls. The author built it as a way to add difficulty without overhauling the game, aiming for balance and a feel closer to vanilla. Every part of the mod can be changed in its configuration.
Cursed Difficulty runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it. It is published for Forge and NeoForge across 13 release versions, 1.19.2 – 1.21.11, and is open source under the MIT License. Its source code and issue tracker are public.
Key features
Difficulty prompt on first join
On the first world join, players are asked whether they want the cursed difficulty, with a short summary.
Harsher combat and fire
Knockback damage is doubled, and fire keeps burning until the player puts it out manually.
Neutral mobs turn hostile
Neutral mobs attack a player within 28 blocks who is in line of sight for 4 blocks.
Extra drops and experience
Mobs give triple experience, and bonus leather, feathers and slime balls can drop.
Fully configurable
Each change can be adjusted through the mod's configuration.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x10 of 10 versions with builds
1.20.x1 of 1 version with builds
1.19.x2 of 2 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Adding challenge to a modpack
Servers running a vanilla-plus modpack can raise the difficulty with rules that keep the game close to vanilla.
Who it’s for: Players who want a harder survival experience and server owners who want a configurable difficulty option for their worlds.
How it compares
Cursed Compass is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1 – 26.1.2, open source under the MIT License and run on client and server. Hard Zombie is a Forge mod for 1.19 – 1.20.6 under the MIT License, also run on client and server. Got Cursed is a Forge mod for 1.20.1 under the Apache License 2.0, with the same client and server environment.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursed Difficulty | Forge and NeoForge | 1.19.2 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-01-28 |
| Cursed Compass | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 | Client and server | 2026-07-19 |
| Hard Zombie | Forge | 1.19 – 1.20.6 | Client and server | 2025-09-16 |
| Got Cursed | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-05-28 |
Questions
Does Cursed Difficulty need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Cursed Difficulty support?
Can the cursed changes be turned off?
In the catalog
Cursed Difficulty is one of 7,555 Cursed mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,426 Cursed mods for Forge. 19,862 mods support Minecraft 1.21.11.
More from Jusey1
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What the author says
The idea for this mod was to add a way to increase difficulty without overhauling the game or having an effect on players whom didn't want it, making it optional with even optional rewards but make it more vanilla feeling and balanced instead. While the inspiration for this mod was really good for this, it still…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/cursed-difficulty
- Owner
- Jusey1
- Published
- 2023-04-16
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-01-28
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15