Die by the Sword
by Dustfired
Die by the Sword adds elite variants to hostile mobs, with stronger stats and special abilities, plus a Legendary tier of gear and a new advancement tab for tracking them.
What it does
A hostile mob has a small chance to spawn as an elite variant with higher stats, more damage, more armor and in some cases a special ability. Players can inspect an elite by looking at it through a spyglass, and the information gathered is stored in a new advancement tab with 12 advancements tied to the elites. The mod lists 36 different elites, and a further elite can be summoned to make encounters harder.
The mod also adds a new gear tier above Netherite, which is costly to craft, along with 2 new enchantments, 11 upgrades for items such as Elytras, Maces and Tridents, and 6 craftable consumable items. Seven exclusive Legendary rarity items drop rarely from elites; they cannot be upgraded or repaired, and once their durability runs out a new one must be obtained. The mod is recommended for new players, and it suits worlds set to Hard difficulty or early games that should feel more dangerous.
Die by the Sword is a server-side mod, so the server needs it and players may add it. The mod is released under the MIT License but is not open source. Builds exist for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 13 release versions, 1.21.1 – 26.1.2, and the latest file is 2.9+mod for 26.1.2.
Key features
Elite variants
Hostile mobs can spawn as elites with boosted stats, extra damage and armor, and in some cases a special ability.
Elite inspection
Looking at an elite through a spyglass reveals its information, which is saved to the advancement tab.
A gear tier above Netherite
A new tier of gear above Netherite, along with 11 upgrades for existing items like Elytras and Tridents.
Legendary rarity items
Seven exclusive Legendary items drop rarely from elites and cannot be upgraded or repaired.
Consumables and enchantments
Six craftable consumable items and two new enchantments add options for combat and progression.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
26.x3 of 3 versions with builds
1.21.x7 of 7 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Optional 2
How it compares
Mob Champions is an elite-mob mod that is open source under the MIT License and runs on Fabric and NeoForge for 1.21.1 – 26.3, with its client and server environment. Empowered Armory adds gear for Fabric only, built for 1.21.11, under All rights reserved. Elite Ores is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1 – 26.1.2, also under the MIT License, that adds ores rather than elite enemies.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Die by the Sword | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 | Server required, client optional | 2026-04-13 |
| Mob Champions | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.3 | Client and server | 2026-09-30 |
| Empowered Armory | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-08-05 |
| Elite Ores | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.1.2 | Client and server | 2026-08-18 |
Questions
Does Die by the Sword need the gear tier to work?
Do Elytra and Trident upgrades require anything else?
Can the optional EMF and ETF mods be used?
In the catalog
Die by the Sword is one of 11,058 Mobs mods on ModsFinder, and one of 5,189 Mobs mods for Fabric. 15,189 mods support Minecraft 26.1.2.
More from Dustfired
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What the author says
Ever looked a your world and wished there was a bit more challenge? Ever wanted to make early game a bit more dangerous? Well if you live by the sword... you might Die by the Sword! You can contact me with feedback by messaging "dustfired" on Discord! You will have to add me as a friend first! Once accepting please…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/die-by-the-sword
- Owner
- Dustfired
- Published
- 2024-09-29
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-04-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15