Dry Deserts
by Lizdtre
Rivers normally cut through deserts, leaving badland biomes along their banks, and Dry Deserts is a worldgen mod that stops rivers from generating those desert badlands.
What it does
Dry Deserts changes how river biomes are placed during world generation, so rivers no longer produce desert badland biomes that break up the arid landscape. The author notes that water biomes can still appear occasionally, particularly near coasts, in aquifers and in river biomes that generate deserts. The mod is compatible with most biome and worldgen mods, though some of them alter how rivers generate and can cause conflicts. Problems can be reported through the issue tracker, and compatibility with a specific modpack can be requested there as well.
Because the mod is delivered as a data pack for servers, it is installed on the server and runs without any client-side component. Using it with Large Biomes requires changing the datapack files by hand. The author tested most datapack combinations with Datapack Map, a tool by jacobsjo that builds maps from a set of datapacks, so a world can be checked before it is played.
Key features
No desert rivers
Rivers stop generating desert badland biomes, so the arid look stays continuous across a world.
Fewer stray water biomes
Water biomes still appear now and then near coasts, in aquifers and in some river biomes.
Datapack-based changes
The changes are made through datapack files, which lets them be adjusted by hand for other biome setups.
Testing with Datapack Map
Most datapack combinations were checked with Datapack Map, letting maps be previewed before play.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x9 of 9 versions with builds
1.20.x7 of 7 versions with builds
1.19.x5 of 5 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Server owners and modpack builders who want deserts without river badlands, and players who join those servers. The mod is aimed at worldgen setups that already use biome mods.
How it compares
River Redux is a server-side only worldgen mod released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, open source, for 1.19 – 1.21.8, so it fits the same server-first setup. Large Rivers in Large Biomes needs the server and is licensed under the MIT License, but it is not open source and targets 1.21.6 – 1.21.11, a range that starts later than Dry Deserts.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Deserts | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.19 – 1.21.8 | Server required, client optional | 2025-08-14 |
| River Redux | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.19 – 1.21.8 | Server-side only | 2025-10-06 |
| Large Rivers in Large Biomes | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.6 – 1.21.11 | Server required, client optional | 2026-01-11 |
Questions
Does Dry Deserts need to be installed on the client?
Can Dry Deserts be used with Large Biomes?
Which game versions have files for Dry Deserts?
In the catalog
Dry Deserts is one of 8,515 World generation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,027 World generation mods for Fabric. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
More from Lizdtre
Similar mods
What the author says
Dry Deserts stops rivers from generating in desert and badland biomes, making them truly feel like arid biomes. You might still see the occasional body of water in those biomes, especially near coasts and aquifers, however no river biomes should generate in deserts.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/dry-deserts
- Owner
- Lizdtre
- Published
- 2025-08-10
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-08-14
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15