Old New Combat
by Straywave
Old New Combat restores parts of Minecraft's abandoned Combat Tests as a Fabric and Forge mod, changing weapons, shields, bows and hunger for players and servers.
What it does
Old New Combat ports changes from Minecraft's abandoned Combat Tests, which were built for the 1.16 and 1.18 lines. Weapons get adjusted attack damage and attack speed, axes always disable shields, and a Cleaving enchantment lengthens stun duration. Shields block only up to 5 damage from attacks and cover a 100-degree arc instead of the full 180 degrees. Explosions from non-player sources are blocked in some cases, and bows gain accuracy while their hold animation is temporarily disabled.
Other changes affect survival balance. Natural regeneration no longer boosts saturation, and it restores health twice as fast until hunger reaches 7. Potions stack to 16, snowballs stack to 64, and some items carry a stronger durability penalty. The mod adds an Attack Reach attribute to items. The project is labeled beta, and not every feature from the Combat Tests list is implemented yet.
Servers that run it need every player to install it too. Installation requires Architectury API on both loaders, and Fabric API on Fabric. Files cover 1.16.5, 1.18.2 and 1.19.2, with 0.3.0 for 1.19.2 as the latest build on Fabric and Forge. The code is released under the MIT License.
Key features
Shield limits
Shields block only up to 5 damage and cover a 100-degree arc, while axes always disable them.
Weapon rebalancing
Attack damage and attack speed are tweaked on weapons, and a Cleaving enchantment increases stun duration.
Regeneration and hunger
Natural regeneration gives no saturation boost and heals twice as fast until hunger reaches 7.
Stack sizes and bows
Potions stack to 16 and snowballs to 64, and bows gain accuracy with a shorter hold animation.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 2
How it compares
Old Combat Mod is server-side only, with files for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt across 1.16.4 – 26.3, released under All rights reserved. Axes Are Weapons is also server-side only, released under the MIT License and published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 1.16 – 26.3, so it covers axes alone. Balanced Combat is client and server, released under the MIT License and limited to Fabric for 1.16.5 – 1.21.4.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old New Combat | Fabric and Forge | 1.16.5 – 1.19.2 | Client and server | 2023-01-16 |
| Old Combat Mod | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.16.4 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-06-28 |
| Axes Are Weapons | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.16 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-09-15 |
| Balanced Combat | Fabric | 1.16.5 – 1.21.4 | Client and server | 2026-08-08 |
Questions
Does Old New Combat need Architectury API?
Does the server need the mod as well as players?
Which game versions does Old New Combat support?
In the catalog
Old New Combat is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 12,559 mods support Minecraft 1.19.2.
More from Straywave
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What the author says
A mod that ports Minecraft's abandoned Combat Tests as a mod for 1.16 and 1.18. Mod is marked as "Beta" because not all features are implemented yet. However, I consider the mod to be stable, and even play on a personal modpack with this mod, not once having an error or crash. Once all features are finished, I will…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/old-new-combat
- Owner
- Straywave
- Published
- 2023-01-12
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2023-01-16
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15