Ready Crossbow
Ready Crossbow makes mobs that carry crossbows arrive with them already loaded, so pillagers and piglins can fire at once when they spot a player.
What it does
Ready Crossbow changes how mobs with crossbows behave after they spawn. A mob that carries a crossbow is given a charged weapon from the start, and its AI is kept in a ready-to-attack state, so it does not walk around with an empty crossbow or wait through the charging animation before shooting. The mod works with any entity that implements the crossbow attack interface, including pillagers and piglins, and it uses vanilla mobs as they are, so no new mobs are added.
The mod is built for NeoForge and requires Java 21 with Minecraft 1.21 or later, so it runs on the NeoForge loader only. Its logic is limited to the spawn event and AI tick updates, which keeps its load on the game low. The code is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, and it is open source. Files cover 12 release versions, and the latest NeoForge file is 1.0.0 for 1.21.2, published in October 2026. Both client and server need it.
Key features
Pre-loaded crossbows on spawn
Mobs that spawn holding a crossbow get it already charged, so the first shot is not delayed.
Instant aggression
Armed mobs can fire as soon as they detect a player, which makes combat encounters faster and harder to predict.
Ready attack state
The AI is forced into a ready-to-attack state while the crossbow is charged, which skips the waiting animations.
Light spawn-only logic
Checks run only at spawn and on AI ticks, so the mod adds little processing to the rest of the game.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x12 of 12 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players and server owners on NeoForge who want crossbow-armed mobs to attack without the usual charging delay. Both sides need the mod, so it fits multiplayer servers as well as single-player worlds.
Questions
Does Ready Crossbow need a loader other than NeoForge?
Does the server need Ready Crossbow alone, or do players too?
Which versions does Ready Crossbow support?
In the catalog
Ready Crossbow is one of 11,058 Mobs mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,974 Mobs mods for NeoForge. 19,862 mods support Minecraft 1.21.11.
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What the author says
ReadyCrossbow is a lightweight Minecraft mod that ensures enemies are always combat-ready. No more grace periods: if a mob spawns with a crossbow, they spawn with it locked and loaded. Use this mod, and report bugs or suggestions by joining our Discord or directly on GitHub!
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/ready-crossbow
- Owner
- SteelCodeTeam
- Published
- 2025-12-23
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-10-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15