Shielding Swords
by mega7
Shielding Swords lets a player hold a sword to block incoming attacks, reducing the damage and knockback the blow would otherwise deal.
What it does
Shielding Swords adds a sword blocking mechanic modeled on the block action that older Minecraft releases once gave swords. A player holding a sword can raise it to reduce incoming damage, and blocking grants a knockback resistance bonus, which makes the blocked hit push the player back less. The mod is aimed at combat, with more depth than vanilla swords offer on their own.
Blocking with a sword is a reduction, not a full stop. Armor still matters: a blocking player with armor takes less from each hit, and armor toughness is multiplied by a 30% bonus while blocking. Holding a shield and using a sword to block are kept separate, so the shield's own block ability is unchanged. Attacks made with a sword also deal reduced knockback to the target, which affects how a fight plays out.
The mod works on Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, and it is published as a data pack option for servers. Files exist for 1.21.2 and 1.21.3, with 1.0 for 1.21.3 as the latest release, dated 2024-11-02. Server owners install it, and players can join with or without it. Shielding Swords is released under the MIT License and is not open source.
Key features
Sword blocking
Holding a sword lets a player block incoming attacks, in the style of the classic block action.
Damage and knockback reduction
A blocked hit deals less damage and pushes the player back less, while blocking also adds knockback resistance.
Armor interaction
Armor keeps its value while blocking, and armor toughness is multiplied by 30% so armor stays useful against blows.
Reduced knockback from swords
Attacks made with a sword cause less knockback to the target than plain strikes.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Sword Blocking Plus is All rights reserved and not open source, with files for 1.21.5 – 1.21.10 on the same loaders. Vanilla Sword Blocking is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, for 1.21.4 – 1.21.10. New Sword Blocking is open source under the MIT License, but it covers only Fabric and Quilt for 1.21.5 – 1.21.8. All of these share the server-required environment with Shielding Swords, so no mod is needed on the client to join.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shielding Swords | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.2 – 1.21.3 | Server required, client optional | 2024-11-02 |
| Sword Blocking Plus | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.5 – 1.21.10 | Server required, client optional | 2025-11-11 |
| Vanilla Sword Blocking | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.4 – 1.21.10 | Server required, client optional | 2025-03-25 |
| New Sword Blocking | Fabric and Quilt | 1.21.5 – 1.21.8 | Server required, client optional | 2025-07-17 |
Questions
Which loaders does Shielding Swords support?
Do players need the mod to join a server that runs it?
Does blocking with a sword stack with a shield?
In the catalog
Shielding Swords is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 13,252 mods support Minecraft 1.21.3.
More from mega7
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What the author says
The knockback caused by the attack is also reduced, Blocking gives you 1+ Knockback resistance, As well as increasing the knockback resistance of your armor by 60%. You also get a minor armor toughness boost, Which reduces the damage done by critical hits severely. Blocking doesn't grant any Armor toughness, But it…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/shielding-swords
- Owner
- mega7
- Published
- 2024-11-01
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2024-11-02
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15