Tumbleweeds
Tumbleweeds places animated tumbleweeds that roll across desert and badlands biomes, and they can drop loot as they go.
What it does
Tumbleweeds spawns tumbleweed entities in desert and badlands biomes, and the entities are animated with in-game animations built in Animated Java Blockbench. Each tumbleweed can drop loot when it breaks up, and both spawning and loot dropping can be switched off in the config. Players who want more life in dry landscapes will find the mod adds that without changing the rest of the world.
The mod is built on Fabric API, which must be installed alongside it on Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt. Client and server both need Tumbleweeds, so the server and every player install it. Files cover nine release versions, and the latest file for every loader is 1.1.0 for 1.21.8, published 2025-07-28. The code is under All rights reserved and is not open source.
Key features
Animated tumbleweeds
Tumbleweeds are animated entities that roll through desert and badlands biomes, using animations built in Animated Java Blockbench.
Loot dropping
Tumbleweeds can drop loot, and the drop can be turned on or off in the configuration.
Spawn limits
The config sets a maximum of 20 tumbleweeds, a 600-tick cooldown between spawn attempts per player, and a 2400-tick despawn time for tumbleweed entities.
Admin configuration menu
A menu opened by running the tumbleweed:.menu/admin function groups the individual config options with their default values.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x9 of 9 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.
Required 1
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players and server owners who want desert and badlands biomes to feel more active, and who are willing to tune the spawn settings in the config.
How it compares
TFC Tumbleweed is a Forge and NeoForge mod for 1.18.2 – 1.21.1, under the BSD 2-Clause License and not open source. Improved Desert covers Fabric, Forge and NeoForge for 1.21 – 1.21.4, with server required and client optional, under the MIT License. Tumbleweed Neoforged is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, runs on NeoForge alone and is published for 1.21.1. Tumbleweeds, by contrast, uses four loaders, with client and server both required.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tumbleweeds | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-07-28 |
| TFC Tumbleweed | Forge and NeoForge | 1.18.2 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-06-05 |
| Improved Desert | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.21 – 1.21.4 | Server required, client optional | 2025-01-29 |
| Tumbleweed Neoforged | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-02 |
Questions
Does Tumbleweeds need Fabric API?
Do server owners need to install Tumbleweeds?
Will existing worlds be affected by updates?
In the catalog
Tumbleweeds 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.
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What the author says
Are you looking for the charm of the Wild West and missing its most prevalent icon? You tumbled to the right place! Tumbleweeds adds animated, loot-dropping tumbleweeds to the desert and badlands biomes, breathing new life into the drylands and immersing you in your journey through them.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/tumbleweeds
- Owner
- UnnamedGlitch
- Published
- 2025-07-06
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-07-28
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15