Vital XP
by Zeuss
Vital XP ties a player's maximum health to experience, so gaining levels adds hearts while losing experience can take them away.
What it does
Instead of a fixed number of hearts, a player starts with a configurable minimum amount of health, and each few experience levels gained adds an extra heart up to a configurable maximum. Losing experience lowers the maximum again. Hearts gained this way become locked hearts that stay even when experience drops, though a player who dies loses them. The mod turns health into a survival resource that grows with progression, somewhat like an enchanting resource.
Values such as the starting health, the cap and the experience needed per heart can be adjusted in-game through commands or in the configuration file, which is opened from the mods menu by selecting the mod and pressing its Config button. The commands are listed with the help command for versions below 1.21.1, and the commands are no longer available from 1.21.1 onward. The mod runs on Forge and NeoForge in five release versions 1.12.2 – 1.21.1, and the environment is client and server, so the server and every player need it. The code is not open source; it is released under All rights reserved.
Key features
Health linked to experience
Maximum health rises and falls with experience, replacing a fixed number of hearts with a progression system.
Locked hearts
Extra hearts gained from experience become permanently locked and are kept when experience decreases, until the player dies.
Configurable values
The starting health, the health cap and related values can be changed in-game with commands or in the configuration file.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players who want experience to affect their survival, and server owners who want to adjust the health curve through commands or the configuration file.
How it compares
Legendary Survival Overhaul is a Forge and NeoForge survival mod for 1.20.1 – 1.21.1, with client and server environment and All rights reserved licensing, so it is not open source. Injuries Retained is Forge-only, for 1.19.2, client and server, and open source under the Apache License 2.0. Health Doubler is server-side only, so players join without installing it, and covers 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 on Forge and NeoForge.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vital XP | Forge and NeoForge | 1.12.2 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-05-03 |
| Legendary Survival Overhaul | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-09 |
| Injuries Retained | Forge | 1.19.2 | Client and server | 2023-11-18 |
| Health Doubler | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Server-side only | 2026-04-04 |
Questions
Does Vital XP need to be installed on the server?
Do locked hearts disappear if experience drops?
Are the vitalxp commands available on every version?
In the catalog
Vital XP is one of 19,031 Adventure mods on ModsFinder, and one of 10,478 Adventure mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Vital XP adds a progression system to Minecraft by linking a player’s maximum health to their experience level. Instead of having a fixed amount of hearts, players gain health as they level up, making XP a core survival mechanic rather than a simple enchanting resource.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/vital-xp
- Owner
- Zeuss
- Published
- 2026-01-02
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-05-03
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15