Despite the charm of vanilla Minecraft, what makes the game so great is how easily it can be modded to create new experiences. The modding community for Mojang's ever-popular sandbox survival game is so big it probably rivals that of many triple-A titles.

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Now that Minecraft's new 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update Part 2 is out as well, it's a great time to get back on the Minecraft grind. Players left hoping for a more immersive and complete experience that differs from the vanilla version, there are thankfully amazing modpacks out there ready to be tried. These are the best immersive modpacks for Minecraft on the market right now.

8 Pixelmon

Minecraft Pixelmon Reforged

Pixelmon is a modpack inspired by Pokemon, and it does a truly impressive job at it. The custom mobs that are perfectly designed according to their actual Pokemon models look so realistic in this pack that it almost completely turns Minecraft into a Pokemon franchise game.

Players can do a variety of activities in Pixelmon. They can catch their favorite Pokemon wandering the wilds, as well as engage in battle and even trade and breed Pokemon. It's the ideal experience for fans who can't decide between playing Pokemon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl and Minecraft.

7 FTB Ultimate: Anniversary Edition

Minecraft FTB Ultimate Anniversary Edition

Feed The Beast is one of the major modpack creator teams out there, and for good reason. Their most beloved modpack, the FTB Ultimate, was such a fan-favorite that it even received an Anniversary Edition release on their site.

FTB is a massive modpack that brings in a ton of new exploration and adventuring activities for players. It's quite a tech and magic-heavy modpack, so newcomers might need some time before they can properly get started in their playthrough, but it's well worth the investment.

6 Mustard Virus

Minecraft Mustard Virus

Minecraft is the perfect game to build a post-apocalyptic survival modpack on to, and the Mustard Virus modpack is proof of it. The world of Minecraft has been infected by the deadly Mustard Virus, leaving only the player alive to survive on their own against the zombified dead.

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This modpack is quite challenging but perfect for those who want to experience dangerous survival with deadly mobs that are not affected by sunlight. Enemies will now be able to track the player through other means as well, such as light sources and even sound.

5 Mineshafts & Monsters

Minecraft Mineshafts And Monsters

Inspired no doubt by Dungeons & Dragons, Mineshafts & Monsters sends players into the fantastical world of new biomes and beasts, including dragons. Thanks to a new quest system, players will always have something to do and strive for, on top of freeform exploration.

There's also a nifty settlement building system akin to Fallout 4, where players can build their very own colonies. The modpack also adds depth to some of the mobs, too, with factions fighting one another and players being able to build reputation towards these factions. It's truly a brand-new game but inside the confines of Minecraft.

4 Valhesia 3

Minecraft Valhesia 3

The combination of tech and magic is a popular one among players because these features are still somewhat lackluster in Minecraft. Valhesia 3 seeks to remedy that by providing an extremely complete and immersive modded experience with its huge modpack.

Valhesia 3's strength is definitely its versatility. Even if players don't particularly enjoy engineering in Minecraft, they can still get a lot out of this modpack through exploring the new biomes and dungeons, as well as focusing on the magic aspect.

3 Minenautica

Minecraft Minenautica

Subnautica is an insanely popular game that involves the player crashlanding on an ocean planet and striving to survive in its unknown and harsh environment. As such, it's a perfect concept to recreate in Minecraft, where survival is such a massive gameplay feature.

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Minenautica has a sci-fi aesthetic paired with tons of new ocean content for players to explore. Just like in the actual game, players must survive and thrive in their new environment by discovering new species and gathering resources.

2 RLCraft

Minecraft RLCraft
  • Theme: Medieval fantasy, survival
  • Creator: Shivaxi

A few years back RLCraft went viral thanks to a funny trailer video and introduction that Shivaxi made for his modpack. RLCraft is meant to bring Minecraft survival to the next level, with challenging combat, thirst, and body temperature modifiers, and many other cool features.

Though RLCraft is often insanely difficult for newcomers, at its core it's a really solid medieval fantasy modpack with a lot of exploration and adventuring available. There are always new dungeons to find, and dragons to avoid. Plus, nothing beats taming a Roc with an avian treat and flying to a dungeon suspended in the sky.

1 Omnifactory

Minecraft Omnifactory

Though redstone might already feel difficult enough for some players in Minecraft, it doesn't bring that much variety in terms of building automated machines and full-blown factories. That's why tech and engineering-themed modpacks like Omnifactory are so incredibly popular among players.

The sheer depth of Omnifactory is staggering, and it's a true love letter for any player who loves to build automated machinery in the game. There's so much to get into, and the mod itself even qualifies itself as a "deep tech-based mod", which goes to show the serious dedication the creators have for it.

Minecraft was released on November 16, 2011, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and many other platforms.

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