The Hordes Mod Guide: Horde Invasions, Zombie Infection & Player Zombies
The Hordes brings two interlinked survival threats to Minecraft: wave-based mob invasions that attack every 10 days at midnight, and a zombie infection that slowly turns players and mobs into the undead. When you die while infected, a zombified version of yourself spawns wearing your own skin and carrying your items. Survive the waves, manage the infection, and understand the escalating mob tables that grow more dangerous the longer you play.
Overview
The Hordes adds two major gameplay systems: scheduled horde invasion events and a zombie infection mechanic. Horde events trigger automatically every 10 in-game days, sending waves of hostile mobs directly at the player from midnight until dawn. The infection system gives zombie-type mobs a chance to infect players, horses, and villagers with every hit, starting a 20-minute countdown that ends in zombification.
This mod does not add new items or crafting recipes. All changes come through new mob variants, event mechanics, and an extensive datapack-based configuration system. Modpack makers and players can tailor every aspect of the horde experience, from which mobs spawn and when to how infection spreads and what cures it.
Getting Started
- 1
Know Your First Horde Is Coming on Day 10
Horde events are tracked per-player by your total playtime, not world time. Your first horde arrives on day 10 at midnight (with a 1-minute grace window). If you log off, your horde timer pauses, so you cannot avoid it by staying offline.
- 2
Build a Fortified Position Before Day 10
Horde mobs spawn roughly 75 blocks away and move directly toward you with enhanced pathfinding and extended follow range. A base with solid walls, good lighting, and a defensive perimeter gives you a major advantage. Elevated positions or walled areas prevent the mob column from surrounding you.
- 3
Stock Golden Apples for Infection Emergencies
Any zombie hit has a chance to infect you. The infection progresses through 4 stages over 20 minutes, adding slowness and hunger drain in later stages. A Golden Apple cures the Infection effect at any stage. Keep at least one in your hotbar before any fight with zombies.
- 4
Watch for the Horde Warning Message
When a horde event begins, you receive the message "You hear the howls of a nearby horde" along with a directional howl sound. Get to your fortified position immediately. Attempting to sleep produces "A feeling of impending dread prevents you from sleeping". Beds are locked for the event's entire duration.
- 5
After a Fight, Check for Player Zombies
If you die while infected, a Player Zombie wearing your skin and armor spawns at your death point holding all your dropped items. Killing the Player Zombie recovers everything. Check the area after any horde death before assuming your items are lost to despawn.
Horde Events
When Events Occur
Each player has their own horde schedule, tracked by individual playtime rather than world days. By default, hordes trigger every 10 in-game days at midnight (tick 18000 of a 24000-tick day), with up to a 1-minute window for the event to begin. Hordes only trigger in the Overworld. The timer does not advance while you are in the Nether or End.
Each time an event naturally occurs, the wave spawn count increases by a 1.05x multiplier. Your first horde spawns 15 mobs per wave, your second spawns roughly 16, your third roughly 17, and so on. After several dozen hordes, this scaling makes late-game events genuinely punishing.
The Wave System
A single horde event lasts 5 minutes (6000 ticks), with a new wave spawning every 30 seconds (600 ticks). Each wave targets the player directly, with mobs spawning roughly 75 blocks away and converging with overridden, player-focused AI. Horde mobs have all normal targeting goals replaced, making them exclusively hunt you regardless of other distractions.
In multiplayer, each player still faces their own independently scheduled hordes. When two players with active hordes are within 25 blocks of each other, the combined wave size is reduced by 20% per additional nearby player (the 0.80 multiplier). This makes cooperative defense viable without trivializing the challenge.
Beds are completely locked during an active horde event. The message "A feeling of impending dread prevents you from sleeping" appears when you try. By default, a scheduled horde for any online player also prevents all other players on the server from sleeping, even if their own horde is not yet active.
Horde Event Defaults
| Days Between Hordes | 10 (per player playtime) |
| Start Time | Midnight (tick 18000) |
| Event Duration | 5 minutes (6000 ticks) |
| Wave Interval | Every 30 seconds (600 ticks) |
| Mobs Per Wave | 15 (scales x1.05 per event) |
| Maximum Mob Cap | 160 at one time |
| Spawn Distance | ~75 blocks from player |
| Multiplayer Scaling | 0.80x per nearby player with active horde |
What Spawns During Hordes
The default horde composition uses a zombie-focused spawn table that escalates based on how many in-game days have passed since the horde event started. Mobs from earlier day ranges phase out as new, harder variants are introduced. In ocean biomes (excluding Frozen Oceans and Deep Frozen Oceans), the entire table switches to a Drowned-focused composition instead.
Early Game (Days 0-20): Zombie Core
Early hordes are dominated by standard Zombies (weight 35, the most common) with a small chance of Zombie Villagers (weight 1). These waves are manageable with basic Iron Armor and a sword. The low-weight Zombie Villagers are easily overlooked but remain a constant infection risk at every stage.
Mid Game (Days 20-50): Husks, Drowned & Mounts
From day 20, Husks (weight 40, fire-resistant and sand-native) begin replacing Zombies and eventually dominate wave composition by day 50. Zombie Horses appear from day 20, and Trident-carrying Drowned join at day 30. The Trident Drowned are particularly dangerous: they can strike from range before you can reach melee.
Zoglins enter at day 40 alongside Zombified Piglins (weight 10), which are neutral until attacked. Be careful not to accidentally swing at a Zombified Piglin during a wave, as that triggers all nearby Zombified Piglins to also aggro you simultaneously.
Late Game (Day 50+): Compound Threats
From day 50, the most dangerous compound mobs appear: Drowned riding Zoglins and Drowned riding Zombie Horses. Both the rider and mount can deal damage independently, and the mount provides mobility that lets the Drowned close distance quickly or maintain range. A Drowned rider on a Zombie Horse with a Trident is particularly difficult to safely engage.
If you are in any ocean biome (non-frozen) when a horde starts, the entire spawn table switches to Drowned. Early ocean hordes spawn standard Drowned, with Trident-wielding Drowned joining from day 30. The spawn type also shifts to prefer water, meaning mobs preferentially spawn on and in the water near you. Frozen Ocean and Deep Frozen Ocean biomes use the standard zombie table instead.
The Infection System
Zombie-type mobs can apply the Infection effect with each hit. Standard Zombies and Zombie Villagers have a 75% infectivity chance per hit, Husks 80%, Drowned 70%, Zombified Piglins 70%, Zoglins 50%. Players have a base 25% infection resistance, reducing the effective chance before armor is factored in. Each piece of armor reduces the infection chance further through a multiplicative system.
Infection Stages
The Infection effect has 4 escalating stages, each lasting 5 minutes (6000 ticks), for a total of 20 minutes before you are zombified. Stage 1 applies the effect with no additional debuffs. Later stages add progressive Slowness and accelerated hunger drain. If you die at any stage while infected, you immediately convert into a Player Zombie without waiting for the timer.
The Infection effect shows in your status effects bar with a distinct icon. Pay attention to its current level -- a Stage 1 infection is a manageable concern; a Stage 3 infection during an active horde is an emergency. The subtitle notification "Player Infected" plays when you first contract the infection, and "Player Infection Blocked" plays when your armor resistance deflects a would-be infection.
Curing Infection
A Golden Apple cures the Infection effect entirely, resetting all stages. An Enchanted Golden Apple does the same and additionally grants the Infection Immunity effect for 7.5 seconds (150 ticks), temporarily blocking re-infection from any source. If you cure infection multiple times without dying, subsequent re-infections progress 5% faster per prior cure (each stage lasts 5% less time), resetting on death.
Armor Infection Protection
| Leather | Iron / Gold | Diamond | Netherite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per Piece | 5% reduction | 10% reduction | 15% reduction | 20% reduction |
| Full Set (4 pieces) | ~19% reduction | ~34% reduction | ~48% reduction | ~59% reduction |
| vs. Zombie hit | ~46% effective chance | ~37% effective chance | ~29% effective chance | ~23% effective chance |
Zombie Conversions
Beyond players, the infection system converts other living mobs into zombie variants when struck by infected entities. Passive and semi-hostile mobs convert readily, while tougher mobs have higher resistance. The mod adds several custom zombie variants for Illager-type mobs, each with unique textures that reflect their original appearance.
Common Conversions
Villagers (85% base conversion chance), Piglins (85%), and Wandering Traders (85%) are among the easiest to zombify, as any zombie in your village or trading area is an active threat to your NPC population. Horses convert to Zombie Horses at 65%, meaning an unprotected stable near a horde event is highly likely to lose mounts. Hoglins are remarkably resistant and only convert to Zoglins 15% of the time.
Custom Zombie Illager Variants
The mod adds unique textures and custom stats for zombified Illager variants. A Zombie Pillager (85% conversion chance, 24 HP / 12 hearts) can emerge if Pillager hordes are in play. Zombie Evokers (50% conversion, 24 HP / 12 hearts) and Zombie Vindicators (35% conversion, 24 HP / 12 hearts) retain their Illager-class hitpoints but operate as standard zombie attacks rather than their original ranged/melee specialties.
The rarer Zombie Illusioner (40% conversion, 32 HP / 16 hearts) and Zombie Witch (30% conversion, 26 HP / 13 hearts) only appear if you encounter the normally-unused Illusioner or Witch spawns. The Zombified Piglin Brute is a standout: converted from Piglin Brutes at only 35% chance, it gains a custom texture, 50 HP (25 hearts), and appears in chat as "Zombified Piglin Brute" rather than a generic Zombified Piglin.
Villagers can be zombified by any zombie on the infection entities list (including Player Zombies), and the default config prevents Zombie Villagers from being cured via the standard Weakness + Golden Apple method. This means villager infection is permanent by default. Light up your village thoroughly and consider building walls before day 10. Horse armor provides infection resistance for your mounts: Leather Horse Armor reduces conversion chance by 30%, Iron/Gold by 40%, Diamond by 50%.
Player Zombies
When a player dies while infected, a Player Zombie spawns at the death location wearing the deceased player's skin, equipped with the player's armor, and carrying all their dropped items in an internal inventory. The Player Zombie is named "[PlayerName]'s Zombie" in chat and kill messages. Killing it releases all stored items as drops, giving you a second chance to recover your gear.
Player Zombies are immune to sunlight by default (this can be changed in config) and do not burn in fire. They can be further converted: a Player Zombie that spends time underwater will convert into a Drowned Player, which has the same item-storage behavior. Player Zombies are persistent entities and will not despawn like normal mobs, even in peaceful mode, unless they contain no items or the despawn-on-peaceful config option is enabled.
Drowned Players and Player Husks
Three Player Zombie variants exist, each triggered by death location. Dying while underwater spawns a Drowned Player (named "Drowned [PlayerName]") instead of a standard Player Zombie. Dying in a desert, savanna, or badlands biome spawns a Player Husk (named "[PlayerName]'s Husk"). All three variants share the same item-storage mechanics and are equally persistent.
Configuration
Since version 1.2.0, The Hordes uses a datapack-based configuration system. Config files are stored at "config/hordes/data/" in your Minecraft directory. Deleting the hordes folder regenerates all defaults on next startup. If any JSON file contains errors, the mod logs them to both "latest.log" and "hordes.log" and falls back to safe defaults.
Horde Event Config
The main config file controls all event parameters: enableHordeEvent (true/false), hordesCommandOnly (disables natural spawns, command-triggered only), spawnAmount (mobs per wave), hordeSpawnDays (days between events), hordeSpawnMultiplier (per-event scaling), hordeSpawnDuration, hordeSpawnInterval, canSleepDuringHorde, and hordeMultiplayerScaling. All are adjustable without rebuilding the mod.
Horde Tables and Scripts
The mod ships five built-in tables: "default" (zombies), "drowned" (ocean variant), "skeletons" (skeleton progression), "illagers" (Pillagers to Evoker-Ravager combos), and "mixed_mobs" (all-variety table for advanced difficulty). By default, only the default and drowned tables are active via the default script. Modpack makers can write custom scripts to activate skeleton or illager hordes based on biome, day count, advancement, or game stage.
Infection settings have their own config section: enableMobInfection (true/false), infectPlayers, playerInfectionResistance, ticksForEffectStage (stage duration), infectSlowness, infectHunger, and infectionSpawnsZombiePlayers. Player Zombie behavior is separately configurable: whether they burn in sunlight, whether they store items, and whether they despawn in peaceful mode.
Commands
Operators and server admins can manage hordes directly: "/hordes start <ticks>" triggers an event of specified duration, "/hordes stop" ends an active event, "/hordes spawnWave <count>" spawns a single wave immediately, "/hordes reset" resets a player's horde schedule, and "/hordes debug" outputs a diagnostic log. These commands are essential for testing custom configurations before deploying them to a live server.
FAQ
Why can I not sleep during a horde?
Horde events lock all beds for the entire duration of the invasion (5 minutes by default). The message "A feeling of impending dread prevents you from sleeping" confirms a horde is active. You cannot skip the night to avoid a horde. Additionally, if any player on the server has an upcoming horde scheduled, other players may also be blocked from sleeping (this behavior is configurable via "hordePreventsOtherPlayersSleeping").
How do I cure the Infection effect?
Eating a Golden Apple removes the Infection effect at any stage. An Enchanted Golden Apple also cures it and additionally grants 7.5 seconds of Infection Immunity, preventing re-infection. If you are frequently getting re-infected, consider using an Enchanted Golden Apple during a horde to give yourself a window of safety. The default infection cure list is configurable via datapack, so modpacks may add other cures.
My Villagers keep turning into Zombie Villagers -- can I cure them?
Villagers have an 85% base chance to be zombified when struck by an infected mob. By default, this mod prevents the standard Weakness potion + Golden Apple cure that vanilla uses for Zombie Villagers. Your best defense is prevention: fully light your village, build walls to keep zombies out during horde events, and keep your Villagers far from any horde spawn radius. The "infectionEntitiesAggroConversions" config option makes infected mobs actively target convertible entities -- leaving it on means zombies will hunt your Villagers.
Where are my items after I died from infection?
When you die while infected, a Player Zombie spawns at your death location holding all your dropped items internally (they do not scatter on the ground). Return to your death location and kill your Player Zombie to recover everything. The Player Zombie will not despawn naturally (unless it contains no items). Check the surface at your death location. If you died underwater, a Drowned Player spawns instead; if in a desert or savanna, a Player Husk spawns.
How do I disable hordes or infection for my world?
Both systems can be fully disabled in the config file. Set "enableHordeEvent" to false to remove all horde events entirely. Set "enableMobInfection" to false to remove all infection mechanics including Player Zombies from infection. Setting "hordesCommandOnly" to true disables natural hordes but keeps the system available for command-triggered events. Config files are in the NeoForge/Forge config directory as "hordes-common.toml".
Do horde mobs behave differently from normal mobs?
Yes, significantly. Horde mobs have their normal targeting AI goals replaced with goals that exclusively track the specific player whose horde triggered. They also receive a permanent +75 follow range attribute, letting them pursue you over enormous distances. When the horde ends, these modifications are removed and surviving mobs return to standard behavior. This means horde mobs will tunnel through your base, swim across oceans, and climb terrain to reach you, unlike regular mobs that lose interest at distance.