Aether Legacy

Overview

Aether Legacy is a port of the original Aether mod, bringing an entire floating sky dimension to Minecraft. The Aether sits above the Overworld and is accessed through a Glowstone portal lit with a Water Bucket, reversing the Nether portal concept. Once inside, you will find floating islands covered in Aether Grass, unique trees made of Skyroot, and ores like Ambrosium, Zanite, and Gravitite that replace their Overworld counterparts.

The mod introduces four tiers of tools and armor, a custom enchanting system using the Altar (Enchanter), a Freezer for ice-based transformations, tameable Moa mounts that come in four color variants, and three progressively harder dungeons. Each dungeon has a unique boss that drops a key to unlock a treasure chest filled with powerful loot you cannot obtain anywhere else. The mod also adds an accessory system with slots for Gloves, Rings, Pendants, Capes, and miscellaneous accessories.

You can browse every item and recipe this mod adds using the tabs at the top of this page. This guide focuses on teaching you the progression from entering the Aether for the first time through defeating all three bosses.

Ores and Materials

The Aether has three main ores, each found at different depths within the floating islands. Understanding them is key to progressing through the mod's gear tiers.

Ambrosium Ore

The most common ore, found throughout Holystone. Mining it drops Ambrosium Shards directly. These shards fuel the Enchanter (500 fuel per shard), heal you for 2 HP when right-clicked, and can enchant Aether Grass. They are also used to craft Ambrosium Torches (the only light source in the Aether) and the Book of Lore. You will need large quantities for enchanting, so mine every deposit you find.

Zanite Ore

Zanite is the Aether's mid-tier ore, dropping Zanite Gemstones when mined. Zanite Gemstones are used to craft Zanite tools (Iron-tier) and Zanite armor. The unique property of Zanite equipment is that it gets stronger as it loses durability. A nearly broken Zanite Pickaxe mines at up to 12.0 speed compared to 2.0 when new. Zanite armor works similarly, with protection increasing as durability decreases, reaching Diamond-level protection when nearly broken. This makes Zanite gear excellent for extended mining sessions. Zanite Gemstones are also used to craft the Nature Staff and Zanite accessories (Rings, Pendants, Gloves).

Gravitite Ore

The rarest ore, found deep within islands. Gravitite Ore cannot be used directly. You must place it in the Enchanter with Ambrosium fuel (1000 fuel cost) to create Enchanted Gravitite. This is the Aether's top-tier craftable material. Gravitite tools are Diamond-tier with a unique ability: right-clicking a block with a Gravitite tool causes that block to float upward as a floating entity, which is useful for building, clearing terrain, and creative problem-solving. The Gravitite Sword launches enemies into the air on hit.

Tools and Weapons

The Aether has four craftable tool tiers, each using Skyroot Sticks as handles. Skyroot tools are Wood-tier and your starting set. Holystone tools are Stone-tier with a 5% chance to drop bonus Ambrosium Shards when mining any block. Zanite tools are Iron-tier with scaling mining speed that increases as durability decreases, reaching up to 12.0 speed at low durability. Gravitite tools are Diamond-tier and can float blocks by right-clicking them.

Beyond craftable tools, the Aether adds a fifth tier of dungeon-exclusive Valkyrie equipment. Valkyrie tools and the Valkyrie Lance have Diamond-tier stats but feature an incredible 10-block attack reach, letting you strike enemies from a safe distance. These cannot be repaired.

Ranged Weapons

The Dart Shooter is the Aether's primary ranged weapon, crafted from Skyroot Planks and a Golden Amber. It fires Darts crafted from Golden Amber, Skyroot Sticks, and Feathers. There are three dart types: Golden Darts (standard), Enchanted Darts (crafted by enchanting Golden Darts in the Enchanter for 250 fuel), and Poison Darts (crafted by enchanting Dart Shooters for 500 fuel). The Phoenix Bow is a dungeon loot weapon with 384 durability that shoots flaming arrows.

Special Dungeon Weapons

Dungeon treasure chests contain powerful unique weapons. The Flaming Sword sets targets on fire for 30 ticks. The Lightning Sword summons a lightning bolt on the target. The Holy Sword deals 15 bonus damage to undead mobs. All three elemental swords have Diamond-tier stats with 502 durability. The Vampire Blade is a Diamond-tier sword that heals you for 1 HP with every hit. The Pig Slayer has Iron-tier stats with 200 durability but instantly kills any pig-type mob (Pigs, Phygs, and similar entities). The Hammer of Notch launches an explosive projectile when right-clicked, with a 200-tick (10-second) cooldown.

Armor and Accessories

Only two armor sets are craftable: Zanite and Gravitite. Zanite armor uses Iron ArmorMaterial as its base but has dynamic protection that increases as the armor loses durability, eventually reaching Diamond-level protection at maximum damage. Gravitite armor uses Diamond ArmorMaterial and provides full Diamond-tier protection from the start.

Four additional armor sets are found exclusively as dungeon loot: Neptune, Phoenix, Obsidian, and Valkyrie. All use Diamond ArmorMaterial and cannot be repaired. Phoenix Gloves have 152 durability. Each set comes with matching Gloves as an accessory piece.

The Accessory System

The Aether adds an accessory inventory with dedicated slots for Gloves, Rings, Pendants, Capes, Shields, and miscellaneous items. Gloves come in vanilla material variants (Leather, Iron, Gold, Chain, Diamond) plus Aether variants (Zanite, Gravitite) that you can craft, and dungeon-exclusive versions (Neptune, Phoenix, Obsidian, Valkyrie). Right-click an accessory to equip it automatically.

Rings and Pendants come in Iron, Gold, and Zanite craftable variants. Zanite Rings have 49 durability and Zanite Pendants have 98 durability. Using the Freezer, you can transform Iron or Gold Rings into Ice Rings (125 durability) and Iron or Gold Pendants into Ice Pendants (250 durability) for 2500 fuel cost each. Capes are primarily cosmetic (Red, Blue, Yellow, White can be crafted from Wool), but dungeon loot Capes have special effects: the Invisibility Cape renders you invisible, the Agility Cape increases speed, the Swet Cape provides protection, and the Valkyrie Cape grants slow falling.

Key miscellaneous accessories from dungeon loot include the Golden Feather (slow falling), the Regeneration Stone (passive health regeneration), the Iron Bubble (underwater breathing), and the Repulsion Shield (512 durability, deflects projectiles).

Mobs and Creatures

Passive Mobs

The Aether is home to several friendly creatures. Phygs (flying pigs) have 10 HP and can be saddled for flight. Flying Cows have 10 HP (20 HP when saddled) and produce Milk with a Skyroot Bucket. Sheepuffs have 8 HP and can be sheared for Wool, sometimes floating up into the air. Aerbunnies have 5 HP and can be picked up by right-clicking; while carried on your head, they slow your fall. Aerwhales are massive passive creatures with 20 HP that float through the sky and cannot be interacted with.

Moas

Moas are the signature tameable mount of the Aether. Wild Moas cannot be tamed directly. Instead, you must find a Moa Egg dropped by wild Moas and hatch it in an Incubator (crafted from Holystone and an Ambrosium Torch). Once hatched, the baby Moa must be fed Aechor Petals (dropped by Aechor Plants) to grow. A fully grown player-raised Moa can be saddled and ridden, allowing multi-jump flight.

There are four Moa colors, each with different stats. Blue Moas are the most common with 3 mid-air jumps and 0.3 speed. Orange Moas have only 2 jumps but are the fastest at 0.6 speed. White Moas are rare with 4 jumps at 0.3 speed, making them the best for traversal. Black Moas are the rarest with an incredible 8 mid-air jumps at 0.3 speed, making them the ultimate mount for exploring the Aether.

Hostile Mobs

Several hostile creatures roam the Aether. Aechor Plants are stationary enemies with 15 HP that shoot poison darts; they drop Aechor Petals needed for raising Moas. Cockatrices have 20 HP and shoot players, inflicting the Aether's poison effect. Zephyrs are floating cloud-like enemies with only 5 HP that launch snowballs to knock you off islands. Whirlwinds have 10 HP and scatter items from your inventory. Sentries are hostile Slime-like creatures with 10 HP found in Bronze Dungeons. Mimics disguise themselves as Chests in dungeons and attack when opened, having 40 HP and dealing 3 damage per hit.

Dungeons and Bosses

The Aether contains three dungeon types, each built from unique blocks and guarded by a different boss. Defeating a boss drops a Dungeon Key that unlocks the dungeon's treasure chest, which contains exclusive loot that cannot be obtained any other way. Dungeons are the core endgame content and the primary source of the mod's most powerful equipment.

Bronze Dungeon: The Slider

The Bronze Dungeon is the easiest dungeon, built from Carved Stone blocks. The boss is the Slider, a massive 2x2 stone cube with 500 HP. The Slider can only be damaged by Pickaxes, and each hit deals a maximum of 10 damage regardless of weapon strength. It attacks by sliding toward you and crushing for 6 damage per hit.

The strategy is straightforward: bring your best Pickaxe and keep hitting while dodging its charges. The dungeon is filled with Sentries (10 HP hostile slimes) that can complicate the fight, so clear them first if possible. The Slider drops a Bronze Dungeon Key upon death.

Silver Dungeon: The Valkyrie Queen

The Silver Dungeon is built from Angelic Stone and is significantly harder. Before reaching the boss, you must fight through regular Valkyries, which have 50 HP and deal 10 damage per hit. To initiate the Valkyrie Queen fight, you need to collect 10 Victory Medals by defeating these Valkyries and present them to the Queen.

The Valkyrie Queen has 500 HP and deals 13.5 damage per hit with a follow range of 28 blocks. She is fast (0.5 movement speed) and aggressive. Bring your best armor and weapons, plenty of healing items (Healing Stones, which are made by enchanting Holystone for 750 fuel, grant Regeneration for 30 seconds), and consider ranged attacks to chip away at her health. She drops a Silver Dungeon Key.

Gold Dungeon: The Sun Spirit

The Gold Dungeon is the hardest challenge, built from Hellfire Stone. The Sun Spirit has 50 HP but is completely immune to direct attacks and all potion effects. To damage it, you must hit the Ice Balls it fires back at it. The Sun Spirit also launches Fire Balls and summons Fire Minions (40 HP, 10 damage) to attack you. The Fire Minions themselves have high follow range and are dangerous in groups.

This fight requires patience and precision. Dodge the Fire Balls, deflect the Ice Balls back at the Sun Spirit, and deal with Fire Minions as they spawn. Bring fire resistance potions if you can, and stock up on the best gear available. The Sun Spirit drops a Gold Dungeon Key, which unlocks the most powerful loot in the mod.

The Enchanter and Freezer

The Enchanter and Freezer are the Aether's two processing stations, replacing the vanilla Furnace for most purposes in the dimension. Both are essential to progression.

Enchanter Recipes

The Enchanter uses Ambrosium Shards as fuel (500 fuel per shard). Key enchantments include: Gravitite Ore to Enchanted Gravitite (1000 fuel), Holystone to Healing Stone (750 fuel), Blue Berry to Enchanted Blueberry (300 fuel), Quicksoil to Quicksoil Glass (250 fuel), and Golden Darts to Enchanted Darts (250 fuel). All Aether tools and armor can be enchanted for increased stats; Skyroot items cost 225 fuel, Holystone costs 550, Zanite costs 2250, and Gravitite costs 5500. You can also enchant vanilla tools and armor with the same fuel costs as their Aether equivalents. Music Discs can be enchanted into Aether-specific discs for 2500 fuel.

Freezer Recipes

The Freezer uses Icestone as fuel (500 fuel per block). Key transformations include: Aerclouds to Blue Aerclouds (100 fuel), Aether Leaves to Crystal Leaves (150 fuel), Skyroot Water Bucket to Ice (500 fuel), Iron/Gold Ring to Ice Ring (2500 fuel), and Iron/Gold Pendant to Ice Pendant (2500 fuel). Ice accessories are significantly more durable than their metal counterparts.

Additional Items and Utilities

Skyroot Bucket

The Skyroot Bucket replaces the Iron Bucket in the Aether. It can hold Water, Milk (from Flying Cows), Poison (from Cockatrices or Aechor Plants), and Remedy (created by enchanting a Poison Bucket for 1000 fuel). Poison Buckets inflict the Aether poison effect when consumed, while Remedy Buckets cure it. Milk Buckets work like vanilla Milk, clearing all potion effects. Empty Skyroot Buckets stack to 16.

Food and Healing

Blue Berries (2 hunger) and Enchanted Blueberries (8 hunger) are your staple food. Gummy Swets are dropped by Swet mobs and fully restore all HP when consumed, making them the best healing item. They come in Blue and Gold variants. Healing Stones (enchanted from Holystone) grant Regeneration for 30 seconds. White Apples cure the Aether's unique poison effect for 15 seconds. Candy Canes and Gingerbread Men (2 hunger each) are found as seasonal items. Life Shards permanently increase your maximum HP by 1 heart, up to a configurable maximum of 10 shards (default).

Staffs and Special Items

The Nature Staff is crafted from a Zanite Gemstone and a Skyroot Stick. It has 100 durability and is used to interact with certain Aether creatures. The Cloud Staff is dungeon loot that summons two Mini Cloud companions that fight alongside you. Lightning Knives are thrown projectiles (stack to 16) that summon lightning bolts on impact. The Swetty Ball item can be used on Aether Dirt or regular Dirt to convert it to the respective Grass block.

Configuration Options

Aether Legacy has several configuration options that affect gameplay. The Aether Dimension ID defaults to 4 but can be changed to avoid conflicts with other dimension mods (requires a restart). The maximum number of Life Shards usable per player defaults to 10. If 'skyroot_bucket_only' is enabled, the Aether Portal can only be lit with a Skyroot Bucket instead of a Water Bucket. The 'ambro_is_edible' option changes Ambrosium Shards from right-click healing to requiring you to eat them like normal food.

Visual options include 'legacy_models' for using original mob models, 'updated_aercloud_colors' for more saturated cloud colors, and 'trivia_disabled' to turn off loading screen tips. World generation options include toggling Christmas decorations, Tall Grass generation, and Pink Aercloud spawning. You can also disable the Aether portal entirely with 'disable_portal' if another mod provides portal functionality, and disable startup loot with 'disable_startup_loot'.