YUNG's Better Ocean Monuments Guide: Exploring the Redesigned Underwater Temples
YUNG's Better Ocean Monuments completely replaces vanilla Ocean Monuments with massive, randomized underwater temples roughly three times the original size. Every monument features unique room layouts, improved loot including Tridents and Hearts of the Sea, a Conduit-ready chamber, and hidden Wet Sponge caches scattered throughout.
Overview
YUNG's Better Ocean Monuments completely overhauls the vanilla Ocean Monument, replacing it with a sprawling underwater temple roughly three times the size of the original. Every monument generates with a completely randomized layout, so no two are ever the same. The corridors are wider and less cramped, the rooms are more varied, and the loot is significantly better.
The mod uses vanilla blocks exclusively. You won't find new items or crafting recipes here. Instead, it focuses entirely on transforming the monument experience with better architecture, improved treasure placement, and unique rooms that give you real reasons to explore every corner. The vanilla monument is disabled by default, so every Ocean Monument in your world will use the redesigned version.
Getting Started
- 1
Locate a Monument
Better Ocean Monuments generate in the same Deep Ocean biomes as vanilla monuments, but they are still rare structures. The easiest way to find one is with the command /locate structure betteroceanmonuments:ocean_monument. Note that the old /locate structure minecraft:monument command will not work; the mod overrides it and tells you to use the new command instead.
- 2
Prepare Your Gear
These monuments are much larger than vanilla, so preparation is critical. Bring at least one Water Breathing Potion (ideally extended 8-minute versions), a full set of Diamond or Netherite armor (Depth Strider and Respiration enchantments are highly recommended), plenty of food, and a good weapon. An Axe or Sword with Sharpness will help against the many Guardians you will encounter.
- 3
Kill the Elder Guardians First
Just like in vanilla, Elder Guardians inflict Mining Fatigue, which makes it nearly impossible to break blocks. Prioritize hunting them down before you try to mine any Gold Blocks or loot hidden behind walls. The monument's larger size means Elder Guardians can be deeper inside, so follow the bigger rooms and watch for their silhouettes.
- 4
Explore Every Room
The randomized layout means each monument has a unique combination of rooms. Look for Trident rooms, the Conduit-ready chamber, Wet Sponge caches, hidden Gold Blocks, and Chests with rare loot like Hearts of the Sea and Nautilus Shells. The wider corridors make navigation less frustrating, but the sheer size means it is easy to get turned around. Consider placing Torches or blocks to mark paths you have already explored.
- 5
Collect the Conduit Materials
One of the most valuable rooms in the redesigned monument is the Conduit-ready chamber. This room contains a pre-built structure designed for a Conduit, and a Chest nearby with enough Nautilus Shells to craft one. Combined with the Heart of the Sea found elsewhere in the monument, you can build a Conduit right there, giving you permanent underwater breathing and night vision for the rest of your exploration.
Because the monument is roughly three times larger than vanilla, the number of Guardians scales accordingly. Expect swarms of them both inside and outside the structure. They will attack from range with their laser beam, so always keep your health topped up and have a shield or good armor ready.
Monument Structure and Rooms
The redesigned monuments are built from the same materials as vanilla: Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, Dark Prismarine, and Sea Lanterns. The mod also incorporates Copper blocks at various oxidization stages for visual variety. Copper blocks within the monument randomly generate as Exposed Copper (10% chance), Weathered Copper (roughly 20% chance), or fully Oxidized Copper (the remaining 70%), giving each monument a natural, aged appearance.
The exterior features Sea Lantern posts that guide players toward the main entrances. Multiple entry points exist around the structure, so you can approach from different angles. The monument's legs extend down to the ocean floor and adapt to the terrain below them. Seagrass and decorative Prismarine Slabs appear throughout, adding organic detail.
Key Room Types
The rooms range from small connector corridors to large open chambers. Some rooms feature Dripstone growing from the ceiling and floor, creating a cave-like atmosphere. Others contain large structural centerpieces surrounded by Guardians. The Trident room is one of the most exciting finds: it contains a Trident placed as a reward for reaching it. This Trident is persistent and will not despawn as long as it remains within the monument's boundaries, so you do not need to rush to pick it up.
Hidden Gold Blocks are tucked behind walls in certain rooms, just like in vanilla, but Mining Fatigue will prevent you from reaching them until you have defeated the Elder Guardians. Wet Sponge rooms also appear throughout the monument. The mod uses a 75% chance for each Sponge placement to actually generate as a Wet Sponge, with the remaining 25% replaced by Water, so Sponge rooms will have slightly varied quantities each time.
Loot and Rewards
The loot in Better Ocean Monuments is a significant upgrade over vanilla. The most notable additions are Tridents, which are normally rare mob drops from Drowned, and Hearts of the Sea, which are usually only found in Buried Treasure. Finding both of these inside a single monument makes it one of the best structures to raid in the game.
The Conduit-ready room is arguably the best feature. It contains a pre-built Prismarine frame and a Chest with Nautilus Shells. Combined with the Heart of the Sea, you can craft and activate a Conduit on the spot, giving you Conduit Power (underwater breathing, night vision, and faster mining) for the remainder of your exploration. This completely eliminates the need to grind Drowned for Nautilus Shells.
Wet Sponges are scattered throughout various rooms. These are valuable blocks that cannot be obtained anywhere else in survival mode. Collect as many as you can. Smelt them in a Furnace to turn them into dry Sponges, which are incredibly useful for clearing water from underwater builds or draining sections of the monument itself.
The Trident placed as loot inside the monument has special code that prevents it from despawning while it remains within the monument's boundaries. You can safely explore other rooms and come back for it later without worrying about it disappearing.
Configuration
The mod has a single configuration option found in the betteroceanmonuments-forge-1_21.toml config file (Forge) or the equivalent Fabric config. The Disable Vanilla Ocean Monuments setting is enabled by default, which prevents vanilla monuments from generating. If you want both vanilla and redesigned monuments to appear in your world, set this to false. Note that changing this option requires a world restart to take effect.
This mod requires YUNG's API (Forge) or YUNG's API + Fabric API + Cloth Config API (Fabric). Make sure the correct API mod is installed for your mod loader, or the mod will not function.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this mod affect monuments that already generated in my world?
No. Only newly generated monuments will use the redesigned version. Any monuments that already exist in explored chunks will remain as vanilla structures. You will need to explore new ocean areas to find the Better Ocean Monuments.
Can I use /locate to find a Better Ocean Monument?
Yes, but you must use the modded command: /locate structure betteroceanmonuments:ocean_monument. The vanilla /locate structure minecraft:monument command is intercepted by the mod and will display an error message redirecting you to the correct command.
Can I have both vanilla and Better Ocean Monuments in my world?
Yes. Set "Disable Vanilla Ocean Monuments" to false in the config file. This requires a world restart. Both types will then generate in Deep Ocean biomes.
Does this mod add any new items or blocks?
No. The mod exclusively uses vanilla Minecraft blocks and items. It redesigns the structure itself, improves the loot tables, and adds new room types, but everything you find inside is from vanilla Minecraft.
Is this mod compatible with other YUNG's mods?
Yes. All of YUNG's structure mods are designed to work together. Each one overhauls a different vanilla structure (Dungeons, Strongholds, Mineshafts, Desert Temples, etc.), and they share the same YUNG's API dependency. You can run them all at once without conflicts.
Why are there Copper blocks in the monument?
The mod uses Copper blocks at various oxidization stages as decorative elements to give the monument a weathered, ancient appearance. They appear as Exposed, Weathered, or Oxidized Copper with randomized variation, adding visual depth to the structure.