The Aether is one of, if not, the largest Minecraft mods in history and was released on July 22th, 2011. The mod includes the Aether realm, the opposite of The Nether that includes several new blocks, mobs, and items, as well as a whole new accessory system. A full version history is here and a list of known bugs is here.
The sequel to The Aether, The Aether II: Genesis of the Void, was released on June 11, 2012, and contains various new mobs, features, and overall adds to the experience.
Introduction
The Aether is an inverse to The Nether, with the Aether being large solid areas in empty space while The Nether is empty space in large solid areas. Its main features are large floating islands and formations of Aerclouds, which are solid cloud-like blocks. There are many new mobs, items and blocks in the Aether, some being entirely different from those in the Overworld, but few are similar to overworld mobs.
To get to the Aether, one must first make a Aether Portal formation out of Glowstone, and place water with a water bucket in one of the top corners. When the player step through the portal for the first time, a portal will spawn in a randomly generated Aether.
Gameplay
Normal Overworld tools have extremely low efficiency in harvesting and mining blocks of the Aether, so even using hands to harvest skyroot logs would be faster than using diamond tools. Normal torches and fire cannot be used in the Aether due to the oxygen level being too low[1], although water brought from the Overworld works properly, so the player is limited to only using Aether originated items and tools etc, much like starting in an entirely new Overworld with nothing, as Overworld tools are not so efficient. When a player falls off of an Aether island, they will not fall into The Void. Instead, they'll leave the Aether and be spawned high above their original portal in the Overworld and fall straight down, so one is advised to put water around their portal or they will die of fall damage, unless they fell too far away from their original Aether spawn, in which case they'll fall far away from their Overworld portal. Death from falling off the Aether can also be prevented by using Aether items and mobs that give the player the ability to not take fall damage. The Aether can be used for unreliable fast travel through the Overworld much like The Nether.
Upon arrival, the player will see large flying whales, plus an entire cast of new mobs. Many of them are hostile, but a few are still friendly. Sheepuffs can also be seen floating gently to the ground, as well as Phygs.
But there are still many things that make this place not so heavenly. Zephyrs, the Ghasts of the Aether, will try to spit snowballs at the player to push them off the map. Blue Swets will try to drown any mob within itself, including the player. Golden Swets will throw the player high up into the air and attempt to make the player go splat all over the Aether's Holystone hills. At nightfall, the Cockatrices will come out to play. Although they may look like the peaceful Moas, a tamable creature, Cockatrices will spit poison darts at the player, and they'll find it hard to walk back to safety! But they're not the only source of poison up in the Aether. Aechor Plants carrying precious Aechor Petals will spit poison darts at anyone, even other mobs.
That's not all though, throughout a player's ventures, one may find dungeons of varying difficulties. These dungeons are divided into three types: Bronze Dungeons, Silver Dungeons, and Gold Dungeons, and all will carry treasures and accessories that the player may have never seen. Getting these items will not be easy though because strong boss mobs will stand guard over their treasure, some of which can't be defeated by a sword alone! Many, many more armours, weapons, and accessories are now accessible.
Basically the Aether adds more adventure, excitement and possibilities to the game. But all of this is just the start to something incredibly new and refreshing to the Minecraft world. A trip to the Aether, and the player just may never set foot in the Overworld again.
Items
Blocks
- Aether Portal
- Aether Dirt
- Aether Grass
- Holystone
- Mossy Holystone
- Enchanted Aether Grass (doubles drops from crops)
- Quicksoil (speeds up mob movement)
- Icestone (freezes nearby water and lava blocks)
- Cold Aercloud (prevent fall damage)
- Blue Aercloud (bounces the player into the air)
- Gold Aercloud (rare)
- Aerogel (as blast resistant as Overworld Obsidian)
- Skyroot Log
- Skyroot Plank
- Skyroot Leaves
- Golden Oak Leaves
- Ambrosium Ore
- Zanite Ore
- Gravitite Ore (flies up into the air if no blocks are above it)
- Enchanted Gravitite
- Zanite Block
- Quicksoil Glass (transparent, gives off light and speeds up mob movement)
- Christmas Leaves
- Decorative Leaves
- Present (gives certain items, activated TNT, or experience when destroyed)
- Berry Bush (drops Blue Berries)
- Berry Bush Stem
- Crystal Leaves
- Crystal Fruit Leaves (drops White Apples)
- White Flower
- Purple Flower (can be crafted into purple dye)
- Stairs
- Fences
- Holystone Brick
- Altar (can be used to make better versions of items)
- Incubator (hatches Moa eggs)
- Freezer (freezes water, turns Phoenix armor into Obsidian armor, among other things)
- Sun Altar (changes time to sunrise per day if used)
Items
- Ambrosium Torch (provides illumination)
- Skyroot Sapling
- Golden Oak Sapling
- Blue Moa Egg (tier 1 egg)
- White Moa Egg (tier 2 egg)
- Black Moa Egg (tier 3 egg)
- Blue Music Disc
- Golden Amber
- Aechor Petal
- Skyroot Stick
- Ambrosium Shard
- Zanite Gemstone
- Skyroot Bucket
- Cloud Parachute (1 use, prevents fall damage)
- Gold Parachute (prevents fall damage, 20 uses)
- Healing Stone
- Blue Berry
- Ginger Bread Man
- Candy Cane
- White Apple (cures Poison for six seconds)
- Swetty Ball (can turn Aether Grass into Enchanted Aether Grass)
- Spawn Eggs (unobtainable outside of Creative Mode or commands)
Tools
- Skyroot Axe (craftable)
- Skyroot Pickaxe (craftable)
- Skyroot Shovel (craftable)
- Holystone Axe (craftable)
- Holystone Pickaxe (craftable)
- Holystone Shovel (craftable)
- Zanite Axe (craftable)
- Zanite Pickaxe (craftable)
- Zanite Shovel (craftable)
- Gravitite Axe (craftable)
- Gravitite Pickaxe (craftable)
- Gravitite Shovel (craftable)
- Valkyrie Axe
- Valkyrie Pickaxe
- Valkyrie Shovel
Weapons
- Skyroot Sword (craftable)
- Holystone Sword (craftable)
- Zanite Sword (craftable)
- Gravitite Sword (craftable)
- Golden Dart (craftable)
- Poison Dart (craftable)
- Enchanted Dart (craftable)
- Dart Shooter (craftable)
- Poison Shooter (craftable)
- Enchanted Shooter (craftable)
- Candy Sword (causes enemies to drop Candy Canes)
Armor
- Zanite Armor (armor that gets stronger with use, by default, iron-level protection)
- Gravitite Armor (a full set grants the ability to jump 6 blocks high, and takes no fall damage, even when they fall back down to the Overworld, and provides diamond-level protection)
Accessories
- Iron Pendant (aesthetic)
- Gold Pendant (aesthetic)
- Zanite Pendant (increases mining speed)
- Iron Ring (aesthetic)
- Gold Ring (aesthetic)
- Zanite Ring (increases mining speed)
- Ice Ring (freezes nearby water blocks)
- Ice Pendant (freezes nearby water blocks)
- White Cape (aesthetic)
- Red Cape (aesthetic)
- Yellow Cape (aesthetic)
- Blue Cape (aesthetic)
Dungeon Items
- Carved Trap
- Carved Stone
- Sentry Stone
- Angelic Trap
- Angelic Stone
- Light Angelic Stone
- Pillar
- Pillar Top
- Pillar Bottom
- Hellfire Trap
- Hellfire Stone
- Light Hellfire Stone
- Victory Medal
- Bronze Key
- Silver Key
- Gold Key
- Neptune Armor (a full set allows the player to go through water at maximum speed, and provides diamond-level protection)
- Phoenix Armor (a full suit grants complete immunity to lava and fire damage, but clutters the HUD with flames. If the player enters water, the armor willquickly cool into Obsidian Armor, and provides diamond-level protection)
- Obsidian Armor (extremely durable armor, and 33% stronger than diamond armor)
- Iron Bubble (allows the player to breathe underwater)
- Pig Slayer (1HKOs to Zombie Pigmen and Pigs)
- Vampire Blade (drains health from enemies)
- Flaming Sword (lights mobs on fire)
- Holy Sword (1HKOs to undead mobs)
- Lightning Sword (lightning will strike wherever hit)
- Lightning Knife (lightning will strike where the knives land, consumable)
- Hammer of Notch (melee or can send shockwaves via right-click)
- Phoenix Bow (shoots flaming arrows)
- Cloud Staff (summons two Cloud Sentries to defend the player)
- Life Shard (adds one permanent full heart-container)
- Golden Feather (prevents fall damage)
- Valkyrie Lance (far melee reach)
- Regeneration Stone (regenerates health over time)
- Shield of Repulsion (repels enemies, and keeps a distance between them and the player)
- Swet Cape
- Invisibility Cloak (makes the player invisible, less likely to be attacked)
- Agility Cape (increases movement speed)
- Sentry Boots (prevents Zephyrs from pushing the player with their projectiles)
Dungeons
Dungeons in the Aether are much more complex than in normal world. Each of them will have a boss which has to be defeated to get the Key required to open the Treasure Chest located inside the dungeon boss room. Blocks which make up the main structure of the dungeon cannot be destroyed or obtained until the boss of the dungeon is defeated.
Bronze Dungeon
Bronze Dungeons have entrances that are located on the sides of normal islands. Bronze dungeons can have a varying number of rooms. Non-boss rooms contain sentries which attack the player, and sometimes have chests on 4x4 tables. Some of these chests are Mimics, however. The boss of this dungeon can't be attacked with a sword. He can, however, take damage from any tool (pickaxe, shovel, etc.). 9 blocks on the floor of each antechamber aren't minable at all. The boss room's walls are only minable once the boss is dead.
Silver Dungeon
Silver Dungeons are located within structures resembling a parthenon in the sky. These have multiple floors, typically three, each with multiple rooms. Most rooms have chests inside them, and while the majority of the chests are fake (Mimics), others contain some items. Silver Dungeons are inhabited by Valkyries, which only attack when the player attacks them. When playing on Peaceful, Valkyries still appear, but will teleport away when the player tries to attack them. Killing a Valkyrie yields a single Victory Medal. The boss of this dungeon can only be attacked by presenting it with 10 Victory Medal, which can be done by right-clicking on it with the Victory Medals in hand. The Silver Dungeon boss can be attacked with any weapon.
Gold Dungeon
Gold Dungeons are located within spherical islands with lots of Golden Oak trees growing on top of them. This dungeon normally will only have the boss room in it, with no treasure/mob rooms beforehand. The Sun Spirit cannot be killed by attacking it directly and must be killed by hitting the white object he throws back at it multiple times. Every time it is hit with the white object, it sends out a smaller version of itself to attack the player. Once the player kills the Sun Spirit, the sun will finally set in the Aether. Before the player kills the Sun Spirit, the sun will never go down. If the player fails to kill the Sun Spirit, their spawnpoint will be reset over lava, forcing the player to delete the map.
Mobs
Allied
Allied mobs serve the player, for various reasons.
Blue Swet | Cloud Sentry | Tamed Moa |
Passive
Passive mobs will never attack the player.
Aerbunny | Aerwhale | Flying Cow | Phyg | Moa | Sheepuff |
Neutral
Neutral mobs will not attack the player unless provoked. The act of provoking neutral mobs varies between mobs.
Mimic | Valkyrie |
Hostile
Hostile mobs will attack the player when in range, each with their own abilities.
Aechor Plant | Cockatrice | Sentry | Sentry Golem | Swet | Zephyr | Tempest | Whirlwind |
Bosses
Boss mobs have more complicated attack patterns and movements. They also have a large amount of health and may require special means to kill.
Slider | Valkyrie Queen | Sun Spirit |
Mod Compatibility
The Aether I is compatible with most mods that use Forge or with earlier versions, ModLoader.
Achievements
For a list of all Achievements, see here.
History
- Initial release: Introduced
- 1.02:
- From now on, beds which are placed in the Aether will not explode, and can be slept in as usual
- When first entering the Aether in Minecraft, you will now gain a Cloud Parachutes
- Completely restructured sound files for the Aether
References
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