Better Than Wolves Mod — Reference

Hardcore Mechanics

The core of Better Than Wolves is its 'Hardcore' modules. These are fundamental changes to the Minecraft engine that cannot be disabled and define the gameplay loop.

Mechanic	Description
Hardcore Hunger	Replaces the hunger bar with a 'Fat' system. Players must manage their weight; being too thin leads to weakness, while being too fat slows you down. Starvation is a slow process that affects your ability to work.
Hardcore Darkness	In total darkness (light level 0), the screen goes pitch black. Staying in the dark for too long triggers 'Gloom,' which eventually leads to the player being attacked by unseen horrors.
Hardcore Spawning	Players do not spawn in a single location. Upon death, you are respawned at a random location within a large radius (thousands of blocks) from the original spawn, making death a significant setback.
Hardcore Buckets	Buckets can no longer pick up or place water/lava source blocks. They are used only for transporting small amounts of liquid or for specific recipes in machines.
Hardcore Buoyancy	Items have different densities. Wood floats, while stone and metal sink. This allows for complex water-based item sorting systems.
Hardcore Movement	Movement speed is dictated by the block you are walking on. Grass and dirt are slower than paved stone or gravel paths.
Hardcore Info	The F3 debug screen is disabled or heavily restricted. Players must use compasses, maps, and sextants to navigate.

Processing Machines

Machines are multi-block structures or functional blocks that require mechanical power to operate.

Machine	Input	Output	Purpose
Mill Stone	Hemp, Wheat, Bone	Hemp Fiber, Flour, Bone Meal	Basic grinding and resource refinement.
Saw	Wood Logs, Wool	Siding/Moulding, Fabric	Advanced wood processing and aesthetic blocks.
Hopper	Various Items	Filtered Items	Can be fitted with 'Filters' (Ladders, Grates, Soul Sand) to sort items or collect souls.
Cauldron	Meat, Bark, Gold	Tallow, Tannin, Gold Nuggets	Cooking and chemical processing. Requires a fire underneath.
Crucible	Iron, Soul Dust	Soulforged Steel	High-tier metallurgy. Requires 'Stoked Fire' (Bellows + Hibachi).
Turntable	Clay, Unfired Pottery	Pottery, Bricks	Used for shaping clay and creating timing circuits.
Pulley	Rope, Platforms	Vertical Movement	Creates functional elevators and drawbridges.

Mobs and Creatures

Better Than Wolves significantly alters vanilla mob behavior and adds new interactions.

Passive Mobs

Cows: Do not give milk via buckets. They must be milked into a bucket placed on the ground, and they produce 'Loose Milk.' They drop Scoured Hide when killed, which must be tanned.
Sheep: Do not regrow wool automatically. They must eat grass (which they do less frequently) and can be fed 'Feed' to speed up the process.
Chickens: Lay eggs only when fed. In certain conditions, they may produce 'Chicken Feed' instead of eggs.
Wolves: The namesake of the mod. They can be fed Dung (produced by other animals) to become 'Aggressive' or used in the creation of specialized items.

Hostile Mobs

Squids: In BTW, squids are mysterious and dangerous. They drop Ink Sacs, which are vital for early-game crafting, but they can drag players underwater in the dark.
Spider Embryos: Spiders may occasionally leave embryos that hatch into multiple smaller spiders.
Ghasts: Drop Ghast Tears and Acid, both of which are required for high-tier alchemy and explosives.
Wither Skeletons: Drop Nitrate and Ribs, essential for the creation of blasting oil.

Items and Materials

The mod introduces a vast array of new materials required for its complex recipes.

Hemp: Grown from Hemp Seeds (found by hoeing grass). It is the primary source of Fiber and Rope.
Tanned Leather: Created by processing Scoured Hide in a Cauldron with Tannin (from Birch Bark).
Soulforged Steel: The pinnacle of BTW technology. It is used to create tools that never break (they can be repaired) and advanced machinery.
Concentrated Hellfire: Created by processing Netherrack in a Hopper with a Soul Sand filter. Used as a high-energy fuel.
Potash: Created by burning wood in a Kiln. Used as fertilizer and in soap production.
Dung: Produced by animals (Cows, Pigs, Sheep) over time. It is a vital component in 'Tanning' and 'Explosives.'

Blocks and Construction

BTW provides unparalleled aesthetic control through its sub-block system.

Siding, Moulding, and Corners

By placing a block of wood or stone against a running Saw, players can create Siding (half-thickness), Moulding (quarter-thickness), and Corners (eighth-thickness). These can be placed in any orientation, allowing for detailed furniture, trim, and structural designs.

Functional Blocks

Buddy Block: A 'Block Update Detector' (BUD) in a single block. It emits a redstone pulse whenever an adjacent block changes state.
Detector Block: Uses an 'eye' to detect entities, growing crops, or changes in the environment.
Platform: A block that can be moved by a Pulley. Multiple platforms can be linked to create large elevators.
Hibachi: A block that provides a constant flame when powered by Redstone. When used with Bellows, it creates 'Stoked Fire' for the Crucible.

Farming and Food

Farming is no longer a 'set and forget' activity. Crops require hydrated soil and light, but they grow much slower than in vanilla.

Planters: A block that allows crops to grow without the need for a nearby water source block, provided the planter itself is 'watered' or placed correctly.
Blood Wood: A special tree that grows only in the Nether. Its wood is fireproof and essential for late-game construction.
The Fat System: Food items provide different levels of 'Fat.' High-fat foods like Steak or Donuts (made from Flour, Sugar, and Tallow) allow the player to go longer without eating, but overeating causes the 'Plump' status effect, reducing movement speed.