The Best 12 Minecraft Shaders 2023
Want the best Minecraft shaders? With shaders, you can instantly improve the look of your Minecraft worlds - even without a fancy RTX graphics card. But if you're not sure why so many sandbox mods are being downloaded, let's start with what a Minecraft shader is.
Minecraft, one of the best PC games of all time, is the undisputed king of sandbox games. It has incredible replayability that keeps fans and newcomers coming back to the game. While vanilla games are regularly updated, and Minecraft 1.20 is due out later this year, Minecraft mods, texture packs, resource packs, and shaders can completely change the game and affect its overall look. For example, mods can completely change the game, while Minecraft texture and resource packs will change the appearance of existing blocks and add new ones. At the same time, shader packs offer the same gameplay with better graphics and effects.
Here are the 12 best Minecraft shaders for 1.19.4 in 2023:
BSL shaders
Minecraft BSL shaders provide the best graphics you can get in the game without breaking your rig. The lighting is warm and inviting, the water is realistic but doesn't contrast too much with the blocky surroundings, and there's a real atmosphere throughout. In addition, the light that enters your Minecraft world with BSL shaders provides the effect of running RTX even on the basic settings of a budget PC.
While BSL and SEUS are fantastically versatile, BSL is a good choice if you're looking for more realistic shaders.
SEUS PTGI
The incredible Sonic Ether shaders, SEUS for short, add realism to Minecraft just like BSL above. However, the new version of PTGI is a bit lighter than the other shaders on this list, so it should give you a different look. The water effect in SEUS PTGI is also much better, providing clearly visible cleaner water and creating the feeling of being on an exotic holiday.
Soft natural light, rain that shines brightly on every surface it touches, procedurally generated clouds, and more await you at SEUS PTGI. There are other, less demanding versions of SEUS, including older and updated ones, but while it tries to reflect the influence of RTX, SEUS PTGI can run on cheap graphics cards like the GTX 1650.
Continuous shader
Continuum used to be the shader for the Sistine Chapel in Minecraft, but is now the default shader for actual graphics mods. Install this shader and you'll experience photorealistic lighting effects: color gradients on the skybox, realistic clouds and shadows whose shape and angle match the position of the sun. Everything is the best here.
Unfortunately, these results come with the caveat that a powerful setup is required, but when it comes to this much accuracy, it's worth it. The Continuum development team is working on a low-budget version of Continuum RT for GTX 1080 and Early Access. They are also working on new ultra-realistic texture packs to go along with their shaders. So, if you want to see what Minecraft looks like in real life, you can support the development and buy the early access pack now.
Unreal shaders
Okay, we're cheating a little here, because Unreal Shaders is a combination of shaders and textures that you can mix and match to make the Minecraft world to your liking. With three different shader and texture packs, as well as new biomes, immersive sounds and more, Unreal is an easy way to change the look of Minecraft with a single download - you won't even need Optifine.
A living shader of Sildur
Living Shadows of Sildur is another classic, but it still has something to offer the novice graphic designer. Vibrant is a high-end shader pack for extreme settings that reworks Minecraft's lighting technology, adding beautiful reflections and bloom effects to the most sacred of ambient lighting. There's also an advanced default shader pack with some cool effects and tweaks if your setup looks like a potato with links added. The Sildur shader mod is constantly updated and is currently supported from version 1.7.10 to 1.19.4.
Shader HORSE
Minecraft HORSE shaders greatly enhance natural lighting in Minecraft, but the highlight of this HORSE is its perfectly enhanced sunlight. Like good lighting you only see at the worst time of day, the HORSE shader transforms rural landscapes into masterpieces.
There are also impressive depth of field effects, making this shader reliable for Minecraft graphics and screenshots of your latest Minecraft builds. HORSE strikes a good balance between softness and realism and is less demanding on gear.
Flood Naelego shader
Add some cartoonish crunch with this Borderlands-inspired shade. Naelego's expertly crafted shaders deliver vibrant colors and sharp edges to mimic classic comics or cartoons. However, there is a big caveat: although available for version 1.19.4, this shader is poorly optimized and takes a breath when flying in creative mode.
nostalgia
Perhaps a great Minecraft shader is very different from the desired Minecraft look and feel. Since shaders are new, you may have a weakness for textures. The nostalgic Minecraft shader has a retro feel and lots of performance improvements and new features. In case you missed the Super Duper Graphics Pack, these shaders inadvertently share "a few things in common". We love how it looks at sunrise and sunset.
Like some of the other teams and packages on this list, the creators of Nostalgia are working on shader packages like RTX, NostalgiaVX, which were available before version 1.19.4.
Chopic 13 shader
Sharp, crisp graphics with beautiful water effects and vibrant lighting, Chopicic13's Minecraft shader is undeniably beautiful. However, one of the main reasons to check out these shaders is that they come in a variety of versions, from the very complex to the toaster. The bottom end isn't particularly exciting, but it's hard to beat as it barely affects performance. Technically, Chocopic is not yet available for the latest versions of Minecraft, but it is available in the latest version of Optifine - 1.19.2.
Verrus
While most of them do an impressive job with the Werrus shaders, the water effect deserves to be included in this list of the best Minecraft shaders. It's hard to beat for colors, soft waves, and a true sense of depth, and it runs on just about every computer. The light and shadows were especially good at night, scaring the skeleton archers in the dark. Also, Werrus is now available for Minecraft 1.19.4, so it's one of the few shaders on this list that you can play in the current version of the game.
to do
The Ebin shader in Minecraft looks completely different out of the box, but it is inspired by SEUS. The most noticeable change is that the clouds and leaves are very realistic, but there are small visual changes everywhere you look. Sure, it's a bit heavy on your hardware, but can you set the price of a minecraft mod? Ebin is also available for Minecraft 1.19.4.
Sora shader
The editing of this ProjectLUMA shader is amazing. Minecraft Sora shaders have all the awesome skyboxes and lighting effects you'd expect from the shaders they're based on, but include improved shadows and reflections. It features a water effect on par with the Oceano shaders. We think the movement looks better and the other biome updates look great too! Sora Minecraft shader is available for version 1.19.4.
How to install minecraft shaders in 1.19
Running Minecraft shaders is a fairly simple process. However, you must download and install Forge or Optifine before proceeding to install the shader packs. Remember that it's not always up to date, so if you want to run shaders on the latest version of Minecraft Java, your options are limited. Also, you should make sure that the shaders you download are for the same version of Minecraft Java that you are using.
Follow these steps to install Minecraft shaders in the Java version:
If necessary, download additional software such as Optifine - requirements are listed on the shader download page.
- Download the shader package.
- Place the shader pack zip file in the Minecraft > .shaderpacks folder.
- The .shaderpacks should be in the AppData folder. If you can't find it, type %appdata% in the search bar and find the .minecraft folder inside.
- In the Minecraft launcher, select Optifine or the version of Minecraft you want to run the shader in and click Play.
- Load your world or create a new world and go to Options - Video Options - Shaders, then make sure the correct shader is selected as shown in the image above.
Here you have the best Minecraft shader to enhance your graphics and enhance the already awesome new Cherry Grove and other Minecraft biomes. It's great if you want to add a unique atmosphere to your favorite Minecraft maps or cool Minecraft house ideas. Combine the best Minecraft shaders with different texture packs and resource packs to create amazing Minecraft buildings like a dream mushroom hut base or a vibrant modern house.
Additional contributions by Jordan Forward.
