Why Pixelmon Smelting Needed a Fix
Pixelmon has always been a beloved mod for Minecraft, merging the blocky world with Pokemon adventures. But the latest NeoForge build introduced a frustrating change that caught many trainers off guard. Suddenly, ores like Silver, Bauxite, Platinum, and Silicon demanded a blast furnace for basic smelting. For survival players, this was more than an inconvenience—it broke early-game progression. The Gotta Smelt Them All mod swoops in to correct this, restoring the simplicity of a regular furnace while keeping everything fully survival-friendly.
The Core Problem: Blast Furnace Gatekeeping
In vanilla Minecraft, a blast furnace is a specialized block used for smelting ores faster, but it requires a specific recipe and a trip to the Nether for netherrack. Pixelmon’s recent shift forced players to obtain this advanced station just to process common mod ores. Raw Silver, Bauxite, Platinum, and Silicon—materials essential for crafting Poké Balls, tools, and electronics—became locked behind a mid-game hurdle. This design choice clashed with Pixelmon’s open-world spirit, where you might stumble upon a Bauxite vein before even finding iron. The modding community quickly voiced the need for a patch, and Gotta Smelt Them All delivers exactly that.
How the Mod Restores Balance
The fix is elegantly straightforward. Once installed, any regular furnace can smelt those four problematic ores into their respective ingots or items. No config tweaks, no complex dependencies—just drop the mod into your NeoForge setup and the smelting recipes are immediately available. The mod author paid close attention to balance, ensuring the smelting times and experience yields match vanilla standards. This means you won’t get an unfair advantage; you’ll simply avoid the unnecessary grind of building a blast furnace before you’re ready.
Ores Covered and Their Uses
Understanding why these ores matter helps appreciate the mod’s impact. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Silver Ore: Used in crafting healing items, certain Poké Ball components, and decorative blocks. Smelting it early lets you stockpile essential resources.
- Bauxite Ore: The primary source of aluminum in Pixelmon. Aluminum plates and ingots are critical for mechanical parts, including the PC and trading machines.
- Platinum Ore: A rare find that yields platinum ingots for high-tier tools and advanced electronics. Early access means you can prepare for late-game crafting sooner.
- Silicon Ore: Smelts into silicon, a cornerstone for crafting solar panels, circuits, and other tech items. Without a furnace fix, your technological progression stalls.
Each of these ores now behaves like vanilla iron or gold—toss them into a furnace with some coal, and you’re set. This small change ripples outward, making mining trips more rewarding and reducing the need to rush the Nether.
Seamless Integration and Mod Compatibility
Gotta Smelt Them All is built exclusively for the NeoForge mod loader, aligning perfectly with the latest Pixelmon versions. It doesn’t overwrite core classes or conflict with other popular mods like JEI, JourneyMap, or Tinkers’ Construct. The smelting recipes appear automatically in Just Enough Items, so you can quickly look up the new furnace options. Because the mod only touches recipe data, it’s lightweight and won’t bloat your instance. If you’re running a server, both client and server need the mod, but installation is a simple drag-and-drop process. Speaking of installation, many players find that managing multiple mods becomes effortless when using a modern launcher. For instance, the foxygame.net launcher offers a streamlined way to browse and install mods like this one directly from its menu, making it a convenient choice for keeping your Pixelmon world up to date without manual file hunting.
Survival-Friendly and Bug-Patch Ready
The mod’s tagline emphasizes being “bug-patch ready,” meaning it targets a specific issue without introducing new glitches. The developer tested the smelting outputs thoroughly, so you won’t encounter duplicated items or missing textures. It also respects the game’s survival progression: you still need fuel, and the furnace still requires a pickaxe to mine. The only difference is that you’re no longer forced to build a blast furnace just to turn Bauxite into aluminum. This makes early-game Pixelmon feel more like the open-ended adventure it should be.
For players who enjoy hardcore challenges, the mod doesn’t make the game easier—it removes an artificial barrier. You can still choose to use a blast furnace for the speed bonus later, but you’re not penalized for exploring before conquering the Nether. The change also benefits multiplayer servers where new trainers join days after launch; they can catch up on resource processing without relying on established players for blast furnace access.
How to Get Started
Adding Gotta Smelt Them All to your game takes just a few steps. First, ensure you’re running a compatible NeoForge version of Pixelmon. Download the mod file from its official distribution page—avoid shady repost sites. Place the JAR into your mods folder, and launch the game. If you’re using a launcher that supports modpack management, you can often import the mod directly. After loading your world, test the fix by placing any of the four ores into a regular furnace. You’ll see the smelting progress bar fill as expected, and the output will appear without errors. It’s that simple.
Final Thoughts on a Must-Have Pixelmon Patch
The Gotta Smelt Them All mod may be small in scope, but it addresses a pain point that every Pixelmon trainer on NeoForge has likely felt. By restoring furnace functionality for Silver, Bauxite, Platinum, and Silicon, it keeps the focus on exploration and creature collection rather than arbitrary crafting gates. The mod’s lightweight design, compatibility focus, and survival-friendly ethos make it an essential addition for any serious Pixelmon player. Whether you’re a solo adventurer or part of a bustling server, this fix ensures your smelting stays as smooth as your Poké Ball throws. So grab your pickaxe, fire up that furnace, and get ready to smelt them all.