Direwolf20 (but less terrible)
If you have ever booted up a large kitchen sink pack only to watch the loading screen stutter, the menus lag, and recipe conflicts ruin your afternoon, you already understand why Direwolf20 (but less terrible) exists. This is a community-driven rework of the classic Direwolf20 concept, built for players who love the breadth of a kitchen sink modpack but want it to run smoothly from the very first launch. It is not affiliated with FTB in any official capacity; it is simply compatible with the similarly named FTB Direwolf20 1.12 pack and aims to improve on the foundation that pack established.
The core idea is straightforward. Instead of asking you to spend your first hour tweaking settings, the pack ships with performance-centered defaults so the out-of-the-box experience feels fluid. You can jump straight into mining, building, and automating rather than fighting your own client.
What Makes This Pack Less Terrible
The name is a joke, but the changes are real. The author took a critical look at the original pack's rough edges and addressed them one by one. The result is a version of Direwolf20 that respects your time and your hardware.
Performance and Stability Improvements
- BetterFPS is included to squeeze more frames out of the same hardware.
- Sledgehammer adds a variety of patches and performance enhancements that smooth out common bottlenecks.
- Default options are tuned for performance, so the pack runs well before you touch a single slider.
Quality-of-Life Additions
- CraftingTweaks delivers a more intuitive crafting experience, letting you rearrange recipes on the grid.
- NoMoreRecipeConflict prevents the frustrating situation where two mods fight over the same recipe output.
- A main menu GUI overhaul strips away clutter for a simpler, more bare-bones interface that feels less tacky.
What Was Removed and Why
MineTogether was cut from the lineup. It caused major conflicts with common chat formatting and added unnecessary overhead for features most players never used. Removing it makes chat cleaner and the client lighter. There is also, as the changelog dryly notes, an addition of too much cynicism, which longtime players tend to appreciate.
Supported Versions and Loader
Direwolf20 (but less terrible) for Minecraft is built for the 1.12.2 era and runs on the Forge loader, matching the version and mod loader used by the original FTB Direwolf20 1.12 pack. That alignment matters: because the mod list and versions line up, this pack is compatible with any server running the standard FTB Direwolf20 1.12 modpack. You can join your friends' existing world without asking them to change a thing, and you get all the client-side polish on top.
If you are hunting for a build that keeps the familiar mod roster while fixing the rough edges, this is the one to grab. You can download Direwolf20 (but less terrible) from the project's own distribution page and drop it into your launcher like any other Forge pack.
For players who prefer a frictionless setup, the foxygame.net launcher offers one-click installation of Direwolf20 (but less terrible) alongside its broader add-on catalog, so the pack lands in your instance list already configured for the correct Minecraft version. That same launcher also handles automatic updates, meaning you stay current without manually swapping files whenever the pack author pushes a fix.
How to Install
Getting started is quick if you follow the usual Forge workflow.
- Install a launcher that supports custom modpacks, or use your existing one.
- Create a new instance and select Minecraft 1.12.2 with Forge.
- Import the pack archive or point the launcher at the pack's manifest.
- Allocate at least 4 GB of RAM; 6 GB is safer if you plan to run shaders or heavy automation.
- Launch once to let the pack download its dependencies, then start a world and confirm BetterFPS and the other tweaks loaded.
If you already run the FTB Direwolf20 1.12 pack, you can copy your world save across with no conversion needed, since the two are compatible by design.
Multiplayer and Support
Because the pack mirrors the standard mod list, multiplayer is painless. Servers running FTB Direwolf20 1.12 accept players using this client without complaint. The project also maintains a dedicated server with its own feature set and staff reachable around the clock through the community Discord, which is handy when you hit a crash or need help tuning performance.
Final Thoughts
Direwolf20 (but less terrible) is not trying to reinvent the kitchen sink pack. It is trying to make one that already worked well work better, with smoother performance, fewer recipe headaches, and a cleaner interface. For anyone who loves the Direwolf20 mod roster but grew tired of the stutter and the clutter, this rework delivers exactly what its cheeky title promises. Set it up once, and you can get back to the part that actually matters: playing.