Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE]
Sometimes the best Minecraft mods are the ones that do one thing and do it well. Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE] is exactly that kind of add-on: a compact "mini-mod" that introduces a single item, the battery, and then squeezes an impressive amount of functionality out of it. If you run a tech-heavy modpack and want a simple, flexible way to move energy around, this mod deserves a spot in your load order.
What Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE] Actually Adds
As the name suggests, the mod adds one item: a battery. That is the entire content list. But this little device comes in a surprising number of varieties, because you can combine and upgrade it in almost any configuration you like. The mod was originally suggested by a community member, and it has grown into a genuinely useful energy utility for players who enjoy tinkering.
The battery stores Forge Energy and can be configured to behave in several different ways, making it far more than a passive power cell.
Supported Versions and Loaders
Compatibility is one of the mod's strong points, though it helps to know exactly which builds are maintained:
- 1.21.4 – NeoForge (supported)
- 1.21.1 – NeoForge (supported)
- 1.21 – NeoForge (not supported)
- 1.20.6 – NeoForge (supported)
- 1.20.4, 1.20.2 – NeoForge (not supported)
- 1.20.1, 1.20 – Forge (not supported)
- 1.19.x and older – Forge (not supported)
The key takeaway: since Minecraft 1.20.2, NeoForge is the supported modloader. Older Forge builds are listed for historical reference only, so plan your modpack around a NeoForge version if you want active support.
The Four Battery Modes
Every battery can operate in one of four modes, and switching between them is quick and painless. Simply sneak and right-click with the battery in hand while pointing at any block, and the mode cycles forward. Here is what each mode does:
- Mode 0 – Idle: The default state. The battery accepts energy but never pushes it out. It simply stores what it receives.
- First Found First Gets: Each tick, the battery scans for a single item that can accept energy and fills it.
- All: The battery gathers every energy-accepting item in your inventory and distributes its stored charge evenly across all of them.
- Random: One random inventory item receives the energy. Chaotic, but occasionally handy.
This flexibility means you can use the battery as a personal charger, a bulk top-up tool, or a passive buffer, all with the same item.
Crafting and Upgrading
Basic Crafting
Crafting your first battery is straightforward and uses common materials. In most versions you will need copper ingots, while the 1.16.5 build swaps those out for iron ingots. Once you have one battery, though, you will quickly want more capacity and faster transfer rates.
Increasing Capacity
Capacity grows by combining batteries. There are no strict recipes here: place multiple batteries anywhere in the crafting grid and you will receive a single combined battery with greater storage, as long as you stay within the mod's predefined limits.
Increasing Transfer Speed
Transfer speed is boosted with plain gold nuggets. Mix batteries and nuggets freely in the crafting grid to fine-tune both attributes. By default, the mod caps level and trace width at 100, but this can be adjusted in the configuration file.
If you would rather skip manual mod management entirely, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install path for Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE], handling loader selection and version matching automatically so you can get straight to playing.
Advanced Energy Tricks
Charging by Lightning
Lightning is a legitimate power source here. If you are struck while holding a battery, or if a bolt hits a battery lying on the ground, it gains a massive amount of energy, roughly 500,000 FE per strike in testing. It is risky, but the payoff is real.
Extracting From Blocks
You can also pull energy out of capacitor blocks and accumulators by right-clicking them with a battery in hand. The transferred amount depends on the battery's trace width and the block's maximum transfer rate, with the lower value winning. Note that some blocks, like the Immersive Engineering Accumulator, only release energy from a side configured as output. This behavior can be turned off via the "allow_block_discharge" config option.
Watch Out for Creepers
Here is a fun hazard: attacking a creeper while holding a sufficiently charged battery may power the creeper up instead. If that sounds like too much excitement, disable it through the "chargeup_creeper_energy_required" setting.
Final Thoughts
Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE] proves that a mod does not need hundreds of items to be valuable. Whether you want a simple inventory charger, a lightning-powered capacitor, or a block-draining tool, this add-on delivers it with minimal clutter. If you are ready to try it, download Just A Battery [NEOFORGE/FORGE] for Minecraft on a supported NeoForge version and see how much a single battery can change your setup.