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Fortress of War | Nether Fortress Update

Fortress of War | Nether Fortress Update

by kanokarob • Downloads: 0 • Followers: 0
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FORTRESS OF WAR Logo

Armed for War

The Fortress of War data pack replaces the vanilla Nether Fortress with a completely redefined structure, featuring multiple stages of intense combat as players destroy objectives to progress deeper into the Fortress, acquiring improved and custom loot on the way to an epic boss fight.

Fortress of War Trailer

The Fortress

The updated Nether Fortress replaces the original, and as such appears in the same biomes and rarities. It consists of an outer perimeter of open-air bridges, which connect to a maze-like interior of guarded hallways, surrounding a central keep. Although large animated Fortress Gates bar the way from the Bridges to the Interior to the Keep, players can break walls and travel between these areas if desired, though critical Objectives will not spawn until appropriately progressed.

When a player approaches a Nether Fortress for the first time, a bossbar will appear representing the entire Fortress, and Objectives will be spawned throughout the Bridges. Although the Bridges are long and winding, you may need to break through terrain or other parts of the Fortress to reach all of the Objectives.

Once all Objectives on the Bridges have been destroyed, you'll be able to open the Fortress Gates to access the newly spawned Objectives within. When those are destroyed, the final Fortress Gate will open, revealing the Fortress Matrix.

While a Nether Fortess is active, Wither Skeletons that are spawned in it will have a chance to drop Wicked Apples, and have a chance to spawn equipped with full Wartorn gear.

Fortress Gate gif

Fortress Objectives

These are unique animated entities that represent the integrity of the Fortress. They are stationary, and can be attacked and dealt damage like mobs, reducing the Fortress' bossbar. When destroyed, they drop appropriate loot.

There are four types of Objectives, each with different Health and behavior.

Objectives

Crystal Heart Crystal Heart gif

  • 80 Health
  • Immune to fire, explosions, projectiles, and suffocation
  • Resistant to magic
  • Periodically releases a shockwave of magic damage
  • Drops Glowstone Dust, Basalt, Obsidian, Redstone Blocks, and Rib Armor Trim Smithing Templates

Blazing Cannon Blazing Cannon gif

  • 50 Health
  • Immune to fire, explosions, and suffocation
  • Resistant to projectiles and magic
  • Periodically shoots Fireballs at players in Line of Sight from up to 64 blocks away. They can be blocked, but not redirected
  • Drops Fire Charges, Nether Bricks, Arrows, Blaze Rods, and Rib Armor Trim Smithing Templates

Cursed Chest Cursed Chest gif

  • 65 Health
  • Immune to fire, explosions, projectiles, and suffocation
  • Resistant to magic
  • Hops around, snapping its lid like a mimic, dealing melee damage to enemies in range
  • Drops Soul Sand, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, Diamonds, and Rib Armor Trim Smithing Templates

Vile Root Vile Root gif

  • 40 Health
  • Immune to fire, explosions, and suffocation
  • Resistant to projectiles and magic
  • Periodically attempts to bite the nesrest player with a melee attack
  • Drops Nether Wart Blocks, Weeping Vines, Nether Warts, Fire Charges, Rib Armor Trim Smithing Templates, and Mature Warts

The Fortress Matrix

The Fortress Matrix appears to be a man-made creature, like a golem. It has a central glowing core--the boss itself--and is surrounded by glowing bricks that it manipulates around itself for attack and defense.

When spawned, it will idle in the Central Keep. Once a player approaches it, it will come to life and begin to attack. If ever there are no players nearby, it will reset, fully restoring its health--it must be defeated in one attempt.

Fortress Matrix Behavior

Fortress Matrix gif

  • 300 Health
  • Immune to fire, explosions, and magic
  • Resistant to projectiles
  • Very Resistant to melee damage, but less-so from Fortress of War weapons
  • Periodically tries to damage nearby players with a passive attack
  • Periodically summons Minions, which can be two Blazes, two Wither Skeletons, or a powerful Wither Skeleton. As long as these Minions are alive, the Fortress Matrix is invulnerable, indicated by particles
  • While above half health, randomly selects between these attacks:
    • Spike Arm: Settles down onto the ground, then shoots out a huge spiky arm that damages hit enemies
    • Brick Bash: Raises four of its bricks high in the air, then smashes them down in front of it, dealing damage to hit enemies
    • Blazing Sword: Raises a fiery sword high above itself, then swings it down in a straight line in front of it, dealing damage to hit enemies and setting fire on the ground
    • Whirlwind Blitz: Starts to spin its bricks around itself faster and faster, dealing damage in an expanding radius around itself
  • While below half health, randomly selects between these attacks:
    • Blazing Sword: Raises a fiery sword high above itself, then swings it in a wide arc in front of it, dealing damage to hit enemies and setting fire on the ground
    • Fist of Fury: Raises a huge metal fist high above itself, then slams it down, dealing damage to hit enemies
    • Corrupted Beacon: Projects four purple laser beams in a cross from its core, spinning them around the room and dealing magic damage to hit enemies

When the Fortress Matrix is killed, it drops an assortment of valuable loot, lots of XP, and one of the below Reward Items.

Reward Items

Blazing Sword

  • Sword item
  • Deals 10 damage
  • 0.6 Attack Speed
  • 294 Durability, can be repaired with Blaze Rods
  • Enchanted with Blazing
    • Enchantment for Swords, Axes, Maces, Bows, and Crossbows
    • While active, the wielder emits flaming particles
    • When an entity is attacked while this is active, causes an explosion and becomes inactive for 12 seconds. This also expends some durability
  • Only drops from regular Fortress Matrixes
  • If the player selected when the Fortress Matrix dies already has this item, it instead drops an Enchanted Book of Blazing

Fist of Fury

  • Mace item
  • Deals 5 damage
  • 0.45 Attack Speed
  • +3.23 Attack Knockback
  • 123 Durability, can be repaired with Heavy Cores
  • Enchanted with Core Strength
    • Enchantment for Maces, Pickaxes, and Axes
    • When you hit a block below you while falling, creates an explosion relative to the distance you've fallen that launches you back up and deals damage to nearby mobs. This also expends some durability
  • Only drops from Ominous Fortress Matrixes
  • If the player selected when the Fortress Matrix dies already has this item, it instead drops an Enchanted Book of Core Strength

After the Fortress Matrix is killed, the bossbar will vanish and the Nether Fortress will become inactive, no longer applying changes to mobs that spawn in it. At any time, a player can re-activate the Fortress by placing three End Crystals on the Bedrock blocks inside the Central Keep. This will teleport all players in the Central Keep outside of a random Fortress Gate, respawn all Bridge Objectives, and make the Nether Fortress active again.

Custom Loot

As you explore the Fortress of War, you're likely to encounter custom items in loot chests, wielded or dropped by mobs, or as loot from Objectives or the Fortress Matrix. These range from custom food items to unique armor, all meant to help you conquer the Fortress.

Custom Items

Mature Wart

  • Always-edible food item
  • Restores 6 Hunger, 3 Saturation, and grants 8 seconds of Fire Resistance
  • Found in Chests and dropped by Vile Roots
  • Can be obtained by smelting or cooking Nether Wart

Wicked Apple

  • Food item with a short eating time
  • Restores 3 Hunger, 12 Saturation, but grants 6 seconds of Wither
  • Found in Chests and dropped by Wither Skeletons
  • Can be obtained by crafting an Apple and a Wither Rose

Wartorn Armor

  • Custom red-colored Armor
  • Provide Armor equivalent to Iron, but Armor Toughness equivalent to Diamond
  • Has durability between Iron and Diamond
  • Has Enchantability equivalent to Chainmail
  • Grants a minor debuff to movement speed, but also a minor buff to Knockback Resistance and Burning Time
  • Found in Chests and dropped by Wither Skeletons that are wearing it
  • Can be repaired in an Anvil with Nether Bricks (block)

Wartorn Sword

  • Custom red-colored Sword
  • 8 Attack Damage
  • 1.1 Attack Speed
  • Has durability between Iron and Diamond
  • Has Enchantability equivalent to Copper
  • Found in Chests and dropped by Wither Skeletons that are wielding it
  • Can be repaired in an Anvil with Nether Bricks (block)

Dominion Armor

  • Custom purple-colored Armor
  • Provide Armor equivalent to Iron, but Armor Toughness equivalent to Diamond
  • Has durability between Diamond and Netherite
  • Has Enchantability equivalent to Gold
  • Grants a slightly greater debuff to movement speed, but also a slightly greater buff to Knockback Resistance and Burning Time
  • Found in Chests, and dropped by Wither Skeletons that are wearing it or the Fortess Matrix
  • Can be repaired in an Anvil with End Crystals

Dominion Sword

  • Custom purple-colored Sword
  • 9 Attack Damage
  • 1.1 Attack Speed
  • Has durability between Diamond and Netherite
  • Has Enchantability equivalent to Gold
  • Found in Chests, and dropped by Wither Skeletons that are wielding it or the Fortress Matrix
  • Can be repaired in an Anvil with End Crystals
Enchantments

Magma Walker

  • Boots enchantment for Golden, Netherite, and Dominion Boots
  • Max Level of 1
  • Lava you walk over converts to Obsidian. Unlike Frost Walker, it doesn't convert back into Lava
  • Grants immunity to freezing damage
  • Found in Chests and on loot dropped by Wither Skeletons or the Fortress Matrix

Dominion

  • Armor Enchantment for Golden, Netherite, and Dominion Armor
  • Max level of 5
  • Grants 10% resistance to Magic damage, plus 12.5% per additional level
  • Has a Thorns-like effect that sets attackers on fire
  • The wearer emits flowy purple particles
  • Found in Chests and on loot dropped by the Fortress Matrix

Dominator

  • Sword Enchantment for Golden, Netherite, and Dominion Swords
  • Max level of 3
  • Attacks deal 25% extra damage to mobs from the Nether (including Objectives), plus 50% per additional level
  • Killed mobs from the Nether (including Objectives) drop 34% extra XP, plus 33% per additional level
  • The wielder emits flowy purple particles
  • Found in Chests and on loot dropped by the Fortress Matrix

Ominous Fortress

If the first player that enters a Nether Fortress has Bad Omen, or if a player gets Bad Omen while inside an already active Fortress, it will become Ominous. This applies all of the Ominous Behavior listed below.

Ominous Behavior

When the Ominous Event begins:

  • The boss (if spawned) and all Objectives are despawned
  • Bridge Objectives are respawned, including more "random" Objectives
  • The bossbar is reset

Until the Fortress Matrix is killed:

  • All Wither Skeletons in the Fortress become fully equipped with Wartorn equipment, or Dominion equipment with a 10% chance
  • Blazes and Magma Cubes emit Soul Fire Flame particles, and are immune to magic and explosions, and resistant to projectiles
  • All Objectives and the Fortress Matrix gain 75% more health
  • Objectives will periodically spawn reinforcements
  • The Fortress Matrix drops more loot and XP

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How to Install Fortress of War | Nether Fortress Update (Datapack)

Fortress of War | Nether Fortress Update by kanokarob is verified for Datapack, Fabric, Forge, Neoforge, Quilt across Minecraft versions 1.21.10, 1.21.11, 1.21.7, 1.21.8, 1.21.9, 26.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2 (latest release: 1.3+mod, file size: 10.4 MB). Follow the steps below to install it safely from ModCraft.tv:

  1. Click the Download button above and select your Minecraft version (1.21.10, 1.21.11, 1.21.7, 1.21.8, 1.21.9, 26.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2) and platform (Datapack, Fabric, Forge, Neoforge, Quilt).
  2. Make sure you have the compatible loader or environment installed for Datapack, Fabric, Forge, Neoforge, Quilt.
  3. Move the downloaded Fortress of War | Nether Fortress Update file into your Minecraft .minecraft/saves/<world>/datapacks folder and launch the game.

All Versions

+ Add Version
Name Game version Platforms Published Downloads Actions
26.3
Fabric Forge Neoforge Quilt
2mo ago 1
26.3
Datapack
2mo ago 1
26.2
Fabric Forge Neoforge Quilt
5mo ago 1
26.2
Datapack
5mo ago 1
26.1.x 1.21.x
Fabric Forge Neoforge Quilt
7mo ago 1
26.1.x 1.21.x
Datapack
7mo ago 1
26.1.x 1.21.x
Fabric Forge Neoforge Quilt
7mo ago 1
26.1.x 1.21.x
Datapack
7mo ago 1
1.21.x
Fabric Forge Neoforge Quilt
8mo ago 1
1.21.x
Datapack
8mo ago 1
1.21.x
Datapack
9mo ago 1
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.2, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 121 for Minecraft 26.3**

  • Boss:**
  • Fixed a bug that caused the boss to not be resisting 75% of melee damage as intended.** As a result of this fix, a few other changes have been made to compensate and bring balance back to what it was always supposed to be:
  • Health has been reduced to 300 from 425, or to 525 from 743 when Ominous
  • The boss now resists only 30% of damage from weapons added by the Fortress of War, further incentivizing these items
  • Fixed a bug that caused the knockback when attacking the boss to apply only in some directions**
[1.3] 1.3 | The 26.3 Update by kanokarob on Sep 15, 2026
Download
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.2, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 121 for Minecraft 26.3**

  • Boss:**
  • Fixed a bug that caused the boss to not be resisting 75% of melee damage as intended.** As a result of this fix, a few other changes have been made to compensate and bring balance back to what it was always supposed to be:
  • Health has been reduced to 300 from 425, or to 525 from 743 when Ominous
  • The boss now resists only 30% of damage from weapons added by the Fortress of War, further incentivizing these items
  • Fixed a bug that caused the knockback when attacking the boss to apply only in some directions**
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.1.1, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 107 for Minecraft 26.2**
  • Updated advancements, predicates, and loot tables to use the new syntax**
  • Re-exported Animated Java Rigs to use the latest beta version**
  • Optimized some commands that had missing distance checks**

  • Boss:**
  • Made attacks from the Fortress Matrix apply some knockback.** Attacking the Fortress Matrix also has a chance to knock you back a fair bit

  • Items:**
  • Modified weights that Armor types appear at in chests**
[1.2] 1.2 | The 26.2 Update by kanokarob on Jun 16, 2026
Download
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.1.1, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 107 for Minecraft 26.2**
  • Updated advancements, predicates, and loot tables to use the new syntax**
  • Re-exported Animated Java Rigs to use the latest beta version**
  • Optimized some commands that had missing distance checks**

  • Boss:**
  • Made attacks from the Fortress Matrix apply some knockback.** Attacking the Fortress Matrix also has a chance to knock you back a fair bit

  • Items:**
  • Modified weights that Armor types appear at in chests**
[1.1.1+mod] 1.1.1 by kanokarob on Apr 12, 2026
Download
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.1, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Made it so Nether Fortresses cannot be activated by players flying with Elytra,** to limit performance impacts of flying around or above the Nether
  • Fixed snapping at the start/end of some animations for all AJ entities**

  • Structure:**
  • Fixed decorative Lava columns not reaching all the way to the Lava ocean level**

  • Objectives:**
  • Made Ominous Objectives telegraph that they're about to spawn a reinforcement**
  • Made all Objectives unable to attack or spawn reinforcements as soon as they are killed,** even if their death animation has not started yet
[1.1.1] 1.1.1 by kanokarob on Apr 12, 2026
Download
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.1, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Made it so Nether Fortresses cannot be activated by players flying with Elytra,** to limit performance impacts of flying around or above the Nether
  • Fixed snapping at the start/end of some animations for all AJ entities**

  • Structure:**
  • Fixed decorative Lava columns not reaching all the way to the Lava ocean level**

  • Objectives:**
  • Made Ominous Objectives telegraph that they're about to spawn a reinforcement**
  • Made all Objectives unable to attack or spawn reinforcements as soon as they are killed,** even if their death animation has not started yet
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.0 or 1.01, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 101 for Minecraft 26.1**
[1.1] 1.1 | The 26.1 Update by kanokarob on Mar 25, 2026
Download
This update should be compatible with exiting worlds using Fortress of War v1.0 or 1.01, but a backup is always recommended.

  • General:**
  • Updated Pack Format to 101 for Minecraft 26.1**
[1.0.1+mod] 1.0.1 by kanokarob on Mar 03, 2026
Download
  • Items:**
  • Fixed a bug in the recipes for Mature Wart and Wicked Apples**
[1.0.1] 1.0.1 by kanokarob on Mar 03, 2026
Download
  • Items:**
  • Fixed a bug in the recipes for Mature Wart and Wicked Apples**
  • General:**
  • Added advancements for completing various stages of the Fortress.** They are found in the vanilla Nether advancement tab, as children of the A Terrible Fortress advancement.
  • Added a chance for all Wither Skeletons to drop Wicked Apples** (formerly Rotten Apples) if the Fortress is active
  • Added a 15% chance for Wither Skeletons to to spawn wearing Wartorn Armor** in active, non-Ominous Fortresses
  • Fortress Gates now wait to open until a player is nearby,** so players can see the animation
  • Re-generated Animated Java functions** to take advantage of performance improvements

  • Objectives:**
  • All Objectives are now immune to suffocation**
  • The Vile Root now has a more forgiving attack pattern**

  • Boss:**
  • Increased Health from 350 to 425,** or from 612 to 743 for Ominous Fortresses
  • Increased the chance it will attempt to attack during each phase**

  • Items:**
  • Renamed Rotten Apple to Wicked Apple**
  • Buffed Mature Wart.** It now grants 8 seconds of Fire Resistance and 6 nutrition
  • Buffed Wartorn Armor.** It still has the same Armor as Iron, but the Armor Toughness of Diamond, durability between Iron and Diamond, and grants a minor buff to Knockback Resistance and Burning Time, and can be repaired in an Anvil with Nether Bricks (block)
  • Buffed Wartorn Swords.** They now have durability between Iron and Diamond, and can be repaired in an Anvil with Nether Bricks (block)
  • Buffed Dominion Armor.** It has the same Armor and Armor Toughness as Wartorn Armor, durability between Diamond and Netherite, and grants a slightly greater buff to Knockback Resistance and Burning Time. It's also still as Enchantable as Gold, and can be repaired in an Anvil with End Crystals
  • Buffed Dominion Swords.** They now have durability between Diamond and Netherite, and can be repaired in an Anvil with End Crystals
  • Wartorn and Netherite Armor now generates more commonly** in Fortress loot Chests
  • Wartorn and Netherite Swords now generate** in Fortress loot Chests
  • The Fist of Fury now only drops from Ominous Fortress Matrixes**

  • Ominous Fortresses:**
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Fortress Matrix to remain spawned in** when a Fortress became Ominous
  • Fixed a bug that caused Ominous Fortress Matrixes to not drop their increased loot and XP**
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