The Ultimate Actually Additions Mod Guide

Actually Additions is one of the most feature-packed utility mods available for Minecraft. From custom crops and power generation to automation machines and unique tools, it adds a huge amount of early-to-mid-game content to any modpack. This guide walks you through everything you need to know — resources, crops, machines, power systems, and more — so you can hit the ground running.

Getting Started: Black Quartz

The first thing you will want to do is head underground and mine Black Quartz. This is the only ore that Actually Additions spawns in the world, and it is relatively easy to find. When you mine a Black Quartz ore block, it drops Black Quartz items, which are used in many early crafting recipes such as the Iron Casing needed for the Coal Generator.

World Generation: Plants and Worms

In addition to Black Quartz, Actually Additions adds several plants that generate naturally in the world. While hoeing the ground you may also discover Worms. Place a Worm onto soil and it will automatically convert the surrounding ground into farmland for you, providing sporadic crop growth boosts to nearby plants over time.

Actually Additions Crops

Actually Additions introduces four custom crops: Rice, Canola, Flax, and Coffee. Each one has its own unique uses and crafting chains.

Rice

Rice is a versatile crop. Harvesting it can give you Rice Seeds, and you can craft Rice into:

Rice Dough — which can be smelted into Bread, or crafted into Rice Slime Balls (a slime ball substitute in most recipes).

Paper — making Rice a simple early-game alternative to Sugar Cane for paper production.

Sugar — by crushing Rice in the Crusher.

Think of Rice as Sugar Cane that you can grow like a normal crop in tilled farmland rows.

Canola

Canola feeds directly into Actually Additions’ power system. Here is the production chain:

Place Canola into a Canola Press (with power) to produce Canola Oil.

Place a Fermenting Barrel next to the Canola Press. It will automatically draw in Canola Oil and convert it into Refined Canola Oil.

Pump the Refined Canola Oil into an Oil Generator to produce Crystal Flux (CF), the mod’s power currency.

Flax

Flax is a straightforward crop. When you harvest a fully grown Flax plant, it drops String — typically two String per harvest. This makes it a convenient renewable source of String without having to hunt Spiders.

Coffee

Coffee Beans are harvested from the Coffee crop and have several uses, including crafting a Ring of Growth and a Farmer machine. The most exciting use, however, is the Coffee Maker.

Using the Coffee Maker

The Coffee Maker requires power (Crystal Flux) to operate. To brew a cup of coffee you need:

An Empty Cup (crafted from Stone)

Coffee Beans (placed in the top-left slot)

Water — either pumped in or added by right-clicking the machine with a Water source

The machine will visually grind the beans before producing your coffee. There are eight recipe slots available. Here are some notable combinations:

Coffee Beans + Empty Cup + Milk — Basic coffee. Restores hunger and provides high saturation. No potion effects.

Coffee Beans + Pufferfish — Grants Water Breathing for 10 seconds.

Coffee Beans + Glistering Melon — Grants Regeneration for a few seconds.

Coffee Beans + Sugar — Grants Speed I for 30 seconds.

Generating Power: Crystal Flux

Almost every Actually Additions machine runs on Crystal Flux (CF). Here are the primary ways to generate it.

Coal Generator

The Coal Generator is the first power source you will likely build. It is crafted using an Iron Casing (made with Black Quartz) and simply burns Coal to produce Crystal Flux.

Actually Additions also introduces Tiny Coal and Tiny Charcoal. One standard Coal smelts eight items, whereas one Tiny Coal smelts exactly one item. This means no efficiency is lost when you only need to smelt a small number of items. For example, if you need to smelt five Chicken, use five Tiny Coal — the remaining Tiny Coal is saved for later rather than being wasted.

Bio Reactor

The Bio Reactor generates Crystal Flux by consuming plant-based materials. The key rule is variety: the more different types of organic material you fill it with, the more power it produces per tick. For example:

Two stacks of Mushrooms alone: 36 CF/t

Potatoes alone: 16 CF/t

Fill all eight slots with different materials (Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms, Beetroot, Wheat, etc.): significantly higher CF/t

Always use a variety of materials to maximise output from the Bio Reactor.

Oil Generator

As outlined in the Canola section above, the Oil Generator burns Refined Canola Oil to produce Crystal Flux. Set up the Canola Press → Fermenting Barrel → Oil Generator pipeline for a sustainable mid-game power source.

Leaf Eating Generator

The Leaf Eating Generator has no user interface. Simply pump Leaves into it and it will produce Crystal Flux passively.

The Atomic Reconstructor

The Atomic Reconstructor is one of the most important machines in Actually Additions. It periodically fires a beam that transforms items placed in front of it into different items. Place your Coal Generator next to it to keep it powered, then drop items on the ground in the beam’s path.

Here are some key transformations:

Emerald Block → Enori Crystal Block

Lapis Lazuli → Palis Crystal

Coal / Charcoal → Void Crystal

Red Mushroom → Nether Wart

Canola Seeds → Crystallized Canola Seeds

Rotten Flesh → Leather

Quartz → Enori Quartz

Redstone → Restonia Crystal

Diamond → Diamond Crystal (and more)

This is the primary way to obtain most of the special crystals and materials used throughout Actually Additions.

Lenses

You can place a Lens on the front of the Atomic Reconstructor to change what the beam does. Lenses can also be upgraded by throwing them in front of the Atomic Reconstructor itself. The upgrade chain is:

Base Lens → Lens of Color: Randomly dyes blocks and wool placed in front of it.

Lens of Color → Lens of Detonation: Causes a TNT-like explosion in front of the machine.

Lens of Detonation → Lens of Certain Death: Damages entities caught in the beam.

Lens of Certain Death → Lens of the Killer: Instantly kills whatever it hits (marked as Work In Progress).

There is also the Lens of Enchanting, which will enchant items placed in front of it, and the Lens of the Miner.

Lens of the Miner

The Lens of the Miner is particularly interesting. When the beam hits a block, it can transform it into another block based on a weighted random table. For example, when aimed at Netherrack:

Nether Quartz — Weight: 3,000 (very common result)

Nether Gold Ore — Weight: 500 (less common)

Ancient Debris — Weight: 1 (extremely rare)

While the chance of Ancient Debris is very low, automating this system over time can yield results — though whether it is worth the effort depends on the modpack you are playing.

Useful Utility Items

Void Sack

The Void Sack automatically voids (destroys) items you pick up based on configurable filters. Right-click to open its interface. Key settings include:

Block List: Voids everything except the items listed.

Allow List: Voids only the items listed.

Auto Insert Mode: Items are automatically voided as you pick them up.

Mod Mode: Filter items based on their mod of origin.

Ignore Damage: When off, only items matching the exact durability of your filter item are affected. When on, all items of that type are affected regardless of durability.

NBT Data: Allows filtering by ore dictionary tags (e.g., treat all Iron, Copper, and Gold Ores the same).

You can also use an Item Filter with the Void Sack. Right-click the Item Filter and add multiple items (e.g., Sugar, String, Rice). Then insert the Item Filter into the Void Sack to apply all of those filters at once.

Traveller’s Sack

The Traveller’s Sack works like the Void Sack but instead of voiding items, it automatically picks them up and stores them in the bag. It uses the same filter system described above.

Drills and the All-in-One Tool (AIOT)

Actually Additions drills are excellent early-game tools. Rather than repeatedly crafting Iron Pickaxes, you charge a drill using Crystal Flux from a generator. To add upgrades such as drill speed augments, Shift + Right-click the drill to open its upgrade interface.

The All-in-One Tool (AIOT) combines a Sword, Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, and Hoe into a single item. It is available in Wooden, Stone, and Iron tiers, among others.

Batteries

Batteries (Single, Double, Triple, and higher) store Crystal Flux that you can carry in your inventory. When your drill or other powered tool runs out of energy, it will automatically draw from a battery in your inventory to keep working.

Crafting Table on a Stick

Craft a Crafting Table on a Stick using a Crafting Table and a Sign to get a portable crafting table that opens directly from your inventory — no more placing and breaking tables in the field.

Tiny Torches

Combining a Stick with a Tiny Coal creates Tiny Torches, a cheaper alternative to standard torches for lighting up areas on a budget.

Leaf Blowers

Actually Additions includes two Leaf Blowers — a standard version and an Advanced Leaf Blower — for quickly clearing leaves from trees. The Advanced version clears leaves faster and over a larger area.

Greenhouse Glass

Greenhouse Glass placed above crops is believed to speed up crop growth for anything planted beneath it.

Actually Additions Machines: Full Breakdown

Automatic Feeder

Place Wheat (or other animal food) inside the Automatic Feeder and it will automatically feed and breed animals within a five-by-five area in front of it. The machine will alert you if there are not enough animals nearby to breed.

Crusher and Double Crusher

The Crusher grinds items into other items using Crystal Flux. For example, a Diamond Horse Armor can be crushed back into Diamonds. Press U on the Crusher to browse all available recipes. The Double Crusher accepts multiple input types simultaneously and can automatically split a stack into two half-stacks, processing both in parallel.

Energizer and Enervator

The Energizer charges items (like drills) using Crystal Flux stored in its internal buffer. Simply place the item inside and power the machine. The Enervator does the opposite — it drains power from a charged item and returns that Crystal Flux to the machine’s buffer, effectively converting stored item energy back into usable machine power.

Experience Solidifier

The Experience Solidifier converts your XP levels into Solidified Experience items. Press the button in the interface to select how many levels to convert. You can place Solidified Experience back into the machine to reclaim your XP at any time.

Auto Breaker and Auto Placer

The Auto Breaker breaks whatever block is placed directly in front of it and stores the drops in its internal inventory. The Auto Placer does the reverse — fill its inventory with blocks and it will place them in the world automatically.

Precision Dropper and Fluid Placer / Fluid Collector

The Precision Dropper drops items from its inventory into the world in front of it. The Fluid Placer places fluids into the world from a configured tank, while the Fluid Collector does the opposite and collects fluids from the world into a tank.

Farmer

Place seeds in the left-hand slots of the Farmer and it will automatically till the ground and plant crops in front of it — no manual hoeing required. Note that it will not place water, so you will need to handle irrigation separately. Hold a Compass and right-click on the Farmer to cycle through its working area sizes: 1×1, 3×3, 5×5, 7×7, or 9×9. The area extends in front of the machine, not around it.

Vertical Digger

The Vertical Digger digs straight down. You can configure it to mine everything it encounters or to target only ores. All mined items go into its internal inventory.

Powered Furnace

The Powered Furnace smelts items using Crystal Flux instead of fuel. It features two input slots, allowing it to process two items simultaneously, making it effectively faster than a standard furnace for large batches.

Ranged Collector

The Ranged Collector picks up item entities from the ground within its range, using the same filter system as the Void Sack and Traveller’s Sack. Use it to hoover up drops from farms or mob grinders automatically.

Long Range Breaker

Like the Auto Breaker, the Long Range Breaker breaks blocks in front of it — but at an extended range of approximately 10 blocks rather than just the adjacent block.

Display Stand and Empowerer

To empower items in Actually Additions, place an Empowerer in the centre and surround it with four Display Stands (connected via power only). Place the required catalyst items on the Display Stands and the item to empower in the centre. For example, two Clay, one Clay, and a Light Blue Dye placed on the stands can empower a Diamond Crystal Block into its empowered form. Check the Empowerer’s recipe list with U to see all recipes.

Item and Energy Transfer: Laser Relays and Interfaces

Player Interface

The Player Interface is bound to the player who placed it. Any pipe or relay connected to it can pull items directly from that player’s inventory as if it were a chest. This is extremely useful when adventuring — connect a pipe system to the Player Interface and your collected loot is automatically routed back to your base storage as you explore.

Item Interface and Laser Relays

The Item Interface acts as a connection point for Actually Additions’ wireless laser relay system. To transfer items wirelessly:

Place an Item Interface at the source (e.g., next to a Hopper or chest).

Place another Item Interface at the destination.

Place Item Laser Relays between them.

Right-click each Laser Relay with a Laser Wrench to link them together.

Actually Additions also has Fluid Laser Relays for piping fluids and Energy Laser Relays for transmitting Crystal Flux — all configured the same way using the Laser Wrench.

Summary

Actually Additions (version 1.21) is a well-rounded mod that covers everything from crop farming and early power generation to advanced automation and item transformation. Here is a quick recap of the essentials:

Mine Black Quartz underground for core crafting materials.

Grow Rice, Canola, Flax, and Coffee for food, power, and materials.

Build a Coal Generator first for an initial Crystal Flux supply.

Use the Atomic Reconstructor to convert common materials into mod-specific crystals and resources.

Scale up power with the Bio Reactor (use varied organic inputs) and the Oil Generator (Canola Press → Fermenting Barrel pipeline).

Automate farms, breaking, and placement with the suite of Actually Additions machines.

Transfer items, fluids, and energy wirelessly using Laser Relays.

Note that this guide covers the 1.21 version of Actually Additions, which is the latest release at the time of writing. Some features, recipes, or behaviours may differ in older versions. A handful of items such as the Lens of the Killer are still marked as Work In Progress and may change in future updates.

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