Shardbound Elements

Quickstart

1. Hunt elemental mobs — Elemental creepers, endermen, zombies, skeletons, and spiders spawn naturally in the world. Kill them to collect elemental shards (Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, Shadow, Light, Poison, Ice).
2. Craft an Elemental Core — Combine 9 shards of the same type in a crafting table (3×3 grid) to make that element's Core. Cores are the main crafting material for armor.
3. Craft a Blade or Tool — Use raw shards + sticks in standard sword/tool patterns to craft any elemental weapon or tool immediately.
4. Equip and right-click — Equip an elemental blade and right-click to unleash its elemental nova. Each blade also triggers an on-hit effect when you attack.
5. Quick access — Use /shardbound grant_armory to receive gear, or /shardbound summon_elemental to spawn elemental mobs for testing. Items appear in the Combat and Tools & Utilities creative tabs.

Overview

Shardbound Elements adds nine elemental magic disciplines — Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, Shadow, Light (Sun), Poison, and Ice — each with a full set of armor, a blade, four tools, and a dedicated crafting material. Progress by farming elemental mobs for shards, compress shards into Cores, and forge powerful gear. A tenth Mixed/Omni-Elemental tier combines all nine elements into the most powerful equipment in the mod.

What It Adds

Elemental Shards

Nine drop-only crafting ingredients, one per element: Fire Shard, Water Shard, Air Shard, Earth Shard, Lightning Shard, Shadow Shard, Light Shard, Poison Shard, Ice Shard.

Elemental Cores

Nine compressed pearl-like crafting materials crafted from shards. One Elemental Core (the all-element variant) is also craftable by combining one shard of every type.

Armor Sets (×9 + Mixed)

Full helmet, chestplate, leggings, and boots for each of the nine elements, plus a Mixed Elemental Armor set. All sets offer strong protection, fall-damage mitigation, and unique elemental buffs when the full set is worn. Armor can be displayed on armor stands.

Elemental Blades (×9 + Omni)

• Fire Blade, Water Blade, Air Blade, Earth Blade, Lightning Blade, Shadow Blade, Light Blade, Poison Blade, Ice Blade
• Omni-Elemental Sword — combines all nine elements

Each blade has a right-click elemental nova and a unique on-hit effect (see Abilities section).

Elemental Tools (×9 + Mixed, ×4 each)

Every element provides a Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, and Hoe made from raw shards. A Mixed Elemental set (Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, Hoe) is also available.

Elemental Mobs

Elemental variants of creepers, endermen, zombies, skeletons, and spiders spawn in the world, themed to each element. Notable visuals include the radiant Sun Skeleton and the storm-themed Lightning Skeleton.

Abilities And Mechanics

Blade On-Hit Effects

Armor Set Bonuses

Wearing a complete elemental armor set provides:

• Strong protection (up to netherite-level stats)
• Fall-damage mitigation
• A unique elemental buff tied to that element (e.g., fire resistance for Fire, water breathing for Water)

Tools

Elemental tools share standard tool tier stats while adding element-specific bonuses such as instant mining, tree-felling (axes), and enhanced elemental harvesting. The Mixed Elemental tool set combines multiple elemental bonuses in one tool.

Commands

• /shardbound grant_armory — gives you a full set of mod gear
• /shardbound summon_elemental — spawns an elemental mob

Crafting And Obtaining

Shards

Dropped by elemental mob variants that spawn naturally in your world. Each element has its own mob type (elemental creepers, zombies, endermen, skeletons, spiders).

Elemental Cores (9 types)

Craft 9 shards of the same element in a full 3×3 crafting grid.

Elemental Core (All-Element)

Combine one shard of every element — one per grid slot — in a 3×3 crafting grid.

Elemental Armor

Fire Armor

Water Armor

Air Armor

Earth Armor

Lightning Armor

Shadow Armor

Light Armor

Poison Armor

Ice Armor

Mixed Elemental Armor

Elemental Blades

Omni-Elemental Sword

Elemental Tools

Fire Tools

Water Tools

Air Tools

Earth Tools

Lightning Tools

Shadow Tools

Light Tools

Poison Tools

Ice Tools

Mixed Elemental Tools

Progression And Strategy

1. Early game — As soon as you encounter elemental mobs, collect a variety of shards. Even a handful of raw shards is enough to craft your first elemental blade or tool — no Core required.
2. Mid game — Once you have 9 shards of one type, compress them into an Elemental Core and begin crafting armor pieces. Prioritize the element that best suits your playstyle (e.g., Fire for offense, Ice for crowd control, Shadow for blindness).
3. Complete a set — Wearing all four pieces of the same elemental armor unlocks the full set bonus and elemental buff for that element.
4. Expand your arsenal — Craft blades and tools for multiple elements. Keep a Fire Blade for ignite and an Ice Blade for slowing large groups.
5. End game — Omni-Elemental — Farm all nine elemental mob types to collect every shard type. Craft the Mixed Elemental Armor set and the Omni-Elemental Sword for access to all nine elemental novas and on-hit effects in a single loadout.
6. Showcase — Place completed armor sets on armor stands for base decoration without losing any stats or material properties.