What Particle Core works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Fabric, NeoForge, Quilt, Forge |
| Minecraft versions | 1.20, 1.20.6, 1.21.11, 26.1.2, 26.2 |
| Environment | Client |
The particle core mod by fzzyhmstrs does one job: it makes particles cheaper to draw. It runs on Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge and Forge and is needed on the client only. Vanilla spends a large share of CPU time on particle rendering, and this mod cuts most of that.
Loaders and versions
- Fabric and Quilt: Minecraft 1.20 to 26.2. The newest build requires Fabric Language Kotlin, Fabric API and Fzzy Config; some builds for 1.20 to 1.20.4 require Fabric Language Kotlin and Fabric API.
- NeoForge: Minecraft 1.20.1 to 26.2. The newest build requires Fzzy Config and Kotlin for Forge.
- Forge: Minecraft 1.20.1. The newest build requires Fzzy Config and Kotlin for Forge.
What it changes
The biggest gain comes from culling. Only about a twelfth of the particle lightbox sits in view at standard FOVs, so the mod skips the rest. Particles that do render get cheaper vertex transformations and lightmap polling, and vertex work defers to Sodium when it is installed.
- Culling of particles outside the view.
- Faster rendering of the particles that remain.
- Per-type spawn reduction or full disabling for any particle the /particle command can add.
- An option to switch off potion particles.
- Two dials that sit between the vanilla ALL, DECREASED and MINIMAL settings.
The creator's profiling shows world rendering falling from 41% of CPU time to 16%. With Sodium, the gain is about 5% of CPU time, roughly a 50% relative improvement. Unlike invisible-particle resource packs, the mod stops particles from spawning at all.
Configuration
Key options are turnOffPotionParticles, reduceParticlesAllChance, reduceParticlesDecreasedChance, disableParticles and reduceParticlesByType. That last one maps a particle identifier such as minecraft:smoke to a chance from 0.0 (never spawn) to 1.0 (normal). If a feature conflicts with another mod, add its key to disableOptimizations.
Trade-offs
The mod is client-side only, and multiplayer servers are unsupported as an install target. Forge support stops at a single Minecraft release, while the other loaders track newer ones.
Questions about Particle Core.
4 questions
What does Particle Core do?
Particle Core optimizes how particles are handled. It skips rendering particles outside your view, speeds up the rendering of those still drawn, and lets you reduce or disable spawning for specific particle types. It can also switch off potion particles entirely.
Does Particle Core work with Sodium?
Yes. The creator lists it as compatible with Sodium, and its vertex optimizations defer to Sodium when both are installed. Profiling shows about a 5% CPU time gain over Sodium alone, which the creator describes as roughly a 50% relative improvement.
Do I need Particle Core on a server?
No. It is client-side, and servers are not supported as an install target. Install it on each player's own client. The one server-side lever is the excluded_particles tag, which disables those particles for every joining client, so owners should apply it carefully.
How do I turn off potion particles?
Open the Particle Core config file in your config folder and use the turnOffPotionParticles setting to turn potion particles off. The mod then stops those particles from spawning instead of hiding them, which saves rendering work. The same file also holds the per-type reduction map for other particles.
