Draconic Next

Draconic Evolution 2, rebuilt for Minecraft 26.2. Works on NeoForge and Fabric.

This isn't a straight port. I rewrote the mod on a new core (the setup is inspired by NTM Next), so a lot of things work differently from the original. The progression is still the one you know though: draconium ore, wyvern gear, draconic gear, chaotic stuff at the end.

This is an alpha. There will be bugs. Make backups. Old Draconic Evolution worlds won't load.

Disclaimer

Draconic Next is not a port or a fork of Draconic Evolution's code. It was written from scratch on its own core, so how everything works under the hood is different. What carries over is the idea and the progression, plus the original textures, models and sounds, which are used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 with credit to brandon3055. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by him.

Requirements

Minecraft	26.2
Loader	NeoForge 26.2.0.88+, or Fabric Loader with Fabric API 0.161.0+
Java	25

Compatibility

Optional, picked up automatically:

• JEI for recipes, including a Fusion Crafting category
• Jade 26.2.10+ for block tooltips (energy, fusion, reactor and more)
• Team Reborn Energy (Fabric) for energy compatibility with other tech mods
• Any pipe or hopper mod that uses the standard item and energy APIs works with the reactor stabilizers, energy pylons, flux gates and machines

Shaders and visuals

Most of the effects are new custom shaders written for this mod, not the original renders:

• Energy core: a faceted crystal that shifts colour as it charges (or with your own colour)
• Reactor: a new core, containment shield, beams and a full meltdown sequence
• Fusion crafting: orbiting energy balls, arcs and a collapse flash
• Chaos guardian: a new shield and death effects

Turning shaders off in the config switches everything to simpler fallbacks.

What's new

• Spears: Wyvern and Draconic spears with lunge attacks. Lunge levels unlock with upgrades.
• Draconic Mace: Works like a normal Mace It has two abilities:
  • Skyfall Strike: a fully charged hit from the ground launches you up, then slams you down on the target.
  • Meteor Slam: use it mid-air to dive straight down. Everything around the landing gets hit and knocked back, and plasma orbs fly out of the crater.
• Energy core colours: click the swatch in the core's screen to give each core any colour you like.
• Reactor automation: hoppers and pipes can feed fuel into the stabilizers and pull chaos out, while the reactor is running.
• Build guide and Assemble Core: ghost blocks show the energy core's shell layer by layer, and one button builds it from your inventory.
• JEI and Jade support: fusion recipes in JEI, and block info (energy, fusion progress, reactor state) in Jade.

What's redone

• Fusion crafting: every recipe has one total energy cost, split between the injectors. Higher tier injectors charge faster, and the craft finishes sooner when your injectors are a higher tier than the recipe. Upgrading Wyvern gear to Draconic keeps its energy, upgrades and enchantments.
• Energy network: crystals share energy from where it's plentiful to where it's needed, and the beams get thicker the more energy is moving. Each tier has its own capacity and link speed: Basic 5M, Wyvern 30M, Draconic 180M, Chaotic 1G.
• Chaos Guardian: a rebuilt fight. The guardian is protected by a shield pool, and its crystals rise around the island when you arrive.
• Ender Dragon: drops draconium dust when it dies, and a dragon heart that slowly forms where it fell.
• Recipes: they follow the classic progression (Draconium → Wyvern → Draconic → Chaotic), but Wyvern gear is crafted from netherite gear instead of diamond.
• Visuals: new shaders for the energy core, reactor, fusion and guardian shield. They switch to simpler versions when shaders are turned off.

How the reactor works

Building it. Put the reactor core down. Place four stabilizers around it on one flat plane, all facing the core, and at least one energy injector above or below it, also facing the core. Each part needs to be 4 to 15 blocks from the core with only air in between. Right-click any part to open the screen.

Fuel. Awakened draconium is the fuel: a block is 1296 units, an ingot 144 and a nugget 16. The core holds 12 blocks' worth in total. While it runs, the fuel slowly burns into chaos.

Starting up.

1. Load at least half a block of fuel.
2. Press Charge. Your injectors start filling the containment field, and the field heats the core.
3. Once the core passes 2000°C and the field is at least half full, press Activate.

Running it.

• Drive (0–200%, default 60%) is the throttle. More drive means more power, but also more heat and a much higher field upkeep.

• Rough output on a full core:

  Drive	Heat	Net output
  60%	~2700°C	~400k RF/t
  100%	~4500°C	~630k RF/t
  150%	~6700°C	~850k RF/t

• Past about 170% drive the reactor runs away and will melt down unless you shut it off.

• Below about 35% drive it flames out.

• Power collects in the reactor and the stabilizers push it out of their backs.

• Keep the injectors fed. If the field gets too weak, stress builds up, and at 100% stress containment fails.

Fail-safe (optional). When your storage is full it eases the drive back. It shuts the reactor down by itself if:

• the field drops below 20%,
• stress reaches 25%,
• the core goes over 8500°C,
• or the fresh fuel runs low.

Shutting down. The reaction stops within seconds, but the core stays hot for a while, and spent fuel holds heat longer. Keep the field powered until the core cools to 100°C. Then it's offline and you can refuel it.

Comparators next to a stabilizer or injector can read heat, field, charge or fuel. Pick which one by sneak-using the part.

If it fails, the explosion is huge: roughly 64 blocks across for a half-block core, and around 300 to 350 for a full one. Breaking a stabilizer while the core is running hot also sets it off.

Getting chaos shards

• Chaos Guardian: chaos islands spawn far out in the End, at least 1,536 blocks from the main island. Beat the guardian, then mine the Chaos Crystal at the centre for shards. Breaking the crystal makes the island collapse about 35 seconds later, so get out of there.
• Reactor: burnt fuel turns into chaos. Take it out as chaos fragments, either through the reactor screen while it's offline or with a pipe or hopper on a stabilizer while it's running. Nine large fragments craft into one chaos shard, and the smaller fragments craft up the same way (nine small → one medium → nine medium → one large).

Credits

Original mod: Draconic Evolution by brandon3055. This is an unofficial project and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by him.

The textures, models and sounds are from Draconic Evolution and are used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, with some changes for 26.2. Some of the chaos guardian is adapted from Stella Reine's guardian rework, with her permission.

License

Code is under the Draconic Next License 1.0. Short version: play it, build it, make addons, put it in modpacks, all fine. If you want to release a modified version, ask me first. Assets stay CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Source and bug reports: https://github.com/Solarspire/draconic-next