Description

Progression Reforged is a vanilla-friendly progression overhaul that redesigns Minecraft's equipment progression, creating a longer and more natural journey from your first stone tools to end-game gear.

Vanilla progression often allows players to rush through entire equipment tiers. Wooden tools quickly become obsolete, copper has almost no practical use, and diamond equipment can be obtained surprisingly early. Progression Reforged reshapes the progression by introducing meaningful progression steps, reworked crafting recipes, and a brand-new steel tier.

Rather than adding dozens of new materials or complex mechanics, the mod focuses on expanding Minecraft's existing progression while staying true to the vanilla experience.

Progression Overview:

Stone Tools

stone pickaxe crafting with stone (instead of cobblestone)

Stone tools are now crafted using Stone instead of Cobblestone, giving them a more logical crafting recipe while slightly extending the early-game progression.

Stone Pickaxes can no longer mine Iron Ore. Players must first craft Copper tools before they can mine Iron Ore.

Copper Tier

copper pickaxe craft

The Copper tier is a direct backport of Minecraft's Copper equipment from newer versions, with a few balance adjustments to better fit the redesigned progression.

Instead of being used almost exclusively for decoration, Copper now becomes an important part of the early game. Copper tools and armor bridge the gap between Stone and Iron, providing a natural upgrade that allows players to mine Iron Ore and prepare for the next stage of progression.

While Copper is not intended to replace Iron, it ensures that every material has a meaningful purpose, making progression feel smoother, more logical, and far less rushed.

Steel Tier

steel pickaxe craft

Steel is a brand-new equipment tier that sits between Iron and Diamond, extending Minecraft's progression without feeling out of place.

Rather than crafting Diamond equipment directly, players must first forge Steel by combining Iron and Coal into Crude Steel, which is then smelted into Steel Ingots. Steel becomes the final craftable equipment tier before Diamond. Steel also replaces Iron in the Flint and Steel recipe, making the name "Flint and Steel" accurate.

Diamond tools and armor are no longer crafted directly. Instead, they are upgraded from Steel equipment at the Smithing Table using the new Diamond Upgrade Smithing Template. This makes the Smithing Table an important part of progression long before Netherite and encourages players to progress through Steel before reaching Diamond.

smithing from steel to diamond

With durability and performance between Iron and Diamond, Steel naturally fills the missing gap in Minecraft's progression while remaining faithful to the vanilla experience.

Equipment Stats

Tier	Durability	Mining Speed	Enchantability	Harvest Level
Copper	190	5.0	13	Stone
Steel	651	7.0	12	Iron

Planned Features:

More uses for Copper and Steel.
Additional crafting and progression tweaks.
Further balancing of equipment progression.
More vanilla-friendly features.

Feedback

Progression Reforged is currently in its first public release. Some bugs or balance issues may still exist. If you encounter any problems or have suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.