Rivalry & Tactics

Rivalry & Tactics is a dynamic combat evolution mod for Minecraft Fabric that transforms hostile mobs into intelligent adversaries. Instead of static AI, mobs develop rivalries, coordinate tactically, and adapt to your combat style, creating emergent gameplay where encounters feel personal and meaningful.

Key Features

• Nemesis System - Mobs that kill you become persistent rivals who remember your name, grow stronger with each victory, and actively hunt you across dimensions.
• Commander System - Natural leaders emerge among mob groups, issuing tactical orders like flanking, retreating, and focusing fire.
• Adaptive Combat Memory - Per-player profiles track your combat style. Mobs adjust their behavior based on whether you're aggressive, defensive, or rely on specific weapons.
• Elite Mutations - Landing critical hits can trigger mutations, transforming ordinary mobs into elite variants with unique traits.
• Mob Communication - Injured mobs alert nearby allies, creating dynamic threat responses and coordinated attacks.
• 10 Elite Traits - Berserk, Stonehide, Swift, Armorsunder, Hunter, Shrapnel, Vampiric, Resilient, Venomous, and Elusive.
• Visual Feedback - See nemesis titles, commander crowns, and elite markers using vanilla particles and custom names.
• Persistent Data - Nemesis and commander data persist across sessions via world save.
• Multiplayer-Safe - Per-player profiles and nemeses work correctly on servers.
• Fully Configurable - Enable/disable each system, adjust thresholds, cooldowns, and difficulty scaling.

How It Works

The Nemesis System

When a mob kills you, it becomes your personal nemesis:

Nemeses display custom titles like "☠ Zombie, Slayer of [YourName]" and will prioritize targeting you over other players.

The Commander System

When enough hostile mobs gather, one may be promoted to commander:

Commanders issue tactical orders to their subordinates:

Adaptive Combat Memory

The mod tracks how you fight and adjusts mob behavior accordingly:

Counter Behaviors

Based on your profile, mobs apply counter-biases:

Elite Mutations

When you land a critical hit on a mob, there's a chance it mutates into an elite variant:

Mob Communication

Injured mobs alert nearby allies:

Alerted mobs gain temporary aggression boost and will converge on the threat source.

Elite Traits

Each trait provides unique abilities and stat modifications:

Traits stack—an elite with Berserk + Swift + Vampiric is extremely dangerous.

Configuration

Config file location: .minecraft/config/rivalry_and_tactics.json

{
  "nemesis": {
    "enabled": true,
    "maxNemesesPerPlayer": 5,
    "nemesisHealthBonus": 0.2,
    "nemesisDamageBonus": 0.1,
    "nemesisSpeedBonus": 0.05,
    "killsForArchNemesis": 3,
    "nemesisPersistsDeath": true,
    "nemesisGlowsAtMaxLevel": true
  },
  "commander": {
    "enabled": true,
    "promotionChance": 0.15,
    "minGroupSize": 3,
    "commandRange": 24,
    "orderCooldownTicks": 100,
    "commanderHealthBonus": 0.3,
    "maxSubordinates": 8
  },
  "adaptive": {
    "enabled": true,
    "memoryDurationTicks": 72000,
    "meleeWeight": 1.0,
    "rangedWeight": 1.0,
    "shieldWeight": 1.5,
    "jumpCritWeight": 1.2,
    "decayRate": 0.01,
    "counterBiasStrength": 0.5
  },
  "elite": {
    "enabled": true,
    "mutationChanceOnCrit": 0.15,
    "minTraits": 1,
    "maxTraits": 3,
    "statBoostMultiplier": 1.0,
    "permanentElites": false
  },
  "communication": {
    "enabled": true,
    "alertRadius": 16,
    "urgentAlertRadius": 24,
    "deathAlertRadius": 32,
    "alertCooldownTicks": 60
  }
}

Config Options Explained

Nemesis System

Commander System

Adaptive Combat

Elite Mutations

Mob Communication

Visual Indicators

Nemesis Titles

Commander Markers

Elite Markers

Multiplayer Compatibility

This mod is server-side and works on both singleplayer and multiplayer:

• Player combat profiles are stored per-player
• Nemeses remember specific players
• Commanders coordinate against whoever they're targeting
• Elites and communication work for all players

Data Storage

Persistent data is stored in the world save:

Data is saved automatically when players disconnect and when the server stops.

Installation

1. Install Fabric Loader (0.15.6 or newer) for Minecraft 1.20.1.
2. Install Fabric API (0.92.0+1.20.1 or newer).
3. Download the mod JAR file.
4. Place the JAR into your .minecraft/mods folder (or server mods folder).
5. Launch Minecraft with the Fabric profile.

Building from Source

Clone the repository and run the Gradle build:

git clone https://github.com/AaravVishal1/rivalry-and-tactics
cd rivalry-and-tactics
./gradlew build

The compiled JAR will be in build/libs/.

For development:

./gradlew runClient    # Run Minecraft client
./gradlew runServer    # Run dedicated server

Requirements

Troubleshooting

Nemeses aren't forming

1. Check that nemesis.enabled is true in the config.
2. Verify the mob actually killed you (environmental deaths don't count).
3. Check maxNemesesPerPlayer hasn't been reached.

Commanders aren't appearing

1. Ensure commander.enabled is true.
2. Verify there are enough hostile mobs nearby (minGroupSize).
3. The promotion chance is 15% by default—it's not guaranteed.

Elite mutations not triggering

1. Confirm elite.enabled is true.
2. Must be a critical hit (jumping attack).
3. Default chance is 15%—not every crit triggers mutation.

Adaptive counters feel too strong

• Reduce counterBiasStrength in the config (e.g., 0.25).
• Increase decayRate for faster forgetting.
• Vary your combat style to dilute the profile.

Performance issues

• Increase cooldown values (orderCooldownTicks, alertCooldownTicks).
• Reduce commandRange and alert radii.
• Disable individual systems you don't want.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.