Minecraft mods open up a world of possibilities for players to be creative and innovative. One mod that stands out is the Cognition mod, previously known as the Experience Obelisk in older versions of Minecraft (before 1.20).
This mod introduces new ways to handle experience points (XP) and expands their usefulness in the game. From transforming XP into new materials to generating experience orbs and crafting powerful items, the Cognition mod brings an exciting new dimension to gameplay.
This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Cognition mod, including how to get started, crafting recipes, key features, and tips for making the most of your experience.
Getting Started with Cognition
To start using the Cognition mod, you’ll first want to craft the Experience Obelisk, which is the central piece of the mod.
This unique block allows you to store XP and convert it into a new resource called Cognitium. Here’s what you’ll need to craft the Experience Obelisk:
Ingredients:
- Cognitive Crystal: Made using emeralds and Cognitive Amalgam.
- Cognitive Amalgam: The core material of the mod, made with Copper Ingots refined using Cognitive Flux in a furnace. Cognitive Flux is made from Lapis, Nether Quartz, and Soul Soil (or Soul Sand).
- Astute Assembly: A crafted item that uses Cognitive Crystals and Redstone.
After crafting and placing the Experience Obelisk, you can interact with it to store your collected XP.
Each XP point is converted into 20 millickets of Cognitium, with 172 XP levels equaling 100 kilobets of Cognitium—the maximum storage of the Obelisk.
Key Features of the Experience Obelisk
The Experience Obelisk isn’t just for storing XP—it’s designed to be a functional hub for power and crafting.
Using a Staff of Attunement, you can link the Obelisk to other machines that use experience as a power source. Here are some examples:
- Experience Fountain: This block releases stored XP from the linked Obelisk at various rates (Slow, Moderate, Fast, Hyper). You can activate the fountain with a lever—or even by standing on it—and use it to absorb XP directly into your character. This can be useful for quickly regaining lost levels.
- Precision Dispeller: This tool lets you remove specific enchantments from weapons and armor, gaining XP in the process. If linked to an Obelisk, the gained XP is stored there instead of going to the player. The Dispeller can also remove curses from items, but at a high cost of 30 levels per curse.
Advanced Crafting: Molecular Metamorpha
The Molecular Metamorpha is one of the most innovative features of the mod. This block allows you to transmute items into others using stored XP.
The crafting interface has three slots and shows the required XP levels below. To craft items, link the Molecular Metamorpha to the Obelisk using the Staff of Attunement, making sure enough XP is stored.
Example Recipe:
To craft a Primordial Assembly, you’ll need:
- Any sapling
- Astute Assembly
- Gold Ingot
This recipe uses 315 XP levels and takes 5 seconds to process. Once the assembly is crafted, you can use it with other ingredients for more advanced recipes.
Using this block, items can be transmuted—for example, combining Netherite Scrap with Cognitive materials to create Neverite Ingots or using sugarcane to transform into bamboo.
The flexibility of the Molecular Metamorpha opens up new possibilities for managing resources and crafting efficiently.
Mobility Enhancements: Linear Accelerators and Whisper Glass
Want to transport items or mobs more efficiently? The Cognition mod includes Linear Accelerators, blocks that push entities forward when they come into contact.
Combine these with Whisper Glass, a slippery material crafted from regular glass, to create efficient transportation systems.
For example:
- Linear Accelerators can be used to move mobs or players across distances quickly.
- Whisper Glass helps reduce friction, increasing momentum and ensuring smoother movement.
These tools can be great for automating mob farms or designing conveyor systems within your Minecraft world.
Generating XP with Bookshelves and Biblophases
One of the standout features of the mod is its system for generating XP from bookshelves. This is done using Biblophases, items that infect bookshelves and slowly break them down into XP orbs.
Types of Bookshelves:
- Archver’s Bookshelf: Crafted using written books, with an enchanting power of 1.5.
- Enchanted Bookshelf: Crafted using enchanted books, with double the enchanting power of regular bookshelves.
Once infected with Biblophases, these bookshelves degrade over time, converting into Forgotten Dust as they are consumed.
This dust can be combined with Fluorescent Jelly (made from Sugar and Chorus Fruit or any regular fruit) to create consumable items or new crafting ingredients.
Advanced XP Generators: Argers
After breaking down infected bookshelves into Forgotten Dust, you can progress into crafting Argers, permanent XP-generating blocks with unique functions. There are three types:
- Nutrient Arger:
- Made by infecting dust blocks four times with Biblophases.
- Has a 0.5% chance per second to infect adjacent blocks, creating a slow but permanent XP generation system.
- Insightful Arger:
- Crafted with Honeycomb and Glowstone Dust.
- Reduces the spawn delay for generating XP, increasing efficiency.
- Extravagant Arger:
- Boosts the value of XP orbs generated by surrounding bookshelves.
- Every second, it has a 2% chance to infect adjacent blocks, speeding up the spread.
Using Argers effectively requires careful planning of bookshelf layouts to maximize XP generation and resource efficiency.
Unique Items and Consumables
The Cognition mod introduces several utility items and consumables that add flavor to gameplay. Here are some notable ones:
- Utility Flasks:
- Flask of Poseidon: Places a block of water when used.
- Flask of Hades: Places a block of lava.
- Flask of Chaos: Removes any block of fluid (e.g., water, lava).
- Fluorescent Jelly:
- Crafted using Forgotten Dust combined with sugar and fruit, this item can be consumed for additional benefits.
- Enlightened Amulet:
- Attracts nearby XP orbs and merges them for faster absorption. It can be activated or deactivated by shift-right-clicking.
Cognitive Tools and Armor
The mod also includes tools and gear crafted from Cognitive materials, such as:
- Cognitive Sword, Shears, and other tools.
- Cognitive Armor: Grants increased block and entity reach.
- Fishing Rod: Adds functionality for catching items underwater.
While these items do not have any special effects beyond durability and reach increases, they serve as valuable upgrades for adventurous players.
Concuding Lines
The Cognition mod offers an elegant solution for managing and expanding the usefulness of experience in Minecraft.
Whether you’re storing XP in the Experience Obelisk, crafting new materials with the Molecular Metamorpha, or generating orbs with infected bookshelves, this mod enriches gameplay with its complex mechanics and creative possibilities.
Players looking to experiment with advanced crafting, automate XP generation, or explore unique mobility solutions will find the Cognition mod to be a valuable addition to their mod collection.
With its flexibility and comprehensive systems, this mod caters to both casual builders and hardcore Minecraft fans.
