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What's new for you
For: every player← Back to the overview
MCME now runs Minecraft 26.2. This post covers what you need to do to join, what happens to your mods and shaders, and what you'll notice once you're back in. Builders, resource pack makers and developers each have their own chapter in this forum.
Joining MCME on Minecraft 26.2
⚠ ACTION REQUIRED The launcher's "Latest release" is now 26.3, not 26.2. Mojang released 26.3 on 15/09/2026, a week before our update. The simplest way to play on MCME is to make an installation for 26.2:- Open the Minecraft Launcher and go to Installations, then New installation.
- Name it (for example "MCME 26.2"), choose release 26.2 under Version and click Create.
- On the Play tab, select that installation and press Play.
- Join build.mcmiddleearth.com as usual. Accept the server resource pack when asked, or set Server Resource Packs to Enabled under Multiplayer, Edit.
Do I need to install Java? No. Minecraft 26.x runs on Java 25, and the official launcher downloads it for you.
Can I join with 26.3 or an older version? 26.3 should work: our servers translate it to 26.2. Older versions can't join, so please update. We recommend 26.2 either way, because it's the version the server itself runs.
Resource packs: for now the server still sends the 1.21.4 versions of our region packs, while the resource pack team updates them for 26.2. Most things look as before, but some textures, such as beds and signs, may look vanilla or a little off until the new packs are out.
Graphics tip: 26.2 adds a Graphics API option under Video Settings. Leave it on Default (OpenGL). The Vulkan option is experimental, and the Iris shader mod doesn't support it.
Mods and shaders on 26.2
Mods made for 1.21.x don't work on 26.x, so every mod has to be replaced with its 26.2 version.⚠ Don't re-run the MCME installer yet. It still installs 1.21.4, so you'd end up on the wrong version. We'll let you know when the updated installer is ready.
Using a mod launcher (Modrinth App, Prism Launcher, CurseForge)
- Create a new instance for Minecraft 26.2 with Fabric. Don't upgrade your old 1.21.4 instance, and don't copy its mods folder.
- Make sure you download the 26.2 version of each mod. Launchers suggest the newest version first, and that is now 26.3.
- Leave out Indium (Sodium no longer needs it) and the old MCME Modpack Marker (the 1.21.4 version stops the game from starting).
- Give the instance about 4 GB of memory. The official launcher now does this by default; other launchers may not.
| Mod | 26.2 version |
|---|---|
| Fabric Loader / Fabric API | 0.19.5 / 0.161.0 |
| Sodium | 0.9.2 |
| Iris Shaders | 1.11.4 (needs Sodium 0.9.2) |
| Distant Horizons | 3.3.2 |
| Litematica | 0.28.8 (with MaLiLib 0.29.6) |
| WorldEdit CUI | 26.2+02 |
| Axiom | 6.0.5 |
| Xaero's Minimap / World Map | 26.5.1 / 1.46.1 |
| LambDynamicLights | 4.12.4 |
| Mod Menu | 20.0.2 |
Sodium and the MCME resource packs
The Sodium versions of our Human and Mordor packs use 3D models that need the Special Model Loader mod, which has no 26.2 version yet. Until there is one, those 3D models won't show up in the Sodium variants. We'll post an update when there's a fix.
After joining,
/rp client sodium switches you to the Sodium variant of the packs. Until there's a 26.2 version of the MCME Modpack Marker, the server won't switch you automatically.OptiFine
OptiFine for 26.2 only exists as a preview, and its shaders don't work. We recommend Fabric with Sodium (performance) and Iris (shaders), or plain vanilla. If you stay on OptiFine, turn mipmapping off and use
/rp client vanilla. MCME's official packs don't need Continuity, CIT or the entity texture mods.Distant Horizons
Distant Horizons 3.3.2 supports 26.2, and it should convert older LOD files automatically when they first load. Keep a copy of your original files before you try. We're re-testing the Distant Horizons LODs guide for 26.2.
What you'll notice in-game
- A new tab list. Press Tab to see a fixed grid of three columns: everyone on the network in the first two, with rank colors and ping, and announcements, a rotating tip and the online count in the third.
- Nearly 100 new blocks from six game drops, including leaf litter, wildflowers, bushes and dry grass; copper bars, chains, lanterns and green-flame torches; shelves; and the new sulfur and cinnabar stone sets. The highlights are in Minecraft 1.21.5 to 26.2, and the full list with block states is in For builders and creative devs.
- New and redesigned mobs: copper golems, happy ghasts, nautiluses, zombie horses, camel husks, sulfur cubes, and a makeover for almost every baby animal. Pigs, cows and chickens now come in warm and cold variants.
- Every tree drops leaves now. All leaves blocks shed falling-leaf particles, including the forests already built on MCME.
- Better-looking distance. Clouds reach the horizon, fog adds haze to far-off scenery, and distant blocks shimmer less.
- New graphics settings. Fast, Fancy and Fabulous! are now presets, alongside texture filtering, cloud distance and chunk fade-in. When you upgrade, your old settings are kept under Custom.
- F3 shows less by default. If you rely on the block info in the debug screen, press F3+F6 and switch the lines you need back on.
- Ten new music tracks, by Amos Roddy and fingerspit, plus new music discs.
- The locator bar shows which direction other players are, in the spot where the XP bar sits. It's on in our build worlds and off on the PvP server.
- Private warps are your own. Every player can now have their own
home,shopand so on, without the oldzzz-prefix. Your existing private warps were renamed, so/warp homefinds your home. Private warps that had never been used were cleaned up; if one you need is missing, tell staff. - /ptime and /pweather are now handled by our own Environment plugin.
- Some colors are vanilla for now. On mainworld, moria, plotworld and rpserver, grass, leaves, water and sky use Minecraft's own colors until our custom biome colors work on 26.2 again.
- A Friends List (press O) with friend requests and online status.
Quick fixes if something goes wrong
- "Outdated client": your Minecraft is too old for the server. Select your 26.2 installation in the launcher.
- The game won't start with mods: remove all 1.21.x mods, Indium and the old MCME Modpack Marker, then add the 26.2 versions.
- Textures look wrong: make sure server resource packs are enabled, then try
/rp client vanilla, or/rp client liteon a slower PC. - Crash on startup with shaders: set Graphics API to Default or Prefer OpenGL.
- Chat looks empty: check your Xbox profile's chat setting. Since 26.2, "Friends Only" hides chat from everyone who isn't on your friends list.
- Still stuck, or found a bug? Post it in 26.x Update: Issues & Suggestions, or vote for the thread if someone already reported it. Problems we already know about are listed in Known issues and what's next.