Join a modded server

What a server needs from you

The mod needs	You need	Typical mods
nothing	nothing	server rules, chat commands, world edits, creature and loot changes
Kiln	Kiln: the server sends the rest	new items made from the game’s own models
the mod	the mod itself	quests, NPCs, talents, new icons, models, sounds, keys and screens

With Kiln you also get the server’s item and recipe changes as you join, with nothing to install.

Mods made for other frameworks count too. EML data mods (stacks, recipes, new items) must match the server, or items can go missing. Kiln doesn’t check those mods when you join yet, so ask the server which ones it runs, or install its modpack.

Who gets in

Not yet in the real game. The rules here pass on test servers. They haven’t run with a real client.

• A game without Kiln is held before world data until the server decides. It’s refused when a mod states it needs Kiln or a mod, unless the server’s modSync is off.
• With Kiln, missing a mod that states clients: "mod" means you’re refused by default and told which mods. A server with modSync set to warn or off lets you in, without that mod’s entities.
• Playing vanilla with a character carrying Kiln items can crash on a server that lets you in, and may lose those items elsewhere.

When a server refuses you

You see a message listing the missing mods, then the game’s own “An update of the game is available” error. The game shows that for any refused login. The Kiln message says what’s actually missing. Without Kiln you only get the game’s error.

Install the server’s modpack

If the server offers a modpack, the Play page shows a banner after the refusal, with:

• the server, and the pack’s name, version, size and checksum;
• the mods you’re missing;
• whether it holds native code, with a warning that mods run code on your PC.

Tick the box and install. The launcher:

1. downloads the pack (https only, unless you allow http in Settings);
2. checks its checksum, and each mod’s against what the server asked for;
3. adds the mods to your library and makes a profile named Server: <name>. A pack can hold mods for other frameworks too, such as EML data mods;
4. backs up your saves and loads the profile. Play names it at the top (“Profile: Server: <name>”); to go back to your own mods, load My mods in Settings, Profiles.

Press Launch and join again. Nothing downloads until you agree. Dismiss the banner and that server’s pack won’t be offered again.

This flow has run in a real game, on a server with modSync set to refuse.

Leaving a server

Synced items and settings are put back, and your own mod settings return.