Ray tracing is playing an increasingly important role in Minecraft, thanks to packs like the MollyVX shaders. Projects like this set new standards for realism. A few years ago, no one would have thought that mods like this would ever exist. Since similar projects like SEUS PTGI are no longer actively developed, MollyVX has become incredibly popular among players. Lighting in Molly is entirely path traced, meaning millions of rays are cast from your camera every second to fill the illumination of a scene. This is much different to normal shaders as heavy filtering needs to be done on literally everything to maintain image sharpness through movement.
To experience all the features firsthand, we installed the Luna HD texture pack during our test. What impressed us the most were the reflections that appear on certain blocks. This effect occurs when the sun shines on gold or iron blocks, for example. The entire gameplay looks so good that you could easily use the MollyVX shaders to create a Minecraft movie. Jokes aside, the quality is truly outstanding.
When you look up at the sky, you’ll see constantly moving clouds that look just like real life, similar to those in the Continuum shaders. They are fluffier and more dramatic than in Vanilla Minecraft. Unfortunately, this effect requires quite a bit of processing power, so performance might take a hit if you don’t have a modern graphics card. If you’re playing on a low-end PC or laptop, you might want to check out MakeUp Ultra Fast or RenderPearl shaders instead. While both are fairly simple, shaders should never be underestimated.
By the way, the MollyVX Rewrite shaders have a unique trait: unlike most projects, it was created by a female developer. We think that’s amazing since this field is still largely dominated by men. You can tell how talented she is at programming because the list of features is truly impressive. For example, it includes support for Night Vision and the Warden’s darkness effect. Since its release, improvements have been made to path tracing, color correction, and lighting. So, if you come across a bug, there’s a good chance it will be fixed in the next update. However, if you notice any issues, be sure to report them in the comments.
However, there is one downside: you can no longer use it with OptiFine because it only works with Iris. This trend is becoming more common with modern shader packs because OptiFine is a nightmare for developers. The biggest issues are its old codebase and lack of open-source support. But for you as a player, nothing really changes.
That said, there’s a small but important catch: you can’t download the pack for free because you have to subscribe to the author on Patreon. Of course, it’s understandable that development takes a lot of time, but it’s still frustrating when mods are locked behind a paywall. The Java Edition is known for having a wide range of free mods, while the Bedrock Marketplace is a different story, where a single add-on can easily cost $15. This trend isn’t ideal, but it’s not something that can be stopped.
If you’re interested in MollyVX Rewrite, it’s best to subscribe on Patreon, link your Discord account, and download the file. After that, you can cancel your subscription the following month and still keep the shader. However, this tip is only useful if you’re okay with missing out on future updates.
MollyVX was published on May 21, 2019 and is compatible with these Minecraft versions: 1.21.5 – 1.21.4 – 1.21.3 – 1.21.2 – 1.21.1 – 1.21 – 1.20.6 – 1.20.5 – 1.20.4 – 1.20.3 – 1.20.2 – 1.20.1 – 1.20 – 1.19.4 – 1.19.3 – 1.19.2 – 1.19.1 – 1.19 – 1.18.2 – 1.18.1 – 1.18 – 1.17.1 – 1.17 – 1.16.5 – 1.16
Video & Screenshots
How To Install MollyVX Shaders
- Download the MollyVX shaders for Minecraft from the file section below. Pick the file that matches your Minecraft edition and version.
- Install Iris.
- Open the Minecraft launcher, and choose the Iris profile you just made.
- Launch Minecraft.
- Go to "Options", then "Video Settings", and select "Shader Packs". Next, click on "Open Shader Pack Folder" to access the shaderpacks folder.
- Move the downloaded ZIP file into this folder (.minecraft\shaderpacks).
- In the game, choose the newly installed pack from the shaders list. If you select a shader pack, its filename will turn yellow.
- Click "Done" or "Apply" and all new features have been loaded.
System Requirements
Make sure to check the system requirements before purchasing, as refunds are not available if your hardware isn’t powerful enough. This policy exists because the MollyVX shader is a digital download. Otherwise, anyone could sign up, download it, and claim their hardware is incompatible.
- Minimum an RTX 3060 or an equivalent AMD model for 60 FPS
- Apple graphics cards are not supported