What the Passive Skill Tree mod does

The Passive Skill Tree mod ports the sprawling character-building loop of Path of Exile straight into Minecraft. You earn skill points from experience, then spend them on a massive tree of passive nodes that reshape your health, damage, evasion, and utility. The author built it as a beta project, so the design still shifts between releases, but the core fantasy of speccing a character and min-maxing stats is already fully playable.

Opening the tree and earning your first point

To get started, gather enough experience to bank your first skill point. Press O (the default key, check your key bindings if nothing happens) to bring up the tree. From there you can invest in multiple trees if you want a hybrid build, so you are never locked into a single direction.

Picking a class

When the tree opens for the first time you choose one of six classes. That choice decides which starting nodes you can reach, so it shapes your early build more than anything else.

You cannot respec the class itself later, but you can path into other classes through the Dimensional Gateway once your tree grows far enough. Treat the early picks as a foundation rather than a cage.

Spending skill points on the tree

Click a node to allocate a point toward it. A node only becomes available when it connects to something you have already unlocked, so you have to plan the route across the tree instead of cherry-picking the strongest effects. The cap sits at 85 skill points by default, and that number is configurable if you want a longer or shorter progression. Hit the Show Stats button at any time to see exactly how each node is changing your numbers.

Gems and the new combat attributes

The mod layers a second progression system on top of the tree itself. The standout mechanics are:

Gems: Gems drop from any ore and slot into gear on a smithing table. Each gem grants attribute bonuses that depend on the equipment piece it sits in. To pull a gem back out, insert a vacucite gem, which is the rarer variant.
Life regeneration: A new attribute that slowly heals you over time. It burns a small amount of hunger as it works, so it shuts off at zero hunger.
Evasion chance: Gives you a flat chance to dodge an incoming attack outright.
Block chance: Gives you a chance to auto-block with a shield even without raising it.
Life on block: Heals you whenever you block, automatic or manual.
Life per hit: Heals you a flat amount every time you land a hit.

Run the /skilltree editor command to open the in-game editor and redesign nodes, classes, or balance values to taste. The editor writes a data pack with all your changes into the Minecraft root folder. Copy that editor folder into your world's datapacks folder and the custom tree takes effect in that world. It is the cleanest way to ship a tuned tree to a server or a modpack.

Required mods and installation

This is a Forge mod, so install Forge first and drop the JAR into your mods folder. If you have not set up a modded profile before, the general install guide walks through the folder structure step by step.

The tree depends on two companion mods to function correctly:

AttributeFix, which unblocks the capped vanilla attributes the mod needs to modify.
Either Max Health Fix or Improved Damage Framework. Pick one of the two, they serve the same role.

Because the mod overhauls damage and health scaling, it pairs naturally with combat overhauls like Better Combat if you want the new stats to actually stretch against tougher enemies. The author also publishes an Auto Leveling mod that scales mob difficulty, which is the recommended counterweight if your specced character starts feeling too strong.

Passive Skill Tree FAQ

Can I respec my skill points?

The class itself cannot be changed once chosen, but you can respec spent nodes and re-plan your path. You can also branch into other classes through the Dimensional Gateway once your tree reaches them, so a hybrid build is always an option later.

How many skill points can I earn?

The default cap is 85, and it is configurable in the mod settings. If you want a tighter playthrough or a longer grind, raise or lower that number to match your world.

Is the mod still being updated?

The latest release shipped in June 2026, so the project is actively maintained. The author notes it remains in beta, so balance and features can still shift between versions.

Does it work with my other combat mods?

It plays well with attribute-driven overhauls. The main requirement is the dependency pair listed above. If a companion mod also modifies health or damage attributes, test the load order, since two mods editing the same attribute can conflict.