Woodwalkers | Shapeshifting Mob Mod

What Woodwalkers Actually Does

Woodwalkers is a shapeshifting mod inspired by the Woodwalkers novel series by Katja Brandis. It technically builds on the older Identity mod, but the experience is its own thing. You pick a second shape, then swap into that mob whenever you want. Your health, size, and movement stats shift to match the creature you became, and your nametag stops rendering, so other players genuinely cannot tell you apart from a regular mob.

That combination is what makes the mod fun. Prank a friend by lurking in their base as a stray. Explore lava lakes as a strider. Skim through caves as a bat. Each shape carries the mob's real passive traits and an active ability you can trigger on demand.

Unlocking and Switching Shapes

The flow is simple once you know the keys. Look directly at a mob and hold the unlock key (default U) for about five seconds. You will see the "You feel it tingle" message as the scan locks in. That mob is now your second shape.

Press the transform key (default G) to swap between your player form and your mob form. Press R to fire the active ability tied to your current shape, with a cooldown shown on screen. Some mobs also have variants (a sheep's wool color, for example). Open the variants menu with V and scroll to cycle through them.

Choosing Your Shape Wisely

Your second shape is permanent by default. Pick a creeper and you are a creeper until you reset it, so the choice matters. The mod gives you two escape hatches if you change your mind. An OP command can revoke a shape, and a config option can reset your second shape on death so you start fresh after a respawn.

If you want full freedom, set unlockOverridesCurrentShape to true in config/walkers.json5. Then scanning a new mob simply replaces your current shape, no death required.

Abilities and Passive Traits

Every shape changes your stats to match the mob. A ghast gets explosive fireballs on R. An enderman can teleport. A strider walks on lava without sinking. Hostile mobs may even ignore you if you are shaped as one of their own, depending on your config.

The config file is where the mod gets deep. You can blacklist specific mobs, abilities, or traits, cap how much health a shape can add, toggle flight for flying mobs, and decide whether nametags render while you are morphed. It is enough tuning to run the mod on a public server without chaos.

Installing Woodwalkers

You need one extra piece on top of the mod itself. CraftedCore is a required library, so grab both JARs before you start.

1. Install your mod loader of choice. Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt all work. Our how to install Minecraft mods guide walks through the full process, and the Fabric loader page covers the Fabric route specifically.
2. Drop the CraftedCore JAR into your mods folder.
3. Drop the Woodwalkers JAR into the same mods folder.
4. Launch the game and confirm both mods appear in the mods list.

The mod runs on both client and server, so anyone joining a server with Woodwalkers needs it installed locally too.

Woodwalkers FAQ

Can other players see that I am a morphed player?

No. Your nametag stops rendering when you transform, and your size and stats match the real mob. The whole point is that you blend in.

Is my second shape really permanent?

By default, yes. You can reset it with an OP command, set revoke2ndShapeOnDeath to reset on death, or enable unlockOverridesCurrentShape to swap shapes freely by scanning a new mob.

Do I need a separate mod for the abilities?

No. Abilities and passive traits ship with Woodwalkers itself. The addon ReMorphed adds kill-to-unlock progression and a morph menu if you want a harder unlock curve.

Will hostile mobs attack me while I am shaped?

Depends on your config. With hostilesIgnoreHostileShapedPlayer enabled, hostiles will ignore you when you are shaped as a hostile mob. Turn it off if you want the danger to stay real.

Can I run this on a server?

Yes. Install it on both the server and every connecting client. Because the transformation is handled per-player, everyone needs the mod locally for the shapes and abilities to render correctly.

If mob-themed overhauls are your thing, pair Woodwalkers with our Enderman Overhaul post for a fresh take on the game's most iconic creature.