![[World Generator/Challenge] Start In The Nether!](https://cdn.modrinth.com/data/yalLDpRT/763ad84838eeb0ab335e4331fefa274c043b8338_96.webp)
Introduction:
I'm sure many of you have thought about it: What if we started in the Nether? What if we had to escape to the real world to get resources and survive? Swap the nether with the overworld! Would it be possible? The answer is: yes. Many of us thought about this idea and some of us pulled this through. Some with considerably better results than other but yeah, most of them didn’t really succeed without the usage of either light or heavy mods. Data packs are delicate things. They all depend on the game itself, on the current version of Minecraft. In contrast to mods, either fabric or forge data packs cannot actually add new blocks, items or content to the game because they’re limited to use vanilla assets only… BUT that doesn’t mean a creative mind cannot create something new! Minecraft is HUGE, yes. That is not a question. If you use your mind well enough and the devs AND the game wishes you to succeed you can create new things with data packs for sure. So far this is the only working data pack for 1.18 that I found to be working and does what it is supposed to do. Swap the nether with the overworld safely, thus the player will start in the nether.
Features:
Nothing much. Really. The nether and overworld dimensions are swapped. You need to survive. Starting in the nether without any resources to help you survive is a hard job. VERY hard. I’ve done it countless times so I do know that… Good luck!
Addendum:
There are quite a few data packs for 1.18 that should do the same as this pack. Only that they're outdated and falsely marked to work with 1.18. Most of these wasn't even updated for half a year, deprecated and neglected or was released while 1.18 wasn't released. I've tested the following data packs those do not work at all or are very buggy:
- StuleBackery's Start In The Nether Pack
- Cosmoguy's Nether Escape - Minigame/challenge (It's different kind of data pack but it does work in fact. Just installation is different.)
- paczek654321's nether start
- Yoyousss' Minecraft, But The Dimensions Are Switched...
- Edition: Minecraft Java
- File type: .jar
- Minecraft version listed: 1.21.11
- How to install: Install the matching mod loader (Forge, Fabric or NeoForge) for your Minecraft version. → Download the .jar. → Put it in the .minecraft/mods folder and launch that loader profile.
- Where to get it: Opens on Modrinth — not every file is mirrored on our own servers.
Install steps are the general flow for this file type — see the MC Java Mods guides for the full walkthrough.
- Downloads as Start In The Nether 1.21.11.zip
- Download size: 371 KB
- Download link checked 5 Sept 2026 — working
These come from our own check of the pack file, not from the source page.