Building Gadgets 2 guide for All the Mods 10 0.54 to 2.12

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Building Gadgets 2 adds a set of tools that make big building jobs quick: building many blocks at once, swapping materials, copying or moving whole structures, and clearing out space. This pack includes version 1.3.9.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

It's for anyone who is tired of placing blocks one at a time. The gadgets need Forge Energy (FE) for most of their functions, so you'll want a way to charge them. Hold the settings key (default 'g') to open a gadget's settings menu.^[7][8]

The gadgets

• Building Gadget places lots of blocks at once. You Shift right-click a block to pick what to build with, and its default mode is Build to Me.^[2]
• Exchanging Gadget swaps one set of blocks for another. It can't replace air, so use the Building Gadget for that. Its default mode is Surface.^[6]
• Copy Paste Gadget copies a structure between opposing corners and pastes it somewhere else, with a ghostly preview before you commit.^[3]
• Cut Paste Gadget moves a structure, including chest contents and block configurations. It holds only one structure at a time and has no undo.^[4][9]
• Destruction Gadget clears a large area. The removed blocks are voided, but you can undo if you make a mistake.^[5]

Undo remembers the last 10 actions a gadget made. You can also bind a gadget to an inventory, or to an Applied Energistics 2 system through its wireless access point, so it pulls items from there.^[9][10]

Where it fits in the pack

The pack's quest book has a Building Gadgets quest in the Building Tips chapter, a quest in "?", which comes after the Paxel quest. A second one, a quest in "?", sits in the Tips and Tricks chapter and mentions diamonds as part of making the gadgets. Either quest is completed by getting any of the gadgets listed above. Both quests also point out that you can link the gadgets to an AE2 network by putting them in a Wireless Access Point.^[8][11]

Unverified Whether the ATM Star path uses this mod is not shown by the sources here. Check the Building Tips and Tips and Tricks quest chapters in your quest book for how the pack presents it.

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Building Gadgets 2 gives you tools that place, swap, copy and clear huge numbers of blocks at once. Every gadget runs on Forge Energy (FE), and you open each gadget's settings menu by holding the settings key, which is G by default. Many mods can charge items with FE, so make sure you have some way to charge your gadgets before you start.^[7][8]

Start with the Building Gadget

Make the Building Gadget first. It's the one you'll use most. This pack adds its own recipe for it, so follow the one below.^[12]

Give it some energy, then shift right-click a block to choose what to build with. The default mode is Build to Me, and you'll see a ghostly preview of the blocks. A red overlay means you're missing items or energy. Right click to place. Blocks you don't have items for are skipped, and you can undo a mistake.^[2]

Add the Exchanging Gadget

The Exchanging Gadget swaps one set of blocks for another, which is great for changing a wall's material. It can't replace air, so keep the Building Gadget for that. You can also enchant it with silk touch, otherwise grass returns dirt.^[6]

Exchanging GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any diamond gem	any lapi gems	any diamond gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_exchanging

Copy structures and save them

The Copy Paste Gadget replicates structures. In copy mode, right click one corner and shift right-click the opposite corner. Then switch to paste mode, check the preview and right click to place it. The items needed are taken from your inventory.^[3]

Copy Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any emerald gem	any redstone dust	any emerald gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_copy_paste

Once you have a build you like, craft the Template Manager. Put a Copy Paste Gadget in the top slot and paper in the bottom slot, then click Save to turn the paper into a template you can keep or share.^[13]

Template ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Paper	any redstone dust	Paper
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:template_manager

Clear space and move builds

The Destruction Gadget clears a large area. Set the area in the settings menu, then right click a block. The blocks are voided, but you can undo it.^[5]

Destruction GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any ender pearl	any redstone dust	any ender pearl
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_destruction

The Cut Paste Gadget works like the Copy Paste Gadget but moves a structure, including chest contents.^[4]

Cut Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Shears	any redstone dust	Shears
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_cut_paste

Quests and AE2

The pack has two quests called a quest in "?" and a quest in "?". Either one completes when you have any of the gadgets. They also note that you can link a gadget to an AE2 network by putting it into a Wireless Access Point.^[8][11]

Building Gadgets 2 is built around a handful of gadgets that share the same core ideas: they run on Forge Energy, they show a ghost preview before they act, they pull items from your inventory, and most of them can undo. Once you know those rules, every gadget feels familiar.^[14][15]

Power

The gadgets need Forge Energy (FE) for most of their functions. Many mods can charge items with FE, and the in-game guide also points to Charging Gadgets if you have nothing else. Hold the settings menu key (default 'g') to open a gadget's settings. Each gadget has different settings.^[14]

In this pack the power values in the common config are all identical to the mod defaults, so nothing is nerfed or boosted. Here is what each gadget costs and holds:^[16]

• Building Gadget: 50 FE per block placed (power.building_gadget.baseCost), with a maximum of 500,000 FE (power.building_gadget.maxPower).^[16]
• Exchanging Gadget: 100 FE per block exchanged (power.exchanging_gadget.baseCost), with a maximum of 500,000 FE (power.exchanging_gadget.maxPower).^[16]
• Copy Paste Gadget: 50 FE per block pasted (power.copypaste_gadget.baseCost). Copying is free. The maximum is 1,000,000 FE (power.copypaste_gadget.maxPower).^[16]
• Cut Paste Gadget: 50 FE per block (power.cutpaste_gadget.baseCost). The cost is checked during the cut and charged during the paste. The maximum is 5,000,000 FE (power.cutpaste_gadget.maxPower).^[16]
• Destruction Gadget: 50 FE per block destroyed (power.destruction_gadget.baseCost), with a maximum of 2,000,000 FE (power.destruction_gadget.maxPower).^[16]

The pack does change how you get the Building Gadget. Its recipe is added by the pack, so it differs from the other gadgets, which use the mod's own recipes.^[17]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any allthemodium nugget	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe for the Building Gadget

Building and exchanging

With the Building Gadget, give it some energy, then Shift right-click a block to choose what you build with. Hold the settings key to pick a building mode. The default is Build to Me. Look at a block and you'll see a ghost preview. A red overlay means you're missing items or energy. Right-click to place. Items come out of your inventory, and any block you lack the item for is skipped.^[15]

The Exchanging Gadget swaps one set of blocks for another, but it can't replace air. Use the Building Gadget for that. Shift right-click a block to pick the target block. The default mode is Surface. Items for the removed blocks are returned to you. You can enchant the gadget with silk touch, otherwise grass returns dirt and so on.^[18]

Range and modes

The building and exchanging gadgets have a range setting. In Horizontal Row mode, a range of 3 means 3 blocks in total, 1 on each side of the block you're looking at. For walls, a range of 3 builds a 3x3 wall. Even numbers are rounded, or change the wall height slightly.^[19]

There is also a global limit on how far away you can build. general.rayTraceRange is set to 32 in this pack, which matches the mod default. Its allowed range is 1 to 64.^[16]

• Build to Me: builds a row from the face you're looking at to you, horizontal or vertical depending on the face. The range setting is ignored. With place on top on, it builds to your head instead of your feet.^[20]
• Horizontal Row: builds away from you in the direction you're looking, which is handy for bridges. On the exchanger it swaps blocks to the left and right of your view.^[21]
• Horizontal Wall: with place on top on, it builds an area above the block, or towards you if you look at a side. With it off, it builds around the block you're looking at.^[22]
• Vertical Column: builds up or down when you look at a top or bottom face, or both up and down around a side face. It is available on the building and exchanging gadgets.^[23]
• Vertical Wall: builds a wall up or down from a top or bottom face, or around the block if you look at its side.^[24]
• Stairs: builds up and away from you or up and towards you, depending on whether you're above or below the block. The guide itself admits this mode is confusing.^[25]
• Grid: places blocks in a grid, useful for torches or glowstone. A bigger range spreads the blocks further apart until the area itself grows. It also works as an exchanger mode.^[26]
• Surface: extends the set of blocks you're looking at. Fuzzy mode lets it target any blocks or only matching ones. On the exchanger, connected mode only swaps blocks connected to the ones you're looking at.^[27]

Place on top works a little differently in each mode and does nothing in some. In general it places on top of a block instead of around it.^[28]

Anchor locks in the block you're looking at so you can move or look around freely. You can still right-click to build. If you change the range, remove and replace the anchor so it takes effect.^[29]

Copying, cutting and templates

For the Copy Paste Gadget, set 'copy' mode, right-click one corner of a structure and Shift right-click the opposite corner. A green outline means it worked. Switch to 'paste' mode to preview and place it. The block you first right-clicked is the structure's starting point. Pasting uses items from your inventory and skips blocks you don't have. The 'material list' option in the settings menu shows what you have and what you're missing.^[30]

The Adjust Placement window lets you nudge the start and end blocks of the copy area, or the paste position, with plus and minus buttons. You can also switch to absolute coordinates. Rotate lets you turn a copy or cut paste around its starting point.^[30][31]

The Cut Paste Gadget works the same way, but the outline is red. Nothing is removed until you press the 'cut' button in the settings menu. Pasting needs no items because it reuses the blocks you removed. Block-entity data moves with the structure, including chest contents and block configurations.^[32]

Paste Replace is only available on the cut paste and copy paste gadgets. When it's off, they only overwrite blocks you could normally replace, like water and tall grass. This can be dangerous with cut paste, because blocks can be lost. When it's on, the gadget replaces any block, including air, which is great for building a house into a mountain. Replaced blocks are voided and drop nothing.^[34]

The Template Manager saves copy paste structures. Put a copy paste gadget in the top slot and paper in the bottom slot, then click 'Save' to turn the paper into a template. You can load a template back onto the gadget, and toggle the view between a render of the structure and a materials list. Templates can be named. 'Copy' puts a JSON string on your clipboard so you can share it. A friend pastes it with the 'paste' button, which needs paper in the bottom slot.^[35]

Destruction, undo and automation

The Destruction Gadget clears an area you set in its settings menu. The area is relative to the block and face you're looking at. Right-click to remove the highlighted blocks. They are voided, not dropped.^[36]

Undo reverses the gadget's last action and remembers the last 10. It works from a hotkey or the settings menu. Undoing a destruction doesn't take items from you, because the voided blocks are simply returned. Undoing an exchange does require you to hold the needed items.^[18][33][36]

If you turn on 'bind inventory' in a gadget's settings and Shift right-click a chest or other inventory, the gadget can pull items from it and put items into it. A blue box confirms the bind. Shift right-click a non-inventory block, like grass, to disconnect. You can also bind to an Applied Energistics 2 system through its wireless access point, and the gadget then has unlimited range.^[37]

Gadgets can also handle fluids. Turn on Raytrace Fluids so exchangers can swap fluids and builders can build on top of them. When it's off, they ignore fluids. Placing fluids needs a bucket of the right fluid, or a tank from a mod like Mekanism, which fluids are removed from and inserted into. When you undo or exchange fluids, the gadget looks for an empty bucket or tank, and voids the fluid if it finds none. The copy paste gadget handles fluids too.^[38][39]

Each gadget can be given a building animation, which defaults to 'grow'. It's purely cosmetic and doesn't change how the gadget works.^[40]

Building Gadgets 2 doesn't have formal tiers in this pack. As far as the pack's data shows, you get five gadgets plus a Template Manager, each with its own crafting recipe, and the quests only ask you to get one of them. Here's how that fits together.^[17][41][42]

The quests

Two quests in the pack involve this mod, and both are simple item checks. a quest in "?" is in the building_tips chapter and unlocks after another quest in that chapter. a quest in "?" is in the tips_and_tricks chapter.^[41][42]

Each quest has a single task that accepts any one of the five gadgets: the Building Gadget, Exchanging Gadget, Copy Paste Gadget, Cut Paste Gadget or Destruction Gadget. So you can pick whichever gadget suits your build and still complete both quests.^[41][42]

Crafting the gadgets

The pack changes how the Building Gadget is made. Its recipe is added by the pack's own scripts, so don't rely on the mod's default recipe.^[17]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any allthemodium nugget	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe for the Building Gadget.

The other four gadgets and the Template Manager use the mod's own recipes.^[17]

Exchanging GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any diamond gem	any lapi gems	any diamond gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_exchanging

Copy Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any emerald gem	any redstone dust	any emerald gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_copy_paste

Cut Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Shears	any redstone dust	Shears
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_cut_paste

Destruction GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any ender pearl	any redstone dust	any ender pearl
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_destruction

Template ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Paper	any redstone dust	Paper
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:template_manager

Which one first?

The quests don't force an order, so choose by what you want to do. Here's what each gadget is for, based on the mod's in-game guide.^{[15][18][30][32][36][41][42]}

• Building Gadget: places lots of blocks at once. The default mode is Build to Me, and it shows a ghost preview before you place anything.^[15]
• Exchanging Gadget: swaps one set of blocks for another, but it can't replace air. You can enchant it with silk touch, and without that, grass gives back dirt.^[18]
• Copy Paste Gadget: copies a structure by marking opposing corners and pastes it back, taking the needed items from your inventory. Blocks you don't have items for are skipped.^[30]
• Cut Paste Gadget: moves a structure, including block-entity data such as chest contents. It stores only one structure at a time and has no undo, so be careful when pasting.^[32][33]
• Destruction Gadget: clears a large area, and the cleared blocks are voided. You can undo it if you make a mistake.^[36]

Building Gadgets 2 doesn't have a huge web of crossovers in this pack, but there are a few connections worth knowing about. The clearest one is how you craft your first gadget.^[17]

Crafting the Building Gadget

The recipe for the Building Gadget is added by the pack itself. It's a shaped crafting recipe that uses materials from other mods, so it's not the mod's default recipe. This is the exact in-pack version:^[17]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any allthemodium nugget	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe, so check it here instead of relying on the mod's defaults.

Quests that point you to the gadgets

Two quests in the pack's quest book are completed by having a gadget: a quest in "?" in the building tips chapter and a quest in "?" in the tips and tricks chapter. Either one accepts any of the five gadgets: Building Gadget, Exchanging Gadget, Copy Paste Gadget, Cut Paste Gadget or Destruction Gadget.^[41][42]

Powering the gadgets

The mod's own guide says its gadgets need Forge Energy for most of their functions. Many mods add support for charging items with Forge Energy, so you can charge them with whatever energy setup you like. The guide also points to a separate mod called Charging Gadgets if you have no other way to charge them.^[14]

Storage and fluid mods

The mod's guide says a gadget can be bound to a chest or other inventory to pull items from it and put items into it. It also says you can bind to an Applied Energistics 2 system through that system's wireless access point, and that the gadget then has unlimited range.^[37]

Unverified The mod's guide also mentions tank mods such as Mekanism for supplying fluids to gadgets. I couldn't confirm from the pack's recipes or quests how Applied Energistics 2 or Mekanism are set up in this pack, so test these links in your own world before you build around them.

Building Gadgets 2 shows up in two quest chapters in this pack: building_tips and tips_and_tricks. Each chapter has one quest for it, and both ask for the same thing.^[41][42]

Building tips chapter

In the building_tips chapter, a quest in "?" has a single item task. You can submit any one of the mod's gadgets: Building Gadget, Exchanging Gadget, Copy Paste Gadget, Cut Paste Gadget or Destruction Gadget.^[41]

This quest comes after another quest in the same chapter, with the ID 22D2CFDDB06C720C. The sources don't show what that earlier quest asks for, so it's unverified. Just know that it sits before this one in the chapter order.^[41]

Tips and tricks chapter

In the tips_and_tricks chapter, a quest in "?" asks for exactly the same thing: one of the five gadgets listed above. The sources show no prerequisite for this quest, so you can pick it up without finishing another quest first.^[42]

Unverified The quest titles and rewards aren't shown in the sources, so what you get for completing these quests is unconfirmed.

Same as in the FTB StoneBlock 4 1.21.0 guide

Building Gadgets 2 is configured in buildinggadgets2-common.toml. This pack leaves every option listed here at the mod default, so there are no pack-specific changes to watch for.^[43]

Build distance

general.rayTraceRange sets the maximum distance you can build at. The pack keeps it at 32, the mod default. The allowed range is 1 to 64.^[43]

Power costs and capacity

Each gadget has a baseCost, which is the cost per block, and a maxPower, which is the most power that gadget can hold. All of these must be above 0, and the pack uses the mod default for every one of them.^[43]

• Building Gadget: power.building_gadget.baseCost is 50 per block placed, and power.building_gadget.maxPower is 500,000.^[43]
• Exchanging Gadget: power.exchanging_gadget.baseCost is 100 per block exchanged, and power.exchanging_gadget.maxPower is 500,000.^[43]
• Copy and Paste Gadget: power.copypaste_gadget.baseCost is 50 per block pasted, and copying is free. power.copypaste_gadget.maxPower is 1,000,000.^[43]
• Cut and Paste Gadget: power.cutpaste_gadget.baseCost is 50 per block. It is checked during the cut and charged during the paste. power.cutpaste_gadget.maxPower is 5,000,000, the largest capacity of the gadgets listed here.^[43]
• Destruction Gadget: power.destruction_gadget.baseCost is 50 per block destroyed, and power.destruction_gadget.maxPower is 2,000,000.^[43]