Auroral guide for FTB Skies 2 1.13.0 to 1.14.3
Auroral guide for FTB Skies 2
Last verified for FTB Skies 2 v1.14.0 on Oct 17, 2026 · text last changed Oct 17, 2026
A newer release (1.24.0) is out Guide for the current version
Also applies to:FTB Skies 2: Aero 1.0.3 to 1.10.0
- Sections
- 6
- Recipes shown
- 13
- Items named
- 27
5 sections are written for this pack; 1 is shared from another pack's guide.
Every recipe and number here was checked against FTB Skies 2 1.14.0's own files.
What is Auroral?
3 parts
Auroral is a winter expansion mod. It turns cold biomes into a progression hub built around the Aurora Borealis, so you can craft special tools, armor and potions without a Nether trip. This pack includes version 1.0.4 for Minecraft 1.21.1.[1][2][3]
The aurora is the engine
Each night in a cold biome, an aurora has a 33% chance to begin. While it lasts, Glacial Basins under open sky slowly fill with Liquid Aura, Shimmersteel tools and Shimmerweave armor repair themselves, and Aurora Blooms sprout on snow. The mod is designed around biomes like Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes, Frozen Ocean, Frozen Peaks, Grove and Snowy Taiga.[3][4]
You get your first key material by harvesting fully grown Aurora Bloom during an aurora. They drop Frozen Petals, which feed into most of the mod's content.[5][6][7]
What you can do with it
- Use the Glacial Basin, your main workstation, to turn materials into Shimmersteel Ingots, Shimmerweave Fabric, Aurora Shards and Shimmering Ice.[1][8]
- Upgrade iron tools into Shimmersteel gear at a Smithing Table, and iron armor into Shimmerweave armor.[1]
- Brew without the Nether. The Cold Brewing Stand uses snowballs instead of Blaze Powder, and Frozen Petals stand in for Nether Wart when making Awkward Potions.[1][5][7]
- Grow Glow Leeks, cook up Frosted Cookies and Hot Cocoa, and keep a Hearthwood Log burning for frostbite protection nearby.[1][9][10]
- Make an Auroral Snowlette by using an Aurora Shard on a Snow Golem, or tame a wild Auroral Nautilus that appears during auroras.[1][11]
Who it's for
Auroral suits you if you want a self-contained tool, armor and alchemy path based in snowy biomes, or an easy way to brew potions before you go to the Nether. The mod can also use GuideME for an in-game guidebook.[1][3]
Unverified The pack's quest book has no quests involving Auroral, and the mod is not on the ATM Star path. The sources don't say where Auroral fits in the pack's wider progression, and they show no pack-specific changes to its recipes or configs, so everything above describes the mod as documented.
How do you get started with Auroral?
3 parts
Auroral is all about the aurora, so your first job is to get yourself into a cold biome like Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes or Frozen Peaks. Each night in a cold biome has a 33% chance of starting an aurora, so be ready to wait a night or two. During one, Aurora Blooms appear on snow and your Glacial Basin fills with Liquid Aura.[3][4][12]
Step by step
- Craft a Glacial Basin. It's your main workstation, and the pack changed its recipe from the mod's own, so use the recipe below.[12][13]
- Place the basin outside with a clear view of the sky, then wait for an aurora. The basin slowly fills with Liquid Aura while the aurora is active.[4][12]
- During the aurora, harvest fully grown Aurora Blooms for Frozen Petals. They only drop when the bloom is at stage 3, and breaking an immature bloom yields nothing.[7]
- Craft Unrefined Shimmersteel. The pack changed this recipe too, so check the block below.[13]
- Right-click the basin with the unrefined shimmersteel to get a Shimmersteel Ingot. The basin has to be completely full (aura cost 3), and the infusion uses up all of its Liquid Aura.[12]
- Right-click the basin with Frozen Petals to make an Aurora Shard, which costs 1 aura.[12]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | ||
| any iron ingot | any iron ingot | any iron ingot |
Recipe id: auroral:glacial_basin
The pack changed this recipe from the mod's default.
Crafting Shapeless
- any copper ingot
- any iron ingot
Coal
Recipe id: auroral:unrefined_shimmersteel
The pack changed this recipe from the mod's default.
Upgrading your gear
Once you have an Aurora Shard, you can craft the Smithing Template. Shimmersteel tools and weapons are made at a Smithing Table by upgrading iron gear with this template and a Shimmersteel Ingot. Here's the template recipe, followed by the pickaxe upgrade as an example. The axe, shovel, hoe, sword and bow follow the same pattern.[1][13]
Crafting Shaped
Recipe id: auroral:shimmersteel_upgrade_smithing_template
Shimmersteel gear also repairs itself automatically while equipped during an aurora.[4]
Good early extras
- Cold Brewing Stand: a Nether-free brewing stand that burns snowballs as fuel instead of Blaze Powder. Frozen Petals take the place of Nether Wart for Awkward Potions.[13][14]
- Hearthwood Log: found naturally in cold biomes, and you light it with Flint and Steel. Players within 16 blocks of a lit one are immune to Frostbite.[10]
- Hot Cocoa: grants 3 minutes of Frostbite immunity and 30 seconds of Regeneration I.[15]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | Empty slot | |
Recipe id: auroral:cold_brewing_stand
How does Auroral work?
8 parts
Auroral doesn't work like a tech mod. Everything runs on aurora events, which are random nights in cold biomes, and on one workstation, the Glacial Basin, that turns the aurora into crafting power. This section covers how those systems tick and which values the pack sets for them.[3][12]
Aurora events
Each night in a cold biome has a 33% chance of starting an aurora, and the pack keeps that default in aurora.aurora_chance. Cold biomes include Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes, Frozen Ocean, Frozen Peaks, Grove and Snowy Taiga.[3][4][16]
An aurora lasts between 6,000 and 12,000 ticks, set by aurora.aurora_min_duration and aurora.aurora_max_duration. Both are at the mod defaults in this pack, and 20 ticks make 1 second.[16]
While an aurora is active, Shimmersteel tools and Shimmerweave armor repair themselves while you hold or wear them. The pack repairs 1 durability per second, controlled by aurora.aurora_repair_rate.[4][16][17]
A lit Hearthwood Log can act as an Aurora Catalyst when it is burning at night. The in-game guide pages differ on how strong the effect is: one says an aurora will occur, the other says only a slight increase in the chance in its area. The sources here do not settle which applies in this pack.[4][10]
The Glacial Basin
- Place the basin outside with a clear view of the sky.[12]
- Wait for an aurora to begin. The basin slowly fills with Liquid Aura.[12]
- Right-click the basin with an item to infuse it.[12]
The basin gains one aura level every 100 ticks during an aurora by default (basin.basin_fill_rate), and it holds 3 levels at most (basin.basin_max_aura). The pack uses the mod defaults for both. Placing several basins lets you collect more aura per event.[12][16]
These are the infusions the basin supports, with their aura cost:[12]
- Unrefined Shimmersteel becomes Shimmersteel Ingot and costs 3, so the basin must be completely full and the infusion uses up all its aura.[12][18]
- Woven Leather becomes Shimmerweave Fabric and costs 1.[12]
- Frozen Petals become Aurora Shard and cost 1.[12]
- Ice becomes Shimmering Ice and costs 1.[12]
The pack changed the Glacial Basin recipe, so don't rely on the mod's own descriptions of it. Use the in-pack recipe below.[13]
From iron to Shimmersteel and Shimmerweave
Shimmersteel is a two-step process. You craft Unrefined Shimmersteel first, then refine it in a full basin. The pack changed the Unrefined Shimmersteel recipe too.[13][18]
Crafting Shapeless
- any copper ingot
- any iron ingot
Recipe id: auroral:unrefined_shimmersteel
Both upgrade paths finish at a Smithing Table and need a Smithing Template. Tools and the bow take an iron base plus a Shimmersteel Ingot. The armor pieces take an iron armor piece plus Shimmerweave Fabric.[13][18][19]
Crafting Shaped
Recipe id: auroral:shimmersteel_upgrade_smithing_template
Farming and flora
Aurora Blooms sprout on snow during auroras and grow through four stages. Only a fully grown bloom, at stage 3, drops Frozen Petals. Breaking an immature one gives nothing.[7]
Shimmering Ice never melts, glows at light level 8, and hydrates farmland and Shimmer Soil within 4 blocks. Glow Leek Seeds can only be planted on it.[13][20][21]
Right-clicking snow, dirt or grass with a Shimmersteel Hoe creates Shimmer Soil. Crops on it grow 3x faster at night and 5x faster during an aurora.[13][17]
Cold Brewing Stand
The Cold Brewing Stand works like a vanilla Brewing Stand, but it burns snowballs as fuel instead of Blaze Powder, and it holds up to 20. Frozen Petals work like Nether Wart for making Awkward Potions from Water Bottles.[14]
The pack sets snowball stacks to 64 through items.snowball_max_stack_size. That's the mod default, and the config notes that vanilla is 16. It makes stocking fuel much easier.[22]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | Empty slot | |
Recipe id: auroral:cold_brewing_stand
Hearthwood Log
Right-click a Hearthwood Log with Flint and Steel to light it. In the pack it burns for 168,000 ticks, which the config describes as 7 in-game days (hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_burn_time). The in-game guide calls it 7 real-world days, so trust the tick value.[10][16]
A lit log gives frostbite immunity within 16 blocks (hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_frostbite_radius). Villagers nearby give a trade discount of 0.2 (hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_villager_discount). Both are mod defaults, and the guide says multiple logs stack their area of effect.[10][16]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | Empty slot | |
| any log that burn | any log that burn | any log that burn |
Recipe id: auroral:hearthwood_log
Auroral Nautilus
Wild nautili only appear during auroras and fade away 600 ticks (30 seconds) after the aurora ends (nautilus.nautilus_despawn_delay). Feeding one an Aurora Shard has a 33% chance to tame it, and a tamed one no longer despawns.[11][16]
When riding a tamed nautilus, hold Space to charge a boost. A full charge gives up to 3x speed (nautilus.nautilus_boost_strength) for 10 ticks (nautilus.nautilus_boost_duration).[11][16]
Gear values set by the pack
These server config values drive the equipment abilities. Every one is at the mod default in this pack.[16]
- Shimmerweave Goggles: hostile mobs within 32 blocks glow (equipment.goggles_glowing_radius).[16][23]
- Shimmerweave Leggings: a speed multiplier of 0.2 on snow and 0.3 on soul sand and soul soil (equipment.leggings_snow_speed_boost, equipment.leggings_soul_speed_boost).[16][24]
- Shimmerweave Skates: a frost walker radius of 2, a multiplier of 1.05 on regular ice and 2.1 on packed or blue ice (equipment.skates_frost_walker_radius, equipment.skates_ice_speed_boost, equipment.skates_packed_ice_speed_boost).[16][25]
- Shimmersteel Sword: Slowness for 3 seconds on hit (combat.sword_slowness_duration), and a bonus execute below 0.15 health fraction (combat.execute_threshold).[16][17]
On the client side, aurora_visuals.show_aurora_effect toggles the sky effect, aurora_visuals.show_aurora_particles the particles and aurora_visuals.play_aurora_ambient_sound the ambient sound, and each of these is on in the pack. aurora_visuals.aurora_intensity is 1, the mod default, within a range of 0.0 to 2.0. footprints.show_footprints controls snow footprints and is also on.[26]
How do you progress through Auroral?
6 parts
Auroral has its own natural progression chain, and all of it hangs on the aurora. The tiers below follow that chain, with the in-pack recipes for each step.[5]
Tier 1: Wait for an aurora and gather Frozen Petals
Every night in a cold biome has a 33% chance of starting an aurora. During one, Aurora Blooms spawn on snow blocks. Only a fully grown bloom (stage 3) drops Frozen Petals. Breaking an immature one gives you nothing, so be patient.[4][7]
The in-game guide calls Frozen Petals the key to unlocking the mod's content, so stock up before moving on.[5]
Tier 2: The Glacial Basin
The Glacial Basin is your main workstation. The pack changed its recipe, so use the one below and not what you may remember from the mod's defaults.[5][13]
Put the basin outside under open sky. During an aurora it slowly fills with Liquid Aura, which the mod needs for its infusions.[4][5]
Tier 3: Shimmersteel and Aurora Shards
The pack also changed the recipe for Unrefined Shimmersteel. Use the recipe below.[13]
Crafting Shapeless
- any copper ingot
- any iron ingot
Recipe id: auroral:unrefined_shimmersteel
The mod's in-game guide describes a second route to Shimmersteel: once your basin has collected Liquid Aura, you right-click it while holding an Iron Ingot and the iron transforms into Shimmersteel.[5]
Aurora Shard comes from infusing Frozen Petals in a Glacial Basin with 1 aura level. You can also get shards from a slain Auroral Nautilus, which drops 1-2 when a player kills it.[7][11]
Tier 4: Shimmersteel tools and Shimmerweave armor
Upgrades are done at a smithing table, and each one needs a Smithing Template. Here is how the template is crafted.[13]
Crafting Shaped
Recipe id: auroral:shimmersteel_upgrade_smithing_template
Tools upgrade from their iron versions: the Shimmersteel Sword, Shimmersteel Pickaxe, Shimmersteel Axe, Shimmersteel Shovel and Shimmersteel Hoe. The Shimmersteel Bow upgrades from a regular bow.[13]
The other Shimmersteel tools follow the same pattern with their iron versions.
Armor upgrades from the matching piece of iron armor: the Shimmerweave Goggles from a helmet, the Shimmerweave Tunic from a chestplate, the Shimmerweave Leggings from leggings and the Shimmerweave Skates from boots.[13]
The other Shimmerweave pieces use the same smithing pattern.
Tier 5: Utility and comfort
Once you have Shimmersteel and shards, a few extras are worth building. The Cold Brewing Stand is a Nether-free brewing station, and Frozen Petals work like Nether Wart for making Awkward Potions.[7]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | Empty slot | |
Recipe id: auroral:cold_brewing_stand
The Aurora Lantern has a pack-changed recipe. It gives off light level 15, and holding it in either hand gives you immunity to the Darkness effect, which helps in the Deep Dark and against the Warden.[13][27]
Crafting Shaped
| any iron nugget | any iron nugget | any iron nugget |
| any iron nugget | any iron nugget | any iron nugget |
Recipe id: auroral:aurora_lantern
The Hearthwood Log gives frostbite immunity within 16 blocks once lit with Flint and Steel. Villagers nearby may also offer better trades.[10]
Crafting Shaped
| Empty slot | Empty slot | |
| any log that burn | any log that burn | any log that burn |
Recipe id: auroral:hearthwood_log
The in-game guides disagree about the Aurora Catalyst. One says a Hearthwood Log burning during nighttime acts as a catalyst, guaranteeing an aurora will occur, while another says a lit log can only slightly increase the chance of auroras in its area.[4][10]
Farming and food
Glow-Leeks can only be planted on Shimmering Ice, which you make by infusing regular ice in a Glacial Basin with Liquid Aura. Start with the seeds.[20][21]
- Glow-Leek: eating one grants Night Vision and Glowing.[13][20]
- Candied Glow-Leek: a sweetened version without the glowing side effect.[9][13]
- Hot Cocoa: gives 3 minutes of Frostbite Immunity and 30 seconds of Regeneration I.[15]
- Frosted Cookies: a quick snack that makes 4 cookies per craft.[28]
Which Auroral config options matter?
5 parts
Same as in the FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 guide
Good news: in this pack, every Auroral option you can see in the config files is set to the mod's own default. The pack changed nothing, so anything you know about the mod's default tuning applies here. Below are the options you're most likely to want to tweak, with the exact values this pack uses.[29][30][31]
Aurora events
- aurora.aurora_chance is 0.33, the chance of an aurora each night in cold biomes. The allowed range is 0.0 to 1.0.[30]
- aurora.aurora_min_duration is 6000 ticks and aurora.aurora_max_duration is 12000 ticks. 20 ticks make 1 second.[30]
- aurora.aurora_repair_rate is 1, the durability repaired per second on Shimmersteel and Shimmerweave gear during an aurora.[30]
- basin.basin_fill_rate is 100 ticks between each aura fill during an aurora, and lower means faster. basin.basin_max_aura is 3, the maximum aura levels a basin can hold.[30]
Since basins only fill during auroras, the chance and duration options decide how quickly you get Liquid Aura for your crafting.[1][30]
Gear and combat
- combat.execute_threshold is 0.15 for the Shimmersteel Sword's execute, and combat.sword_slowness_duration is 3 seconds of Slowness.[30]
- equipment.goggles_glowing_radius is 32 blocks, the radius in which Shimmerweave Goggles apply Glowing to hostile mobs.[30]
- equipment.leggings_snow_speed_boost is 0.2 (+20% on snow) and equipment.leggings_soul_speed_boost is 0.3 (+30% on soul sand and soil).[30]
- equipment.skates_ice_speed_boost is 1.05 on regular ice and equipment.skates_packed_ice_speed_boost is 2.1 on packed or blue ice.[30]
- equipment.skates_frost_walker_radius is 2 blocks for the Shimmerweave Skates' frost walker and lava walker effect.[30]
Hearthwood Log and nautilus
- hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_burn_time is 168000 ticks, which is 7 in-game days.[30]
- hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_frostbite_radius is 16 blocks for frostbite protection, and hearthwood_log.hearthwood_log_villager_discount is 0.2 for the trade discount on nearby villagers.[30]
- nautilus.nautilus_boost_duration is 10 ticks (0.5 seconds) and nautilus.nautilus_boost_strength is 3, meaning up to 3x velocity at full charge.[30]
- nautilus.nautilus_despawn_delay is 600 ticks, so wild nautili despawn 30 seconds after the aurora ends.[30]
Client visuals
The client options are all on or at their default. aurora_visuals.show_aurora_effect, aurora_visuals.show_aurora_particles, aurora_visuals.play_aurora_ambient_sound and footprints.show_footprints are all true. aurora_visuals.aurora_intensity is 1, with a range of 0.0 to 2.0.[29]
Snowball stack size
items.snowball_max_stack_size is 64 in this pack, which is the mod's default. The file notes that vanilla stacks snowballs to 16, so you carry far more of them. That matters for the Shimmersteel Bow, which uses snowballs as ammo. The allowed range is 16 to 64.[1][31]
What changed in Auroral between versions?
2 parts
FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 ships Auroral 1.0.4 (the 1.21.1 build). It was already in the pack as of 1.13.0 or earlier, so this is the version you're playing with.[2]
Auroral 1.0.4
The 1.0.4 update is mostly about getting crafting to work and tuning the Auroral Nautilus. Here's what the mod's own changelog says.[32]
- New recipe: the Shimmersteel Upgrade Smithing Template, which was missing before.[32]
- New recipe: ice can now be crafted from Snowballs and a Water Bucket.[32]
- New recipe: the Auroral Guide is a shapeless craft using a Book and a Snowball.[32]
- The Auroral Nautilus now drops leather (1-2) instead of Aurora Shards, and has a small chance to drop Prismarine Shards.[32]
- The Auroral Nautilus spawns less often.[32]
Bug fixes
- All crafting recipes were broken by an incorrect JSON format. This is fixed.[32]
- Spawn egg textures for the Auroral Snowlette and Auroral Nautilus are fixed.[32]
- The advancement tab background now displays correctly.[32]
- Duplicate resource files that caused build issues were removed.[32]
Unverified No pack changelog entries for Auroral were available, so any pack-specific changes to the mod across FTB Skies 2 releases are unverified.
Sources
- Auroral project page (modrinth) · official mod data
- FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 mod list · pack file
- In-game guide: Introduction (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Aurora Events (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: First Steps (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Snow Angels (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Aurora Blooms (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Auroral Guide (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Food & Drinks (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Hearthwood Log (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Aurora Creatures (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Glacial Basin (auroral) · official docs
- FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 recipe dump: recipes making Auroral items · pack recipe dump
- In-game guide: Cold Brewing Stand (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Hot Cocoa (auroral) · official docs
- FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 config: config/auroral-server.toml · pack file
- In-game guide: Shimmersteel Tools (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Shimmersteel Ingot (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Shimmerweave Fabric (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Glow Leeks (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Shimmering Ice (auroral) · official docs
- FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 config: config/auroral-startup.toml · pack file
- In-game guide: Shimmerweave Goggles (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Shimmerweave Leggings (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Shimmerweave Skates (auroral) · official docs
- FTB Skies 2 1.14.0 config: config/auroral-client.toml · pack file
- In-game guide: Aurora Lantern (auroral) · official docs
- In-game guide: Frosted Cookies (auroral) · official docs
- FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 config: config/auroral-client.toml · pack file
- FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 config: config/auroral-server.toml · pack file
- FTB Skies 2 1.22.0 config: config/auroral-startup.toml · pack file
- Auroral 1.21.1-1.0.4-1.21.1 changelog · changelog
Where this guide comes from
Written from what FTB Skies 2 itself ships: its files and recipes, the in-game guidebooks and the mods' own pages. Every statement links to the source it came from, and the numbers are checked against the pack before publishing.
Guide last verified Oct 17, 2026.
Guides for other versions: 1.16.0 to 1.24.0 · 1.15.0