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Ender Drives guide for FTB Skies 2 1.6.0 to 1.21.1

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Ender Drives guide for FTB Skies 2

Written for FTB Skies 2 1.21.1 · also fits 1.6.0 to 1.20.1 · updated Oct 16, 2026

Last verified for FTB Skies 2 v1.21.1 on Oct 17, 2026 · text last changed Oct 16, 2026

A newer release (1.24.0) is out Guide for the current version

Also applies to:All the Mods 10 4.3 to 8.3FTB Skies 2: Aero 1.0.3 to 1.10.0FTB StoneBlock 4 1.1.1 to 1.23.0

Sections
6
Recipes shown
11
Items named
19

1 section is written for this pack; 5 are shared from another pack's guide.

Every recipe and number here was checked against FTB Skies 2 1.21.1's own files.

What is Ender Drives?

4 parts

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Ender Drives gives you a different way to store items. Drives link together by frequency, so every drive with the same frequency and privacy shares the same contents, no matter who crafted it. It works whether the drive sits in your AE2 system, in another dimension, or in another player's system.[1][2]

The pack includes Ender Drives 1.5.23 for NeoForge 1.21.1. It has been in the pack since version 2.42 or earlier.[3]

What every drive is set with

  • Frequency: drives on the same frequency share one virtual inventory.[2]
  • Scope: Global (the default, open to any player on that frequency), Private (tied to your UUID, though other users of your ME system can still access the storage) or Team (shared with your FTB Team).[2]
  • Mode: Bidirectional (the default), Input-Only or Output-Only.[2]

Types, not bytes

Unlike traditional AE2 drives, an Ender Drive is limited only by item types. Each type can hold up to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 items (2^63 - 1). The power cost grows with the number of items stored at that frequency, so a huge stockpile isn't free to run.[2]

How many types your server can handle depends on the server. The mod's guide describes an autobenchmark command that you can use to test it.[2]

Tape Disks for NBT-heavy gear

The mod also adds Tape Disks, AE2-compatible storage cells for items with NBT data, such as enchanted armor, tools and other non-stackable gear. They keep these items out of the type space on your big drives. Tape Drives do not tell AE2 that they are preferred for matching items, so use ME Drive priority to control where items go.[1][4]

Who it's for

If you run an AE2 setup and want storage shared across dimensions, bases or teammates, this mod is for you. Tape Disks are useful when your drives fill up with unique gear.[1][2][4]

Unverified Where Ender Drives fits in this pack's progression is unconfirmed. The sources show no quests for the mod and no ATM Star path involvement.

How do you get started with Ender Drives?

5 parts

Same as in the All the Mods 10 7.3 guide

Ender Drives give you a different way to store items in your AE2 system. Each drive is set to a frequency, and every drive with the same frequency and privacy setting shares the same contents, no matter who crafted it. Whether the drive sits in your AE2 system, in another dimension or on another player's system, the contents are globally synchronized.[1][5]

Watch out: Every Ender Drives recipe in this pack has been changed by the pack. If you've seen recipes for this mod in another pack or in a video, don't rely on them. Check the recipe blocks below, which show the exact in-pack recipes.[6]

Step 1: Make a 1k Ender Storage Component

Your first craft is the 1k Ender Storage Component. It's the base component for the smallest Ender cell and the start of the whole upgrade path.[6]

Step 2: Craft your first Ender cell

Next, craft the 1k Ender Item Storage Cell. This is the actual storage cell that goes into your ME system.[6]

Set frequency, scope and mode

Each Ender Drive has three settings. The frequency decides which shared inventory it connects to. The scope decides who can access it. The mode decides how items flow in and out.[5]

  • Scope: Global is the default. Any player using the same frequency can access that inventory. Private ties the frequency to you, so only you can create drives for it. Team shares the frequency with your FTB Team.[5]
  • Mode: Bidirectional is the default and works like a normal ME drive. Input-Only lets items go in but not come out. Output-Only lets items come out but not go in.[5]
Watch out: Because Global is the default scope, anyone who picks the same frequency can reach your items. If you want your storage to yourself or your team, switch the scope to Private or Team. Note that with Private, other people using your ME system can still access that storage.[5]

Step 4: Scale up

Ender cells aren't limited like normal AE2 cells. Their only hard limit is the number of item types, and each type can hold up to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 items. Be careful, though: the power cost goes up with the number of items stored on the drive at that frequency. The cell tooltip shows how many types you've used.[5][7]

When you need more types, work up through the bigger components: 4k Ender Storage Component, 16k Ender Storage Component, 64k Ender Storage Component and 256k Ender Storage Component. Each size has its own matching cell.[6]

Optional: a Tape Disk for your gear

The Tape Disk Item Storage Cell is a separate cell built for NBT-heavy and non-stackable items like enchanted armor, tools, enchanted books and potions. It only accepts those kinds of items. Its space scales with the NBT size of what you store, so your gear stops eating up type space on your big drives. The tooltip shows how many bytes and types you've used.[4][6][7]

Tape Disk Item Storage CellChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Vibrant Quartz GlassSky Stone DustVibrant Quartz Glass
Sky Stone Dust256k ME Storage ComponentSky Stone Dust
any netherite ingotLight Blue Paint Ballany netherite ingot

Recipe id: enderdrives:tape_disk

Tip: A Tape Disk won't tell AE2 that it's the preferred cell for matching items. Use ME Drive priority so your gear actually goes into it.[4]

How does Ender Drives work?

7 parts

Same as in the All the Mods 10 7.3 guide

Ender Drives adds item storage cells for your AE2 network, and they work very differently from normal cells. Each drive is linked to a frequency, and every drive with the same frequency and privacy setting shares the same contents, no matter who crafted it. Whether the drive sits in your own AE2 system, in another dimension or on another player's system, the contents stay synchronized everywhere.[1][5]

Frequency, scope and mode

Every Ender Drive has three settings. The frequency decides which shared inventory it connects to. The scope decides who can access it. The mode decides which way items can flow. All drives with the same frequency and scope open the same virtual inventory, wherever they are.[5]

Unverified The sources don't explain how you set the frequency, scope and mode on a drive, such as which menu or key you use. Check the drive in-game to find out.

Transfer modes

Each drive can use one of three transfer modes. The drive's tooltip shows the current mode, so you can check a cell at a glance.[5][7]

  • Bidirectional is the default. It behaves like a standard ME drive, so you can insert and extract items freely.[5]
  • Input Only lets items go in but never come out. This is handy for buffers or for syncing inputs.[5][7]
  • Output Only lets items come out but never go in. This is great for output buffers or read-only access.[5][7]

Scope and privacy

  • Global is the default and is fully public. Any player using the same frequency can access that shared inventory.[5]
  • Private is tied to your UUID, so only you can create drives that access the frequency. Anyone else who uses your ME system can still reach the storage through it.[5]
  • Team is shared with your FTB Team, so every member can create drives that access the same frequency.[5]
Watch out: Private does not lock your items away from other people on your own network. It only controls who can make new drives on that frequency. Anyone who can use your ME system can still get to the items stored there.[5]

Types, not bytes

Normal AE2 cells run out of space, but Ender Drives are only limited by the number of item types. Because of how the items are stored behind the scenes, you can hold up to 2^63 - 1, or 9,223,372,036,854,775,807, items of each type. Each cell's tooltip shows how many types it is using out of its maximum.[5][7]

Watch out: Storage isn't free. The power cost rises with the number of items stored on the drive at that frequency, so a huge shared inventory will draw more power from your network.[5]

Server performance and the benchmark

The real limit is how many types your server can handle before it starts to lag, and that number is different on every server. The type limit is also shared by everyone using the drives on the same world, so it's one pool for all players.[5]

  1. Set a drive to Private and pick the frequency you want to test. Keep a terminal open with that drive so the results are accurate.[5]
  2. Run the autobenchmark command. It keeps adding load until TPS drops below 18, which can take a few minutes.[5]

For comparison, the mod's author reports an average of about 275,000 types before performance issues show up, with some players suggesting higher or lower limits. That is a lot of fully typed 256k Ender Item Storage Cell cells before you would notice anything, but run the benchmark on your own server rather than relying on someone else's number.[5]

Tape Disks for NBT-heavy gear

The Tape Disk Item Storage Cell solves a different problem. It is an AE2-compatible cell built for NBT-heavy items like tools, armor, enchanted gear and other uniquely tagged items that normally eat up type space in regular ME drives. A Tape Disk only accepts items with non-standard NBT, armor, tools or non-stackable items. Plain stackable items without NBT are rejected.[4]

Tape Disks have two limits: a type limit for the number of unique items, and a byte limit based on the NBT data size of each item. Items with lots of tags use more bytes. The tooltip shows how many bytes and types you've used, so you can see exactly how full a disk is.[4][7]

Tip: A Tape Disk does not tell AE2 that it is the preferred home for matching items. If you want your gear to go there before your other cells, use ME Drive priority.[4]

When you move items into or out of a Tape Disk with an IO Port, the disk throttles itself automatically. Because it may be handling NBT-heavy items, it transfers them gradually instead of dumping everything at once and freezing your game.[4]

Crafting in this pack

This pack changes the recipes for every Ender Drives item, including the storage components, all Ender Item Storage Cells and the Tape Disk. Components come in tiers, starting from the 1k Ender Storage Component, and each cell is built from its matching component. Here are the starting-tier recipes and the Tape Disk as they appear in this pack.[6]

1k Ender Storage ComponentChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity
Ender PearlQuantum Storage ComponentEnder Pearl
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity

Recipe id: enderdrives:ender_storage_component_1k_advanced

Entry-tier component

Tape Disk Item Storage CellChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Vibrant Quartz GlassSky Stone DustVibrant Quartz Glass
Sky Stone Dust256k ME Storage ComponentSky Stone Dust
any netherite ingotLight Blue Paint Ballany netherite ingot

Recipe id: enderdrives:tape_disk

How do you progress through Ender Drives?

4 parts

Same as in the All the Mods 10 7.3 guide

Ender Drives are AE2 storage cells that share one synchronized inventory across ME systems, dimensions and even different players, all linked by a frequency you set on each drive. The progression is straightforward: build a chain of Ender Storage Components, then turn each component into a matching cell.[5]

This pack changed every Ender Drives recipe, so don't rely on crafting guides from other packs or the mod's defaults. The recipe blocks on this page show the exact in-pack versions.[6]

The component chain

There are five tiers of components: 1k, 4k, 16k, 64k and 256k. Only the 1k component is crafted from scratch. Every tier above it needs the previous tier's component, so you can't skip ahead. A 256k component means working through the whole chain.[6]

  1. Start with the 1k Ender Storage Component, the entry point of the whole chain.[6]
  2. Upgrade it into the 4k Ender Storage Component.[6]
  3. Upgrade the 4k into the 16k Ender Storage Component.[6]
  4. Upgrade the 16k into the 64k Ender Storage Component.[6]
  5. Finish with the 256k Ender Storage Component, made from the 64k.[6]
1k Ender Storage ComponentChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity
Ender PearlQuantum Storage ComponentEnder Pearl
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity

Recipe id: enderdrives:ender_storage_component_1k_advanced

The starting component

Turning components into cells

Each cell tier is crafted from its matching component. All five cell recipes share the same frame and differ only in the component. The cells are the 1k Ender Item Storage Cell, 4k Ender Item Storage Cell, 16k Ender Item Storage Cell, 64k Ender Item Storage Cell and 256k Ender Item Storage Cell.[6]

Tip: Turning a component into a cell uses it up, and higher components also use up lower ones. If you want both a small cell now and a 256k later, you'll need to craft separate components for each.[6]

What the tiers actually limit

Ender Drives don't work like normal AE2 byte limits. The only hard limit is the number of item types. Each type can hold up to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 items. Keep in mind that the power cost goes up with the number of items stored on a frequency.[5]

The practical ceiling is how many types your server can handle, and that limit is shared by everyone using Ender Drives on the same world. The mod author reports a personal average of about 275,000 types. You can test your own server with the autobenchmark command while a terminal is open with a Private drive on the selected frequency. It keeps running until TPS drops below 18, which can take a few minutes.[5]

Unverified The sources don't list the exact type count for each cell tier, so this page doesn't give per-tier numbers.

The Tape Disk side branch

The Tape Disk Item Storage Cell sits outside the Ender tier chain. It's a single cell with its own recipe, also changed by this pack, and it doesn't use any Ender Storage Component.[6]

Tape Disks only accept items with non-standard NBT, armor, tools or non-stackable items. That makes them a good home for enchanted gear, enchanted books and potions that would otherwise eat up type space in your main drives. Each Tape Disk has both a type limit and a byte limit, and the bytes used depend on the NBT size of each stored item.[4]

Tape Disk Item Storage CellChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Vibrant Quartz GlassSky Stone DustVibrant Quartz Glass
Sky Stone Dust256k ME Storage ComponentSky Stone Dust
any netherite ingotLight Blue Paint Ballany netherite ingot

Recipe id: enderdrives:tape_disk

Watch out: Tape Disks don't tell AE2 they're the preferred storage for matching items, so set ME Drive priority if you want gear to go there first. They also throttle themselves during IO Port transfers, so expect those transfers to be slow.[4]

How does Ender Drives work with other mods?

4 parts

Same as in the All the Mods 10 7.3 guide

Ender Drives is built as an add-on for AE2 storage. Its Ender Item Storage Cells go into your ME system like normal drives. Any drives set to the same frequency and scope share one synchronized inventory, whether they sit in your own network, another dimension or another player's system.[1][5]

In this pack, every Ender Drives crafting recipe that connects to other mods has been changed by the pack. So don't trust recipes from other packs or older videos. The pack ties the mod into AE2 parts like Vibrant Quartz Glass and Sky Stone Dust, plus quantum-tier parts like Quantum Processor and Shattered Singularity.[6]

Ender Storage Components

Everything starts with 1k Ender Storage Component. Its recipe is built around a Quantum Storage Component, so you need to reach quantum storage parts before you can make your first Ender Drive.[6]

1k Ender Storage ComponentChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity
Ender PearlQuantum Storage ComponentEnder Pearl
Shattered SingularityEnder PearlShattered Singularity

Recipe id: enderdrives:ender_storage_component_1k_advanced

The entry-level component, as changed by the pack.

Each bigger component is crafted from the one below it. The chain goes 1k Ender Storage Component to 4k Ender Storage Component to 16k Ender Storage Component to 64k Ender Storage Component to 256k Ender Storage Component. Every upgrade step uses Quantum Processor and Shattered Singularity together with AE2's Vibrant Quartz Glass.[6]

4k Ender Storage ComponentChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Shattered SingularityQuantum ProcessorShattered Singularity
1k Ender Storage ComponentVibrant Quartz Glass1k Ender Storage Component
Shattered Singularity1k Ender Storage ComponentShattered Singularity

Recipe id: enderdrives:ender_storage_component_4k_advanced

The larger tiers follow the same pattern with the previous component.

Ender Item Storage Cells

To turn a component into a usable drive, you craft the matching cell. For example, 1k Ender Storage Component becomes 1k Ender Item Storage Cell. All five cell recipes in this pack also need a Ender Chest, quantum parts such as Quantum Alloy Plate, and AE2 materials.[6]

1k Ender Item Storage CellChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Vibrant Quartz GlassQuantum ProcessorVibrant Quartz Glass
Sky Stone Dust1k Ender Storage ComponentSky Stone Dust
Quantum Alloy PlateEnder ChestQuantum Alloy Plate

Recipe id: enderdrives:ender_disk_1k_advanced

The other cell sizes use the same layout with their matching component.

Tape Disk

The Tape Disk Item Storage Cell takes a different route. Its recipe in this pack skips the quantum parts and uses only AE2 materials, centered on a 256k ME Storage Component. That makes it the more approachable of the two storage types.[6]

Tape Disk Item Storage CellChanged by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped
Vibrant Quartz GlassSky Stone DustVibrant Quartz Glass
Sky Stone Dust256k ME Storage ComponentSky Stone Dust
any netherite ingotLight Blue Paint Ballany netherite ingot

Recipe id: enderdrives:tape_disk

Tape Disks are AE2-compatible cells made for NBT-heavy, non-stackable items like enchanted gear and tools. That keeps those items from eating type space on your normal ME drives. When you move items to or from a Tape Disk with an AE2 IO Port, the disk throttles itself so it doesn't freeze your game.[4]

Tip: Tape Disks don't tell AE2 they're the preferred place for matching items. If you want your gear to land on the Tape Disk, use ME Drive priority to push it there.[4]

Teams

Ender Drives also hooks into FTB Teams. If you set a drive's scope to Team, every member of your FTB Team can create drives that access the same frequency. That's handy for a shared base storage on a server.[5]

Unverified No quests in this pack involve Ender Drives, so there's no questline to guide you through these recipes. Check the recipe viewer in-game. This site does hold FTB Skies 2's own recipes, read from the pack itself: look the item up in the item browser.

Which Ender Drives config options matter?

5 parts

Almost everything in Ender Drives is configured in one server-side file, and this pack leaves most of it at the mod's defaults. Only two values are changed, and both are in the database section, so those are the ones to look at first.[8]

What the pack changed

  • ender_db.max_commit_interval_ms is 60,000 in this pack. The mod default is 5,000. It sets the maximum time in milliseconds between WAL commits, and it accepts values from 500 to 60,000, so the pack is using the top of the allowed range.[8]
  • ender_db.merge_buffer_threshold is 1,000 in this pack. The mod default is 100. It sets how many pending WAL entries build up before they are merged, and it accepts values from 1 to 10,000.[8]

The minimum WAL commit interval, ender_db.min_commit_interval_ms, is still the default 2,500. The DB flush commit window is also unchanged, with ender_db.min_db_commit_interval_ms at 5,000 and ender_db.max_db_commit_interval_ms at 60,000. Verbose logging for the database, ender_db.debug_log, is off.[8]

Which disks are enabled

All the Ender Disk tiers are switched on: general.enable_ender_disk_1k, general.enable_ender_disk_4k, general.enable_ender_disk_16k, general.enable_ender_disk_64k, general.enable_ender_disk_256k and general.enable_ender_disk_creative are all true. general.enable_tape_disk is false, so the tape disk is turned off in this pack.[8]

Item type limits per disk

The maximum number of different item types each disk can hold is untouched by the pack and matches the mod defaults.[8]

Scope and frequency

New Ender Drives start with the scope set by ender_scope.default_scope, which is "global" here. The other options are private and team. Each scope is enabled through ender_scope.enable_scope_global, ender_scope.enable_scope_private and ender_scope.enable_scope_team, and all of them are set to true in this pack.[8]

Frequencies run from ender_scope.frequency_min (0) to ender_scope.frequency_max (4,095), which is the full allowed range and the mod default.[8]

Tape disk and autobenchmark settings

The tape disk settings are all at the mod defaults, though the tape disk itself is disabled in this pack. tape_disk.tape_disk_max_bytes is 292,144 bytes, tape_disk.tape_disk_type_limit is 255 types, tape_disk.flush_interval is 5,000 ms, tape_disk.flush_threshold is 500 changes, and tape_disk.ram_eviction_timeout is 300,000 ms. tape_disk.debug_log is off.[8]

The autobenchmark command settings are also unchanged. It starts at ender_commands.autobenchmark_initial_size (10,000) types and adds ender_commands.autobenchmark_step (5,000) per iteration, resting ender_commands.autobenchmark_ms_sleep (10,000) ms between steps. It tries up to ender_commands.autobenchmark_max_types (2,000,000) entries and aims to keep the server at ender_commands.autobenchmark_min_tps (18) TPS or better.[8]

Tip: If you run a server and want to change how often Ender Drives writes its data, the two database values above are the ones the pack tuned, so they're the first place to look.[8]

Guides that go with this one

Sources

  1. In-game guide: EnderDrives Introduction (enderdrives) · official docs
  2. In-game guide: Ender Item Storage Cell (enderdrives) · official docs
  3. All the Mods 10 8.1 mod list · pack file
  4. In-game guide: Tape Disk Item Storage Cell (enderdrives) · official docs
  5. In-game guide: Ender Item Storage Cell (enderdrives) · official docs
  6. All the Mods 10 7.3 recipe dump: recipes making Ender Drives items · pack recipe dump
  7. enderdrives tooltips and descriptions (English lang file) · official mod data
  8. FTB Skies 2 1.21.1 config: config/enderdrives-server.toml · pack file
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: 1.22.0 to 1.24.0 · 1.2.0 to 1.5.2

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