How to use Minecraft Photon shaders

Minecraft has one of the most basic graphics in its vanilla version. However, Java Edition offers all kinds of mods that allow third-party features to work. Hence, some people in the community have created great shader packs that completely change the lighting, shadows, fog, and reflections of the game, to a point where the blocky game might not even look familiar.

One such shader pack is called Photon shaders, which offers some of the most realistic reflection, cloud textures, and lighting effects. Here is a guide on how to download it for Minecraft.

Steps to use Photon shaders in Minecraft

1) Find and download Iris Shaders with Sodium mod

Iris Shaders is a mod to run shaders in Minecraft (Image via Iris Shaders)

The first step is to download the Iris Shaders Installer from the official website. You can use any shader pack in the game with the aid of the Iris Shaders mod. Because Iris and Sodium Mod are partners, both will be installed using Iris's installer.

After accessing the page, click the "Download Now" button to start downloading the installer, a little setup file.

2) Installing Iris Shaders

Iris Shaders installer can install Iris, Sodium, and even Fabric for Minecraft 1.21.8 (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Iris Shaders)

A dialog window like the one in the picture will show up when you launch the installer after downloading it. The installer will automatically set the latest version of the game, 1.21.8, and find where the official Minecraft game directory is in your PC.

You can either install Iris and Sodium or both of those mods with the Fabric mod loader. If you want to download and run more mods later, you'll need to change the installation type to "Iris + Fabric". If all you require is shader support and performance boost, installing Iris alone will install Sodium automatically.

3) Find and download the Photon shader pack for Minecraft

Photon can be downloaded from the Modrinth website (Image via Modrinth/sixthsurge)

After installing Iris shaders, head to the Modrinth website to download the Photon shader pack. After you hit the download button, the shader pack will be downloaded as a zip file, which you don't need to open. The zip file needs to be directly copied and pasted into Minecraft's official directory.

4) Open modded Minecraft to open the shader pack folder

Run Iris and Sodium modded Minecraft from the game launcher (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Mojang Studios)

Once your preferred shader pack has been downloaded, launch the official Minecraft game launcher, choose Java Edition, look for the "Iris & Sodium" game version in the drop-down menu, and launch the game.

Navigate to the video settings when the game launches; the Sodium mod will make them appear very different. Navigate to the "Shader Pack" options and choose "Open Shader Pack Folder."

You will need to copy and paste the downloaded Photon shader pack into an empty folder after your game has been minimized. Finally, return to the game, select the shader pack from the settings, and then enter a world.

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Edited by Akshat Kabra