Mallard Guard

Last updated: 15th of October, 2026 | Modpage is WIP

About

Mallard Guard is a highly (extremely) customizeable parry mod inspired by various parry titles. It aims to redesign Minecraft's combat system with a focus on immersive and reactive feedback during combat interactions. I want to make sure it lives up to that and so I assure that the mod is being updated and constantly developed further.

For simplicities sake, the mod has one main control and it's the ability to enter the guarding stance as I call it. You trigger the state by pressing or holding the keybind which defaults to mouse right-click. In this state, you cycle between Perfect Parry → Regular Parry → Guarding Block, all of which are configurable in duration and useability.

It's no exaggeration to say most if not everything is configurable. The mod is still in its early stages and the level of customization I want to have is still undefineable, but I highly recommend you explore the configs!

WHAT'S NEW?

Version 1.57b

• Removed stale block sound (will be replaced soon)
• Fixed Punchy and EMF guard bridge
• Regrouped diagnostic logging config

Version 1.57a

• Overhauled config screens through the new shared library. (It's bundled jar in jar for now)
• Shortened setting descriptions and tooltips
• Improved particle visibility
• Simplified particle intensity controls
• New parried poses with smoother recoil and return
• Added Respect Attack Cooldown to choose whether guarding waits for your attack swing
• Reworked shield assignment to be viable on tools while they keep their proper animations and sounds
• Shield-assigned items that are not recognized as shields (no shield tag) stun only the attacker on a perfect parry; real shields stun every target in their cone
• Parried projectiles keep their incoming speed instead of speeding up
• Deflected homing projectiles no longer steer back to the defender for most mods
• Fixed config update defaults adjustment
• Fixed screen effects layering
• Fixed shields on cooldown parrying for one more tick
• Fixed guard breaks shortening an active shield cooldown
• Fixed attack cooldown and guard cooldown not syncing

Version 1.56d

• Fixed particle limit clamping
• Restored default parry windows
• Fixed Shield Expansion compatibility regarding custom parry window

RECOMMENDED MODS

While the mod runs without them, It is highly recommended to use it with the following:

• Better Combat
• Better Mob Combat - Reimagined
• Punchy
• Fresh Animations: Player Extension

Features

PARRYING

gif soon

BLOCKING

gif soon

SHIELDS

gif soon

Customization

It's no exaggeration to say everything is configurable. At least it's going to be. The mod is still in its early stages and the level of customization I want to have available isn't really ideal to implement when most of the features are still WIP.

For now, most features are configurable. Entertain yourself by stayingin the config for hours just to find your own settings. Heck I spent 6 hours fine tuning my personal screen/particle/punchy settings... Probably not healthy. Regardless, it's your personal canvas so configure to your desire.

On that note, I highly recommend you explore the configs!

Compatibility

INCOMPATIBLE

• Epic Fight - Never tested, but I highly doubt my mechanics fit at all with Epic Fight. My mod was intended for Better Combat afterall.
• ImmediatelyFast - ImmediatelyFast breaks the various HUD elements that appear as effects on your screen. Turn off hud_batching=true to false to use.

COMPATIBLE

• Punchy - Explicit customization editor through the configs so you can create custom poses or specific weapon assignments.
• EMF - Simple animation priority handling to avoid overlap. Tested with Fresh Animations: Player Extension
• Better Combat - Simple animation priority handling to avoid overlap. Tested with both Better Combat and Better Mob Combat.
• Simply Swords - Requires configuration of keybinds. Certain Mallard Guard configs can be tuned to better fit compatibility.
• Shield Expansion - Disables Shield Expansion's mechanics in favor of Mallard Guard while still attempting to give its unique shields their own individual behavior.

FAQ

FAQ:

Q: Modifiable attributes and datatypes?
A: Datadriven features are planned. For now, make do with raw configurations as it won't be for a while. I plan to finalize the features first before then.

Q: Fabric?
A: Soon!

Q: 1.20.1?
A: Not any time soon, but planned. Please don't spam questions about it. I personally don't want to and the only reason I'm even considering is due to demand. Don't make me change my mind.

Q: 26.X?
A: Planned. Will support this version and higher sometime after the Fabric port's release, as well as 1.21.11.

Q: AI?
A: Github copilot is used for code clean up where I overlook efficiency, dead code, or performance constraints. Gemini is used for tooltip descriptions and certain summaries, as well as keeping track of planned features or things that need fixing like a personal notepad. Assets like sound, icon, sprites, and a good portion of the code is mine. I assure that AI is limited to optimizing workflow.

Q: Sound design?
A: It's a crowbar hitting a metal rod. If that breaks your immersion to know, well.. o7

Q: Modpacks?
A: Feel free to use the mod in your modpacks but credit me and this page where possible if you do.