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Beat Saber is one of the most exciting, well-constructed, and innovative VR games. It’s what you’d imagine guitar hero was if it was VR and on steroids. You try to slice and strike music beats as they fly towards you to create songs and find your rhythm.
If you’ve seen clips of the game or played it yourself, you’ve probably seen that players don’t always use the default Saber the game comes equipped with. If you’ve wanted to use the custom Sabers that can be modded into the game, this list of the best Beat Saber mods will help you pick the coolest looking equipment to rock and roll with.
Bottom Line Up Front
The best Beat Saber mod will be hard to pick in a bottom line up front because it’s a design choice, and mine will likely differ from yours. However, if I account for popularity, novelty, and the cool look and feel of the mod, I would pick the Minecraft Swords mod.
There’s something about having 8-bit pixelated swords as your Sabers of choice in a game that’s so visually immersive. They stand out just the right amount, and they’re eye-catching. They’re also not very basic, and many players don’t opt for them, which makes them slightly more appealing to me.
The sword also ages as you strike consecutively, inherently rewarding the Beat Saber player with a slightly cooler Saber after a few consecutive strikes.
While these are my personal favorites, the top picks I list in the subsequent section will be more likely to appease the wider variety of users reading this article and accommodate their tastes and interests. I’ve tried to make the top picks list as diverse as possible, to pick games from different genres or platforms.
My Top Picks
- The Minecraft Swords are very good-looking; they stand out, and they reward the user with different looks as the game progresses. These are my top pick and favorite mod for these reasons.
- The Pappenheimer mod is a mod that consists of a blade used by a medieval-age Count in Germany. The blade resembles something like a sword but as a Saber, making it a rather cool conglomeration of the two types of handheld weapons.
- The Iron Hammer mod is also great since it gives you a Thor-like feeling. The hammers also make it feel like you have a larger hitbox which makes the game seem easier.
- The Master Sword and Hylian Shield mod is a replication of Zelda’s world and the weapons therein. It can get annoying when the weapons aren’t symmetrical since one is a shield. However, I think this is what sets that mod apart.
- the LeekSaber mod is a mod that makes your Sabers leeks. There it is. Nothing else. You’re using leeks. It’s fun. It’s entertaining.
Selection Criteria
I have to clarify at the outset that for mod selection in a game as visual as this, there aren’t very objective criteria I’ve set. I will not be following a strict set of criteria to select the mods that I do.
Largely, I’ll be focusing on free mods. I’ll consider the looks and how attractive the mods look to me. I’ll also consider how relevant they are culturally and how much of a change they make to the feel of the gameplay.
I’ll do my best to incorporate different interests and fandoms when choosing a mod for this list. I am well aware, however, that my latent biases will play in during my selection, and the Mods I list out will not be universally liked,
Before that, I’ll cover how to install mods on Beat Saber and then delve right into the best Beat Saber mods.
How to Mod in Beat Saber
- To install mods in Beat Saber, you’ll need a modding assistant to help you load and store your mods and manage them. You can download Mod Assistant via this link.
- Make sure you’ve run Beat Saber and played it at least once before starting the modding process.
- Once you have Mod Assistant, install the .exe file to get the application onto your computer.
- Once installed, open the application and head to the Mods section to access the mods.
- Run Beat Saber and go back to the Mods menu. Now, the mods listed will be accessible. You can choose the mod of your liking and install it to play it with Beat Saber!
Modding isn’t limited just to Sabers within the game. You can also mod the songs that you play as well as the platform that you play the songs on. The Mod Assistant that you use to install your Saber mods will also have modding options for maps as well as for songs.
Both of these can be installed in the game. All you have to do is select the song or map that you want and click install. The Mod Assistant should handle the prerequisite requirements to patch these onto your game.
Additionally, if you’re not feeling like relying completely on Mod Assistant, you can rely on this Discord chat to take help from users that do a lot of modding for Beat Saber. I use the chat myself, and it consists of some of the most helpful users I’ve met for any gaming forum.
Now that you’ve learned how to install and run mods on Beat Saber let’s jump into the list of the best mods available for the game.
Best Beat Saber Mods
Minecraft Swords by BeigeAnimal (ID 1560541190)
Minecraft fanatics and enthusiasts will love these sabers for sure. Even if you’re not particularly fond of Minecraft, the 8-bit design sits very well with me. These Sabers are minimal.
What’s more, the Sabers are also interactive. This means that, like Minecraft, they change color as per the type of Saber you have. So, at the first 75 hits, you make consecutively, the sword will change to an iron sword from a wooden one (which is what you’ll start with, by default.) Then, 75 hits later, at 150 consecutive hits, you’ll reach a golden sword. At a total of 250 hits made consecutively, you’ll reach a diamond sword.
This minimal design, the cultural relevance, and also the fact that the mod is free are what make it great. They stand out just the right amount and also see that the player has an upbeat (pun intended) experience.
Pappenheimer by AXI (ID 1551133107)
The sword looks like a cross between something like The Excalibur and a fencing sword. It’s a hilted weapon with some elements on the hilt that make it look more medieval and genuine.
Further, the sword has blades that are more modern, with a shape resembling Sabers. The colors on the mod are also customizable, so you’re not restricted purely to neon blue and red.
The customizability, the actual historical relevance of the mod as well as the appearance itself make it a very attractive mod. The blade is also very thin, allowing for a lot of precision. You’ll feel like quite the medieval general when you’re using these blades.
Giant Iron Hammers by SkyDragon (ID 1552756525)
This mod is simple and, in my opinion, very elegant. It consists of two massive hammers that you can use to hammer through the beats as they come to you, rather than the sometimes-monotonous slicing of the beats.
Now, you can use these hammers to smash the beats. There is no subtlety or finesse involved when you’re using the hammers.
You’ll get a Thor-like feel as you use these to progress through the game. The only downside is that they don’t have the same design as Mjölnir. However, the large hitbox makes them fun for the songs where you don’t need to thinly slice specific beats.
To me, the design of these hammers is exceptional. They’re made very smartly, are symmetrical, and have the classic Beat Saber neon colors to match. Overall, it’s a fun experience for songs where you want to smash stuff to feel the energy. Think AC/DC.
LeekSaber by ZombieB (ID 1608259910)
I love this one so much. It makes your Sabers a pair of leeks. This has to be one of the most fun and outrightly silly mods on the list. You still slice blocks on this mod. However, the leeks are fairly short, so you get a lot of precision when you’re using them.
It’s also pertinent to mention that the leeks look very realistic. I think in a game like Beat Saber, everything is trying to look futuristic and neon. It’s very refreshing to see a household vegetable repurposed as a Saber.
Much like the Pappernheimer, this one has cultural relevance as an actual thing rather than a fictional design. It’s also sillier than anything else on this list by a mile. Overall, it’s an extremely wholesome and fun experience to slice with these and ensure you don’t have any beats that leak through.
Master Sword and Hylian Shield by MissRaynor (ID 1546069241)
This mod comes straight out of the universe of Zelda. It’s a very classic take on the sword and shield used by Link throughout the games. The sword and shield are said to have been blessed by the Goddess Hylia in the game to help Link on his quest.
The downside of this mod is that the duo of the sword and the shield can sometimes make it feel strange since you’ll essentially be smashing with the shield and slicing with the sword. To me, that’s where the allure of this mod lies. It lets you feel like you might be in combat with a sword and shield combination, albeit against some song beats.
Overall, the Nintendo reference and the design of the sword make it very special to me. I’m an old-time fan of the consoles and the Zelda games, so I love the design elements as well as the smash and slice implementation.
Kitchen Knife by MissRaynor (ID 1546847438)
This one is a classic as far as fans of the game, and modding are concerned. It’s a simple pair of kitchen knives that are made special by the neon edge of the blade, which makes them look very futuristic and cool. Apart from that, the neon edge does give them a very cool feeling when you’re slicing through beats.
The knives are also fairly compact and make it very easy to hit precise beats in the game.
Overall, the feel of the knives is excellent, and they feel like a piece of kitchen equipment. Since most of us are familiar with swinging knives, this makes them very easy to get accustomed to. The neon makes them look good, and the usability is very easy to learn, which makes this one of the better mods out there.
Halo Energy Swords by Caeden117 (ID 1605556973)
Straight out of the Halo games, the energy swords in this mod are designed minimally, with neon colors and little to no details on the actual blades themselves.
This particular mod makes the dimensions of the sword fairly accurate, and there is the detail of the extra light between the blades that makes it look more genuine. What’s more, the blades can be customized for changes in colors as well as effects, making this the most customizable option on the list.
It’s great for fans of Halo or just players looking to use a futuristic-looking Saber which has a plethora of customizability options.
FAQs
Question: Does Beat Saber Support Mods Natively?
Answer: No, Beat Saber does not support mods natively. However, the game does allow users to use third-party software for modding, such as the Mod Assistant I’ve linked above. It’s one of the easiest applications to use as well as one of the least cumbersome to set up for modding in Beat Saber.
Question: Are Hitboxes Different for Different Mods in Beat Saber?
Answer: Yes, most Beat Saber mods will have different hitboxes, ranges, and precision depending on how they’re designed. It’s a real element for every design change which means that the tangible bits of every Saber design change when the size changes.
Question: Can Console Players Mod in Beat Saber?
Answer: No. Unfortunately, consoles do not support modding in Beat Saber yet due to the lack of third-party application support. Players on PC will have close to no trouble modding in the game. However, the feature is not yet open to console players.
Conclusion
There is a huge list of mods available for Beat Saber. I personally only use Mod Assistant. However, if you diversify your modding app as well, you’ll have access to libraries of hundreds of thousands of mods for the game.
While the design you choose for your Saber comes down to personal preference, I really like the Minecraft Swords Mod. It’s fun, looks upbeat, has a classic retro feel, and really makes you nostalgic about Minecraft. What’s more, the swords change and evolve as you hit more and more beats consecutively.
Other great mods, in my opinion, include the Kitchen Knife, LeekSaber, and Giant Iron Hammers, amongst others.
I hope this list of mods gives you some ideas and some clarity to think about what kind of mod you’d want for your Sabers in Beat Saber.
Happy slicing!
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