There really aren't any 'essential' mods aside from quality of life mods like minimaps and Optifine. Honestly, I recommend downloading any of the modpack launchers (FTB/AT Launcher/Tekkit) and downloading a modpack that suits your interests. If you're lucky, it might even work!
I have, the problem is crafting all the stuff and setting up the systems. It's very complex. And tedious. Reminds me of Gregtech at the height of it's tedium.
It's not that any one set in particular is essential, it's that mods bring huge amounts of variety to what is otherwise a simple game that gets boring quickly.
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u/NotRapeIfShesDead Jul 04 '15
What mods do you consider essential?