Better With Hands

Ever noticed that Steve technically has two hands?

Better With Hands adds a proper offhand system to BTA (Better Than Adventure). The goal is simple: make using two hands feel like it belongs in the game, not like something bolted on afterward.

You can hold a torch while mining, keep blocks ready while exploring, swap tools without digging through your hotbar, and actually see your second hand in action. Items render properly, animations play correctly, and multiplayer players can see what you are doing too.

Steve finally learned how to use both arms.

What does this mod do?

Better With Hands gives you a functional offhand slot with proper item handling, rendering, animations, HUD support, settings, and multiplayer syncing.

Your offhand is not just an extra inventory slot. It can be used for tools, blocks, weapons, food, torches, and other useful items depending on your settings.

Features

Offhand Slot

Adds a dedicated offhand slot to your inventory. You can find it on the inventory screen, next to the armor slots.

First-Person and Third-Person Rendering

Your offhand item is visible both in first person and third person. The item is mirrored and positioned so it looks natural in Steve’s left hand.

Offhand Swing Animation

Using your offhand plays a proper swing animation. The arm moves, the body rotates, and it behaves like an actual hand instead of a static item floating on screen.

HUD Display

The offhand item appears next to your hotbar. The slot slides in when you equip something and hides again when your offhand is empty.

Multiplayer Support

Offhand items, settings, and animations sync in multiplayer. Other players can see what you are holding and when you use it.

Controls

| Key | Action |
|-----|--------|
| F | Swap items between main hand and offhand |
| X | Toggle hand priority |

Both keys can be changed in Options.

Settings

All settings can be found in Options > Better With Hands.

Behavior Settings

Use Offhand When Main Empty

Default: ON

When your main hand is empty, the game can automatically use the item in your offhand.

For example, if your main hand is empty and you have a pickaxe in your offhand, the pickaxe will be used.

Swap Hand Priority

Default: OFF

Changes which hand is treated as the primary hand.

When enabled, actions will prefer the offhand instead of the main hand. You can also toggle this during gameplay with the X key.

Dynamic Hand Priority

Default: OFF

This is an experimental option that lets the game choose the better hand depending on what you are doing.

Mining a block uses the better tool.
Attacking prefers weapons.
Placing blocks prefers the hand holding blocks.

Example: if you have a pickaxe in your main hand and a sword in your offhand, mining will use the pickaxe. If a creeper shows up, attacking will automatically use the sword.

Display Settings

Left Hand Mode

Default: OFF

Made for players who prefer the main hand on the left side of the screen.

When enabled, the main hand appears on the left and the offhand appears on the right. The HUD slot also moves to match.

Indicator Type

Shows which hand is currently active.

Available options:

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| Border | Highlights the active slot |
| Dot | Shows a small dot above the active slot |
| Arrow | Points to the active slot |
| None | Disables the indicator |

Show Indicator Only With Offhand

Default: ON

When enabled, the active-hand indicator only appears while something is equipped in your offhand. This keeps the HUD cleaner during normal gameplay.

How Priority Works

The mod needs to decide which hand should be used when you click.

By default, the main hand is used first and the offhand acts as a backup.

If Use Offhand When Main Empty is enabled, the offhand takes over whenever the main hand is empty.

If Swap Hand Priority is enabled, the offhand becomes the primary hand.

If Dynamic Hand Priority is enabled, the game chooses the hand based on the situation. The best tool is used for mining, swords are preferred for combat, and blocks are preferred when placing.

The HUD indicator always shows which hand is currently active.

Practical Examples

Mining Setup

Main hand: Pickaxe
Offhand: Torches

Mine normally and keep torches ready without constantly switching hotbar slots.

Combat Setup

Main hand: Sword
Offhand: Food or shield

Fight with your weapon while keeping another useful item ready.

Building Setup

Main hand: Blocks
Offhand: Different blocks

Switch between two building materials quickly with the X key.

Dynamic Tool Setup

Main hand: Pickaxe
Offhand: Axe

With Dynamic Hand Priority enabled, stone is mined with the pickaxe and wood is chopped with the axe automatically.

Additional Details

When your inventory is full, stackable items can be picked up directly into the offhand if they match the item already there.

If the offhand currently has priority, pressing Q drops the offhand item instead of the main hand item.

Mining speed and harvest level are checked correctly when using tools from the offhand.

Installation

1. Install BTA and Babric.
2. Place the mod .jar file into your mods folder.
3. Launch the game.

Multiplayer Notes

The mod works in multiplayer, but both the client and server should have it installed.

Your settings sync when you join a server. Other players can see your offhand item and animations.

Credits

Better Than Adventure
Thanks to the BTA mod team.