FAQ Page

This is a list of frequently-asked "questions" (or despairing wails) and their answers. Try to write your difficulties and we'll try to answer.

Why can I analyze items from Twilight Forest, but not Blood Magic?

Most other mods do not provide aspects for their items. You nevertheless can analyze many crafted items from other mods, because Thaumcraft can calculate aspects for them from their crafting recipes. Example: chocolate from Better Farming. The aspects will come from the bucket of milk used in crafting it, but the mint chocolate only comes with the same aspects, because the mint is a base item supplied by the other mod.

Can a Tainted Lands biome expand and invade my house if I build nearby?

It can, but in current versions, it actually doesn't spread very quickly or far. (That said, building nearby is still a bit hazardous due to tainted mobs wandering out!)

In general, taint will spread to fill in any already-tainted chunks. If that envelops a new node, it is likely to taint that node, which will let it spread somewhat further into new chunks. And a third hazard is that tainted sheep can spread taint (so can a creeper if it explodes), but these odd bits of taint are not likely to spread... unless they happen to appear right over or under a node. (You can dig out the tainted dirt to make sure.) There are also ways to counter Taint and drive it back, mostly Pure nodes and Ethereal Blooms.

Bucket Duplication

Q: When I try to fill the crucible with a bucket of water, I get back a water bucket and a normal bucket, duplicating the bucket. What's going on?

A: You are using Cauldron. This is a well-known bug with Cauldron, and until they fix it, you can either live with it, or switch your mods over to Forge.

Research Loss

Q: All my research disappeared! And all compound aspects are showing as question marks!

A: This is a stubborn bug in Thaumcraft 4. Your research data (and warp levels) are stored in a file in your playerdata folder (within your world's savegame folder), named "<playername>.thaum". There is also an automatic backup file named "<playername>.thaumback", from which you may be able to recover the data.

1. If you have not yet exited the game, don't do so yet! (If you already exited the game, you can still try this, but it's less likely to work.) Switch to another window and open a file manager or command line to open your playerdata folder. Make a backup file of your savegame folder (just on principle), then copy the <playername>.thaumback file over the <playername>.thaum file. Then you can exit the game, and then reload it to see if your research and aspects are back. If not...
2. Hopefully, you have been keeping one or more backups of your saved game (or your operating system may have been doing so for you). If so, try to copy in either of the files (always replacing the <playername>.thaum file) from a backup made before your research vanished.
3. If you have no backups, it's time to cheat the research back in. Switch to creative mode if you can, otherwise open the game to LAN and enable cheats. Start by typing "/tc help" to learn the necessary commands, then use the /tc subcommands to give yourself the appropriate amounts of research points and warp.
4. If you weren't making backups, perhaps you should start -- just copy the entire savegame folder (or make a .ZIP file of it) every so often, especially after major achievements or heavy research.

My Golem Isn't Working.

There are several steps to try for debugging golem behavior:

1. If using a modpack, check the configuration file, particularly the setting: "I:golem_delay=". The number after that should be 20 or less. The default is 5, but at least one modpack is setting it to 60, which can cause problems.
2. If you have a mod that adds invisible blocks, make sure that there's nothing of the sort in the places where, say, saplings are going to be placed. Railcraft in particular has a "residual heat" block that causes problems (it can be disabled in the Railcraft configuration).
3. If you are not using vanilla chests, try changing the container to a chest, and see if the problem persists.
4. Check the distance between the golem's home ring and its mark. If the distance is too far, you may be able to extend the golem's range with water upgrades, spectacles, and/or by using an advanced golem body.
5. If using an Order upgrade, check that the color of the mark matches the color set in the golem's GUI.
6. For use-core golems placing saplings, it often helps to place a sapling yourself first, mark the top of its block, and set the golem to "place on empty space". If placing blocks such as ore, marking the front of the block (the side closest to the golem) may work better.
7. If all else fails, try creating an instance with only thaumcraft and see if the problem is still there. If it might be an issue between mods you are using.

How can I get Ordo essentia?

In order of usual appearance in the game:

1. Smooth sandstone is not renewable, but it is craftable. If another mod lets you make chiseled stone cheaply, that's also an option.
2. Silverwood logs. The trees are rare, but they give a lot of wood.
3. Use a centrifuge to split more complex aspects, especially Potentia, from charcoal or double-spinning Machina from wooden buttons. See the Aspects page for more options, and sources for other aspects.

Why can't I make Void Seeds? I can see the recipe!

Even after the Eldritch Epiphany, actually making void seeds requires learning void metal as well.

My Game Crashed or keeps Crashing!

In general, crashes are better reported at the Official Thaumcraft Forum Thread, or on Azanor's Github page. If a particular crash is common or has a known workaround, then put it in this section.

Crash When Placing/Using Item and Enchanted Book in Anvil.

This is probably a conflict between enchantment IDs on the server and in the client. Check Thaumcraft.conf on both ends and make sure that the IDs for enchantments are the same on both ends.

My world crashed when I surrounded an Amber Block on all sides.

This is a known bug in 4.2.3.5, which will hopefully be fixed in a future patch. You need to go edit out the block with a world-edit tool such as MCEdit.

Crash on startup with "Pam's Harvest the Nether" mod.

There is a subtle intitialization conflict between Thaumcraft and "Pam's Harvest the Nether". It can often be fixed by renaming the PHtN mod's jar so that it comes alphabetically after Thaumcraft, and will therefore initialize after it.

My Screen Went Completely Black from a Warp Effect.

Edit the configuration file to disable shaders, or disable Optifine, or disable your shaders mod.

Where can I submit a suggestion for Thaumcraft?

On the Official Thaumcraft Forum Thread. If you post them in the comments here, Azanor will never see them. You might want to look through the thread to see if the idea has been suggested recently.

Does/When will Thaumcraft support Minecraft 1.8?

It's ready. Reload the download page to download Thaumcraft 5.

How Can I Make a Void Aspected Staff Of the Primal?

As of version 4.2.3.5, vanilla Thaumcraft offers no legal combination of discounts and crafting scepter sufficient to produce a Void Aspected Primal Staff (or Staffter). Without use of bugs or add-ons to gain extra discounts, a player must choose between two different "top-tier" staves: Silverwood and voidmetal, or Primal with thaumium. Both have the same capacity, but one offers voidmetal's increased discount, while the other regenerates 10% of its capacity. In order to combine these powers in a single staff, it is necessary to either resort to an add-on (for additional discount or a larger wand/staff), or to exploit some bug in Thaumcraft.

As it happens, there is such a bug: Vanilla Minecraft offers the feature that a dispenser with pressure plate can be used to "dress" the player, automatically putting armor onto them. Thaumcraft 4.2.3.5 introduces the bug that if the player is not yet wearing any armor, the first armor piece provided by a dispenser will be put in the player's boot slot, even if it is not a pair of boots. This allows the player to put, say, a spare pair of void-robe leggings on their feet, then wear a full set (three pieces) of void robes in their proper slots. The fourth piece of void-robe armor provides the additional discount needed to craft the VASP.

I don't create a infusion altar