Better With Hands

# 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](https://www.betterthanadventure.net/) Thanks to the BTA mod team.