X-Ray Ultimate - a resource pack that reveals ores
A resource pack that makes most blocks transparent and lets you see ores underground. On servers this is cheating, and it gets detected.
Warning
Using X-Ray on multiplayer servers is banned and detected. Servers running Paper/Spigot have built-in anti-xray, and anti-cheat systems analyze mining patterns. The result: a permanent ban. This article is informational: we describe what X-Ray is, how server protections work and what the legitimate alternatives are.
What is X-Ray Ultimate?
X-Ray Ultimate is a resource pack that turns the textures of most blocks transparent. Stone, dirt, sand: everything becomes invisible. The only blocks that stay visible are ores (diamond, gold, emerald, iron), spawners, obsidian and chests. The effect: you look underground and see exactly where the resources are.
Technically, X-Ray Ultimate is just a texture pack. It needs no mods, Forge or Fabric. It works like any other resource pack: you drop it into the resourcepacks folder and activate it in the settings. That simplicity is exactly why it became so popular.
There are also X-Ray mods (e.g. Advanced XRay) that add extra features: filtering for specific ores, a full overview of caves, highlighting spawners. But the principle is the same - revealing hidden blocks, which is cheating in multiplayer.
Why X-Ray is banned on servers
Minecraft multiplayer is built on the idea that resources are limited and hard to find. X-Ray destroys that dynamic completely: a player with X-Ray collects as many diamonds in 10 minutes as a regular player does in 10 hours. That ruins the server's economy, demotivates honest players and is simply unfair.
That's why every serious server bans X-Ray in its rules. The consequence is usually a permanent ban with no warning. Admins have detection tools: CoreProtect logs every mined block, and statistical analysis of mining patterns (a player tunneling straight through stone to a diamond vein) is obvious evidence.
How anti-xray works on servers
Modern servers (Paper, Purpur) have a built-in anti-xray system that works at the network level. Instead of sending the client the real data about blocks underground, the server swaps hidden blocks for fake ones. A player with X-Ray sees random ores scattered everywhere, and there is no way to tell the real ones from the fake ones.
Paper's anti-xray has two modes:
- Engine mode 1 - hidden ores are replaced with stone. X-Ray sees fewer ores than normal, but an experienced player may notice the difference.
- Engine mode 2 - all hidden blocks (stone, dirt, etc.) are replaced with random ores. X-Ray shows diamonds, gold and emeralds literally everywhere, and the real ones can't be told apart.
Besides Paper, there is the Orebfuscator plugin, which does the same on older Spigot servers. The end result: on a well-configured server, X-Ray is completely useless.
Legitimate ways to get ores quickly
Instead of risking a ban, use methods that are part of the game:
- Strip mining at Y -59 - digging tunnels at the optimal height. Diamonds generate most often at Y -59 (near bedrock). Digging 1x2 tunnels every 2 blocks is the most efficient method.
- Fortune III - an enchantment for pickaxes that increases how many diamonds a diamond ore block drops. One diamond ore block mined with Fortune III gives 2.2 diamonds on average.
- Deep dark caves - huge caves at depths of -30 to -59 expose ore veins without any digging. Risk: the Warden.
- TNT mining - on servers that allow it, TNT blasts large areas at once and exposes ores. Expensive, but fast.
- Beacon with Haste II - a beacon giving the Haste II effect, combined with Efficiency V on a netherite pickaxe, lets you mine stone instantly. Strip mining becomes lightning fast.
When X-Ray is acceptable
In your own private singleplayer world you can use whatever you like, because it's your game. Some players use X-Ray for building (quickly finding spawners for farms) or for learning (understanding how ores are distributed). On your own server you make your own rules.
Keep in mind, though, that X-Ray takes away the element of discovery that Minecraft is built on. Many people who started using X-Ray say the game quickly lost its point for them: there's no satisfaction in finding diamonds when you already know where they are.