Performance and Utility Mods

• JEI (Curseforge | Modrinth) Almost necessary at this point for viewing modded Minecraft recipes.
• Embeddium (Curseforge | Modrinth) Really good for client-side performance.
• Radium Reforged (Curseforge) Really good for server-side performance on both single player and multiplayer.
• AI Improvements (Curseforge | Modrinth) Helps significantly with performance.

Fun Mods

• Better Combat (Curseforge | Modrinth) It makes combat fun, and being able to hit multiple mobs at once is particularly useful.
• Iron's Spells 'n Spellbooks (Curseforge | Modrinth) Very fun to use against the Sculk Horde. Many of my beta testers love it. Note: Can be overpowered in late-game.
• Guard Villagers (Curseforge | Modrinth) Helps defend villagers against the Sculk to give them a fighting chance.
• Modular Golems (Curseforge | Modrinth) Useful to create an army against the Sculk Note: Can be OP in late game.
• Plenty of Golems (Curseforge) Useful for creating an army of golems to protect against the Sculk.
• Lucky's Blocky Siege (Curseforge | Modrinth) Has turrets which are effective against the horde.
• Create Guardian Beam Defense (Curseforge | Modrinth) Has turrets which are effective against sculk, in particular, the flying units.