Short answer: No, RLCraft does not use NeoForge. It runs on Forge for Minecraft 1.12.2, and it always has. If you are seeing "RLCraft NeoForge" search results or confused setup guides, here is what is actually going on.
Why the confusion exists
NeoForge is a modern fork of Forge that started supporting Minecraft from around 1.20.2 onward. Since NeoForge and Forge names get mentioned together constantly in 2026 modding guides, people searching for RLCraft setup instructions sometimes assume the newer loader applies to every modpack. It does not, RLCraft is a fixed snapshot of mods built specifically for 1.12.2.
Why RLCraft never updated its modloader
RLCraft depends on a stack of mods that were never ported past 1.12.2, including:
- Lycanites Mobs (custom mob spawns, dungeons, bosses)
- Tough As Nails (temperature and thirst mechanics)
- Ice and Fire: Dragons
- Tinkers' Construct (the 1.12.2 version, with different tools than the modern rewrite)
- First Aid and Scaling Health
Updating even one of these to a Forge or NeoForge build for a newer Minecraft version would break compatibility with the rest of the pack, since none of them received matching updates on the same timeline. Rebuilding RLCraft on NeoForge would essentially mean recreating the entire modpack with different mods, not just changing a loader setting.
What this means for hosting
If a host or guide tells you to install NeoForge for RLCraft, that is incorrect and your server will not start. To run RLCraft correctly:
- Download the official server files from CurseForge (search "RLCraft server pack")
- Install Forge 1.12.2 (the specific build listed in the modpack's server files, not the latest Forge release)
- Allocate at least 4-6GB of RAM
- Set the correct Java version, RLCraft on 1.12.2 needs Java 8, not Java 17 or 21 like modern modpacks
Mixing Java versions is actually a more common crash cause for RLCraft than the loader itself. If your server fails to start with class version errors, check your Java version before anything else.
Where to host it
On Space-Node, any DDR4 or DDR5 plan with 5GB+ RAM handles RLCraft comfortably since the game itself runs on the older, lighter 1.12.2 version. The heavier resource cost with RLCraft comes from entity and structure generation, not from a demanding modloader.
For the full setup walkthrough, including difficulty tuning and pre-generation tips, see our RLCraft server setup guide. If you want the bigger picture on modloaders in general, read Forge vs NeoForge in 2026.