A summary
Performance
Mods inevitably are split into 2 category’s - optimisation & content adding.
Optimisation
Optimisation mods aim to increase frame rates, decrease memory usage and lower CPU and GPU load. Examples of optimisation mods include sodium[^1], entity culling[^2] and arguably distant horizons[^3]
Content adding
Mods that add content can hugely alter the feel of the game and may not be for everyone.