Tier Potions, Particles, and Dust Options

Potion and particle extras are optional layers on top of the base low-health loop. Use them only after the vignette, heartbeat, and blackout thresholds already feel right.

Global toggles

CriticalHealthFX lets you disable these systems globally:

tier_effects:
  potions_enabled: true
  particles_enabled: true

If a tier looks correct in YAML but nothing is happening in game, check these two switches first.

Tier potion entries

A potion list lives inside a tier:

potion_effects:
  - type: minecraft:weakness
    amplifier: 0
    duration_ticks: 40
    ambient: false
    show_particles: false
    show_icon: false
    force: false

type

Accepts namespaced or enum-style values such as:

• minecraft:weakness
• weakness
• SLOWNESS

amplifier

Potion strength.

duration_ticks

Refresh duration. Keep it at or above the scan cadence so the effect does not drop out between refreshes.

ambient

Visual style flag for the potion.

show_particles

Whether the potion's vanilla particles should be visible.

show_icon

Whether the HUD potion icon should be visible.

force

Use this carefully. It tells the plugin to apply the potion even if something else already owns that effect type.

If you want CriticalHealthFX to avoid stomping another plugin's potion work, leave force off unless you have a very deliberate reason.

Tier particle entries

A particle list also lives inside a tier:

particles:
  - type: DUST
    count: 1
    period_ticks: 10
    chance: 0.35
    offset_x: 0.15
    offset_y: 0.20
    offset_z: 0.15
    extra: 0.0
    dust_color: 255,0,0
    dust_size: 1.2

type

The current build treats REDSTONE as a legacy alias and maps it to DUST. For modern public configs, use DUST.

count

How many particles spawn when the entry fires.

period_ticks

How often the particle entry is allowed to run.

chance

Chance from 0.0 to 1.0 each period.

offset_x, offset_y, offset_z

Spawn spread around the player.

extra

Additional speed or particle-specific behavior depending on the particle type.

dust_color

For DUST, use either:

• 255,0,0
• #FF0000

dust_size

Dust scale for DUST.

When to use potions

Use tier potions when the low-health state should affect gameplay as well as presentation, for example:

• slight weakness
• mild slowness
• short high-stress penalties on the very lowest tier

Keep it readable. CriticalHealthFX works best when players can still understand that the primary message is "you are in danger," not "you suddenly have six hidden mechanics stacked on you."

When to use particles

Use tier particles when you want:

• a little more visual panic
• a specific blood-loss or danger mood
• subtle custom dust or spark effects around the player

Avoid building a giant particle storm around already intense blackout and red border settings. The plugin is stronger when the layers stay legible.

GUI editing notes

The GUI provides tier-level potion and particle editors so you can:

• add entries
• remove entries
• edit amplifiers, durations, counts, chances, offsets, and dust settings
• keep the changes saved into config.yml

For large lists or major copy-paste work, YAML is still faster.

Good first mistakes to avoid

Do not use REDSTONE in new public examples

The safe current name is DUST. The plugin keeps a REDSTONE alias for compatibility, but the modern docs should lead with DUST.

Keep duration above scan cadence

This matters for both potion duration and the general feel of repeated effects.

Do not enable every extra at once

Tune the plugin in layers:

1. threshold and red curve
2. heartbeat
3. blackout and frost
4. potions
5. particles

Next pages

• gui Main Pages, Chat Prompts, and Save Flow
• presets, Test Mode, and Troubleshooting