The Ultimate How-To Guide for Cognition (Experience Obelisk Mod)

Complete guide to the Cognition (Experience Obelisk) mod for Minecraft. Learn how to store, convert, and automate XP using obelisks, fountains, the Molecular Metamorpha, bookshelf infection systems, Argers, and more. Perfect for Minecraft 1.20+ modded gameplay.

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1. Getting Started: Core Materials

Nearly everything in Cognition is built on three items:

Cognitive Amalgam

The main crafting material of the mod.

Crafted from:

Lapis
Nether Quartz
Soul Soil/Soul Sand

Smelt it with Cognitive Flux to get refined amalgam. You’ll use this constantly, so stock up early.

Cognitive Crystal

Made using Cognitive Amalgam + Emeralds.

This crystal is used in most advanced crafting recipes.

Astute Assembly

Crafted using Cognitive Crystals, Redstone, and other common materials.

Forms the backbone of midgame machines.

Once you have these three ingredients, you’re ready to build your first major tool…

2. The Experience Obelisk (Your XP Bank)

The Experience Obelisk is still the centre of the mod just like in older versions—only now with a fresh name.

Place it down and right-click it to open the interface.

Features

Press Store All to deposit your XP into the obelisk.
Each obelisk holds 100 kilobits of Cognitium.
This storage equals roughly 172 XP levels.
You can withdraw XP manually any time.

This obelisk is your XP battery, powering all Cognition machines when linked.

3. XP → Cognitium Conversion (How XP Becomes Power)

Cognition converts XP into a fluid-like digital substance called Cognitium.

Every 1 point of XP = 20 millibuckets of Cognitium
Up to 100 KB stored per obelisk
Used as “power” for all machines

Think of it like FE or Mana—but generated through your experience levels. Also think of your obelisk as your “power bank”

4. Linking Machines With the Staff of Attunement

All Cognition machines are powered through binding to an obelisk.

Craft a Staff of Attunement.

How to link

Shift-right-click the obelisk → “Obelisk position saved.”
Shift-right-click the target machine.
Machine is now powered by the obelisk.

You can shift-right-click again to unbind.

This linking system is used for every Cognition machine, so get used to it early.

5. The Experience Fountain

One of the simplest but most fun machines.

Once bound to an obelisk, the Experience Fountain can:

Emit XP orbs
Feed XP directly into players
Operate at different speeds: Slow, Moderate, Fast, Hyper (Simply right click to change.) The colours will change depending on speed, whereby the example here is “HYPER” Speed.
Activate via redstone or simply by standing on top

Great for:

Recharging XP after enchanting
AFK XP farm alternatives
Decorative XP fountains in bases

The fountain drains Cognitium from the linked obelisk until empty.

6. The Precision Dispeller (Remove Enchants / Curses)

This machine is incredibly useful for enchantment management. As you can see above, we can choose the enchant to remove & it tells us how much XP we’ll get back from doing so.

Removing Enchantments

Insert an enchanted item
Select the enchantment to remove
Removing enchantments gives you XP
XP normally goes to the player

Redirect XP to the obelisk

Shift-right-click the machine to bind it.

Removing Curses

You can remove curses (Curse of Binding, Vanishing)
Costs 30 XP levels per curse
XP must be in the obelisk or your levels

Super helpful for salvaging gear from dungeons.

7. The Molecular Metamorpher (XP Crafting / Transmutation)

The heart of the mod’s crafting system.

Has 3 slots, and uses XP (from the bound obelisk) to transform items.

At the bottom of the UI you’ll see:

Required XP
Your linked obelisk’s stored Cognitium
Processing time

Example recipe: Primordial Assembly

Inputs:

Any Sapling
Astute Assembly
Gold Ingot

Requires: 315 XP (~15 levels)

Time: 5s

Examples of transformations

Gold Ingots + Transforming Focus → Netherite Scrap / Ingot
Sugar Cane + Transforming Focus → Bamboo
Many renewable material conversions
Advanced Arger crafting (covered below)

Check all recipes with JEI (Just Enough Items) by pressing U.

This machine is ridiculously powerful once your XP income scales.

8. Linear Accelerators, Accelerators & Whisper Glass

These are movement utility blocks:

Linear Accelerator

Pushes entities forward when stepped on.

Great for mob movement, conveyors, and fabric-style automation.

Accelerator

More powerful version, works like a launch strip.

Whisper Glass

Crafted from glass.

Extremely slippery, enhances movement from accelerators.

Combine them to:

Create mob conveyor belts
Build fast player travel lines
Make puzzle dungeons
Automate farms using mob movement

9. Cognitive Alloy & Crystal Blocks

Craftable decorative storage blocks:

Block of Cognitive Alloy
Block of Cognitive Crystal

Both:

Mostly decorative
Can be used as beacon bases

Nice for high-tech builds.

10. Bookcase Infection System (Passive XP Generation!)

One of the most unique mechanics of the mod.

Using Biblophages, you infect bookshelves to consume them and generate XP.

Works on:

Standard Bookshelves
Archivers Bookshelves (power 1.5)
Enchanted Bookshelves (power 2.0)

How it works

Place your bookshelves
Right-click them with Biblophases
They turn into Infected Bookshelves
They slowly degrade, producing XP
Eventually they collapse into Forgotten Dust

Use your Staff of Attunement to check:

Durability (100% → 0%)
Infection spread

XP appears as floating orbs and is pulled into your linked obelisk.

A fantastic automated XP generator.

11. Agars (Permanent Infection Blocks)

Agars are special blocks created through repeated infection.

Basic Agar

Crafted using:

Forgotten Dust
Fluorescent Jelly (made via Metamorpher from sugar + chorus/fruit)

On its own, it does nothing.

Nutrient Agar (4 Infections)

Right-click the Agar 4 times with Biblophases.

Now it becomes permanent and gains the ability to infect blocks around it.

Every second → 0.5% chance to infect an adjacent block
Works like a self-spreading infection engine

Insightful Arger

Crafted with:

Arger
Honeycomb
Glowstone Dust

Increases bookshelf spawn rate and XP output.

Extravagant Arger

The strongest one:

Increases XP orb value
2% infection chance per second
Affects diagonal bookshelves at reduced strength

Place these strategically to build an XP-devouring bookshelf farm that feeds straight into your obelisk.

12. Extra Items in Cognition

Flasks

Flask of Poseidon → Places water
Flask of Hades → Places lava
Flask of Chaos → Deletes any fluid block

Bottles

Bottle of Daydream → Resets insomnia (no phantoms)
Bottle of Nightmare → Triggers immediate phantom spawning

Mending Neurogel

Repairs damaged items
Used in an anvil like a repair kit

Cognitive Tools & Armor

Swords, pickaxes, shears, fishing rod
No special abilities except:

Increased block reach
Increased entity reach

Armor grants extended reach as well

Simple but handy QoL gear.