While X-ray packs are fantastic for single-player survival, they are generally .
Using an X-Ray texture pack in Minecraft 1.8.8 is a choice between efficiency and integrity. It can make mining almost trivial, but on multiplayer servers, it comes with a high risk of being banned and can ruin the experience for others.
Because 1.8.8 does not natively support "custom block models" as easily as newer versions, most 1.8.8 X-Ray packs rely on a glitch: making all opaque blocks invisible. This means you will see caves, spawners, and other players through walls, but you will also see the ugly void background.
The Ultimate Guide to X-Ray Texture Packs for Minecraft 1.8.8
: They allowed players to see through solid ground to find diamonds, spawners, and abandoned mineshafts.
Pairing your X-Ray pack with OptiFine is highly recommended. OptiFine optimizes chunk rendering, which prevents visual stuttering when looking through transparent blocks. It also allows you to turn off smooth lighting, making individual ore blocks much easier to spot. Fair Play and Server Rules
The rise of these packs led to a "cold war" on multiplayer servers. How To XRay In Vanilla Minecraft 1.8 : r/Minecraft