Summary
- Minecraft's new mace weapon introduces a unique playstyle with high damage potential and knockback abilities.
- The mace changes gameplay by offering risk-and-reward strategies, promoting creativity and player choice.
- Future Minecraft weapons should be more common, crafted from typical materials, and face tougher foes for challenging gameplay.
Minecraft's next update is taking a dramatic turn with the introduction of the mace, a brand-new weapon that introduces a unique playstyle. It's a good sign for more new combat options to come, but Minecraft's next weapons should do some things differently.
Recently, Mojang released a new snapshot that comes with a unique weapon. Not counting the netherite sword and axe, Minecraft's new mace is the first weapon to come to Minecraft in five years. Crafted from items found in the trial chamber, the mace is a weapon that deals more damage the further a player falls from whilst holding it. This can lead to a huge damage spike—with an extremely large fall being enough to kill a warden in one hit. In addition, the mace will knock additional enemies back if the player falls from a good distance, as well as cancel out any fall damage from a successful strike.
What Future Weapons Should Take From Minecraft's Mace
The Mace Provides Great Synergy And New Ways To Play
The mace is a fantastic addition to the arsenal available to players, one that takes advantage of other new Minecraft features like wind charges. A player can propel themselves up with a wind charge, amplifying damage on the return fall and adding to the mace's own AoE knockback. That's without mentioning the knockback removal of the mace, something that'll make it integrate well into exploration—especially the Nether. It's a weapon that works extraordinarily well with the game's existing systems, including those that have just been added. Such design philosophy allows it to work perfectly with the lateral, creative thinking that Minecraft encourages.
Moreover, it's an offering that a playstyle can be built around. One of the issues with Minecraft's lacking combat system is the fact that there's very little divergent progression—every high-level player will be wearing the same netherite armor with the same enchantments. Crossbows and tridents are great because they offer divergences from this progression, giving the player more choices. However, fans mostly have to stay locked into a very short progression of armor and weapons and that offers little choice.
The mace changes this to a degree, producing a risk-and-reward playstyle that allows for more creativity and more choices. It's an extremely powerful weapon that fans will want to optimize. This will lead to entirely new kits that work best for mace use, taking advantage of slow-fall potions or water buckets in case of a failed hit. In that respect, a riptide trident could also be useful to charge up damage; a player could fly into the sky and return with huge damage with just the splash of a water bucket. It's the type of change that Minecraft mods have already produced, something that Mojang should continue with.
Future Weapons Should Be More Common And Have Tougher Cannon Fodder
On the subject of continuing, future weapons should be more common. Minecraft renewed focus on combat is great, and it's good that the mace is providing another reason for players to actively seek the trial chamber, but there should be more options available that can be crafted from typical materials (such as iron, diamonds, netherite etc.).
In addition, Minecraft needs more challenges to justify strong weapons. Protection 4 netherite armor is close to invincibility—and a decked-out netherite sword is like a superweapon. While the mace may be great for a Wither or warden, the game needs new locales with tough mobs of foes, like woodland mansions with difficulty cranked way up. Minecraft could also do with more raid-like events; raids are already somewhat tricky, but a tougher version (especially one that'll seek the player out) would be a real step up in incentivizing the pursuit of stronger weapons and armor.
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!
Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations.
Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Publisher(s)
- Mojang
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 129 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1.42 GB (August 2024)
- Metascore
- 93
