By: Daniel Kendle

Since my last article on this subject, Mojang (the company that heads ‘Minecraft’) has continued adding features to the 1.21 update, of which is still unnamed. I was originally going to post a comment under my first review explaining the new additions, but there were enough that they warranted an entire follow-up all together.

This recent batch of features have been said to be the last major components of 1.21, so I probably won’t have to make a 3rd article. Once we get a name drop alongside some possible smaller features I’ll then post a comment under this article reviewing the new stuff. Until then, however, let’s begin!

Beginning with changes to existing gameplay, let’s talk about Wolf Armor and wolves in general. The former has had some neat additions, such as being able to be dyed by the player for further customization. The armor also works differently now; instead of reducing the damage taken by the wolf, it now absorbs all damage that would have normally been taken by the hound until it breaks. This means that, if your dog “accidentally” falls off a 1,000 meter drop, it’ll survive (but probably without any armor now).

We’ve also gotten 8 new wolf variants, each spawning in its respective biome. This is a feature that players have been asking for since cats got new coats in the game a few years ago, so this and the armor change make for great additions.

There’s also an updated way to get Wind Charges from the Breeze mob. Instead of dropping them plainly, the slain monster will now drop a Breeze Rod, which can be crafted into a few things. One of those are Wind Charges, and placing a single rod into your crafting grid interface nets you 4 charges. They function identically to how they did before.

That’s a good segway into the new stuff added. Probably my new favorite feature added in this update is a new weapon: the Mace. Crafted with a Breeze Rod under a new block called the Heavy Core (which doesn’t have a big use right now), it’s unique because of how you fight with it. The weapon’s main quirk is that it scales in damage dealt to an enemy depending on how high you fall with it. From my research there’s no cap to the scale, so you can rack up obscene amounts of damage from a tall fall.

Maces also come with 3 new enchantments, special buffs that can be applied using Lapis Lazuli at the dedicated Enchanting Table. The first is Density, which heightens damage dealt when falling, making it even stronger. The enchantment ranges from level 1 (I) to level 5 (V). The second is Breach, which bypasses the armor protection of an opponent by 15% each level (I – IV). Finally, there’s an enchantment that you can’t obtain from the table, being exclusive to the Trial Chambers: Wind Burst. The enchantment spawns a Wind Charge under your feet every time you hit a foe with the Mace, launching you in the air and allowing for combos.

The Mace is one of my new favorite features from this update, maybe even my favorite. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a new weapon in the game, the last being the Crossbow from 2019.

5 new paintings have been added to the game: “Unpacked,” “Prairie Ride,” “Meditative,” “Humble,” and “Baroque.” The 5 paintings all look pretty great; it’s been over a decade since new variations were added to the game. There’s not a lot to say about them, however. While a lot more different from past paintings, they fit into the game’s aesthetic well.

2 new Armor Trims have been added. Armor Trims are items that can be applied to your armor with a gemstone or ore to give it a colorful trim. There’s upwards of a dozen different trims, found in structures throughout the world. The new pair are found in the Trial Chambers, and are called the “Bolt” and “Flow” templates. The former looks like sheets of metal with screws built in, and the latter spirals of wind. I prefer “Bolt,” personally.

There’s also 3 new sherds. Pottery Sherds (“sherds” being a term in archeology for a piece of ancient pottery) are normally found through brushing Suspicious Sand and Suspicious Gravel in structures in the game. These new sherds vary, since you can only find them already-built into pots found inside the Trial Chambers. The sherds depict a Breeze, a spiral, and an ax.

2 banner patterns have been added, which, when used, imprint a specific picture onto banners. The patterns depict a Breeze and a spiral, the same as the sherd designs.

The last part of this “New Additions to Older Features” section are 4 new potions. Potions can be drunk or thrown, and grant specific effects to those with the drinks. The Potion of Infestation has a chance to spawn a Silverfish every time the affected entity is hit. The Potion of Oozing causes 2 Slime mobs to spawn after the entity dies. The Potion of Weaving makes cobwebs appear after an entity dies. Finally, the Potion of Wind Charging lets loose a Wind Charge after the entity dies.

Each of these effects has a splash variant (letting you throw the potion at others), a lingering variant (the same as the splash variant, but leaves behind a cloud of the effect) and an arrow tipped with the potion.

The final major feature is Ominous Trials. These events can be triggered in a Trial Chamber by drinking an Ominous Bottle, and cause nearby Trial Spawners to spawn beefier, stronger mobs with better armor and weapons. Some of the potions from earlier will routinely spawn above you or opponents, causing more havoc. These new trials will give much better loot, however, including the Heavy Core. This is the only way to get the item, and therefore the Mace.

Ominous Trials have a new type of vaults, too: Ominous Vaults. These contain the core, as well as the Flow Armor Trim, Flow Banner Pattern, Wind Burst enchantments and some valuable older items, like blocks of diamonds and Golden Apples.

Also, just as I’m writing this part, it’s been revealed that new music is coming to the game. None has been released yet, but I’m excited to hear the new tracks.

While ‘Minecraft’ 1.21 isn’t out yet, it’s likely to come within the next couple months, and I’m still very excited.