With many of the latest updates with Trails and Tales as its most recent focusing on expanding the game’s creative potential,Minecraftis long overdue for a combat update to redress the balance with the survivalist side of its gameplay. The last timeMinecraftreceived a dedicated update to its combat was back in 2016, but1.9’s The Combat Updatesaw a mixed reception that has likely discouraged future updates for fear of aggravating the player base once again. However, if a new combat update doesn’t come soon,Minecraftcould find one of its core mechanics going a full decade without any attempt to improve things.
So with a wealth of new and improved mobs, biomes, and more,Minecraftneeds to look beyond fans' opinions and finally update its combat to match the rest of the game’s content. After updates such as Village and Pillage, The Nether, and even the recent The Wild introduced a broad range of hostile mobs with their strengths and weaknesses, a combat update is sorely needed to help players adapt and strategize during fights. Having gone so long without any changes to its combat, however,Minecrafthas many things to address, ranging from new armor and weapons to rebalancing its damage, regeneration, and durability mechanics.
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What Went Wrong With Minecraft’s Last Combat Update
WhileMinecraft’s1.9 update made many changes and additions to the game’s combat, there were certain details that were seen as the most significant, such as introducing the ability to use the player’s off-hand or adding a cooldown to melee attacks. Despite this, the update delivered so much more toMinecraft, with changes focused on The End that included a revampedEnderdragonfight, End Cities, Shulkers, Elytras, and more. However, the rebalanced combat mechanics still overshadowed these from the players' perspective, as many had grown accustomed to in-game fighting prior to the update.
Ultimately, the mixed response The Combat Update received seems to boil down to veteran players, especially those within PvP communities, no longer being able to play the game as “normal” such as spamming attacks or overpowered enchantments. Unlike other updates that added new content like blocks, biomes, and mobs,Minecraft’supdate directly affected the player’s experiencefrom 1.9 onward, so while newer players were unaffected by these changes, older players were left ostracized as they were forced to relearn how to play. Now with a much larger number ofMinecraftplayers today, a new combat update faces a similar challenge with even greater stakes.
Minecraft’s Combat Needs To Be Improved
Despite the wealth of content that now exists withinMinecraft, there isn’t much for players to engage with when it comes to its survivalist side. With only swords, axes, and tridents serving as effective melee weapons, ranged weapons limited to just a bow and crossbow, and only a single shield type,Minecraftrelies a lot on its enchantments to add variety to its combat. While this can help paper over the cracks,Minecraftneeds new and improved equipmentto bring it up to speed with the latest hostile mobs like Pillager raids, Phantoms, and the Warden.
For a start, new shield types that vary in strength and functionality could incentivize players to use shields more, such as upgrading shields with gold, diamond, or netherite or even adding a shield bash technique for close mob encounters. Alternatively, reintroducing sword blocking and improved off-hand wielding could offer a more aggressive combat option for skilled players, such as wielding two swords or hybridizing melee and ranged combat. Additionally, to match the increased world generation from The Wild, more ranged weapons,expanded fletching mechanics, or a dedicated weaponry inventory could level the playing field in larger open areas.
Minecraftis available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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