Minecraft’s New Combat Improvements Should Be The Tip of the Iceberg

Minecraft just got itself some tweaks to combat with the game’s latest snapshot, improving the way projectiles are handled. These latest changes to Minecraft could spell good fortune for future updates down the road.

The latest Minecraft snapshot added a couple more things to the pot of Mojang’s upcoming projects. The snapshot includes changes to fog and rain, building on the upcoming Vibrant Visuals shader plans. More importantly, though, the snapshot also brought in some changes to the function of projectiles, granting them a more dynamic target tolerance margin. To get to the brass tacks of the change, the update means that close-range shooting can now be done with greater precision, as projectiles stray less at shorter distances.

Mojang Shoring Up Projectile Mechanics Could Mean Big Things For A Minecraft Combat Update

This change, though small on its own, could point towards the future combat update fans have been begging for since 1.9’s controversial overhaul. Fans have been demanding a Minecraft combat update for a number of reasons; not only were 1.9’s changes to timing and weapon strength controversial, the system lacks parity. Bedrock have kept the old system while Java players are saddled with entirely different mechanics. Considering the ease at which veteran Minecraft players can max out their gear, many of these same fans want new mechanics and new threats that add challenge, complexity, and parity.

Though the necessity of such changes can be debated, Mojang’s latest tweaks to projectiles could usher in greater things. The snapshots that contained Minecraft‘s recent minecart changes did something similar; rather than adding the flat speed buff that fans have demanded, Mojang introduced reworks to the foundation of the system to better build upon it. This shift in direction for projectiles could be of a similar ilk, and could lead the way for a decent shift in Minecraft‘s combat mechanics.

Many Signs Point Towards Mojang Taking A Projectile Focus for Minecraft

It seems as if any Minecraft combat update were to release, it would place a premium on projectiles. Not only is the game already choc-a-bloc with different throwables and ranged weapons, but Mojang just keeps adding to the pile. Minecraft‘s Tricky Trials update added Wind Charges which, in addition to being a projectile in their own right, are incredibly important to any player that wants to main the Mace. A few years back, Village and Pillage also came in with the Crossbow, a weapon that offers a parallel tech tree to the Bow in a way that Tridents and Maces just can’t, given that these melee weapons are far more niche than the Sword.

The real smoking gun for this assertion comes with Minecraft‘s experimental combat updates. Jeb was famously working on a number of combat changes, but few developments have arisen since the playerbase first got to see what he was working on. Included in Jeb’s experimental packet was the re-introduction of Snowballs as a combat mainstay, marking a return-to-form for items like Snowballs, Eggs, and Fishing Rods—all of which were once major bits of tech in the combat meta, and remain as much on Bedrock and in 1.8 combat.

Improving how projectiles work could be a step to making Jeb’s vision a reality, as could Mojang’s recent history of buffing out the ranged arsenal. Looking at the improvements to close range in particular, this would be a decent enhancement to the use of projectiles as knockback; using projectiles at close range could imply the player trying to keep an opponent away. In this manner, such an improvement could point to the grand return of Snowballs and Eggs as real vessels of knockback, rejecting the nerfed state they currently exist in.

Minecraft

Released

November 18, 2011

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence

Engine

LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE