Minecraft lead designer Jens Bergensten took to the main stage of Minecon on the final day of Minecon 2016 to go through the changelog of the upcoming 1.11 update for Minecraft. Dubbed the ‘Exploration Update’, most of the additions are aimed at adding more things to do in the game outside of mining and, well… crafting.
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All of the new features were also demoed in brief videos, each seemingly minor tweak met with rapturous applause from the thousands in attendance. No need to worry about the community staying passionate, then. There’s no solid release date for update 1.11, but a snapshot of the update will be available to try out on 28 September. Anyway, here’s what’s up in Minecraft’s next feature haul.
Llamas
By far the fan favourite announcement of the whole convention, the revelation that llamas would be coming to Minecraft is, bizarrely, huge news. Apart from looking like llamas, the new mobs will have a number of bespoke features to make them stand out. For starters, they’ll be able to spit, which despite being incredibly rude and obnoxious is also an effective means of ranged attack.
Jens also said the player would be able to “swag them out with carpets,” which are essentially saddles but with some added visual flair. You can also attach satchels to llamas in order to use them like pack mules. Better still, if you use a lead on a llama, all nearby llamas will automatically form a caravan behind the llama you’re leading.
Woodland Mansion
New places for treasure and dungeon crawling are always welcome among the Minecraft community, and the addition of incredibly difficult, procedurally-generated mansions should give players plenty more to do when they reach the end of the game. The Woodland Mansion dungeon type will be very rare, but will offer some intriguing rewards courtesy of its three new hostile mobs: Evoker, Vex and Vindicator. As menacing as those names are, the mobs are actually just outcast variants of the game’s adorable Villagers. More on them below.
Evoker
Basically a Villager in black robes, the Evoker has two unique moves, both of which are tough to beat, putting Evoker on par with some of the game’s proper bosses in terms of sheer difficulty. Firstly, Evoker can cast a wave of pillars that deal a lot of damage if the player is caught by one. Evoker’s other ability is that it can summon a small, impish mob called Vex.
Vex
Tiny, sprite-like ghosts that float around vexing the player – hence the name. They don’t do much damage, but these guys are summoned in high enough numbers to make up for it. They’re also too quick to shoot with a bow and often out of reach for melee weapons, making them very difficult to get rid of even if you’ve dealt with their summoner.
Vindicator
The final and most conventional of the new hostile mobs is Vindicator – which is a great name to have if you’re basically just a villager with an axe.
Totem of Undying
Giving you reason to stalk a Woodland Mansion, the Totem of Undying is a rare drop from the new Evoker mob. You can equip the Totem of Undying as a consumable item in one of your hands, so that should you receive a fatal blow, you’ll instead use the item and be granted a temporary boost to your stats – ensuring that you can survive any near-death experience. Extra handy for Survival Mode.
Cartographer and Treasure Maps
Villagers get more useful by the update, and 1.11 is no different, turning some of them into cartographers, who the player can buy maps from. Those maps can be used to hunt for treasure – because literally everyone loves treasure. Treasure maps will show a top-down view of where the treasure is, and will also have a handy reference point that will let the player know the rough direction and distance they are from a tasty heap of loot.
Location Console Command
Finally, a more official way of finding your way around a gigantic Minecraft world. The new slash command will give players the coordinates to key locations in the world, which players can string into the command if they’re looking for something more specific.
Shulker Box
A Shulker Box is a new kind of chest made from Shulker Shells. Doesn’t sound like news, does it? However, if you store items in a Shulker Box and destroy it, you’ll be able to pick up the same box and place it elsewhere without the items moving or vanishing.
That’s everything coming up in the new Exploration Update. You’ll be able to give the new features a try on 28 September when the snapshot goes live, and help Mojang find all the bugs before 1.11’s full launch.
Here’s everything that’s coming to Minecraft in the upcoming 1.11 Exploration Update