Minecraft's Mounts of Mayhem Update Brings Forth a Beautifully Chaotic Fresh Weapon to Your World

The seasonal content update for Minecraft has touched down — and it brings with it the initial fresh armament introduced into the game since the heavy club made its debut. The lance is finally here and it might just revolutionize your approach to Minecraft, especially if you love chaos.

A Weapon Forged for Mounted Mayhem

The Mayhem Mounts update also incorporates a host of fresh elements and enhancements focused on riding animals in the game. That central theme made the spear the ideal addition for this release, as the creators had already known it was time for a fresh combat tool.

"From the outset, we understood that we wanted a fresh armament that would increase combat distance, and we envisioned it for fighting from atop a creature," stated a senior product manager. "We tried out a number of concepts, but the lance was the one that both handled superbly when we ran our trials and also made sense for the use case."

If you're curious whether mounted combat means you can joust against your friends on steeds, the response is a resounding yes. In fact, there's even an attack ideally crafted for it.

"[Jousting on horses is a major functions for the spear, and it's a blast," the developer says. "The spear has a pair of offensive moves: You have the thrust, where you simply impale your enemy. But you also have a charge attack where you couch your lance and get more damage [with] the more momentum you have. So [it’s] perfect for jousting on horses."

Aerial Mayhem & Deep-Sea Exploration

The chaotic fun isn't limited to there, though. If you're far enough into the game that you've been to The End, the developers have an even more ridiculous idea. "If you are in the end-game, [spears are] perfect for equipping the wings and taking to the skies and creating genuine chaos," she suggests.

In other words: Sky jousting is now possible, and it should be made an competitive event immediately.

Another significant inclusion in this latest drop is the Nautilus. This aquatic being, which is inspired by the nautilus shells found in-game for years, can be tamed and mounted for deep-sea journeys. Not only will it move you through the water faster than swimming, it'll also conserve your oxygen levels, so there's no necessity to return to the surface for fresh air.

The remaining new features are largely things that want to kill you, as is the way of Minecraft. Naturally, there's also a rotting sea creature popping up in the water, sometimes with a zombie villager on its back. If you succeed in take care of the Drowned, though, you can befriend the undead mount — or the regular one, for that matter — with a puffer fish.

"We've long considered this problem for some time, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it appeared to be the perfect moment to also introduce something for underwater," the lead explains. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a number of concepts for sea mounts that we wanted to test, but the Nautilus design sketches looked impressive, and we have the link to the Nautilus shell that was pre-existing in the game."

She also notes that there are actually two distinct kinds of undead nautilus: standard and coral-infested undead mount. "[The variants] give some flavor to what you find underwater."

Parched Perils & Overdue Enhancements

Further inclusions include the Parched, biome-specific skeletons that can withstand the sun, which means there's no escape from them if you find yourself in that region. Sometimes you'll see them on desiccated dromedaries, another fresh creature. Camel husks have an notable look that sees their ribs poking out. The same goes for zombie horses, who have a comparable rib-popping design and can sometimes be spawned in the darkness with a lance-wielding undead rider on their back.

The last two things on the drop's list are minor quality-of-life improvements, including some highly requested tweaks to riding horses. Now, you can cross rivers and lakes while riding a horse. Additionally, high-tier barding is now available at the crafting table, so you can provide your steed with the top-tier safeguarding it deserves.

A Fittingly Chaotic Finale

All told, the last content update of the year is a notable addition. The spear on its own — and the potential for chaos — would have constituted a major improvement. Add in the Nautilus, and more things trying to kill you, and Minecraft's definitely getting a little more dangerous.

The Mayhem Mounts update is live for Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft.