Highlights
- Minecraft's 1.21 update exceeds expectations with new mobs, challenges, blocks, and a weapon tied to the trial chamber. However, work has likely already begun on the game's next update.
- Farming in Minecraft could be a perfect candidate for this update, as it could use a makeover with fresh crops, hazards, and more ways to inject life into this important mechanic.
- Mojang has missed opportunities in recent updates to reinvigorate farming in Minecraft, so with changes overdue, there would likely be plenty of interest in a new farming update.
With how impressive 1.21 is shaping up to be, Minecraft's next update may, understandably, take a step back in scope. Whenever Mojang does want to give the game some major changes again, though, there's one Minecraft system that could do with a makeover.
Minecraft's 1.21 update looks to exceed expectations, going far beyond what credits fans gave it upon first glance. Tricky Trials will mostly be based around the trial chamber structure, but even in that regard it's far more of a general update than the system overhauls seen with content drops like Village and Pillage or The Nether Update. New mobs, new challenges, new blocks, and a new weapon will all be tied to the chamber, but additions will also come from outside this avenue—such as new paintings and a reworked Bad Omen effect.
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Minecraft Would Benefit Greatly From A Farming Update
If Mojang ever returns to cooking up patches for specific systems with Minecraft, farming would be a solid choice. Farming is incredibly important in Minecraft, with the need to set up a reliable food source being one of the player's first concerns. After that's sorted out, the farming system is often returned to for the harvesting of better food, building materials, trading goods and more. Despite how prolific the system is within a playthrough, the basic routine of farming has become far too stale. New crops, new hazards, and more ways to farm could all go a long way to injecting new life into such a well-trod mechanic.
Farming Needs A Fresh Upper Ceiling
With a wealth of exhaustive online tutorials, it's pretty easy to reach the zenith of farming. Easily-replicated redstone contraptions have made farming in Minecraft a breeze, and even the brightest minds will run out of ways to expedite things further. Not only that, but villages have exacerbated the problem with their level of crop diversity. Players can easily run a dozen ready-made farms out of one village, and stacks of hay bales discourage farming wheat for a good while too. That's not to say these naturally generated farms shouldn't exist, but it does mean that there ought to be more options outside what players can get from minute one.
Moreover, players have also trended towards certain food sources. Crops like potatoes or beetroot see scarce usage when compared to carrots or wheat, both of which can be turned into food or for breeding livestock. The consistent use of particular foods among Minecraft players isn't really a big issue, but it is indicative of how few crops there are for players to choose from. Theoretically, there are more plants than players could ever find room to grow, but few are optimal enough for players to ever consider farming them in large quantities. Cocoa beans and glowberries especially come to mind in this context.
Mojang Has Missed Multiple Opportunites To Reinvigorate Farming
Mojang has had a couple of chances in recent updates to really give farming a boost, but has so far come up short. The Wild Update was a major opportunity to bring in some new plants and, while some were added, it didn't really live up to its name. The sniffer from Minecraft's Trails and Tales is another important example; the ancient seeds that the mob can unearth are little more than decoration.
Missing these opportunities has only sparked more community interest in an update to Minecraft's farming, and it'd be great if Mojang capitalized on it. Be it more crops from other dimensions, in the vein of nether wart or chorus fruit, or just useful plants that only grow in rare locales (encouraging players to bring some home to farm), expanding farming will only enrich the player experience.
Minecraft
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS3 , PS Vita , Xbox One , Xbox 360 , Switch , 3DS , PC , Android , iOS , Wii U
- Released
- November 18, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Publisher(s)
- Mojang
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox , Survival
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- N/A
- X|S Enhanced
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1 GB (May 2024)
- Metascore
- 93
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Number of Players
- 1-4
