Finally, Minecraft's big Nether Update is here, and the all-new netherite gear is even better than diamond. There are several changes version 1.16 has brought along to Minecraft, but the new netherite material and the massively improved Nether steal the show.
For those very few unfamiliar with the game, Minecraft players can equip armor, tools, and weapons out of blocks that they mine out in the game's infinite number of worlds. Survival players usually climb a kind of material ladder when starting a new world, setting out early on with wooden pickaxes and swords and slowly trading up until they're eventually fully decked out in a powerful diamond set. For years, diamond has been the final word in the Minecraft gear hierarchy whether playing with friends or alone, but the latest 1.16 update has at last upped the ante when it comes to equipment durability and value.
Unveiled for Java version players on PC in a playable Nether Update snapshot, it's clear that version 1.16 is expansive. Mojang's patch notes are fairly long, detailing all of the new terrain blocks, biomes, and creatures that will make the Nether even more otherworldly than before, but there's one particular addition that's caught players' attention. Netherite is the first new core crafting material to be added to Minecraft since the game's early days, and players can craft it using materials they find in the updated Nether to make the most effective and durable items in the game. Nether gear has a higher enchantment value than diamond (second only to gold), decreases knockback, and comprise the first-ever set of items in the game's history that can float on lava in the event of underground or Nether-borne misadventures.
Last year's inclusion of big, adorable bees to Minecraft was great and all, but the Nether Update is a literal game-changer. For less imaginative players, Minecraft has always been a little skimpy in terms of anything resembling traditional endgame content, aside from the lackluster Ender Dragon. Now, the somewhat complicated process of procuring just one ingot of netherite will work alongside the increased danger and unpredictability of the made-over Nether to keep players busy when they'd normally burn out. Throw in the many shaders and Minecraft mods that are sure to make the hellish dimension even more immersive, and players are sure to spend far more time in the Nether than ever before.
Over a decade in, Mojang is still adding major improvements to virtually every facet of Minecraft, though it may be a long while until the now-dominant netherite is dethroned by even better gear. When or if that time comes, however, players can be certain that the game will be an even more ambitiously overhauled experience by then.
Source: Minecraft