Highlights
- The Minecraft community eagerly awaited the results of the 2023 Mob Vote, with the Armadillo mob winning out over the Crab mob by a narrow margin.
- Mob Votes have become controversial, with fans disappointed by the selection process and feeling that meaningful content is lacking in the game.
- The Crab mob's unique feature of being able to place blocks from a greater distance would have revolutionized Minecraft's building mechanics, but the community's love for the Wolf mob ultimately determined the winner.
The Minecraft community recently waited in great anticipation to learn which candidate within 2023's Mob Vote was crowned victorious. As per the usual formula of these annual Mob Votes, the community had three new choices to vote between, with the Armadillo mob eventually coming out on top.
While the Armadillo will be a great addition to Minecraft, many are rightfully disappointed that the Crab mob narrowly missed out on the top spot. This is quite unusual compared to past Mob Votes, which usually only had one mob worth voting for, but the Crab's offered features would have been revolutionary for Minecraft's most important mechanic.
Minecraft 2023 Mob Vote: The Crab's Loss Hits Harder Than Most
Mob Votes Have Led to Both Controversy and Contention for Minecraft Players
It is no secret that Minecraft's annual Mob Votes have become a source of controversy for the title in recent years. The fact that only one mob is added from a selection of three is beginning to leave a sour taste in the mouths of fans, with this only adding to the criticism that Mojang is not doing enough to add meaningful and engaging content to the game.
Mobs are some of the most interactive content that Minecraft can add and so the yearly teasing of two mobs that will never see the light of day overshadows any excitement surrounding a Mob Vote winner. This was seen on a massive scale with 2023's Mob Vote, which offered fans a choice between these three animals:
- The Armadillo - A timid mob found in dry climates that can drop scute, which in turn can be used to craft Wolf Armor.
- The Crab - A semiaquatic mob found near beaches, whose claws could be used as a tool to place blocks much further away than usual.
- The Penguin - An amphibious mob found in colder regions, the Penguin would grant a speed boost to any nearby player sailing a boat.
The allure of Wolf customization saw the Armadillo win 2023's Mob Vote with 42.3% of the total votes, with the Crab coming in a narrow second place with 32.5%. While this sadly means that the Crab will not be added to Minecraft, it is interesting to note how unusually close the results of this year's Mob Vote were.
Most past Mob Votes have been dominated by a single candidate, usually due to the lack of perceived value or purpose behind the other mobs of a given vote. This has led to a lot of predictable Mob Votes over time, but this year's victor was genuinely hard to call. After obtaining a Crab's claw, players would have been able to place blocks further away than what is normally possible, and this would have been revolutionary to Minecraft's building mechanics in Survival mode.
Of course, building as a feature of Minecraft has remained relatively unchanged since the game's inception, so it is clear to see why fans were so excited at the prospect of such a significant improvement.
The Crab claw would have rewritten the speed and accessibility of building for any Minecraft playthrough, but the community's strong love for the game's Wolf mob just trumped this possibility. This is especially deflating for fans who were envisioning what the Crab claw could have done for Minecraft, although the Armadillo's Wolf Armor capabilities will help ease the pain. While there is still a lot to look forward to in Minecraft's next update, the absence of the Crab is going to be a bitter pill to swallow for a large portion of the game's community.
