Minecraft Live 2021 has come and gone, and the game's future is looking brighter than ever. Some of the most notable additions promised for the newly announced The Wild Update are some interesting new mobs, both passive and hostile.
The Warden is a terrifying beast that senses the player's movements, while adorable little Frogs will now start roaming the overworld, eating up Fireflies along the way. These mobs have very complex behavioral systems, as do many of the newer mobs in the game, which begs the question: Is it time to overhaul some old mobs to behave similarly?
The Many Complex Behaviors of New Mobs
Even going back as far as update 1.11, it was clear mobs would slowly grow more complicated over time. Illager mobs like the Evoker had multiple attacks to choose from when coming into contact with the player, something only seen in the Ender Dragon endgame boss, before that point.
Once Microsoft acquired Minecraft developer Mojang in 2014, updates to the game became less frequent but far bigger, in more ways than one. This meant the team at Mojang had more time to develop and fine-tune each mob, which is something they clearly took full advantage of. Update 1.14's Village and Pillage update gave Minecraft's iconic NPC Villagers a whole behavioral schedule. They performed different actions depending on the time of day, with different Villagers doing different things.
At the time, this was the kind of complexity usually reserved for Minecraft's vast modding scene, but they would continue to push the boundaries. 1.15 brought Bees to the game, which have a home base they will always return to, and they can actually temporarily disappear from the world to enter their hive. Then, 1.16 brought Piglins. These mobs were technically hostile but could be bartered with for rare goods. Additionally, they would be passive towards the player only if they were wearing gold armor, something no other creature in the game can detect.
The rest of Minecraft's now extensive new mob lineup is no different. Axolotls heal the player, Goats rear their head and charge at anything that gets too close, the community-voted Allay will go out and collect more of whatever the player gives it. Then, there's The Warden and the Skulk mobs that come with it. These mobs can hear the player as they walk around, creating this tense stealth section when exploring the deepest parts of caves.
Old Mobs Need This Love Too
The Wild Update would be the perfect opportunity to breathe life into many of the game's oldest and most beloved mobs as well, because many of them seem so dull in comparison to the new creatures. While Foxes run around and have their own trust mechanic, what do Cows do? They just wander around aimlessly until the player either kills or feeds them.
New ideas don't have to be massively complicated, but each mob feels like they need a new touch to feel special again. Perhaps Cows could take inspiration from real life and be able to sit down when rain is on the way; they could even herd around the nearest tree. Pigs have the perfect opportunity with the newly announced Mud block, they could wallow around in it and become dirty. Chickens could start roosting their eggs when they lay them.
Minecraft's many hostile mobs could use a touch up, too. Zombies are great, but their only behavior is walking towards the player. Perhaps new types of Zombies could be added, drawing light inspiration from games like Left 4 Dead. Even the iconic Creeper isn't that special anymore, despite being iconic. Here, modders have already done Mojang's job for them. The Stalker Creepers mod has them silently follow the player, only exploding when the player turns around.
Even better, perhaps some complexity could be added to nighttime by having some hostile mobs attack each other. The Hoglin in Minecraft's Nether is a rampaging brute that attacks any mob that gets near it. Giving Zombies something similar would be cool. Other interactions would be fun too; perhaps Spiders hate Endermen, so they'll fight when they come across each other. It could make worlds feel so much more alive.
New and exciting mobs are always a joy to see when they're added to Minecraft. However, Mojang needs to make sure they take care of their old stuff too, before they get left in the dust by what's flashy and fun.