Magic has a very significant presence in Minecraft already. Enchanting Minecraft’s weapons and armor is a crucial part of getting stronger, while certain potions can save a player’s life or give them the upper hand in battle. Nonetheless, players have no way to simply cast spells in Minecraft. In an unmodded version of the game, only an inventory full of tipped arrows and splash potions can replicate the use of magic. Considering how many Minecraft mods add wizardry to the game, there’s clearly interest in this as a core Minecraft feature, so hopefully, Mojang is aware of that and has started thinking about how to integrate spells into Minecraft.
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How Spellcasting Could Work in Minecraft
Since everything Minecraft players can accomplish involves the contents of their inventory, rather than special abilities or skill progression, magic in Minecraft would inevitably require the creation of a wand or a staff that does the spellcasting for the player. Mojang would be wise to construct a wand recipe partially out of known Minecraft items in order to better integrate magic into the game’s established content. For instance, Blaze Rods from the Nether could be used to make the base of the wand or staff, while gemstones like diamonds, emeralds, or amethyst shards could form the tip.
Minecraft magic might be more practical if each wand can only cast one spell at a time, much like how bows don’t randomly choose from different arrow types in the player’s inventory. Instead, players might need to put certain materials inside the wand that determine the kind of spell it casts while also serving as a resource that the wand consumes. Minecraft players might cast fire spells by putting Fire Charges in the wand, while a precious Golden Apple could charge wands with a potent healing spell. Using standard Minecraft items as spell resources would make it feel like a more natural part of the game while encouraging established players to think differently about how they spend their resources.
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Utilizing Minecraft’s Growing World
Of course, while Minecraft magic would benefit from using items that already exist, it could also come with new items that serve as wand resources. The Wild Update’s Deep Dark biome could introduce a spell component related to skulk, for instance, potentially letting players cast a spell that blinds mobs or shrouds an area in darkness to break the line of sight. The ancient cities guarded by the ominous Wardens seem like perfect places to hide rare items that Minecraft players can use to cast powerful spells.
Introducing wizardry to Minecraft sounds like a drastic change, but considering the other ways in which Minecraft has grown, it may not be so strange after all. The Deep Dark biome’s shady environments and sound mechanics, as well as Caves and Cliffs’ changes to the dimensions of Minecraft worlds, show that Mojang is constantly overhauling the game. Spellcasting would just be the next step in Minecraft’s long history of reinventing itself by introducing new mechanics that fundamentally alter the game. The Wild Update looks like it’ll be a major hallmark of 2022 for Minecraft players, but ideally, Mojang has more major features like spellcasting coming down the pipeline soon.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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