The Latest Mounts of Mayhem Drop Introduces a Beautifully Chaotic New Spear to the Game

The winter content update for Minecraft has landed — and it includes the first new weapon added to the game since the heavy club made its debut. The lance is now available and it might just alter your gameplay in Minecraft, particularly when you love chaos.

A Weapon Forged for Mounted Mayhem

The Mounts of Mayhem update also incorporates a host of fresh elements and updates centered around animal mounts in the game. That central theme made the spear the ideal addition for this release, as the creators had already known it was the moment to introduce a fresh combat tool.

"We knew initially that we desired a new weapon that would increase combat distance, and we wanted it to be fighting from atop a creature," explained a senior product manager. "We tried out a few different ideas, but the lance was the one that both handled superbly when we ran our trials and also looked good for the use case."

If you're asking yourself whether mounted combat means you can joust against your friends on steeds, the response is a definite affirmative. In fact, there's even an combat move perfectly suited for it.

"[Jousting on horses is one of the biggest applications for the spear, and it's so much fun," the developer continues. "The spear has a dual attack system: You have the quick stab, where you just stab your enemy. But you also have a powerful lance where you lower your spear and deal more damage [with] the more speed and velocity you have. So [it’s] ideal for knightly combat."

Aerial Mayhem & Deep-Sea Exploration

The chaotic fun isn't limited to there, though. If you're far enough into the game that you've been to The End, the developers have an delightfully absurd idea. "If you are quite advanced, [spears are] excellent for equipping the elytra and taking to the skies and creating genuine chaos," she suggests.

In other words: Sky jousting is now a reality, and it deserves to be an Olympic sport right away.

Another significant inclusion in this fresh content is the underwater mount. This aquatic being, which is modeled after the nautilus shells players have gathered for years, can be tamed and ridden for underwater travel. Not only will it transport you through the water more swiftly than swimming, it'll also maintain your oxygen levels, so there's no need to return to the surface for oxygen.

The rest of the additions are mostly things that want to kill you, as is the tradition of Minecraft. As expected, there's also a zombie Nautilus popping up in the water, frequently with a zombie villager on its back. If you succeed in dispatch the Drowned, though, you can tame the undead mount — or the regular one, for that matter — with a blowfish.

"We've long considered this issue on and off, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it felt like the perfect moment to also bring in something for aquatic environments," the lead explains. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a number of concepts for sea mounts that we wanted to try out, but the Nautilus initial artwork looked compelling, and we have the connection to the Nautilus shell that was found within the game."

She also points out that there are actually two distinct kinds of zombie Nautilus: standard and coral-infested undead mount. "[The variants] provide diversity to what you find underwater."

Desert Dangers and Long-Awaited Tweaks

Further inclusions include the Parched, desert-exclusive skeletons that can survive in the sun, which means there's no escape from them if you venture in that environment. Sometimes you'll see them on zombified camels, another fresh creature. These passive, zombified camels have an striking appearance that sees their skeletal frame exposed. The applies equally to undead steeds, who have a analogous rib-popping design and can sometimes be encountered after dark with a lance-wielding undead rider on their back.

The last two things on the drop's list are minor quality-of-life improvements, including some long-overdue changes to equestrian travel. Now, you can traverse rivers and lakes while atop a horse. Additionally, high-tier barding is now available at the workbench, so you can provide your steed with the ultimate protection it is worthy of.

A Fittingly Chaotic Finale

In summary, the final game drop of the year is a notable addition. The spear alone — and the potential for chaos — would have felt like a significant enhancement. Throw in the Nautilus, and new threats seeking your end, and Minecraft's definitely getting a bit spicier.

The Mounts of Mayhem content drop is live for Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft.