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The winter game drop for Minecraft has landed — and it includes the initial fresh armament introduced into the game since the heavy club made its debut. The lance is now available and it might just change how you play Minecraft, particularly when you love chaos.

A Weapon Forged for Mounted Mayhem

The Mounts of Mayhem drop also adds a host of fresh elements and enhancements centered around riding animals in the game. That central theme made the spear the ideal addition for this update, as the development team had already known it was the moment to introduce a new weapon.

"From the outset, we understood that we desired a fresh armament that would add some more range, and we designed it specifically for mounted combat," noted a lead developer. "We tried out a few different ideas, but the spear was the one that both handled superbly when we tested our prototypes and also was visually fitting for the use case."

If you're curious whether mounted combat means you can joust against your companions on horseback, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, there's even an combat move ideally crafted for it.

"Mounted lance combat] is one of the biggest functions for the spear, and it's so much fun," the developer continues. "The spear has a dual attack system: You have the jab attack, where you simply impale your enemy. But you also have a sprinting strike where you couch your lance and inflict greater injury [with] the more pace you have. So [it’s] tailor-made for knightly combat."

Sky-High Chaos and Underwater Adventures

The wild enjoyment isn't limited to there, though. If you're deep enough into the game that you've visited The End, the developers have an truly outlandish idea. "If you are quite advanced, [spears are] ideal for equipping the wings and going out and making some real mayhem," she teases.

In other words: Sky jousting is now possible, and it should be made an Olympic sport without delay.

Another significant inclusion in this latest drop is the Nautilus. This aquatic being, which is modeled after the seashells found in-game for years, can be tamed and mounted for submarine exploration. Not only will it move you through the water more swiftly than swimming, it'll also maintain your air supply, so there's no necessity to surface for fresh air.

The rest of the additions are primarily things that seek your demise, as is the way of Minecraft. Naturally, there's also a undead nautilus popping up in the water, frequently with a zombie villager on its back. If you are able to dispatch the Drowned, though, you can befriend the undead mount — or the regular one, for that matter — with a puffer fish.

"We've been thinking about this issue on and off, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it appeared to be the ideal opportunity to also bring in something for aquatic environments," the lead clarifies. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a number of concepts for sea mounts that we wanted to test, but the Nautilus design sketches looked striking, and we have the link to the Nautilus shell that was pre-existing in the game."

She also notes that there are actually two distinct kinds of zombie Nautilus: regular and coral zombie Nautilus. "[The variants] provide diversity to what you find underwater."

Desert Dangers and Long-Awaited Tweaks

Further inclusions include the sun-proof skeletons, biome-specific skeletons that can withstand the sun, which means there's no escape from them if you find yourself in that biome. Sometimes you'll see them on desiccated dromedaries, another fresh creature. These passive, zombified camels have an striking appearance that sees their bones protruding. The same goes for undead steeds, who have a similar exposed-rib aesthetic and can sometimes be found at night with a lance-wielding zombie on their back.

The final pair of items on the drop's list are smaller gameplay updates, including some much-anticipated changes to equestrian travel. Now, you can ford bodies of water while mounted on a horse. Furthermore, netherite horse armor is now available at the workbench, so you can give your horse the top-tier safeguarding it deserves.

A Fittingly Chaotic Finale

In summary, the last content update of the year is a solid offering. The spear alone — and the mayhem it enables — would have felt like a major improvement. Combine that with the Nautilus, and additional creatures trying to kill you, and Minecraft's definitely getting a touch more chaotic.

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