A Minecraft Legends update from developers Mojang and Blackbird Interactive digs into some of the tools you’ll have at your disposal in the upcoming Minecraft strategy game spinoff. Alongside the usual weapons you might expect, the team reveals how you’ll use the power of music to summon and direct your troops, with the ability to learn new songs that unlock both defensive and offensive options.
Your Hero’s Sword is your starting weapon in Minecraft Legends, and it’s a pretty reliable tool – but it isn’t up to the task of taking down larger enemies or the piglins’ structures and portals, meaning it’ll be relegated to a backup option pretty quickly. Instead, the Hero’s Lute will be one of your primary ways to affect the world, and you’ll use it to play specific tunes that direct your population into action.
Collecting resources, building and dismantling structures, summoning friendly mobs and golems from nearby spawners – these are all handled by distinct songs that you’ll belt out with your lute in hand. Discovered melodies are stored in a songbook for easy access, and as you progress you’ll get some “very effective (read: explosive) structures that you can use for both defence and offence.”
Alongside your musical talents, you can also make use of your Banner of Courage to rally nearby allies, having them follow you, target structures, or attack distant bases. There’s also the option to switch into Banner View – a special menu that gives you complete control over individual units, something that will be welcomed by veteran RTS players.
Mounts are a core part of Minecraft, and they’re another element well-represented in Minecraft Legends. You’ll start out with a faithful horse, but can discover and recruit other mounts during your adventures, each of which has unique abilities such as faster movement or wall climbing.
In addition to all of this, you’ll carry a small, flaming cage on your mount’s side – the Flames of Creation. While these continue to burn, you can use them to summon enemies, much like traditional Minecraft spawners do. When you repel a piglin attack on your homesteads, you’ll also be able to light Flames of Creation there to build more spawners and draw in additional mobs to help you defend the settlements.
You’ll also want to visit your home base at the Well of Fate regularly, because you can build a variety of improvements to enhance your own abilities. These include the likes of rallying more allies at once, building more structures simultaneously, and storing more resources. As you get further in, you’ll even discover “new unique allies and structures” to add to your repertoire. You can’t take every improvement, however, so make sure to pick carefully!
The Minecraft Legends release date is just over a month out, so make sure you’re ready for action by playing more of the best RTS games on PC, along with some of the best crafting games if you need more to scratch that Minecraft itch.