Minecraft Ages
Minecraft Ages is a MMORPG released for all modern consoles and Windows platforms. It is the fourth spinoff of the Minecraft franchise and the first one to be exclusively online. The game requires an Xbox Live or Minecraft Realms account to play cross platform, but the use of a Nintendo Switch Online or Playstation Plus account can be used instead on their respective platforms.
Development
Minecraft Ages was first teased at Blizzcon 2023 where the speaker for the convention worn pants printed with the iconic face of the creeper enemy all over it. However no one went to Blizzcon out of protest due to their CEO being indicted for putting subliminal message in the recently released Candy Crush Cocoa Saga which encouraged children to commit illegal tax fraud for Activision Blizzard in exchange for an hour of free boosters. Enraged by this and the fact that the convention was a flop Bill Gates personally ordered the dissolution of Activision Blizzard with all of the employees that weren't complacent in these crimes merging into Mojang. Surprisingly the employees coexisted peacefully and the game was announced at Minecon 2023 as the next game in the Minecraft series.
Gameplay
Minecraft Ages, unlike other spinoffs, focuses more on the core mechanics of Minecraft. That is mining for resources and using those resources to both build better items but also build structures. However, the gameplay also gained a more action oriented focus, firstly enemies now have individual limbs and other body parts that can be targeted for varying amounts of damage. For example the abdomen of the common Cave Spider is weaker defensively than the head encouraging attacks from behind, other enemies like the Blazes are immune to attacks on the rods and can only be damaged by shots to the head. As a result mob animations are more fluid to better utilize this mechanic. The player also has access to other action initiatives, they can dodge roll for a brief moment of invulnerability, climb onto walls and large mobs with proper equipment, and crawl on their stomach rather than simply crouching. They also have access to several techniques which are segmented into two categories, Spells and Deathblows. Magic spells are powered by ether and Deathblows are powered by stamina and if either meter is emptied the player can't use their respective technique. Magic and Deathblows are powered by the player's knowledge and strength stat respectively. Each technique is part of one of 9 elements as listed below:
Players can use enchanted books to learn new Spells and Deathblows which can be selected from a list in the HUD. This special HUD can switch with the traditional item HUD to provide food and healing. These additions can be augmented by being succeful in one of several stats which can be leveled up over time.
| Stats | Function |
|---|---|
| Vitality | Determines the amount of health points you have. |
| Strength | Determines the power of physical attacks and Deathblows. |
| Stamina | Determines how many Deathblows you can do at a time. |
| Endurance | Determines how much you can resist physical attacks. |
| Knowledge | Determines how powerful your ranged and Magic Spells are. |
| Ether | Determines how many Magic Spells you can do at a time. |
| Willpower | Determines how much you can resist ranged and magic attacks. |
| Charisma | Determines how likely you gain secondary effects with your attacks such as having critical hits or setting status conditions. |
| Luck | Determines the possible chance of rarer random drops and better enchantments. |
| Agility | Determines how fast you could dodge roll or climb structures, among other actions. |
When starting a character you are encouraged to select from one of three factions, the Testificates, Wither Templars, and Dragon Acolytes. The Testificates represent the Overworld, the Wither Templars represent the Nether, and the Dragon Acolytes represent the End.
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