Minecraft: The Exploration Update Goes Live
By Boston Blake 17 November 2016
Minecraft Update 1.11, known as the Exploration Update, goes live today for PC and Mac, and introduces llamas, new maps, locations, and adventures for Minecraft players.
It’s been five years since Minecraft officially launched to the world, and even now the title continues to garner massive sales and success across all platforms. The incredible success of Minecraft spurred Microsoft to purchase the game’s developer, Mojang, and the two continue to pump out new updates for the much-beloved exploration game.
The next big update for Minecraft, Update 1.11 the Exploration Update, was released today for PC and Mac, according to an announcement by the company. The update adds a handful of new features to the game that will make exploration more enjoyable and rewarding for Minecraft players.
Among the new features coming with Minecraft Update 1.11 are a Cartographer, new locations with obstacles and goodies, llamas, and a Shulker Box. Details for each of these new features can be found below.
Cartographer
NPCs have been a part of Minecraft for quite a while. From enemies like skeletons and Creepers, to neutral parties like Villagers, there are many kinds of AI characters for players to engage with.
With the Exploration Update, Minecraft is adding a new type of Villager called the Cartographer. This new NPC will be available for payers to exchange excess emeralds for a special map, which marks the location of treasure caches around the area.
This is good news for exploration fanatics who like to search out hidden treasures, and not spend all their time digging through tunnels to find diamonds and Red Stone. Hopefully, these hidden treasure caches will be full of helpful goodies, making them useful to seek out.
Ocean Monuments and Woodland Mansions
When players trade their emeralds for maps, occasionally the maps will show the location for an Ocean Monument or Woodland Mansion. Each location comes with a unique set of challenges and rewards.
Ocean Monuments are protected by spiny Guardians, but offer useful treasures and materials for players to use within Minecraft.
Woodland Mansion are a bit different than Ocean Monuments in both difficulty and reward. Woodland Mansions are guarded by Illagers, the creepy, not-so-friendly cousins of Villagers. These Illagers will use weapons, traps, and spells to keep players for progressing through the mansions to the treasures within. However, if players can successfully defeat the Illagers and their triks, they’ll obtain the Totem of Undying, a useful item that allows players to face nearly any foe without the fear of dying.
Naturally, the Totem of Undying will be hugely useful to players who like to explore without worrying too much about dying. Instead, with the Totem in hand, players can venture farther and deeper than ever to seek out the many mysteries found within the world of Minecraft.
Llamas
Players will now be able to use llamas to transport their items around the world. And to make things better, players can string together multiple llamas into a caravan, making it easy to transport hundreds of items to new locations.
Again, this addition is great for exploration-minded Minecraft players, as it will allow players to easy uproot and move to a new location, taking most of their items with them. This will work well alongside the other new features, including the new maps that will guide players to new locations for treasures. Llamas will make it easy for players to live as nomads, moving from place to place, searching out hidden treasures, visiting new villages, and exploring new lands, all while keeping the many items they acquire along the way.
Shulker Box
One of the challenges Minecraft players face is how to easily transport lots of items as once simply and quickly. When players are looking to uproot, they have to unload their boxes and shift around inventory to make it work. This can be time consuming and frustrating.
Fortunately, Minecraft is introducing Shulker Boxes with Update 1.11, that can be used to easily move inventory. These boxes retain their contents when broken down, allowing players to fill multiple Shulker Boxes and carry them from one area to the next without the hassle of shifting inventory.
Time to Explore
It’s no surprise that Update 1.11 is called the Exploration Update, considering many of the new features allow players to easily move around the Mincraft world and search out and discover new treasures and mysteries.
With the update already live for PC and Mac players, it’s time to get out there and do some exploring.
What do you think about the new Minecraft update?
Minecraft Update 1.11 launches today for PC and Mac.
