Minecraft Nether features that deserve rework and improvements

Minecraft is a sandbox game that, despite its apparent detachment from reality, unmistakably finds inspiration in our world. Within the game, there are various dimensions, and one of them, known as the Nether, resembles the concept of hell as imagined by many.

Navigating through the lava-filled terrain is challenging enough, but players must also fend off terrifying mobs in the process, making their journey even more dangerous.

Although it's a vital part of the game, as every player must visit the Nether at least once to collect certain resources and eventually access the End dimension, the area has not been updated since 2020.

In this article, we explore aspects of the Nether in Minecraft that could benefit from a rework to enhance the overall gaming experience.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the views of the writer.

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Minecraft Nether features that require an update

The Nether dimension (Image via Mojang)

Adventure enthusiasts enjoy exploring this challenging dimension to collect the few exclusive valuables it has to offer. However, the lack of new content has shifted the average player's focus from exploring for enjoyment to purely gathering resources required for reaching the End dimension.

Despite the Minecraft 1.16 Nether update introducing numerous features, they have grown stale and repetitive after being explored for the past four years. Many players recognize this issue and have expressed their concerns through Reddit posts about the need for a Nether dimension overhaul update.

Here are a couple of features of the Nether that need rework:

Nether Wastes

Nether wastes (Image via Mojang)

Before the Nether update in 2020, the game had only one distinct Nether biome. After the update, the original Nether became the Nether Wastes biome, but it received minimal changes.

The Nether Wastes biome has remained virtually unchanged in terms of world generation for the past decade. While a few new blocks, such as nether bricks and nether wart blocks, have been introduced, this biome requires a significant overhaul.

As the face of the Nether dimension, it should offer more diverse features and resources to encourage players to explore the biome.

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Nether Fortress

A nether fortress (Image via Mojang)

Although it is the original Nether structure, and arguably the most important one, has not been updated since the 1.4.2 Pretty Scary update in 2015. Apart from adding loot chests and allowing fortresses to spawn in any biome, there have been no substantial changes.

The nether fortress is crucial for most Minecraft players as it is the exclusive spawn location for blaze mobs, which drop blaze rods, a key ingredient for accessing the End dimension. Given its importance and frequent visits, updating this structure could significantly enhance the Minecraft experience.

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Mobs

Zombified piglins and a ghast in the nether (Image via Mojang)

The Nether mobs have remained unchanged for years, and if a future update created to expand the dimension were to drop, introducing new mobs with it is necessary.

While the sought-after release of a new boss mob remains uncertain, adding one to the Nether could introduce new dynamics and encourage more players to explore the dimension.

The current state of the Nether sees most of its existing mobs not worth farming, as the risks often outweigh the rewards. Introducing a couple of new exclusive mobs with valuable drops would undoubtedly draw more players to this fiery dimension.

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Ancient debris generation

Ancient debris in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

For a resource that presents itself as a vital key to eventually acquiring the Netherite armor equipment and items, the ancient debris is just not rare enough.

Players can get a bunch of ancient debris by simply placing TNT blocks in a few gaps through a player-made tunnel and exploding them to create a line of explosions that will blow up useless blocks and reveal ancient debris. This practice works perfectly as ancient debris is explosion-resistant blocks.

A possible solution to the ease of acquiring this resource might involve not disrupting highly efficient Minecraft mining techniques, but rather reducing the frequency of its generation.