Hey guys, Keeko here. Today I’d like to give the community a preview of a new feature coming in v2.2. This is in its earliest stages, and everything is subject to change. Thus, although the dev team loves this direction, constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!
Anyway, let’s get into this new game-changing feature: Artisans & Artifacts.
Behold, the Runic Blacksmith! They’re a new trader that will appear in every town and maybe even in their own isolated locations. Each one will have unique trades.
Artisan items will be sold by Runic Blacksmiths for emeralds and a base item. They will feature unique enchantments and special attributes that can’t be found on anything else, while being less powerful than Legendaries. The Drabyel Runic Blacksmith alone isn’t illustrative of the full extent of these new items, so let’s visit Highfall and see what the merchant there has to offer!
Already, you can see what sort of implications these new items have. Despite having small stat bonuses, these items are flat-out better than basic diamond armor and can be stacked to give +0.03 Movement Speed (yes I know the item says Speed instead of Movement Speed, I will fix it, I promise). They can be enchanted, repaired, combined with other armor, all the good stuff. Although you can also upgrade them to Netherite, you currently will not get increased Armor Toughness and added Knockback Resistance. We would like to find a workaround for this but are unsure if we will be able to.
Keep in mind that all Artisan items will not have stat bonuses this tame. While none will be on the level of a Legendary, I’m sure that you can start to imagine some fitting stat combinations for Artisan items from this glimpse!
The diamond armor that you give to this particular trader must have Unbreaking III. The goal of this requirement is to encourage players to still engage with the enchanting system and keep enchanted books valuable. Emerald prices for Artisan items are high to serve as a great resource sink for emeralds, which are very common throughout the map.
Now, let's get into Artifacts.
Artifacts are basically Artisan items that can be found out in the world without a price attached - this chestplate, for example, is found within the Burnt Palace’s secret passages alongside a helmet and leggings that provide similar stat bonuses. They are completely unique because, unlike Legendaries, they cannot be crafted. If one breaks, it's gone for good. These Artifact items are comparable to the uniquely enchanted items you can find in Drehmal today, such as Aru’Dahru, Timefall Boots, or the Mother’s armor set. Those items will be updated to become Artifacts too.
Some Artifacts will have Artisan counterparts with identical stat bonuses but different names/lore. Most will be completely non-renewable, however.
This obviously has its own set of upsides and downsides. For one, having Artifacts be nonrenewable makes them feel more special, but may cause some issues in Multiplayer because not every party member will receive each item. Additionally, while breaking Artifacts may feel awful, simply making them Unbreakable would keep players from engaging with Minecraft’s repairing system and make loot less useful.
The biggest upside to Artifacts is that they make structure loot more interesting and exciting. Alongside Runic Catalysts (the new name for the Popped Void Fruit items), it means we can greatly diversify treasure across the map. No longer will the only worthwhile finds be underwhelming emeralds, niche enchanted books, and the rare Legendary or even Mythical. We also have a couple more systems in the works to make loot more interesting, but we aren’t quite ready to show those off yet.
Overall, here’s what we believe the most important benefits of Artisans & Artifacts are:
Make Emeralds more valuable by introducing a better way to spend them
Make loot more interesting and varied with Artifacts
Make towns more exciting to visit
Introduce new items that are weaker than Legendaries without feeling underwhelming
Still have players engage with Minecraft’s vanilla systems such as enchanting and repairing
Deeper buildcrafting
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this little preview and are excited for what’s to come in v2.2: APOTHEOSIS. Remember, your feedback is always appreciated!