The Nether Expansion - 1.16 Update on Loka

[Evil_X]

With the first 1.16 snapshot out it'd be awesome to see this expansion to Loka. The update brings with it new biomes, blocks, mobs and a new tier of resource. Netherite.
The reason I don't put this in the suggestion tab is that we've only so far seen 1 snapshot and a lot is subject to change and yet to be added. I'm curious what ideas others have and what they'd like to see Loka do with the update.
This is my suggestion and I hope to add to it over time as we learn more of this update

"You want to get the new items, those that are said to be more powerful than diamond. There has been a rupture in the nether revealing an entrance to deep caverns never before known to exist, it's as if it just appeared as if this was a world colliding with ours. It seems to be morphing and transforming. Entrances randomly closing and reopening in other locations. You can't track this place down and even if you do upon entry your not coming back. We must leave the nether surface and enter upon this new mystery
A new world with enemies stronger than ever encountered in the world of Loka, mysterious buildings, intriguing dungeons and the race of Piglin. If you venture deep enough through deadly caves you can find the mystical powerful resource, Netherite.
You thought the nether could be a scary place, you haven't ventured into the true underworld..."

It'd be interesting with this to possibly see an update to the firestone quest with you going across this new nether expansion to get the pieces.
Netherite should be something incredibly difficult to get which gives a real edge in conquest, this update could hopefully give that new expansion and challenge veteran players have wanted.
Maybe these blue peaceful biomes could work as safety camps across the nether, a new conquest feature where you claim a small section for your town. The deep nether would be free for all conquest land with pure chaos.
Randomly
The deep nether could randomly generate like a huge dungeon? Only opening at set times requiring raid parties etc etc


This change would come with a lot of work and once again we've only seen one snapshot of 1.16, im sure as it evolves ideas can change and manifest with future changes and additions, considering how the new nethers looking it may be possible to work off that and just add the lokan twist?
This is just my idea of how to expand Loka in a new direction to hopefully give players a feeling of excitement to explore this new world, something vanilla but a feeling and sense of wonder only available on Loka
What do you want to see on Loka with the new nether update? Discuss down below

 

[koi0001]

I appreciate the discussion thread actually, thanks.

I don't think the nether has ever really felt like all that much of a Hellscape to begin with. If new elements were to be introduced to the nether I think it would be prudent to hear what PVE devs think is doable and what isn't.

 

[FroggyFruit1357]

Right now it's still a snapshot. If you recall, 1.15 was supposed to be spam click PVP and add new weapons like gauntlets. All of that is back in the Mojang update vault. 1.16 is still pretty far out. As Crypt and Mag said on the quest preview, optifine has to come out before we go to said version for player performance and resource pack support reasons. Point is, it's a little early to start planning how to add something not 100% set in stone. I do like your ideas with the new biomes and how to implement them. When they do get added it's worth discussing with the team.

 

[Magpieman]

Love the thoughts and ideas you've put forward. The concept of going deeper down into the nether is especially interesting.

Just a couple of notes on things that we can't do/won't happen. Whatever becomes conquest meta (Netherite gear) HAS to be easy to obtain and abundant. The conquest design philosophy is to make it as accessible as possible and not gate it behind gear like this. Dungeons/raids in the traditional mmo sense are a long way off, the idea has always been that this is the final stage of PVE content and as a result is well over a year off. Dungeons like the Dreadfort or mob spawning structures, on the other hand, are much more doable and can be made very challenging if we want.

 

[koi0001]

The conquest design philosophy is to make it as accessible as possible and not gate it behind gear like this.

Just a suggestion, why not make new materials only useae for PVE?

 

[Magpieman]

Just a suggestion, why not make new materials only useae for PVE?

It's certainly a possibility, but we would probably rather create our own PvE armour down the line and keep PvP more vanilla. We'll have to wait and see what changes. Mojangs combat changes will also likely play a part in our decision when that eventually gets added.

 

[SilentStormSix]

Just add the sea pickles, kelp, and coral.

 

[Magpieman]

as long as we're on the topic of the nether, can you guys make the mob shrine loot bundles as profitable as those found in ruins?

This will never be the case, as it makes no sense from a balance perspective. Ruin loot bundles have very very long cooldowns and spawn randomly throughout a ruin. There is a lot of time spent on travelling out to the ruin and then, even more searching for the bundles. As a result, it's important all this time spent has worthwhile rewards.

On the other hand, nether shrines are all in static locations with a boat that takes you to the nether isle. Killing the shrine wardens drop large quantities of specific resources, which is the incentive to clear the shrine. The loot bundles are just an added bonus on top of all the mob drops. Some of the shrine loot bundles are very rewarding, they could have recall stones or mending books inside them, equally, they could only drop one potion, it's all rng.

 

[Magpieman]

I think the elegant solution here is to make mob shrines have a random nonzero chance of even spawning a loot bundle at all - and to make those bundles that do spawn as profitable as ruins bundles. The inconsistency ENRAGES me.

We will continue to add more loot bundles with different loot tables going forward. This will range from boss drops to just being found on the ground. I could see us unifying rarities to have a similar meaning in terms of value across all loot bundles, however, there are a few downsides to this. If you feel strongly about this it's worth starting a new thread to avoid steering this one too far off-topic.