9 Minecraft Legends tips to know before your quest begins
The best tips on how to play Minecraft Legends and hold back the Piglin hordes
Following these Minecraft Legends tips and tricks will help you to get started on the right track, as this experience is a little different to your classic blocky adventures. There are fresh strategic elements involved, and as we went along we discovered things that we wish we'd known from the beginning of our time with Minecraft Legends. With plenty of exploration, resources, tactics, and mobs to work your way through, there's a lot to learn about, and that's why we've put together these basic fundamentals below to guide you through what you need to know. Take a read through these tips for Minecraft Legends, and you'll be better equipped for what lies ahead.
1. Sometimes it's safer to flee
Because you usually can't build on enemy terrain without a way to cure Netherrack, you're usually building your army on the borders, then bringing everyone in. That means that if your team gets wiped out, the best thing you can do is just flee, try to get back to your spawners and bring in some new allies for a second wave of attack. As long as you don't take too long or get too far, the damage you've done will be remembered, and you can maintain the carnage when you return with fresh forces.
2. You can recruit mobs you find, not just those you make
There's more mobs in the game than just those you create with spawners, and classic Minecraft mobs like Zombies, Skeletons and Creepers, as well as a range of animals. Admittedly, they're not all as good as each other - an ocelot or a llama isn't much help - but the monsters can be even deadlier than the standard golems you spawn. If there's a chance to add some undead to the team when you spot them in the overworld, make sure you take it! Even a single skeleton can make a difference.
3. Focus your attention on the most dangerous targets
Whether you're attacking an outpost or protecting a village, the best thing you can do is have most of your forces move on specific targets, rather than spreading them out, especially when you're going aggressive. The exact best way to distribute your forces will vary a bit depending on the situation, but generally you want to go after the biggest threats first - bosses, dangerous artillery, arrow towers and especially the barracks that constantly spawn more Piglins. Once the area is safer, you can look at the less deadly targets and work on those.
4. Use sweeping hit-and-run tactics
Of course, you yourself are capable of doing damage! Admittedly, it's not a lot, but you can do a fair amount against the basic Piglin foes, sweeping through forces and cutting them down along the way. You move too fast for many enemies to hit, so the best thing is hit-and-run tactics, charging in, cutting down a load of basic enemies, and dashing out again if things get dangerous. If your mobs and golems are working on destroying a structure or a boss, this can be a good way to keep lesser enemies off their back and let them work.
5. Use the day/night cycle to your advantage
Minecraft Legends has a day/night cycle too! And it's not just for show - the game is generally more difficult at night, and travel is more dangerous. During the day, Piglins tend to stay in their outposts, planning attacks. At night, they carry those plans out, either building outposts or attacking villagers. There's also a chance to find Piglins just roaming around the world at night, so you can get attacked while you explore. That doesn't mean there's any less enemies in the outposts at nighttime - it only means they're everywhere else too. Use the cover of day to build up your resources, explore and go aggressive on the Piglin's bases, then when night comes around, go on the defensive and protect your homes.
6. Think about your mobs' strengths and your enemies' weaknesses
Different mobs are good at different things, so while sometimes you just want a general mix of mobs to deal with any potential threat, it's better to look at the details of who you're fighting. When you're on the main map screen, hovering the cursor over a region tells you about the occupying horde's strategies, such as the Horde of the Bastion using ranged units, defence towers and structure upgrades. Building armies specifically to counter their tactics will be more effective than going in blind.
7. Remember to check Village Chests, but use them sparingly
It's easy to forget, but Village Chests are one of the best sources of loot, and ones you should attend to whenever you're running low on resources, using the map to check which ones are full. However, they fill somewhat slowly and your resource requirements will grow over time, so you shouldn't get dependent on them. Instead, try to harvest from the environment when you can, and use the chests only when you really need to refuel in preparation for a big attack.
8. When defending Villages, upgrade as much as you build, and make sure to plan ahead
The structures you build don't have to be purely for protecting things - when a village is under attack, you'll want to build walls and arrow towers, then upgrade them later with buildings like the Masonry and Kaboomery. These buildings don't do anything to mobs on their own, but enhance nearby buildings and structures, either making them tougher or deadlier. However, because they have a limited radius of effect, you need to build your initial defenses while keeping in mind that you'll need to have space for the upgrade buildings to follow - or have extra resources so you can build multiple buildings dotted around to cover as much as possible.
9. Don't fast travel unless you have to
There's no direct cost to fast travel, but we recommend not doing it too often, especially during the day. Exploration is the chance to build resources, find unique items, locate random outposts and encounters and more besides. Skipping over that may seem efficient and easy, but you're losing the chance to be better prepared for what's coming.
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.