Back to minecraft.net

If you want to propose a change to an existing structure (like villages), or add something brand new in a current dimension or biome, this is the place.

← Structures
5037
Follow

Revert Nether Fortress Rarity to 1.15 Levels

Nether Fortresses were made about 2-3x rarer in 1.16. 1.15 Nether Fortresses were already fairly rare and often required exploring much of the Nether to find.

Personally, I remember being frustrated with my inability to locate a Nether Fortress on several occasions. They are essential for brewing and for progressing to the End. This is unlike most other structures, which are justifiably somewhat rare. Other structures don’t have basic mechanics locked behind finding them (save the Stronghold, which you don't need to just randomly stumble into.) If a rare structure in the Nether is wanted, it would be much better if it is not something essential for basic game mechanics that have existed since beta.

While rarity is not inherently bad - making diamonds common would just be silly - it’s not always good either. I think Nether Fortresses were already rare enough. While they do incentivize exploring the new Nether more if they’re rare, Bastion Remnants, the ability to use portals for fast travel, and Netherite already do this.

There are also other ways the main problems with Nether Fortress rarity could be addressed, by adding other ways to access brewing and the End. This could be done by adding Blaze Rods and Nether Wart to Bastion Remnant chests or bartering, among other things.

Avatar
Registered User shared this idea

105 Comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Date Votes
Sorted by oldest
  • Official comment
    Avatar
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Hi folks. If you agree, please just vote or leave a constructive comment. +1's/agrees/etc aren't as effective as voting - let's leave the commentary to actual commentary, and not spam.

  • 170
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    YES. This needs to happen. This could demotivate newer players, especially those who don't have good navigating skills or the best computer hardware, making it virtually impossible to find the fortress. Personally, I think this is also a pain for speedrunners because it makes RNG a bigger factor, and could also be demotivating.

  • 110
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    As a speedrunner myself, it's been over a month that I'm running 1.16 (started with snapshots). The lack of fortresses really makes speedrunning it not fun at all. The only time where I actually found a fortress was when I made a portal 1.2k blocks away from spawn.

    I just keep on resetting when I enter the Nether, especially because the new biomes makes it even harder to walk around without mining / breaking blocks / bridging 200 blocks away.

    Even in casual gameplay, someone spawning in a nether that has literally no fortress 500 blocks around 0, 0 makes it very hard to actually grind blaze rods / warts. (Not mentioning the fact when you spawn in  a huge netherrack box, you need to dig out of it and it sometimes takes a LOT of time before even finding a cave).

  • 65
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I ABSOLUTELY AGREE.
    I have been speedrunning Minecraft for 5 years now and not once have I been able to get a fortress close enough to get record time the fastest run (glitchless, random seed) is 52 minutes and this only happened because I couldnt find a fortress some runs I just look for fortress for 10-20 minutes then I use /locate ( when I know the run can't be good for a record) only to see that the nearest fortress to me is 500-1500 blocks away. This Absolutely needs to change or another solution would be to make blazes spawn randomly/in a set biome which would solve the issue and an alternative could be through the use of bartering with pigment or having the bastion remnants have blaze powder, I can go all day giving possible solutions to this
    As a speedrunner this needs to change or 1.16+ speedruns will be impossible to do unless you have the most amazing rng

  • 53
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Yes, nether fortresses are the only place where you can find nether warts. They were already rare enough, but now they are very rare to find.

  • 49
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    The main cause of Nether Fortresses being rarer now is the increased region size for the structures in the Nether. I'm not sure if decreasing that back to 1.15 levels would be the best way of solving the problem of it being too difficult to obtain the ability to brew / go to the end, but it is one simple way to do so and I recommend it if you can't think of something better.

  • 42
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    yes i agree that they're too rare in 1.16. i get that they want you to explore the nether more with all this new stuff, but i feel if they do want to make it rarer they should make it a lot less rare then it is. maybe around 1.5x rarer then 2-3x

  • 35
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Ok, I am fine with nether fortress being rarer if a few things get implemented, 

     

    1. Blazes spawn in other places in nether  in a few certain biomes, atm, the basalt delta and nether wastes would fit the best with it

    2. Nether wart spawns in other places in nether too. maybe in the soulsand valley?

    3. Now you may ask if blazes and warts are removed what will be the purpose of the Fortress, well the answer is Wither skeletons and Loot of the fortress, Thus in order to form a beacon, you will need to find a Nether Fortress. I believe this would really help in the game since blazes are required to finish the game and wart is important for Brewing. 

  • 34
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I agree with this, speedrunning in this version is really frustrating, it takes such a along time to find a Nether Fortress and I just switched back to 1.15.

  • 29
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I think they need to find a balance, as referred in another comment I think 1.5x rarer is fine because of the bastions. Making them just slightly rarer will allow for speedrunners to not be disheartened while also making sure there's still not too many structures everywhere.

  • 22
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Yes please. Structures like dungeons and temples can be rare because they aren’t essential elements to the game. Seeing as the ONLY place to acquire blaze rods is in nether fortresses, the increased rarity is abysmal for speed runners and even casual players.

  • 19
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    It is essential to find them to even beat the game. They were already rare enough before the update. Personally I want to have a rare thing but not super rare and makes the game annoying and much more grindy

  • 18
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Another way this problem could be amended would be to add random smaller nether fortresses or camps with just a dilapidated nether brick structure, some magma and a blaze spawner. This makes it so regular nether fortresses are still exclusive with their good loot in the chests, nether wart and wither skeletons while offering the player with a quicker, cheaper alternative with less payoff. Maybe to incentivise regular players coming near these camps, on breaking the blaze spawner it could give double the xp than compared to a regular spawner. They'd probably be as a rare as the random nether portal remnants you can find in the nether.

    Potential Mockup:

     

  • 16
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Yes! Bring back the original rarity of the fortresses. Just because there's new structures in the nether doesn't mean you have to mess with the already existing ones. Just make the new ones rarer than the fortress since blaze rods are required to beat the game. I loaded up a new world to see what the nether looked like and it was actually scary. In my old world the closest fortress was already 1k blocks away but flying around in creative in the new update for 30 minutes I hadn't found a single fortress. I actually found a bastion before a fortress which is cool but not helpful for beating the game or even fun for speedrunning.

  • 12
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Unfortunately, the latest update has shifted speedrunner strategies to relying on luck, as opposed to optimizing gameplay. being able to play the game skillfully by parkouring, crafting quickly, kiling mobs quickly, etc, should be rewarded.

    the latest update has also shoved a roadblock in front of casual players, who just want to progress thru the game, and are not as skilled as speedrunners.

    Solution-

    Make all the other new structures more rare, and leave fortresses alone (1.15), as they have essential things for speedrunners and casual players alike.

    ALT IDEA

    What if there was a new feature/item implemented that helped locate fortresses? acquiring this item shouldn't be entirely luck based, but like crafting a compass.

    this would allow the nether to stay spaced out as it is, and give players a chance to completely avoid the "pick a direction and hope for the best!" strategy that just got severely worsened by the new update.

    perhaps crafting a locator using items in the nether, (quartz, gold, etc) or by offering something to a piglin in exchange for directions! ex., toss them a gold block and they might pick it up and point their sword in the direction of the nearest structure. this would feel more like an adventure!

  • 10
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    This is a huge issue, for for both experienced players who are sick of searching through the Nether and for new players who can't find one soon enough and get lost. Bad fortress luck can be extremely annoying, please do something about this!

  • 9
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    do this :) it will make the game a LOT easier

  • 9
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Come on Mojang please listen, you've made life hell for speedrunners and newbies alike

  • 8
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    wtf? no way. minecraft is just packed with structures now. keep fortresses rare and make everything else rarer. especially shipwrecks and villages

  • 8
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    super demotivating for alot of players especially speedrunners and new players! change it back!!

  • 7
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I literally just made a post on this. I'm an amatuer Speed-runner myself and I could run 1.15 in 45 minutes not seeded glitchless (I know I'm not the best, don't judge me) But 1.16 is just a kick in all the bad places. So many runs have been scrapped to not finding a Fortress for DANG 25 MINUTES of running around and it really sucks.

  • 6
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    By the way this is why I’m trying to speedrun Minecraft in 1.15 even though 1.16 is epic

  • 6
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I don’t think people necessarily want the fortresses rarity itself should increase, but rather increase the ability in obtaining blaze rods and/or nether warts. I agree that Nether Fortresses rarity should go up a bit, but maybe in addition add other methods in getting blaze rods, blaze powder, and nether warts. This would also make speed runners and new players happy.

  • 6
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    we need this because as a player nether fortress are important to progress into the end, and some speedrunner will find this harder as its 3x rare

  • 5
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    please make it easier, i used to love speedrunning but with how hard it is to find nether fortresses i have started to give up and it is really demotivating. please make it easier.

  • 5
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Speed running is a joke due to the rarity of nether fortresses

  • 5
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Yes, this REALLY needs to happen. The rarity of nether fortresses is really demotivating even though the rest of the nether is cool.

  • 5
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    Reverting the fortress rarity to its former levels will not only make the speedrunning community happier but also the casual players of Minecraft. It's a win-win if you revert the fortresses to their former rarity.

  • 5
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I actually disagree. Instead, what could be done is use a method to locate nether fortresses in a similar way strongholds are being located. They are an essential part of the game and this would justify their current rarity as well as incentivize exploring the new mechanics of the nether.

  • 4
    Registered User commented
    Comment actions Permalink

    I totally agree with this! Mojang please implement this. The nether is kinda hard to traverse sometimes and since the fortress' are rarer in 1.16 this makes the nether kinda uninteresting in a way. My friend and I had to spend multiple hours trying to find a fortress and it got pretty boring because of the fortress rarity. If the fortess rarity is decreased then the nether becomes a little bit more interesting, for me at least.