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Tin ore, bronze, and better gameplay

Minecraft is a very linear game with human progression. First, we had nothing, then we began using plants and wood, then stone, more valuable ores, etc. (it loses this eventually, of course).

I am someone who loves Minecraft, the essence of the game and its overarching pleasantness and simplicity. This game is wonderful, including so many elements to be explored, yet people can easily beat the game in less than 30 minutes. But I believe that there should be something to add as an extra challenge and incremental step to put into the game.

Minecraft is missing the bronze age. We utilized bronze in order to attain rare earth materials, so why shouldn't we do so in Minecraft? Here is the suggestion:

- Add tin, which is a common ore found in the upper regions of the underground. No armor nor tools, but it will be used for bronze and for decoration blocks (unless something else is to be added also).

- Add bronze, an alloy of both tin and the new block copper, used in armor and tools (can mine iron and other simple blocks, armor weaker than iron like chainmail). This will render both items to not only be more useful but be essential in game progression.

- Change iron. Make it so that we have to make bronze ingots using a crafting table to merge a tin ingot and copper ingot to get a bronze ingot. This will teach people how bronze is made in real life. Also, because it is used later, make it found only in deeper reaches of the underground.

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    Registered User commented
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    I actually have a post similar to this too! A few key changes are

    Tin has a LOT more uses (about 6 or 7) 

    Bronze is stronger than iron and is the branch between iron and diamond.

    Tin Ore can only be found in Mountains, Ocean, or River Biomes or touching water under any biome, as this happens in real life.

    Minecraft definently needs a bigger challenge, but making iron harder to get isn't it. Iron is probably the single most useful resource in the game (netherite is better but you need a lot more iron) and making it harder to get would make this issue worse. Instead, Diamond should become rarer so players can't get full diamond on day 1.

    Also Bronze should be alloyed on to Iron Tools via the Smithing Table.

  • 0
    Registered User commented
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    DarkstallerMoon, I agree with you. However, the notion I forgot to mention and ran out of room for but was going to provide is that tin should replace items in the game which currently require iron yet require a good deal of it (including rails, redstone pieces like hoppers and trapdoors, etc.). Utilizing the openness of the new large antechambers found deep underground, iron would still be rendered easy to get, as I believe it would generate all throughout those. In addition, tin buckets I believe would be a good idea, but the main difference is that they cannot hold lava, making the player reach deep into the caves before using such a harsh element. Other than tools and armor, I think these should stick with iron: flint and steel, proper buckets, pistons, minecarts, cauldrons, etc.). Essentially, my idea is that because the bronze age came first, and bronze is generally a weaker metal than iron, that there should be an intermediary stage between having nothing to quickly getting iron. This would render all simple low-level items, such as leather armor, stone tools, and other easy-to-come-by items as being more useful. Finally, as a note on generation, I feel like tin should generate throughout the whole world but iron would be below around y = 30 (of course, now noting the extension downwards).