Minecraft Mob Vote 2023's Penguin will boost the speed of your boats 

Minecraft Live 2023's Mob Vote contestants have finally all been announced, with the penguin unveiled on October 5. This friendly new mob, according to its announcement trailer, is a native of stony shore biomes and is generally nice toward players. However, this new semi-aquatic mob also provides the benefit of speeding up one's boat in some capacity.

The reveal trailer for Minecraft's 2023 Mob Vote didn't explicitly explain how penguin speed boosts work for player boats, but there are already more than a few theories floating around. Additionally, if this adorable mob does win this year's Mob Vote, there should be quite a bit of forthcoming clarification.

As of now, it doesn't hurt to examine the potential way that penguin boat speed boosts might work in Minecraft.

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How might penguin boat speed boosts work in Minecraft?

Penguins assist Agnes' ship in heading to Minecraft Live 2023 (Image via Mojang)

Since the announcement trailer didn't exactly give Minecraft players much to go on, it isn't unreasonable to devise some theories as to how penguins will make player boats faster. One of the most plausible suggestions is that penguin speed boosts will operate similarly to the Dolphin's Grace effect.

When players are in the vicinity of a dolphin mob, they receive a solid increase in their swimming speed until they move far enough away from the dolphin. Players may receive a similar boost when riding in a boat and being close to penguins.

This seems to be supported, at least circumstantially, in the penguin trailer for Minecraft Live 2023. In the video, the mob seems capable of boosting Agnes Larsson's ship speed and pointing her in the right direction simply by being around her. Overall, players would likely be delighted with that feature in the 1.21 update, given the penguin wins the Mob Vote.

The notion of boosting the speed of boats would be particularly helpful if penguins could be placed onboard. Besides many in-game mobs already having that feature, penguins appear to be small enough to sit onboard. They could continuously provide their speed boost any time players are in the same boat.

Unfortunately, fans may have to speculate for a bit longer. The Mob Vote doesn't begin in earnest until October 13, 2023, and ends on October 15, right before Live 2023's broadcast begins. The winner will be announced during the presentation, and fans pulling for Team Penguin may just be lucky enough to see their preferred mob take the top spot.

If so, Mojang is quite likely to divulge more details surrounding the penguin in the lead-up to its inclusion in the 1.21 update. Much like the sniffer, glow squid, and allay before it, the penguin could have its features explicated by taking the Mob Vote crown.