Top 5 similarities between vanilla Minecraft and Minecraft Legends

Minecraft Legends is closing in on its April 18, 2023, release date. As a spin-off, the new action/strategy title should have plenty of familiar faces and places for fans of the original sandbox game.

While the new spin-off will play quite differently compared to the survival crafting gameplay of the original title, there should be plenty that the two will have in common. Considering the two games take place in the same universe, it would be surprising if this wasn't the case.

From what Mojang and Blackbird Interactive have shown the community through trailers, the similarities are quite bountiful, even if Minecraft Legends and its predecessor operate on different stylistic wavelengths.

Since Minecraft Legends is right around the corner, it might not hurt to take a look at some of the best similarities it shares with vanilla Minecraft.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

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Randomized game worlds and other similarities between Minecraft Legends and the original title

5) Dangers from the Nether

The Nether has always been a treacherous dimension in the Minecraft franchise, and it appears that this danger is ratcheting up in Minecraft Legends.

In the action/strategy game's story, Nether portals are opening across the Overworld, and an army of piglins is spilling out. The peaceful villages and homes of other mobs are being attacked, and it's up to the player to save the mobs of the Overworld and forge an alliance with them to drive the piglins back into the Nether.

It's unclear as to whether Minecraft Legends will allow players to enter the Nether itself. However, even if the game doesn't, the danger from the Nether is common knowledge among the franchise's fans.

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4) Randomized game worlds

Thanks to Minecraft's seed-based generation algorithms, there are a virtually endless number of worlds that players can explore. This also appears to be the case in Minecraft Legends, as the Overworld will generate differently each time players dive into a new single-player or multiplayer session.

Keep in mind that this doesn't mean that the world will change if you log off for a few hours and return to the same world. However, new worlds will generate differently each time to provide a fresh experience.

This should prevent Minecraft Legends players from getting bored with the game maps, as structure, resource, and biome placement won't be the same each time.

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3) The resource race

The core gameplay of nearly any Minecraft game involves collecting resources and building structures. In the original game, this was done to create shelters, farms, and other structures in Survival Mode. However, players can also build creative constructs to show off to their friends.

Minecraft Legends takes this core gameplay and applies it to a strategic context. By collecting resources in the environment, players can create bases and outposts where their allies can be rallied and where they can rest before heading back out into battle.

The building system and creatable structures are different, but players will still need plenty of materials to continue their war against the piglins.

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2) Battle together... or not

Minecraft is a game that is enriched by playing it with friends or rivals. It's one of the reasons why so many co-op survival multiplayer and PvP servers exist.

Minecraft Legends continues the tradition by allowing players to enjoy the game with each other regardless of the platform, and they can do so cooperatively or in head-to-head battles. The co-op of the game lets fans join together with up to four players and battle the piglin hordes while ordering troops and collecting resources (much like single-player).

Conversely, PvP is handled separately. Players will drop into a world, much like single-player or co-op, but two teams of four players will each battle for supremacy. However, the piglins are still ravaging the Overworld, so heroes will have to contend with them, as well as their opposing players, to be victorious.

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1) Iconic mobs return

Few things in Minecraft are more iconic than the creatures that inhabit its world. Fortunately, Minecraft Legends is bringing many of these mobs back and are even throwing in some creatures that players haven't seen before.

As heroes unite the Overworld's inhabitants, they'll encounter villagers and memorable animals. They can even recruit mobs that would be hostile in vanilla Minecraft, like Creepers. Allays will also return to help players build their structures and collect resources while heroes are away.

Piglins will also be coming back, this time as primary antagonists. However, the creatures are much more hostile than in the vanilla game, and it appears that they have a few new variations that should spell trouble for heroes in the field.