How Strider became a mere ambient Nether mob in Minecraft

Minecraft has loads of creatures that spawn in all three of its dimensions. The Nether mobs are one of the most bizarre and are all unique. However, the only one that is passive among them all is the Strider. This mob was added to the game in 2020 with the 1.16 Nether update. It had a special feature that many players liked at the time.

Unfortunately, that feature was not deemed too useful when the mob was released. Hence, Striders somewhat became an ambient Nether mob for most Minecrafters.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Strider's sole unique feature is not the most useful in Minecraft

Strider feature that not a lot of players use in Minecraft

Striders are the only mob that can ride on top of lava (Image via Mojang Studios)

In Minecraft, some mobs do not take damage even if they are inside a lava pool or lake. However, Striders are the only mob in the entire game that can ride on top of lava.

As soon as players enter the Nether realm and see a lava lake, they will notice Striders on top of it. What's even more fascinating is that players can place saddles on these mobs and ride them as they walk on the hot liquid.

Similar to how pigs can be controlled using a carrot and a stick, Striders can also be controlled using a warped fungus on a stick. Warped fungus can be found growing in the warped forest in the Nether.

As soon as they detect a warped fungus on a stick, Striders will start following the player. Once they are saddled and the player sits on them with the warped fungus on a stick, they can be controlled by moving the mouse.

When Striders were added to the game, this became one of the methods to travel in the Nether realm.

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Why traveling on Striders is extremely dangerous in Minecraft

Traveling on a strider can be extremely dangerous due to the very nature and mob spawns of the Nether (Image via Mojang Studios)

Falling in lava can be one of the fastest ways to die in Minecraft. This means traveling on Striders that walk on massive lava lakes can automatically become lethal.

Firstly, players will need to ensure safe mounting and dismounting docks where there is no lava. Secondly, explorers need to be wary of any ghasts that can detect them and start shooting fireballs.

If players accidentally press the dismounting button or throw away the warped fungus, they will be stuck with the Strider on a lava lake.

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Better alternative traveling options than riding a Strider in Minecraft

There are several great alternatives to riding a strider (Image via Mojang Studios)

One of the main reasons the Strider became a mere ambient mob was the presence of many alternative traveling options that were much better than riding the creature.

Those who have the Minecraft Soul Speed enchantment on their boots can farm soul sand from Soul Sand Valley and create a bridge from it. The enchantment will allow them to run extremely fast on the block.

Players can also create an ice boat track with rails to zoom across the Nether within minutes. Lastly, those who have explored the End realm and obtained the elytra will have no issues flying across the hellish realm.

Even new players can ignore the Strider and simply start creating a bridge in all four directions to better explore the Nether.