Minecraft Legends gameplay: Everything we know so far

With Minecraft Legends' April 18 release date quickly approaching, players are clamoring for all the info they can get. Compared to the original Minecraft, Legends utilizes a locked third-person perspective and prioritizes action and strategy much more than its parent title.

Much of what is known about Minecraft Legends' gameplay has been divulged from videos by Mojang and Microsoft. Compared to Minecraft and the Minecraft Dungeons spin-off, Legends is proving to be a very different animal in terms of gameplay. The game sees players taking the role of a hero who will unite the disparate mobs of the Overworld to repel an invasion of piglins from the Nether.

To accomplish their quest, Minecraft Legends players will command units in real-time and construct bases while traveling to strategic locations to defeat piglin invaders.

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What we know about Minecraft Legends' action/strategy gameplay

Based on Mojang and Microsoft's footage of Minecraft Legends' gameplay, players can expect a new experience while keeping true to Minecraft's core aesthetic and spirit. Instead of focusing on survival and crafting, players will enter a procedurally-generated Overworld map complete with villages and other structures under attack by the piglins.

Players will ride out to these locations on their mount and engage in combat to repel the piglins, winning the favor of Overworld mobs who will be willing to join the hero and follow their commands in battle.

In addition to gathering allies, heroes in Minecraft Legends will also be able to procure resources to construct their bases within the Overworld. Thanks to the assistance of friendly allays, building and resource procurement is handled automatically, so players can head back into battle and return to find their tasks completed. Mojang's trailers have also shown the ability to use mob spawners to allow heroes to use hostile mobs like creepers to battle on their side.

Contrary to Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons, an interview with Blackbird Interactive developer Magnus Nedfors confirmed that players won't be progressing in an RPG style. Their hero won't unlock new talents and won't be finding loot to improve their stats. Instead, the core focus remains centered on building alliances in the Overworld and coordinating underlings to help defeat the piglins. Eventually, players will push the piglins back to their Nether portal, which can be destroyed to deny the invaders a method of entering the Overworld.

Piglins will be divided into specialized hordes in Legends, each horde with its strategic emphasis. Some will be heavily focused on offense, while others will prioritize defense by fortifying their position. Nevertheless, players will have access to many different mobs who excel at different strategic objectives. For example, Cobblestone Golems are great for destroying fortifications, and Plank Golems prefer to battle in ranged combat.

Minecraft Legends also includes a multiplayer component that can be played across all compatible devices, including consoles and Windows-based PCs. The multiplayer mode includes both cooperative and PvP gameplay. Players can drop into a hosted map and assist their friends in co-op or go to the separate PvP mode and battle other players and piglins for control of the map.

Fortunately, fans won't have to wait much longer to find out what Minecraft Legends has in store. The game will be released on all platforms in less than two weeks, and dedicated players will finally have a chance to fully explore the latest Minecraft spin-off.