5 modern Minecraft features that turned out to be underwhelming

Minecraft regularly gets new features and mechanics through updates to keep things interesting in the blocky world. If one looks at the game today and compares it to the older versions from a few years ago, they would be shocked to see how many things have changed. However, not everything introduced to Minecraft has had a great impact. In fact, many modern features have turned out to be underwhelming.

This article will highlight five such features that could have been better than what players got. Copper could have made the list, but the Copper Age update has saved it from becoming a failed potential.

---

5 modern Minecraft features that are underwhelming

1) Trail ruins

Trial ruins also failed to deliver an impact in the gameplay (Image via Mojang Studios)

Fans were very excited when Mojang Studios announced a new region, called the trail ruins, would be available for players to explore. It came with the Trials and Tales update, and while everything looked great on paper, things were a bit underwhelming in practice.

For those unaware, trail ruins are underground structures that are found in the taiga, jungle, and old growth birch forest biomes. Players can locate it by finding a tower sticking out of the ground. It is an underground settlement with cobblestone roads.

Finding this region is great. However, there is nothing rewarding that would make the exploration worth the effort. Only some basic items, such as dyes, candles, seeds, coal, string, and some gold nuggets, can be found here. This is why many players are still unaware of this addition.

---

2) Archaeology mechanics

Archeology in Minecraft takes a lot of effort and does not deliver useful results (Image via Mojang Studios)

Segueing into another feature that is very closely related to the trail ruins, archaeology mechanics were a big miss when it comes to recent features. Mojang Studios added the brush item, along with suspicious sand and gravel, to let players use the two together and get interesting items such as pottery sherds, TNT, sniffer eggs, etc.

However, the number of suspicious blocks players have to brush to get anything worth the effort was too high. In a Reddit post, one player showed all the things they received after brushing a lot of suspicious gravel for around 90 minutes. The items were decent, but certainly not worth spending time on.

One way to improve this mechanic is by rewarding players with XP for every suspicious block they brush. This would mean that even if they don’t get interesting items, they would at least be leveling up.

---

3) The sniffer mob

The sniffer mob in Minecraft was also very underwhelming in terms of practicality (Image via Mojang Studios)

The sniffer won the Mob Vote 2022, beating the rascal and the tuff golem. This was an interesting addition, as the sniffer does not spawn naturally. Players needed to find the eggs of this mob by using a brush on suspicious blocks and then spawn the sniffer.

It is a rare mob, but the difficulty of finding the sniffer is not worth the effort. After spawning, it moves passively, sniffing the ground and taking out seeds for decorative plants. That’s it. It does not do anything else. It seems that many of the features from the Trails and Tales update were a miss.

---

4) Armor trims and smithing template

Armor trims are great, but they can be improved by adding some functionality (Image via Mojang Studios)

Armor trims were quite an interesting addition to Minecraft but failed to create much of an impact. The idea is great, with players finding smithing templates and then using them to “upgrade” their armor set. However, there is no functional improvement but only cosmetic.

This is such a missed opportunity, as Mojang Studios could have made this mechanic more useful by adding functional upgrades as well. Smithing templates are rare, and for it to just be a cosmetic upgrade makes it not worth the effort.

---

5) Allays

Allays in Minecraft are quite rare to find and don't do much (Image via Mojang Studios)

Allays were added to Minecraft in 2021, and it is always exciting when the blocky world gets a new mob. However, many players will attest that they have rarely come across the mob or even seen it at all. That’s because it doesn't always spawn naturally and can only be found locked inside pillager posts.

One would assume that allays might be very useful once the player manages to free them. Unfortunately, they just follow the player around and look for specific items. This is not a bad mechanic; it’s just not very useful.