Top 5 pointless features in Minecraft

Top pointless features in Minecraft — Some parts of Minecraft don't have much point to them for one reason or another (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft is always expanding, introducing new items, blocks, and gameplay features. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that all of them are useful. On the contrary, some things in the sandbox game have next to no use at all. For one reason or another, certain aspects of Mojang's landmark title are simply considered pointless.

While the vast majority of Minecraft features at least have some utility, those that are considered pointless may not have enough to warrant players seeking them out. Even if they do have a function, these pointless features may have alternatives that work better, therefore leaving them by the wayside. Whatever the case, it doesn't hurt to examine some of the most pointless features in the game.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

What are the most pointless Minecraft features?

5) Polar bears

There isn't much to be done with polar bears in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Aside from being quite cute, polar bears don't have much use in Minecraft. They can't breed or be tamed (despite spawning polar bear cubs on occasion), and the only resource they drop on death is raw fish, which can easily be found elsewhere. Otherwise, this mob simply roams the colder biomes of the game world and occasionally attacks foxes on sight.

Despite being a nice bit of flavoring for snowy environments, polar bears simply don't amount to much.

4) Curse enchantments

Aside from being a prank or a challenge, what real good are curse enchantments in Minecraft? (Image via Mojang)

Curse of Vanishing and Curse of Binding are two detrimental Minecraft enchantments that cause an enchanted item to vanish on player death and become irremovable, respectively. They really only exist to prank other players who may not be paying attention or to add challenge to the game by making equipment management more difficult.

Given all of this information, is it any surprise that cursed enchantments are considered effectively pointless? Other than extremely niche cases, players are more likely to ignore these enchantments entirely any time they're encountered.

3) Nether fossils

Nether fossils offer bone blocks, but not much else (Image via Mojang)

While fossils in Minecraft's Overworld have the upside of potentially being encrusted with diamond ore, nether fossil structures have no such upside.

Aside from giving players the opportunity to mine bone blocks (something they could easily craft with bones dropped by skeletons), there's next to no real point for these fossils to exist in the Nether beyond being aesthetically pleasing. They can be fun to theorize about, but when all's said and done, players frequent nether fossils so rarely that some have even forgotten they exist.

2) Minecarts with furnaces

Furnace minecarts in Minecraft have effectively been obsoleted (Image via Mojang)

While it would be a stretch to call a furnace minecart completely useless, there are methods that make its primary use obsolete. When fueled, furnace minecarts can move along tracks and push other carts, but it's hard to get excited about uses like this when it's just as simple to create a train of minecarts without wasting fuel by practicing common sense rail placement.

It might take a little while to work out the kinks, but passing over furnace minecarts and creating pure minecart trains by using redstone-compatible blocks will save players an immense amount of fuel. This makes the one thing furnace minecarts really had going for them obsolete.

1) Poisonous potatoes

Poisonous potatoes are simply not worth keeping in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Despite getting an April Fool's Day update centered on it this year, the poisonous potato isn't worth keeping. Sure, it can technically restore a player's hunger, but it typically inflicts the Poison status effect, which is completely counterproductive to being a food item. Even worse, it can't be composted to help players with collecting bonemeal for farming.

Put plainly, poisonous potatoes just don't have any upside worth considering that other food items can't meet without side effects.

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