How Minecraft's rarest cosmetic item has become a common sight

Minecraft's collection of cosmetics has grown substantially over the years. However, the most surprising side effect of this has to do with capes, which were once considered a rarity among the community but have since become much more commonplace. Over the last few years, Mojang has dispensed a plethora of different cape cosmetics to players for various reasons, but is this a good thing?

The answer might depend on how a player looks at things. Some fans prefer capes to be rare, but others are ecstatic that cosmetics that once seemed effectively out of reach can now be accessed by a wider range of players.

While an argument can be made either way, it's hard not to feel as though making capes more accessible is a positive for the Minecraft community. It provides more customization options even though these cosmetics may not be considered as exclusive as they once were.

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

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Why capes no longer being as rare is a good thing for Minecraft

The Minecraft x MCC 15 Year cape is one of Mojang's latest cosmetic offerings (Image via Mojang)

For quite some time, Minecraft capes were considered to be arguably the rarest cosmetic in the game. The ways to acquire them were pretty difficult by and large, including attending events like Minecon. Some capes were even reserved for specific players or members of Mojang. While this certainly made those select few individuals feel great, the vast player base deserves their customizations too.

Put plainly, rare capes, like those given to certain players or staff members, are still present for the most part, so what harm is there to provide more cape cosmetics to everyday players? Even with more accessible capes, those that require strident efforts to obtain or those that have been dispensed to a select few people will remain as rare as they ever were.

Meanwhile, fans who are able to acquire more common capes can do so to improve their overall character customization. This may not make the fans of keeping capes rare happy, but Minecraft is a game played by millions daily, and it seems wrong to stonewall the vast majority of fans from capes just to keep them as a status symbol for a small group of players.

In the grand scheme of things, capes are little more than a virtual means to make a player's character stand out or look a certain way during gameplay. While they might have been a rarity for quite some time, one can argue that many capes will remain this way and will never be publically available, while the rank-and-file players still have options available to them to enrich their overall experience.

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How did Minecraft capes become more common?

The Minecraft Java Realms Content Creator cape (Image via Mojang)

When one wonders how capes in Minecraft went from incredibly obscure to easily accessible, one can look to Mojang and how it has incentivized various events and activities, including the yearly Live event and things like migrating from a Mojang to a Microsoft account. There has been a clear uptick in cape cosmetic offerings in the past few years, usually during special occasions for the game.

From the Cherry Blossom cape for Minecraft Live 2023 Mob Vote participants to providing the MCC 15 Year cape for dedicated players on the MCC Party server ahead of the Ender Cup, Mojang has certainly been more willing to dispense capes compared to Minecraft's earlier days. Mods and add-ons can also provide capes, but Mojang is certainly making them more prevalent in the vanilla game.

Compared to when capes were provided as rewards for much more niche situations, the collection of capes in both Java and Bedrock Edition has burgeoned significantly. Perhaps not all players agree with this, but it's hard to overlook that providing cape cosmetics as an incentive for events and other activities is working to keep players invested in the game's yearly developments.

With capes as a reward for various activities, players remain engaged and willing to participate in Mojang's event calendar going forward. Sure, not every fan cares about customization that much, but collectors, completionists, and plenty of other players very much enjoy it. All things considered, while they're not as rare anymore, capes have proven to be an effective way to keep fans' interest.