Why is mace an endgame weapon in Minecraft 1.21?

Minecraft 1.21 update will soon be released on June 13, 2024. Ever since October 2023, when the update was announced, Mojang Studios has previewed several new features coming with it. One of the most fascinating additions will be the new weapon called mace. It is a brand-new type of weapon with a new crafting recipe and unique damage mechanics.

While there have been several debates about mace being overpowered despite the nerfs, an argument can be made that it is an endgame weapon in Minecraft 1.21.

Note: This is an opinionated piece.

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Reasons why Mace feels like an endgame weapon in Minecraft 1.21

Mace's crafting ingredients are tough to find in Minecraft 1.21

Heavy core and breeze rods are tricky to obtain. (Image via Mojang Studios)

One of the reasons why the Minecraft mace feels like an endgame weapon is because its crafting ingredients are hard to obtain.

In Minecraft 1.21, players must first search the Overworld caves and find a new trial chamber to obtain breeze rods. Different trial spawners that summon various hostile creatures will be generated in the structure. In the structure, players need to find the trial spawner surrounded by chiseled tuff blocks, signifying that it spawns the new breeze mob. Breeze rods are dropped as loot by these new foes when they are killed.

On the other hand, the heavy core is even more difficult to obtain. They can only be found in the rare ominous trial vaults within the trial chambers. Players must first enter the new structure with a bad omen status effect and approach a trial spawner. This will convert the spawner to its ominous state.

After the ominous trial spawner activates, players must battle off more powerful enemies. The spawner will then reward players with an ominous trial key that unlocks the ominous trial vault containing the heavy core block. Note that these vaults will have an 8.3% chance of rewarding users with a heavy core.

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Mace's damage mechanics

The mace has unique damage mechanics. (Image via Mojang Studios)

Another reason why the mace might seem like an endgame weapon is because of its unique damage mechanics.

The hammer-like weapon can deal a lot of damage depending on the player's fall height. Players can infinitely increase a mace's attack damage by falling from a height and performing a smash attack. The higher they fall from, the more damage the mace will deal.

Despite several nerfs applied by Mojang Studios, the community still considers the weapon to be overpowered, particularly for this damage mechanics. Even though players can take fall damage and die if they fail to land a smash attack on enemies, the mace's special feature makes it extremely unique.

Additionally, Mojang Studios will add three new enchantments in Minecraft 1.21 that are exclusive to the mace. Hence, it can be used as an endgame weapon.