Minecraft spear just got a huge update, but players are not happy

New Minecraft 25w43a snapshot One Step Forward, Two Back? It's a bit of a mixed bag for the spear from Mojang. The spear has just had its biggest update yet, & already players are arguing whether that's a blessing or a curse. The 25w43a snapshot has fundamentally overhauled the spear's new behavior, and to be honest, it's left some people in a right old tizzy. On the plus side, Mojang has made it easier to wield, but on the other hand, it is now decidedly less of a threat. The debate is well & truly underway in the community.

The 1.21 snapshot was supposed to make the spear the new go-to choice for combat, but nope, what we got instead was a spear that's easier to chuck, but the balance changes have left some players pretty miffed, judging by social media.

The Minecraft spear now returns to you after you've thrown it

Throwing spears was always a bit of a faff in older Minecraft versions; once you'd chucked it, you'd have to trudge all the way back to pick it up. The new 25w43a update sorts that out, though. The spear will now automatically come back to you shortly after you've thrown it, kind of like a trident with a Loyalty enchant on it.

This small change has made a big difference. Many players say the new auto-return feature makes combat smoother, especially in fast fights against mobs or other players. It’s a quality-of-life improvement that turns the spear from a novelty item into a real contender in survival mode.

The big downside: Mojang nerfed the spear

The Minecraft spear update makes it more usable, but Mojang quietly reduced the damage. The spear now hits less than before and is below the trident and diamond sword in raw power. Mojang hasn’t released the exact numbers, but early testing shows a clear drop in damage. The idea is to prevent the spear from being overpowered and to keep Minecraft combat balanced. Some like the fair approach; others are disappointed their new favorite weapon was nerfed so soon.

Further adjustments in 25w43a

The 25w43a snapshot isn’t just about the spear. Mojang also updated armadillo behavior, changed vault loot, and fixed several redstone and mob bug fixes. These are part of the 1.21 development cycle, where Mojang is refining experimental features before the full release. You can get the snapshot through the Minecraft Java Edition launcher by enabling experimental updates. Mojang is still gathering feedback, so more changes to the spear and other features will likely happen before 1.21 is live.

The Spear Update in Minecraft: What's it all about?

The spear update is a prime example of Mojang really thinking hard about how they wanted to rebalance the way weapons worked in Minecraft. For a while there, it had lost out on being the most powerful of them all but became a much more sensible, down-to-earth, and, in the end, fairly good tool for fighting it out in both PvP and survival situations.

The fact that the spear just pops back into your hands after you throw it has just added to its more refined and tactical feel. And with its lower damage output, those who were looking at it as just a brute strength type of weapon will be seeing things a little differently now. Some people may have been a bit miffed about the spear being 'nerfed' (like, less powerful), but really that just makes the game fairer all round and creates a whole new level to how you approach combat, adding strategy to it all.

Not everyone will be stoked on the 25w43a update, of course, but Mojang are showing time and time again that they are committed to shaking things up in Minecraft combat and making it more about skill rather than raw power.

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