Try saying that ten times in a row…
Magic! Can you imagine Minecraft without it? What’s that? You can? Easily? Oh. Lousy imaginative readers…
Anyway, magic! You can imagine Minecraft without it, but come now, it just wouldn’t be the same. Luckily, this month’s Marketplace deep dive is into an add-on that expands Minecraft’s magic systems magnificently! And if you thought that was a tongue twister, then good luck saying Reliquary Reincarnations by 5 Frame Studios (in partnership with original mod creator P3pp3rF1y).
As well as loads of new potions, this add-on includes new weapons, tools, wearable charms (on a snazzy charm belt, no less) and other magical doodads. The guidebook you get upon starting the game is massive! So big in fact that we left it convinced there was something magical in here for every kind of Minecraft player.
Er, unless you’re an anti-magic Minecraft player. In which case, why are you still reading this?
Farming is one of the greatest Minecraft features. In fact, we probably should have called the game FarmCraft, or CraftFarm, or, at the very least, Farmy McFarmington’s Farmtacular Farmventure.
But farming isn’t without its flaws. Baby chickens tend to stalk us when we’re trying to plant seeds. And watching crops grow isn’t the most exciting way to pass your time. Here, we’ll prove it. Stare at the below screenshot for ten hours:
…See? But luckily, this is where the lilypad of fertility comes in. After making a little watering hole in the middle of our crops, we place the LOF down, then dash off to find a good watchin’ spot. See, this magical lilypad periodically releases a wave of fertile energy. This applies a bonemeal-like effect to all the crops surrounding it!
Well, so the guidebook claims. At first the lilypad didn’t seem to be doing anything. We were about to scream and burn our farm down, naturally, when suddenly… Success!
This is clearly the most incredible innovation in farming technology since the invention of the farmer. Literally the only flaw with this lovely lilypad is that now watching crops grow is so engrossing, we failed to notice a zombie started pummelling us. Oof.
Thus the lilypad of fertility was so effective, that we dropped dead instead of ever seeing a harvest to completion. Other than that, no notes!
There’s some terrific torches in this add-on. The brilliantly-named Lantern of Paranoia will automatically place torches in unlit areas, making it perfect for spelunkers/people who forgot where they put the light switch. The Sojourner’s Staff consumes torches, but also lets you place them from long distances, making it also great for exploration.
Don’t move, chum - we’re about to improve your life!
But after our farming disaster, it’s the Interdiction Torch that appeals most. Because this torch pushes enemies away. Excellent! We decided to test it with this friendly villager. They’ll deem us a hero when they see that we’ve ensured they never need to worry about hostile mobs again!
Get ready to call us a her… oh.
Ah. We seem to have sent the poor fellow flying. A quick read of the fine print in the guidebook shows us our mistake. The torch repels mobs, but doesn’t make a distinction between hostile, passive, or poor villagers. Er, sorry about that.
But in our defense, it was pretty funny. Whee!
Um, we basically gave you all free swimming lessons. You’re welcome.
Minecraft is no stranger to gross item drops, as ‘fans’ of rotten flesh already know. But this add-on seems to have encouraged all your favourite hostile mobs to offer up a ton more disgusting treats. Bat wings, zombie hearts, squid beaks (eh?), slime pearls, and many more. Ewwwwwww.
Why would you possibly want such terrible treasures? Why, for crafting of course! That’s why the game isn’t called MineFarm, dummy! You can craft charms that repel specific mobs. Perfect for staying safe, and not ‘accidentally’ sending several villagers flying into the sea. We decided to test the zombie charm.
As the zombie villager chowed down on our screaming body, we can confirm that a few nearby regular zombies were repelled by our charm. Success!
Naturally there’s some superb magical weapons on offer, perfect for nastier spellcasters. The celestial hand grenade is an explosive item that won’t break any blocks. Perfect for dealing with a hostile mob infestation in a home you’d rather not blow to bits.
The Stick of Mercy is a perfectly functional weapon, but gives a significant damage boost against the undead. Oh, stop moaning, zombies! We’re showing you mercy, remember? Now hold still while we bash this merciful stick against your face.
But it’s the Serpent Staff that proves irresistible to the snake writing this. Er, we mean human writing this, of course. This weapon can shoot slime projectiles which is perfect for grossing out distant enemies. Better still, if you use it as a melee weapon, it’ll give you half a heart of health back for each successful bonk. Score! This is a serpent-vampire must-have!
Look how easily we defeated these zombie villagers with the staff! What’s that? They were only zombies in the first place because all those interdiction torches we placed sent the villagers flying into zombie territory? Oh yeah. Sorry about that.
You can find Reliquary Reincarnations by 5 Frame Studios by searching for it in the Minecraft Marketplace or by clicking this lovely line of green text. Naturally, we only scratched the magical surface - there’s looooooads more magic to play with in this add-on. Although, considering how much damage we managed to do with what we did play with, maybe it’s for the best if this witch retires…
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