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The winter game drop for the block-building phenomenon has arrived — and it includes the initial fresh armament introduced into the game since the heavy club made its debut. The lance is now available and it has the potential to change how you play Minecraft, especially if you enjoy mayhem.

A Weapon Forged for Mounted Mayhem

The Mayhem Mounts drop also incorporates several new features and enhancements related to riding animals in the game. That driving concept made the spear the ideal addition for this release, as the creators had already known it was the moment to introduce a fresh combat tool.

"We knew initially that we desired a fresh armament that would add some more range, and we envisioned it for fighting from atop a creature," noted a senior product manager. "We prototyped a few different ideas, but the lance was the one that both played wonderfully when we ran our trials and also was visually fitting for the intended purpose."

If you're curious whether fighting from a saddle means you can joust against your friends on horseback, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, there's even an attack excellently designed for it.

"Mounted lance combat] is one of the biggest applications for the spear, and it's incredibly enjoyable," the lead says. "The spear has two attacks: You have the jab attack, where you pierce your enemy. But you also have a sprinting strike where you couch your lance and get more damage [with] the more speed and velocity you have. So [it’s] tailor-made for jousting on horses."

Aerial Mayhem & Deep-Sea Exploration

The chaotic fun doesn't have to stop there, though. If you're advanced sufficiently into the game that you've explored The End, the developers have an delightfully absurd idea. "If you are in the end-game, [spears are] excellent for equipping the elytra and flying forth and creating genuine chaos," she suggests.

In other words: Jousting in the clouds is now possible, and it deserves to be an competitive event immediately.

Another key feature in this fresh content is the Nautilus. This aquatic being, which is based on the seashells we've all been collecting for years, can be tamed and ridden for deep-sea journeys. Not only will it carry you through the water more swiftly than swimming, it'll also maintain your air supply, so there's no necessity to surface for oxygen.

The other inclusions are mostly things that want to kill you, as is the way of Minecraft. As expected, there's also a undead nautilus appearing in the water, often with a Drowned on its back. If you are able to defeat the Drowned, though, you can tame the undead mount — or the standard version, for that matter — with a puffer fish.

"We've been thinking about this issue for some time, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it seemed like the right time to also bring in something for the ocean depths," the developer explains. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a several proposals for aquatic rides that we wanted to test, but the Nautilus concept art looked striking, and we have the link to the Nautilus shell that was pre-existing in the game."

She also points out that there are actually a pair of variants of zombie Nautilus: standard and coral-infested undead mount. "[The variants] add variety to what you encounter underwater."

Desert Dangers and Long-Awaited Tweaks

Further inclusions include the Parched, biome-specific skeletons that can withstand the sun, which means there's no getting away from them if you venture in that region. Sometimes you'll see them on camel husks, another fresh creature. These passive, zombified camels have an striking appearance that sees their skeletal frame exposed. The same goes for undead steeds, who have a analogous exposed-rib aesthetic and can sometimes be spawned in the darkness with a lance-wielding zombie on their back.

The final pair of items on the drop's list are smaller gameplay updates, including some highly requested changes to equestrian travel. Now, you can cross waterways while mounted on a horse. Furthermore, high-tier barding is now craftable at the crafting table, so you can give your horse the best defense it deserves.

A Spicy Send-Off for the Year

Overall, the last content update of the year is a pretty good one. The spear alone — and the potential for chaos — would have felt like a major improvement. Throw in the Nautilus, and new threats trying to kill you, and Minecraft's definitely getting a bit spicier.

The Mounts of Mayhem content drop is out now for Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft.