The next update to Minecraft introduces an amazing new feature: the Overworld Ghast. Players can rescue this dehydrated Ghast from the Nether, and after a couple of days of watering, it will become a friendly pet mob that multiple players can ride at once. This addition is amazing, but one aspect of it highlights a longstanding annoyance of Minecraft: not being able to craft normal saddles.

Saddles were introduced to Minecraft over a decade ago and haven’t had many updates since beyond some slight cosmetic alterations. The obvious item power creep of Minecraft has never been clearer than before, and the first item that needs to be revamped and, most importantly, become craftable is the saddle.

Minecraft’s New Ghast Highlights This Crafting Need

The Overworld Ghast Comes This Summer

As revealed in the recent Minecraft Live, players will simply need leather, glass, and wool to craft a saddle for the grown-up Ghast. While it is amazing (and surprising) that such a cool item is so easy to make, it does highlight how players are still not allowed to craft saddles, which are needed to ride a growing list of mobs, including horses, pigs, striders, and camels.

Ever since saddles were introduced to Minecraft, they could never be crafted. Instead, they had to be discovered randomly in chests in strongholds, temples, and villages. Saddles can also be traded from specific Villagers, like leatherworkers, or found by fishing.

With the addition of the Ghast’s saddle, it makes no sense why players should be able to craft a four-player seat for a flying mob, which includes goggles for the Ghast and not a simple saddle for a horse. It may have made sense before to make the saddle more limited, but Minecraft has evolved since then.

Why Minecraft Needs To Update Older Items

Power Creep Has Impacted In-Game Treasures

When saddles were first introduced to Minecraft over a decade ago, it made sense to treat them as treasure. Hiding saddles in dungeon chests gave players another reason to search their worlds and made being able to ride a horse or a strider something of a status symbol. The problem is that the game has evolved, and better means of transportation have been added that completely eclipse riding a horse in usefulness, including the new Overworld Ghast.

For example, finding Elytra in The End (along with a supply of rockets) is the easiest way to get around a Minecraft world. Elytra are rare, but not that much rarer than a saddle, especially since players know exactly where to go to find them, which makes the effort of getting one more worth it.

Minecraft needs to reevaluate items that came out years ago and let them evolve with the rest of the game.

With the Overworld Ghast and its craftable saddle coming to Minecraft very soon, the original saddle that started it all needs to become craftable. Minecraft needs to reevaluate items that came out years ago and let them evolve with the rest of the game, as the power creep for in-game transportation has become abundantly clear.

Source: Minecraft/YouTube