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The winter game drop for Minecraft has arrived — and it brings with it the initial fresh armament added to the title since the heavy club made its debut. The javelin is finally here and it could very well change how you play Minecraft, especially if you love chaos.

An Armament Designed for Chaotic Rides

The Mounts of Mayhem update also introduces several new features and enhancements focused on riding animals in the game. That central theme made the spear the ideal addition for this update, as the development team had long felt it was the moment to introduce a fresh combat tool.

"From the outset, we understood that we desired a new weapon that would increase combat distance, and we designed it specifically for mounted combat," stated a lead developer. "We tried out a number of concepts, but the spear was the one that both handled superbly when we ran our trials and also looked good for the use case."

If you're asking yourself whether mounted combat means you can charge at your companions on steeds, the answer is a definite affirmative. In fact, there's even an offensive action perfectly suited for it.

"[Jousting on horses is one of the biggest applications for the spear, and it's so much fun," the developer adds. "The spear has two attacks: You have the jab attack, where you just stab your enemy. But you also have a sprinting strike where you couch your lance and get greater injury [with] the more pace you have. So [it’s] ideal for knightly combat."

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 visited The End, the developers have an truly outlandish idea. "If you are very late, [spears are] excellent for equipping the elytra and taking to the skies and creating genuine chaos," she hints.

In other words: Aerial lance combat is now possible, and it should be made an competitive event right away.

Another significant inclusion in this latest drop is the underwater mount. This aquatic being, which is modeled after the seashells players have gathered for years, can be tamed and mounted for deep-sea journeys. Not only will it move you through the water more swiftly than swimming, it'll also maintain your air supply, so there's no need to come up for air for oxygen.

The rest of the additions are mostly things that want to kill you, as is the tradition of Minecraft. Unsurprisingly, there's also a zombie Nautilus spawning in the water, frequently with a zombie villager on its back. If you succeed in take care of the Drowned, though, you can claim the undead mount — or the standard version, for that matter — with a puffer fish.

"We've long considered this problem on and off, and again, like with the spear and [adding] more mounts, it appeared to be the right time to also bring in something for aquatic environments," the lead explains. "For the Nautilus in particular, we had a few different ideas for sea mounts that we wanted to experiment with, but the Nautilus concept art looked striking, and we have the tie-in to the Nautilus shell that was already in the game."

She also notes that there are actually two different types of undead nautilus: standard and coral-infested undead mount. "[The variants] provide diversity to what you encounter underwater."

Desert Dangers and Long-Awaited Tweaks

Further inclusions include the Parched, desert-exclusive skeletons that can withstand the sun, which means there's no refuge from them if you venture in that biome. Sometimes you'll see them on zombified camels, another fresh creature. These passive, zombified camels have an striking appearance that sees their skeletal frame exposed. The applies equally to zombie horses, who have a similar rib-popping design and can sometimes be spawned in the darkness with a spear-carrying zombie on their back.

The final pair of items on the drop's list are minor quality-of-life improvements, including some long-overdue changes to riding horses. Now, you can cross bodies of water while mounted on a horse. Additionally, high-tier barding is now obtainable at the crafting table, so you can give your horse the best defense it is worthy of.

A Spicy Send-Off for the Year

Overall, the year-end release of the year is a solid offering. The spear alone — and the pandemonium it invites — would have felt like a significant enhancement. Add in the Nautilus, and additional creatures seeking your end, and Minecraft's definitely getting a little more dangerous.

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