The overhaul of the lighting system is not the only shiny new feature shown off during the Minecraft Live. There’s also a new mob, and people are likely to like this one a lot!
Depending on where you stand on Pokémon evolution, this mob might actually count for three, rather than one, but first things first.
The new creature is a variant of the ghast, except one that’s significantly less troublesome. It’s going to be downright helpful.
You first encounter it in the form of Dried Ghast, a sad little sack of misery, flopped down on the ground in the Nether. It acts as a block, so you can mine it and take it to the overworld. If you put a water source on it, it will eventually rehydrate, which will significantly improve its mood, and turn it into a curious Ghastling, content to float around and keep you company.
Now here’s where the best part comes in: when the Ghastling matures (it likes munching on snowballs), it will turn into Happy Ghast, a large, friendly counterpart to the Nether fireball spitter.
Why did we call it a game-changer in the headline? It’s because the happy ghast can be outfitted with a harness and used to fly around like a floating platform. It’s going to be invaluable for builders with a penchant for sky builds. It’s also going to be more accessible than Elytra, and while slower, it can support several riders at once.
As usual with Minecraft Live-announced updates, this new Ghast variant will first become available for testing (Soon TM) and will come to the release builds in some yet-unspecified future.