Minecraft Java Snapshot 24w11a introduced the mace as an experimental weapon built around a falling smash: the farther you fall before hitting an enemy, the more damage the attack can deal. To craft it, combine a Breeze Rod and a Heavy Core. A successful smash also protects you from the fall damage accumulated during that fall; a miss does not.
What Snapshot 24w11a added
Mojang announced the mace in the March 14, 2024 Java Snapshot 24w11a as an experimental heavy weapon. Its signature attack rewards timing a hit while falling, and a smash can knock back nearby entities. The snapshot introduced the core idea, but the exact damage figures below come from the later Java 1.21 release notes.
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How to get and craft the mace
The recipe combines one Breeze Rod with one Heavy Core. In the snapshot announcement, Mojang said Heavy Cores could be found by unlocking Trial Chamber vaults. Its March 27, 2024 explanation specifies that the relevant vaults are unlocked with ominous trial keys.
How the falling smash works
In the released Java 1.21 mechanics, the mace has base damage of 5, and its smash triggers after you fall more than 1.5 blocks. The attack’s additional damage scales in steps: 4 damage per block for the first 3 blocks of the fall, 2 per block for the next 5, then 1 per block beyond that. These figures are from Mojang’s Java 1.21 release notes, not values stated in the original snapshot announcement.
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A successful smash protects the attacker from fall damage accumulated during that fall. Hitting the target is the condition: if you miss, you do not get that protection. The mace can therefore reward a planned drop, but an uncertain strike leaves you exposed to the landing.
Choosing an attack and enchantment
Ordinary melee or a falling smash
Use ordinary melee when you need a straightforward hit without setting up a drop. A falling smash is the higher-impact option when you can control your descent and reliably connect. Mojang also points to Wind Charges as a way to launch yourself upward and create an opportunity to smash.
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- Explore randomly-generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles
- Play in Creative Mode with unlimited resources or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armour to fend off the dangerous mobs
Density, Breach, and Wind Burst
- Density adds fall-based damage to the mace’s smash.
- Breach improves the mace’s effectiveness against armor.
- Wind Burst launches the player after a successful smash and can help set up chained attacks. However, Java 1.21’s release notes state that landing a Wind Burst attack removes the fall-damage protection otherwise granted by the smash.
Durability and repair
The mace loses durability as it is used. Mojang says it can be repaired with Breeze Rods at an anvil.
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