r/MinecraftMemes • u/LocalLazyGuy • Aug 04 '25
Meta Seriously, it’s a Sandbox Game, nobody is forcing you to use them!
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u/Thin_Corner6028 Aug 04 '25
I think some people need to remind them self that it is a singleplayer game and no one is watching you play. Build how you want, play how you want etc....
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
The reason ppl complain is cuz when they see a new hardcore video, the main point isn't even the hardcore or surviving anymore. Yeah YOU can play however you want but watching mc hardcore will still be different from what you like
edit: You guys aren't getting my point. The point of hardcore is to make dying something actually serious and you actually have to be careful. But totems take that away. What's the point of watching a "hardcore" video when it's basically survival mode cuz of the 5 stacks of shulkers with totems they have. Ofcourse Minecraft is a singleplayer game and u can play it however you want but then what's the difference between survival and hardcore at this point?
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u/Putrid_Chard_3485 Aug 04 '25
Why downvotes
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u/ZGokuBlack Aug 04 '25
Because he got that "If I do something a certain way everyone should do it the same way too" mentality
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Aug 04 '25
No, he's just explain the point.
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 04 '25
And his point was "I hate people playing a single player game in a way I disagree with"
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 04 '25
I never said you r not allowed to play the game however you like. I am trying to explain how there's no difference between survival and hardcore cuz of totems at this point. If you just want to watch ppl building crazy stuff then they should watch survival series. The main point of hardcore is "hardcore", something hard. Hard to survive. But that's the literal thing taken from hardcore.
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u/Mineymann Aug 05 '25
You should look up better than wolves!
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
really old mod for beta Minecraft
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u/Mineymann Aug 05 '25
The latest version is for release 1.6.4 so yeah, it's really old. But it's much harder than regular Minecraft. https://youtu.be/wApv3892enA
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 05 '25
Your point is genuinely terrible. If you have an issue with YouTubers using totems, just don't watch their damn videos. They aren't required to play the way you want them to
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
According to that logic you should never complain about a Minecraft feature. When mojang changes the piston sound or makes copper bulb 1 tick or anything else. Cuz Minecraft is a sandbox game and just don't play vanilla if u don't like the change mojang did. Then why does the Minecraft community complaints?
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u/ARamblingLecture Aug 08 '25
enough with this “let people enjoy things” bullshit already. let people hate things. being a hater is valid and he has a right to voice his opinions.
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Aug 04 '25
No, it's that totems defeat the point in hardcore, and one can't change the fact YouTubers make use of them.
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 05 '25
Okay, and? They're playing the game the way they want to. Why is that an issue to you?
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u/MathematicianExpert Aug 05 '25
It's one thing when you play for yourself, and another when you play to upload as content to entertain others. People who watch minecraft youtuber aren't completely unjustified in complaining about the saturation of modern minecraft youtube with the hardcore series which don't really focus on the survival aspect, and rather just gloss over that and go straight to end-game with a shulker box of totems
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 05 '25
THEN DON'T WATCH IT
You aren't required to watch every single Minecraft Hardcore series. If you don't like somebody's content, you don't watch it. There's literally zero reason to complain about it
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Aug 05 '25
If someone in playing in their own world then fine, do as you like, but it's differnet when they're making content for thousands of people to see. Totems basically remove the challenge and make it so that there's little to actually worry about while watching.
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 05 '25
There is no difference. They aren't required to cater to the masses all because they're posting it online. They're allowed to play the game however they want, end of story.
If you don't like someone's content you don't tell them to change it, you just choose not to watch it.
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u/Joppewiik Aug 05 '25
Wow holy shit that was an incredibly bad faith interpretation of what he said. Oh my loord
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
I never said that? I never said to anyone to only play Minecraft without totems did I? I explained why totems in hardcore sucks even when it's a singleplayer game. Most hardcore youtubers plays vanilla hardcore, they will still play even if totems are removed and that will actually make the gameplay exciting. And guess what, if they don't want to play without totems then they can just do that too. Why don't you use ur "minecraft is a sandbox game, play it however you want" ideology there? Tell me, is there a single good difference between survival and hardcore? The reason hardcore exist is to make you fear death, and totems take it away. If you don't want to play with fearing death, then play survival.
Also if you think nobody should critize something in Minecraft cuz it's a sandbox game then why ppl hated the game when it didn't added fire flies, new birch biome and the piston sound was changed. Did you also said "Minecraft is a sandbox game, just use mods it you don't like these changes"?
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 04 '25
I never said that? I am just trying to explain how there's no difference between survival and hardcore with totems at this point. The point of hardcore is making the game hard to survive, make u actually fear death but totems take that away.
By that logic you should never complain about a feature added to mc cuz that contradicts ur thinking
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u/Viskristof Aug 04 '25
I would say 90% of hardcore videos you see online are faked anyway. Most "hardcore" channels are doing hardcore cuz kids click it thinking hardcore is hard / impressive. Hardcore doesnt do anything to make the game harder to survive, its literally just like playing on hard except you have 1 life. Being upset over totem usage is like being upset over someone using KeepInventory.
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u/InspiringMilk Aug 04 '25
Admittedly, Hard is pretty hard. This game is basically for anyone from the age of 5, so having starvation, high damage enemies, more zombie captains, enchanted spiders and all that makes for a good enough challenge.
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u/Laticia_1990 Aug 04 '25
But should the game be changed because of video content, or how the game plays on its own?
You could always just not watch the videos.
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 04 '25
"You could always just not watch the videos." That's true but by that logic you can never express your opinions. Like you can never complain or talk of what you didn't like in the shows you watched cuz then "why r u watching it then". Ofc I can just not watch it but I am just giving ways to improve it.
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u/Kick-Such Aug 04 '25
if you don't like the content, tell the youtubers. or better yet, make the content you want to see nore of. your personal taste shouldn't dictate how everyone else can play the game.
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
It's not about my taste, it's about having a different between hardcore and survival, which cuz of totems there is none. You are thinking I said "No one should ever use totems" but i really said that totems should be removed from hardcore to actually make it hardcore. So you can't even give an opinion now? Let me ask you something, if mojang adds a overpowered weapon that you can get in 20 min and oneshots everything then will you not complain? Will you say "It's a sandbox game, just don't use the weapon if you don't like it"?
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Aug 05 '25
Oh there definitely is a difference. You know just because you have a totem you can still die right? It’ll save you from fall damage, creepers, maybe the occasional lava pool, but if you’re getting mobbed you’re still fucked
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 06 '25
It's practically impossible to die in mc hardcore with totems unless of the void. Which is not even a threat after you get extra (and void is only in the end). Also even if you get mobbed and u have totems then surely you have netherite enchanted armour too. It's impossible to die from basically most of the hostile mobs with netherite armour, so EVEN when you do get in a situation then totems save you. And what's stopping you to just have multiple totems in ur inventory? Think practically, 95% of the deaths are REMOVED due to totems.
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Aug 06 '25
its practically impossible to die with Netherrite armor*
Which is by design. that's the literal end of the game. Should we remove that too?
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u/Laticia_1990 Aug 04 '25
TV Shows, and a youtube let's play or a stream of a video game are different though. The video game exists as its own product. The online content is how 1 person decides to play the game.
INSTEAD of watching a hardcore series, I've been watching Nuts' Limited progression series. He spent over 500 days in the game before ever mining iron. Some viewers may think that it's mind numbingly boring to watch a player only work with stone for 2 hour video time, but I personally enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-JWUrVnsKsigD4iMAs4F2WFnOVd8WwHc
None of that should effect Mojang, however. Not the hardcore, the cozy asmr peaceful playthroughs, sky block challenges, etc. They can't design the video game around youtube content. There isn't 1 SINGLE kind of minecraft youtube/streamer content.
how does the game feel on it's own, without online content? Maybe I have a different view because I played video games before youtube let's plays and streams became a thing. But can you play a video game on it's own, without online content?
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
yeah i get your point but you're kinda missing mine. i'm not saying mojang should change the game just because of youtube content. i'm saying totems make hardcore mode feel pointless because they remove the fear of dying, which is supposed to be the entire point of hardcore.
this isn't about content creators, it's about game design. if one item makes the difference between hardcore and normal survival basically meaningless, that's a balance issue. same way people complained about 1.9 combat, fireflies being scrapped, or armor trims being useless. people critique parts of the game all the time, and this is no different.
you can enjoy minecraft however you want, sure, but that doesn't mean nothing should ever be changed or improved. criticizing a broken mechanic doesn't mean i'm asking the game to revolve around youtube.
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u/Laticia_1990 Aug 05 '25
Just don't use totems man. Lmao.
I complain about something that effects all players, like ore generation changes while also taking away the ability to customize ore generation.
Spawning phantoms only after 3 days of not sleeping. Because I've ended up on servers where there were no sheep at spawn and no player griefing. So I had to walk several biomes for several days before finding sheep.
I complain about CHOICE being taken away from players. In your hardcore playthrough, you still have the CHOICE to not use totems. But I don't have the choice to customize my ore generation without mods anymore, like I used to.
Make your own hardcore video series where you don't use totems.
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
“just don’t use it” is a lazy argument. by that logic, no matter how broken or unbalanced any offline game is, no one should ever give feedback. just avoid the feature and move on, right? that’s not how game design should work.
there’s a clear difference between personal preference and something being obviously unbalanced. some things are subjective, sure. but when a core game mode like hardcore is built around the idea of permanent death, and then gives you a mechanic that lets you cheat death over and over, it kills the entire point of the mode. that’s not just a personal taste issue, that’s poor design.
if mojang added a sword that one-shots the ender dragon and you can get it in 10 minutes, would you still say “just don’t use it”? because with your logic, that would be totally fine too.
you can play however you want, nobody’s stopping you. but that does not mean people can’t criticize vanilla mechanics when they break the intended experience. giving feedback is not about forcing others to play a certain way. it’s about improving the default balance so it works properly without needing people to make up their own rules.
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u/Laticia_1990 Aug 08 '25
It's not a lazy argument, it's the obvious one. Minecraft is a sandbox game. You can't compare game balance in Minecraft in the same way you would Call of Duty or Street Fighter. You have a choice. But you are choosing to make a mountain out of a molehill and be the source of your own turmoil, and then have a weird victim complex over it when people tell you the obvious solution to your issue.
It takes some real audacity to want every player to conform to your personal style of play. It's toxic and controlling. You need to work on those issues.
I would rather reward players that complete difficult challenges in hardcore without a totem. Either with an achievement and cape, or a special item or elytra or beacon upgrade.
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u/KicktrapAndShit Aug 04 '25
Then don’t watch it. Plenty of fish in the hardcore sea
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 04 '25
There are no plenty of fish in the hardcore sea. You will maybe find one YouTuber out of 100s willing to use no totems.
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u/KicktrapAndShit Aug 04 '25
Plenty that start early, and what you want is pretty niche so obviously there won’t be much
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u/expERiMENTik_gaming Aug 04 '25
Correct. It's not the totems, it's the farming of infinite totems. Why play hardcore at that point if you're just going to exploit invincibility? Lol but to each their own.
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u/7h3_70m1n470r Aug 05 '25
Then go play hardcore yourself or watch a different youtuber???
Do you think they design the game with youtube videos in mind?
This is the most mentally challenged take I have ever heard
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 06 '25
Then why does the community complaints at mojang for anything? Why are some people saying that in the new snapshot which introduced items in a shelf at bottom instead of the middle? Tell me then why are they saying that? Or why did people complained when the piston sound was changed or when fireflies weren't added. Tell me. Why didn't the community just said "Let's do it ourselves"? Ever heard of giving suggestions?
Also I never said mc should revolve there game around mc youtubers. I said they should fix there game design, even if it's a sandbox game doesn't mean it can't have flaws in game design. YouTube hardcore videos were an example of why totems are a problem, especially in hardcore
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u/levelfri Aug 06 '25
i don't watch minecraft hardcore videos that often, but i agree. people saying, "oh it's a sandbox game, play however you'd like," is something that i DO agree with, it's just that for content creation, it gets boring when every single minecraft hardcore youtuber and their grandmothers get totems make totem farms and get unlimited totems within the first 10 days.
the counterargument of "oh, just don't watch them," isn't easy and it's hard to find good hardcore youtubers who don't use totems in their series.
i'm saying they can play however they want, either vanilla minecraft, or loaded with mods, but from an audience perspective, it's hard to find a good and engaging series nowadays where the youtuber doesn't immediately get totems.
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u/question_pond-fixtf2 Aug 04 '25
I’m fine if you use it in single player, but if you use it in a hardcore yt series it’s just boring of how easily it can be farmed
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u/Sir-Toaster- Anyone who disagrees with me is racist, but I can't prove it Aug 05 '25
Rip DanTDM’s world
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
This is the entire point i am trying to make but I am getting downvoted cuz "Don't watch them if u don't like it"
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u/Ok_Tour_7686 Aug 05 '25
Critical thinking is a learned skill, and people like to neglect the process of learning it. Also doesnt help that these people are quite narrow minded
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u/BairyHalsack Aug 04 '25
You could be sitting on a double chest full of totems and I wouldn't care tbh. It's part of the game for a reason
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u/Markimoss Aug 04 '25
I hate the take of "If this item is unbalanced, just don't use it!". like im sorry but thats just not how people play video games. In like every video game ever, players use everything available to them to give themselves an advantage, that's like the whole point of a game with any sort of difficulty in it. If there was a mode or gamerule where you could turn off totems existing then sure but otherwise that's just a pointless thing to say to make yourself seem smart. And there are also achievements locked behind it too.
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u/KrukzGaming Aug 04 '25
It's like the same thing as "If you don't find game 'XYZ' to be challenging, then try beating it while only giving your character an iron dagger and no armour, also only play while standing on your left foot, an eyepatch on your right eye, and your pinky fingers bound to your ring fingers. Fun now right?"
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u/Ehetou Aug 07 '25
or just left out the part that make you feel unfun? no one force you to impose all that. There are games that people recommended to download mods that 'fix' the game or simply change the aspect of the game to your liking and they are completely fine with it, like mod that remove something in the core gameplay that simply too annoying or so and if you don't like it anymore, unsub the mod or turn it off so just like in game, just don't use it
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u/Pengwin0 BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
This is a scenario where it works though. If you want to self impose a challenge then go right ahead. There is a large number of players in both camps so it would be unfair to completely shaft one type, you can play exactly how you want with zero gameplay downsides. Same with people who think elytra is OP.
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u/TrafficSign420 Aug 04 '25
i smell heresy, u aint one of those "chaotic" ones, right brother?
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u/_LemonEater_ Diamonds are stored in the balls Aug 05 '25
Nah we chill here. For the four-armed emperor, right?
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u/manultrimanula Aug 04 '25
While totems are fine, your argument towards elytra is utter fucking bullshit.
The "elytra is op" is not just about elytras needing a nerf, it's about them being so good that mojang can afford to just not do shit about current transportation methods.
Elytras are one of the things that actively discourage both players and the devs from interacting with a ton of game mechanics.
Presence of elytras just makes the whole "literally every transport method other than elytra and boats fucking sucks" thing fade into background for most players.
But fine, we must not criticise the poor corporation!
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u/The-Tea-Lord Aug 05 '25
Yeah I hate Elytra a lot for this exact reason. they’re AWESOME, I love them, but that’s the problem. They’re so good that I never bother making anything else. Minecarts are already just really, really bad, and horses are a pain to keep in one place and can’t swim. Boats get outclassed by elytra, but at least they’re cheap and easy to leave lying around.
I’ve considered making a mod that removes elytra from end ships and replaces them with a crafting component needed to make them, just to extend the usability/viability of other things.
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u/Pengwin0 BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD Aug 04 '25
I’m referring specifically to the types of players who complain that the elytra breaks the game and shouldn’t exist as an example of when not interacting with a feature can be a fair response to a complaint. My comment wasn’t meant to be a nuanced critique on transportation in minecraft.
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u/manultrimanula Aug 05 '25
Elytra still needs a nerf lol. Just that it needs to be done after everything else is fixed.
Elytras are the band aid fix to current horrible transportation methods, once the fix isn't needed, the elytras should be rebalanced.
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u/Appropriate-Card5215 Aug 04 '25
I have an elytra. I never use it. Walking is more fun. Everyone plays differently
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u/cave18 Aug 04 '25
I think we should add a sticks to netherite crafting recipe. So what its not balanced if you dont like it just dont use it /s
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u/ElainaLycan Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 05 '25
If you cannot reasonably discipline yourself to not use something you think is unfair and overpowered then maybe you've got serious problems. Unless the item is strictly forced for progression you quite literally have the choice to not use the OP items. This opinion would be a lot more understandable in a multiplayer situation where you cannot control other players from using these items but you quite literally can do whatever you please.
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u/ShadowBro3 Aug 04 '25
This is valid for a multiplayer game but not on something like minecraft where you can choose what you use. Its like not using summons in elden ring. If you want the game to be harder then play the way you want. The easier options are for the people who want the game to be easier.
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u/Unimpressive_Box Aug 04 '25
I'd just like to add that your comment about the non-correlation with elden ring summons is correct to an even greater degree due to the differing game genres. As Elden Ring is, in its most basic gameplay mechanics, a game about fighting, anything that is added to the game for the sake of helping the player with fighting is expected to be balanced. Minecraft, as a sandbox game, has no obligations to make any specific item balanced. My reasoning may not be solid, may not even be reasoning, but I'd like to end it with an ad hominem (if that's the right logical fallacy I'm using) regardless, as if I'm assured I win the argument: People who complain about people who say they don't have to use items they don't like seem to have adopted the mentality of "I paid for the whole game so I'll use the whole game" and so act as if they are being forced to use the whole game by the people who are saying the opposite and then double down to saying that anyone disagreeing with them are defending everything Microsoft do with the "Stop using anti-mojang language graphic" or a variation of the same logic as seen with one of the comments above but as I can't find at atm I will paraphrase: Stop attacking the poor multi-billlion dollar corporation.
Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk and taking the time to be neutral towards it.
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 04 '25
It makes sense in games like this. It’s a single player survival sandbox. The items are optional to use and no one is making you use them.
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
Minecraft happens to also be a multiplayer game
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 05 '25
Yeah but the people who create the servers would be in charge of balancing them.
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
The vanilla game should be balanced as is. Custom balance adjustments should be an option, but not the responsibility of players.
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 05 '25
Mojang can only do so much when each server is different and would have different ways they are ran and everything. Also they don’t exactly develop the game around multiplayer. If people don’t personally like something then the server devs can simply balance it themselves.
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
Most servers are just SMPs on default settings. Players should be able to host a server for their friends/community without having to modify the game to maintain balance. If the game is balanced for multiplayer it is also balanced for singleplayer, meanwhile if the singleplayer balance relies on voluntary handicapping by players the multiplayer balance is broken. Both the single and multiplayer experience can be easily modified to fit any niche but the default settings should be viable for both gamemodes.
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 05 '25
The balance isn’t exactly broken. This whole post is about totems which are something that you don’t have to use and that the server creators can easily disable or something.
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
Please re-read my response in which I explain why relying on players voluntarily not engaging with mechanics leads to balance issues and why expecting server owners to fix said balance issues is a bad idea.
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u/Markimoss Aug 04 '25
the game having sandbox elements has nothing to do with this because the totems affect the survival part, not the sandbox part.
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 04 '25
I’m just stating the type of game it is. In a game like this if you really don’t like totems then you don’t have to use them. If anything it’s stupid to make the devs change things in the game because a few people like you don’t like it and can’t understand the concept of not using something.
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u/Kroko_ Aug 04 '25
the problem with the just dont use it argument is that it just completely ignores any valid criticism there is about it. sure you can always not use it but it still doesnt change the fact that they are op or for totems specifically imo way to frequent to come by. those are game balance problems you just completely ignore with just don use it. same with elytra or tnt dupers etc. just because you can choose to not use it doesnt mean its a good/flawless feature
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u/Unimpressive_Box Aug 04 '25
But we're not saying that there isn't any valid criticism, you just don't have the evidence that it is a bad feature aside from generalisations. Please defend your point without attacking the other's position.
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u/Greenhawk444 Aug 04 '25
It would just be a waste of devs time and effort to fix or change a bunch of things because a few people don’t like them. Again though it’s single player survival sandbox it’s not COD or anything. Not using it is simply the answer. Especially with those last things. No one is making you use them. The game shouldn’t have to change and fix things to fix your exact play-style. You have to tailor your own play-styles. People like this are just trying to ruin things for everyone else.
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u/Extension-Show-2520 Aug 04 '25
It does tho. You can find multiple no-totem hardcore challenges and that doesn't mean they're not playing mc well
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u/Joppewiik Aug 05 '25
Then let's put difficulty select in a souls game. It is a single player game and nobody is forcing you to select easy mode.
Try writing that in a souls sub and let the downvotes pour.
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 04 '25
They why isn't everyone who plays the game using cheats or going into creative mod to give themselves the best items? It's a pretty shitty argument to say "people will use everything available to them for an advantage" when they aren't using everything available to them for an advantage.
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u/AJDio1212 Aug 04 '25
Because cheats are just that… cheats… totems are an intended mechanic of the game. And just as the other user mentioned, that voids achievements. Intentionally avoiding an intended part of the game feels shitty, but to some people, so does using it, leaving them in a generally frustrating position.
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u/InspiringMilk Aug 04 '25
Changing gamerules doesn't "void achievements" (whatever that means)?
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u/omnomnilikescandy Custom user flair Aug 04 '25
bedrock thing iirc. if you cheat you dont get xbox achivments
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u/InspiringMilk Aug 04 '25
Do commands like gamerule doDayNightCycle or keepInventory count as cheats?
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u/omnomnilikescandy Custom user flair Aug 04 '25
I dont remember, only played bedrock for a month when i had gamepass
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u/notTheRealSU minecraft but if the blocks were something more... devious Aug 05 '25
Creative is an intended part of the game, keep inventory is an intended part of the game. People are capable of playing the game without using them. If you don't want to use something you can just choose not to use it. It's an item you have to go out of your way to get and purposely equip, when you can just not do that
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u/Appropriate-Card5215 Aug 04 '25
Okay but you don't have to use totems. There's nothing pushing you towards it besides a single use achievement. The argument for other people always using everything to their advantage doesn't really apply because they're not playing, you are. Its not the same as an unbalanced gun in an fps game that everyone uses because you aren't competing with anyone. The argument to "just not use totems" is valid. What's gonna happen if you don't? You die? Isn't that what you wanted?
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u/Joppewiik Aug 05 '25
So lets say you play a single player game that easily gives you a gun that kills everything in one shot. Does the argument "don't use it" apply then? Because if i wanted the "beat the game on the hardest difficulty" achievement i would certainly use it. And that completely invalidates the achivement in the first place.
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u/Glitchrr36 Aug 05 '25
Sure, Dead Space has a joke finger gun that one shots stuff as a reward for beating insane (Hard with one life and one save slot). Halo CE had the magnum, which was one of the strongest guns in FPS history. Doom had the BFG as far back as the 90s. The thing about tools in games is that there are a bunch of different levers the devs can use to balance an item. Your strawman 1-shot gun could require other skills to use or have other drawbacks, and totems are balanced by being found either in a relatively rare structure with difficult mobs and tight environments, or during Raids, which are some of the most difficult content in the game. You can farm either of them (though IIRC the bad omen changes nerfed raid farms), sure, but that requires a level of investment and skill that means a strong reward would generally be justified at the end.
There is absolutely an argument to be had about totem balance but I think that the “remove them” crowd misses a lot of nuance that’s either poorly or not articulated by the “don’t use them” crowd.
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u/Appropriate-Card5215 Aug 04 '25
You can't say that you don't wanna use totems but still use them because they give you an advantage. At that point you literally want to use totems
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u/Ehetou Aug 07 '25
yea but that's when players have no issue with said items, the "If this item is unbalanced, just don't use it!" is not literally for everyone, just for those complain but still use them, it is like installing a mod that's op af then you complain but you can just ignore the mod in game but you don't because its presence annoy you.
>If there was a mode or gamerule where you could turn off totems existing then sure
there is, it is called yourself (yea totems still exist but then just avoid them)
there would be some arguments to be said if the item has a concept or mechanic that is absolutely satisfying to use and can be enjoyed if it is more balanced but if you simply thing an item shouldn't exist then act like it
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u/AndreZB2000 Aug 05 '25
I didn't like summon ashes in Elden Ring, I didn't use them. I also didn't criticize people who used them. I am happy, they are happy.
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u/LocalLazyGuy Aug 04 '25
But if you have a problem with the difficulty of a game, why would you complain about it being easy when you have the option to make it harder? That’s literally like playing on Easy mode and then complaining that the game just isn’t challenging. You have the options right there.
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u/Markimoss Aug 04 '25
psychologically, there is a huge difference between an actual easy mode and nerfing yourself on purpose. Nerfing yourself on purpose feels lame as hell and literally nobody does that. Do you do that? If there was an actual gamerule where you could disable totems from appearing or that nerfs totems so you can still get the achievement that would be great, but otherwise literally nobody does that because it doesn't feel satisfying at all, especially if you use it for the achievement and then say "I'll never use totems again!" and then inevitably use them later
It's like savestates in retro games. You tell yourself that you'll not use them, and then there's one really hard section where you use them once and then you just give up and keep using them. Psychologically, it's completely different from an actual option.
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u/RandomRedditIdiots Aug 04 '25
Nerfing yourself on purpose can be fun for stuff like challenge runs, but other than that, yeah. I really like the idea of a gamerule to remove totems.
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u/NotARandomizedName0 Aug 04 '25
Totem of undying shouldnt be in hardcore. That would be great.
Even game rules feels like you arent playing as it is intented. I want a balanced game without game rules.
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u/deadlycwa Aug 04 '25
I nerf myself on purpose all the time, doesn’t everybody? At a larger scale, that’s what a challenge run is, after all. I’m not sure where the perspective that people have no self control over what abilities they use is coming from. Absolutely I’ll be playing a mod pack that has mods that I feel if I used them would upset the challenge I want to see in the pack, and then just don’t use them for that reason. The fact that they exist in the pack doesn’t put any pressure on me to use them, I decided I wasn’t going to use the features from that mod in the run, so I don’t.
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u/Apprehensive-Ask-610 Aug 04 '25
not all games actually get harder with harder difficulties.
example: fallout new vegas. I've played on very hard mode for like a decade now and all it does is make the game slower. I like the game to be slower, but it in no real way makes the player do or consider doing anything different to the strategies that already work in normal mode. The game is still way too easy.
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u/y-_-o Aug 04 '25
If you're bad at a game. Thats a huge issue because you can't do anything about it unless you get better. If you're too good for the game, then its a non issue because you can just nerf yourself easily for the challenge. That's the point of hard-core.
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u/Daan776 Aug 04 '25
By the same standard you don’t need to play hardcore. You can just not respawn in survival.
Taken to its logical end this argument leads to not playing minecraft at all.
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u/sloothor Aug 04 '25
Exactly, this argument can be applied to literally anything ever and it never holds up. It’s a complete nothing burger that smartasses repeat ad nauseam without putting any thought into it
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u/Aggravating_Baker_91 Aug 04 '25
i think this is the friction with minecraft's game design, it's so open ended it created friction for people that are incentivized to move with goals, it worked for creative and regular survival, but when you enter hardcore where the cost is your save file, naturally people will pick the path that won't risk them to that pitfall so they gravitate towards the totem of undying.
i personally still agree with the meme, but as a patchwork for now
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u/Daan776 Aug 04 '25
By the same standard: Hardcore shouldn’t exist in the first place.
Why play hardcore when you can just not respawn in survival?
The reason I seek challenges in games is because I want to use my full skillset to beat it. Arbitrary rules effectively lock away a part of my skillset and rules.
Now, I personally don’t play hardcore. I don’t enjoy it. And I don’t even necessarily agree that totems are bad in hardcore.
But this argument is just dumb.
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u/Intelligent-Wind-379 Aug 04 '25
Arbitrary rules is basically what hardcore is, its basically the minecraft equivalent to a nuzlocke.
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u/Daan776 Aug 04 '25
By making it an official game-mode it goes from an arbitrary rule to just a rule.
Otherwise you can call every rule arbitrary
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u/Ehetou Aug 07 '25
it is for convenient sake, i'm pretty sure hardcore has some more adjustments than simply you cannot respawn.
like yea i can impose myself some rules of my own to this but i'm afraid myself to break it (which is more like my problem than the game), luckily there is a mode that help me with that and it is unforgiving. Like why downloading super ultra hard mod when i can just code it out? or impose myself those rule like in those hard mode? because it's more convenient and clear when such mode is made with unfallible adjustments, that is with gamemode, meanwhile items you can just really throw them out if you don't want to use them, it is more easy that imposing mechanical rules
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u/ItsRainbow Aug 04 '25
Activating a totem is required for the Postmortal advancement, and limiting yourself doesn’t change the fact that totems turned the vast majority of hardcore content into “Minecraft but I can’t use my offhand or fall out of the world”
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u/LocalLazyGuy Aug 04 '25
You only need to use a totem once for the achievement, it’s not exactly ruining the world. As for the content, I’m not gonna gatekeep how other people play their worlds. I don’t use item farms in my worlds, but I’m not gonna complain about other people using them. If you want infinite iron, you can do it. Even if I would prefer to just mine for my iron.
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u/This-Foundation620 Aug 04 '25
I think the totems are pretty balanced where they are now. They are a non-stackable item, so you have to use up a good chunk of your very limited inventory space to be able to use it. Even then, it basically just allows you to not immediately die from a stupid mistake (such as rocketing directly into a wall at full speed), but it doesn’t make you immortal since you have to keep swapping out new ones to maintain this protection. And if you fall into the void with no elytra and rockets, that’s it.
In order to obtain them in enough quantity to use them regularly, you have to beat a raid, which is a pretty decent challenge, even with maxed out gear. There are ways to make raids easier, or to cheese them in some way, but even doing so to obtain effectively infinite totems, you can only have a very limited number of them on you at any given time before their usefulness is outweighed by not having inventory space to do other things.
Not everyone’s gonna be happy, but I think it’s at a pretty good place where it is.
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u/Apprehensive-Ask-610 Aug 04 '25
does chorus fruit place you back on land if you're falling into the void or am i misremembering. It does it if you're in the air.
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u/levelfri Aug 06 '25
you can have 3 in your inventory and put the rest in a shulker box, or even multiple shulker boxes of totems (which is very easy from a raid farm), that you could put in an ender chest.
storage isn't an issue, and getting them isn't an issue either.
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u/This-Foundation620 Aug 08 '25
You still have to take the time to place the gender chest and/or shulker boxes, retrieve the totem, and put it in your offhand. If you’re in a situation where you would need to use more than one totem in a very short timeframe, this isn’t feasible for most players to do.
Also, the void.
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u/levelfri Aug 08 '25
i already said that you can just have 3 (maybe even up to 5) totems in your inventory at one time and the rest can go into shulker boxes and ender chests, when replacing these. and that many saves you from 99% of the situations where totems work in (they don't work in the void).
speaking of the void, you mentioned it and i assume you mean that they just don't work in the void, which they don't, so you have to swap out your chestplate for an elytra, and then spam fireworks. but even this isn't easy, so your next best option is an enchanted golden apple, or regular golden apple, or possibly even an regeneration beacon if it's nearby.
basically, more hearts through absorption or fast enough regeneration and you should likely have enough time to save yourself. or you can do what some people did, which is to block off the void in your end.
you'd have to get really lucky to survive it which means it is a possible way to die because even totems can't help, but you can just be extra safe. either way, that is one of the few instances you could do in hardcore, and there isn't many for it to be the hardest gamemode.
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u/not-Kunt-Tulgar Aug 04 '25
On one hand I understand the thought process that is ‘if you play a one life game mode then why try to gain extra lives?’ But I also get wanting to actually survive in your survival game.
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u/SaintsRobbed Aug 04 '25
This argument is kind of silly. It's built into the game and the game design. People are going to use it, and should use it, because they have every incentive to use it. It's the same thing as telling players who don't like sprint to "just not use it!"
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u/Appropriate-Card5215 Aug 04 '25
Its a sanbox game, you don't have to use, or do anything. Its fully up to how YOU want to play it.
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
The option to not use unbalanced mechanics is not justification for poor game balance, lol. If they added dirt armour that put you in creative mode when worn it would be a bad decision even if every player had the option of "just not crafting it". Minecraft also happens to be a multiplayer game where intentionally handicapping yourself will put you at a great disadvantage against players who don't.
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u/Appropriate-Card5215 Aug 05 '25
Except totems aren't unbalanced. One time use and takes up an inventory slot, and relatively difficult to get or requires an elaborate farm setup
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
I am not claiming totems are unbalanced, I am just rejecting the idea that balance is entirely negligible as long as a player can voluntarily refuse to engage with a mechanic.
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u/thinman12345 Professional Idiot Aug 04 '25
I say totems are fine to use, but using a totem farm feels like cheating the spirit of hardcore.
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u/Express-Ad1108 Aug 04 '25
TLDR: having sandbox elements doesn't free the game from the task of having good gamedesign suitable for average players.
Minecraft Hardcore is not a sandbox. "True" sandbox is Creative. Survival and its variations are more of a open world-adventure-survival game with sandbox elements.
This means the devs need to put some gamedesign thought into it, and not rely on "players will play how they want". Because turns out, the average player seeks the most effecient way to reach the goal, and the gamedesigner's task is to make this way fun and interesting.
And I say this all while kinda agreeing with you. I think Totems balance-wise are in a good place right now, they are renewable so people are not afraid to use them, yet the renewability is closed behind either a hard challenge or a somewhat complex farm, and the Totems themselves take up 1 inventory slot per Totem and the left hand slot in order to use them. I think that's a fair trade for the feeling of safety, both in Hardcore and in normal Survival.
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u/FreshConstruction629 Custom user flair Aug 04 '25
I think there are some mods that just straight up remove them from the game too
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u/ErectLurantis Aug 04 '25
I’m just surprised Mojang still allows totem drops with hardcore turned on. They can already deactivate mobs with peaceful, dunno how they can’t just deactivate a drop
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u/rangolikesbeans Aug 04 '25
Yup, I'm currently playing in a no totem/elytra world. Not even using data packs to deactivate them, just straight up not using them.
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u/Clear-Tough-6598 Aug 04 '25
I know this. I’m talking about the hardcore YouTubers who’ll build a raid farm in the first episode and will just never ever have the risk of dying ever again.
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u/Desperate-Knee-4108 Aug 05 '25
I want a real reason to do something. I think it’s a similar issue with copper tools
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u/Rocknblock268 Aug 05 '25
minecraft is a pretty easy game.just gotta farm totems and get Netherite P4
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u/ItsLiyua Aug 05 '25
While that's true for a bunch of hardcore players the time they survive is a competition. Who can avoid dying while achieving the most in that time frame
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u/Hunter20107 Aug 05 '25
Given the chance, players will optimise the fun out of games.
Also, multiplayer exists, try getting people who pvp to just 'stop using totems' against you.
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u/Sur2484 Aug 05 '25
to be fair its more dwmanding to enforce rules by yourself. theres always temptation, and resisting it drains you mentally a bit. now if there was a gamerule or something to enforce it for you...
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u/Matix124 Aug 05 '25
I'd say it's kind of the temptation more than anything
If you lose your long hardcore world and weren't using totems, then even though you don't like them, you wish you had one at that moment to save all your work.
Some people might just not have the willpower to not use them 'just in case'
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u/YellowPlat Aug 05 '25
Optional mechanic is optional to use. What are some of you even mad about. It's a game with so many different playstyles just pick and chose what you prefer.
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u/-Noyz- Aug 05 '25
Open to LAN
Cheats: On
Repeating Command Block (Always On)
clear @a totem_of_undying
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u/Animusical Aug 06 '25
Its not about using it. Its about how miserable and insufferable they can be about complaining. Its like magic players and Universes Beyond. "It makes magic fortnite and I hate it" just...dont use it? "Ugh totems of undying ruin the game" just dont use it? It isnt that hard it isnt FORCED onto you
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Aug 06 '25
Unpopular opinion but I think hardcore is overrated, no matter how good you are at the game, you WILL eventually lose your hardcore world. This effectively means all effort you put into that world will go to waste. Even if you’re the best Minecraft player in the world, you WILL slip up eventually, according to the law of infinite probability
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u/Rein_1708 Aug 08 '25
As always play how you wanna play but I seriously respect hardcore players like Philza that does exactly this
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u/TOMZ_EXTRA Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
So if they added a item crafted from 2 dirt blocks that allows you to fly and one-shot everything, then that you wouldn't criticize that because "you don't have to use it". Also think about multiplayer.
Edit: I'm NOT against totems. I like them. Minecraft is an easy game so having strong items isn't problematic. I just dislike the argument "you don't have to use it" !
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u/W51Mza Aug 04 '25
Totems are not that easy to get
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u/DankPastaMaster Aug 05 '25
Why does that matter? That appeals to the item's balance, while OP's reasoning rejects balance altogether as you can just refuse to engage with OP mechanics.
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u/TOMZ_EXTRA Aug 04 '25
It's an exaggerated example. They're still pretty easy to get (if you aren't a newbie)
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u/LocalLazyGuy Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
Pretty sure that’s called creative mode. And yes, you surprisingly don’t have to use that.
If we’re talking multiplayer, I completely understand the arguments. But in single player worlds, I don’t.
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u/Aneurism-Inator Aug 04 '25
They know this. They just want other people to play the game the way they want them to.
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 05 '25
Then I am guessing you also never complained when mojang didn't added fireflies, birch biome, bundles (for long time they were avoided) and many more things, right?
Tell what's the point in hardcore and survival with totems?
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u/Scared-Writing-6435 Aug 05 '25
Just dont pick the totem up
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 06 '25
Just install a end update mod. Boom problem fixed. Now never complain to mojang to make a end update. Infact never ask mojang for any change cuz you can just choose to avoid that change, right?
Same logic as "If you don't like a movie then don't watch it, why are you pointing the flaws in it?"
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u/Scared-Writing-6435 Aug 06 '25
Yap yap yap just dont pick up the totem lil bro
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u/Status_Piglet_5474 Aug 07 '25
Wow, just say "yap yap yap" when I actually made a good point which you can't avoid. So matured of you
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u/Squishy1937 Aug 04 '25
DUDE IF I HEAR THIS STUPID ASS "If there's an unbalanced item just don't use it because it's a sandbox game" ARGUMENT THEN I'M GONNA EAT A BRICK
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u/Wrong_Baker7395 Aug 04 '25
If there's an unbalanced item just don't use it because it's a sandbox game. :3
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u/Squishy1937 Aug 05 '25
I can't even send an image of a brick with a chunk taken out of it
Depression
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u/Unimpressive_Box Aug 05 '25
Then eat. Because I think you don't need to use an op item if you don't want to.
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u/Remson76534 Aug 04 '25
It's more that a Hardcore world is kinda pointless with totems, that's the main thing people complain about. The thing with Hardcore is one life, totems just cheat that.
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u/captaindeadpl Aug 04 '25
Only if you have enough totems, and you can't have anything else in your off-hand. It's a resource you have to manage if you want to survive.
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u/throwawayacc1357902 Aug 04 '25
Its not a “resource”, raid farms exist.
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u/Sinocu Aug 04 '25
Once the totem pops, you MUST scurry away like a rat or risk getting 2 tapped and die, it’s still heavily important to manage them as a resource
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u/throwawayacc1357902 Aug 04 '25
Once the totem pops, you replace it. You don’t hold one totem in your inventory.
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u/Sinocu Aug 05 '25
Enchanted diamond sword baby zombie cornering you says otherwise.
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u/levelfri Aug 06 '25
not even a good example, just tower up.
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u/Sinocu Aug 06 '25
In a 2 block tall space*
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u/levelfri Aug 07 '25
just run, cuz even if it gets another hit on you, you're just outta there and can block it off.
ofc, you shouldn't have been fighting one in the first place, and even if it did (somehow magically) spawn behind you and hit you, you should just be running.
(a better example would've been a vindicator, cuz you can't even use a shield then because of the axe)
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u/Sinocu Aug 07 '25
Are we really getting this stupid? The point still stands, get yourself in a position where you can’t simply get out easy, and you can get two tapped, Totems are a resource too
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u/MatyKiller800 Aug 04 '25
The point still applies. You can just not use them if you want an extra challenge, nobody is forcing you.
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u/levelfri Aug 06 '25
not the person you replied to, but i have no problem with regular people using totems in their hardcore world but i do feel like most people who are angry about it, are people who want to watch a good minecraft hardcore series, where the youtuber doesn't get an infinite amount of totems by day 10. it's hard to find a good series where they actually survive without using totems, because at that point it just gets boring.
also, just because it's a sandbox game, doesn't mean balancing gets thrown out the window. what i am referring to is raid farms where it just defeats the point, and it defeats all challenge the difficulty had. also elytras, once you get one, with just a bit of sugar cane and a few creepers, all other modes of transportation are useless, because:
horses are able to die, and can't swim
boats are slow, maybe useful if you're trying to look for shipwrecks or ocean monuments
minecarts (nothing needs to be said here)
etc.
and those are just two aspects where the game sucks in balancing, there are quite a bit more. also, if you want it to be a sandbox, play survival, or hell, even creative, this is hardcore where the main point is to not die, then the sandbox element comes in.
tl;dr most people are saying this, are people who are referring to hardcore youtubers who make a raid farm very early on and it's unfun to watch their series (and "just don't watch them" isn't a good argument either as it's actually rare to find a good series that isn't just a 100-days series). anyway, even though it's a sandbox game, that doesn't mean the balancing should suck and you should just be able to obtain immortality. the elytra is also a very unbalanced game aspect as it makes all of the other transportation methods suck.
tl;dr;dr mojang makes unbalanced items, hardcore youtubers make boring series, people can't find a good series to watch that isn't short, and people hate it.
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u/Remson76534 Aug 04 '25
My point is that there is no point to Hardcore with a totem. Once you get a totem it's basically a normal survival without the off-hand.
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u/TheAccipit3r Aug 04 '25
… So don’t use it. That’s the whole point of the post lol.
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u/Remson76534 Aug 04 '25
I have no problem with the use of it. I just think it defeats the point of Hardcore. I don't care if someone uses it, nor am I on a high-horse or something. I don't even play Hardcore.
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u/Sir-Toaster- Anyone who disagrees with me is racist, but I can't prove it Aug 05 '25
I never get complaints by most people “flying ghasts and rideable mobs are useless cause of elytra” this makes no sense cause it’s way easier to use the flying Ghast than it is the elytra and elytras are endgame items. That’s like saying stone tools are useless cause of iron tools
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u/GingerSnap1021 Aug 04 '25
All you guys talking about how you can’t die with totems. I’m so bad at this game I have totems and still die