Mojang has revealed more information about the Sniffer, a new Minecraft mob set to be added to the game as part of the incoming 1.20 update. The developer's latest info dump arrives months after the Sniffer won the Minecraft Live 2022 Mob Vote.
Like its name suggests, Mob Vote is an annual event that allows the community to vote on the next creature to be added to all currently supported editions of Minecraft. The latest iteration of this happening saw the Sniffer managing a landslide victory against the Tuff Golem and the Rascal by winning over 55% of fan votes, more than twice the amount of the second-placed Rascal.
While the Sniffer's popularity is largely rooted in the fact that it is actually a Minecraft farming overhaul disguised as a mob, the creature is planned to debut without some key features and behaviors, as per Mojang's latest announcement. However, the studio is assuring fans that this will only apply to the "earliest snapshots" of Minecraft, whereas the stable 1.20 build of the game will still offer a full-featured version of the mob announced during Minecraft Live 2022. In the meantime, the Sniffer will first be added to the game's Creative Mode until the developers iron out any potential bugs resulting from the new content drop.
Since the Sniffer is an ancient mob planned to release as part of an archeology-focused Minecraft update, its Survival Mode version won't be encounterable in the overworld, but will instead need to be hatched from Sniffer eggs that will have a chance of spawning in Suspicious Sand. This new block type that's arriving in the next update may also contain other objects such as pottery shards, Mojang has revealed. Finding one that yields an egg will only be part of the requirements for domesticating a Sniffer, as the said embryo will first need to be hatched into a Snifflet, which will then proceed to grow into a pig-like creature. A fully grown Sniffer will be able to sniff out ancient seeds that can be used for growing new decorative plants, with its design being seemingly inspired by real-life truffle hogs.
Mojang concluded the announcement of its Sniffer rollout plans with a promise that more information about the Minecraft 1.20 update is on its way, advising fans to keep an eye out for early-access patches. While there's no doubt that the new mob is a much-anticipated addition to the hit sandbox game, Minecraft Live 2022's overwhelming Sniffer Mob Vote victory also prompted some discussion about whether the annual community event is becoming too predictable.
Minecraft is available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Minecraft