Minecraft's Mounts of Mayhem update will include Netherite horse armor, which still won't convince me to take my noble steed to the Nether but is a nice touch

Netherite horse armor on a horse next to a player in Minecraft

(Image credit: Mojang)

Taming a horse in Minecraft is one thing, but trusting yourself not to kill it while you're out adventuring is another. As much as I love the convenience of not having to carry myself across the overworld by foot, the stress I feel each time I misjudge a jump and end up falling into a hole or ravine, or being stuck outside as it starts getting dark, definitely makes me question why I wanted a horse in the first place. For clumsy people like me, horse armor is a must for keeping my mount safe. But no amount of armor could convince me to take my noble steed to the Nether.

Minecraft's next game drop, Mounts of Mayhem, is going to tempt me to try riding my horse into the underworld with new Netherite Horse armor. Similar to the Netherite tool set and the human Netherite armor, it'll beat diamond as the strongest material. Lava is my mortal nemesis, which is a feeling reciprocated by many, but this could be the convincing I need to feel a little more confident in my ability to take my horse to battle with hordes of zombies and make it home in one piece. I can't guarantee it though.

Netherite armor has fire resistance built in, and since horses will also (finally) be able to swim when ridden as part of the Mounts of Mayhem update, does this mean we can swim through lava? I doubt it, but it's still a nice thought. Just being able to walk through fire and lava without taking a crazy amount of damage will be a nice plus, and hopefully reduce the amount of responsibility I feel each time I tame a new mount.

The armor has been available to test for a little over a week now, and one player pointed out an interesting glitch on Reddit regarding its fire resistance. When testing the features and throwing the horse armor directly into a lava pool, it disappears and the player cannot pick it back up if they jump in, unlike the Netherite tools and human armor. A bug report has already been created for that issue, so I don't doubt it will get fixed prior to the full update release.

Kara is an evergreen writer. Having spent four years as a games journalist guiding, reviewing, or generally waffling about the weird and wonderful, she’s more than happy to tell you all about which obscure indie games she’s managed to sink hours into this week. When she’s not raising a dodo army in Ark: Survival Evolved or taking huge losses in Tekken, you’ll find her helplessly trawling the internet for the next best birdwatching game because who wants to step outside and experience the real thing when you can so easily do it from the comfort of your living room. Right?

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.