Minecraft Dungeons 2 Is Getting Way More Like Vanilla Minecraft

Minecraft Dungeons 2 deliberately moves closer to vanilla Minecraft with armor slots, Enchantment Books, and jumping, as the devs explain why the sequel embraces its roots.

Ever booted up Minecraft Dungeons and thought, "This is fun, but where's my armor slots and jumping?" Well, the devs heard you. Minecraft Dungeons 2 is deliberately moving closer to vanilla Minecraft, and it sounds like a big shift.

Speaking to GameSpot, creative director Måns Olson and design director Laura de Llorens Garcia explained that the sequel pulls mechanics and feel closer to the original sandbox game. "As much as Dungeons 1 tried to interpret vanilla Minecraft--and I think we did a pretty good job of it--with some of the things that we had deviated from, we decided to take them even closer to vanilla," de Llorens Garcia said.

So what does that mean in practice? You'll now get four armor slots, Enchantment Books, and even jumping. "I think the fact that those systems now work that way makes it feel a lot closer to base game Minecraft," she added. If you've ever wanted your dungeon crawler to feel more like the Minecraft you know, this is your win.

But why the change? Olson explained that the first Dungeons had to establish its own identity. During early testing, players said it reminded them of Minecraft PvP servers or Story Mode. Many younger players had little experience outside Minecraft, so the team needed Dungeons to stand out. "In that world, it was very important that we made Minecraft Dungeons stand out--a game that didn't feel like the base game, that felt different enough to stand on its own legs and bring something new to the table," he said. "'Cause otherwise it could have just been a mod, you know? It needed to be something of its own."

That led to bold departures, like a Minecraft game without mining or crafting. "So we made a Minecraft game without mining or crafting, which sounds silly, but that's how we went about it," Olson said. Now that the Dungeons brand is established, the team feels free to move back toward vanilla. The sequel also features a larger, more interconnected world. "We did push the world to be bigger and more exploratory in this game compared to the first game and that brings us closer to vanilla," Olson said.

And that philosophy extends beyond Dungeons 2. The devs have been working closely with the vanilla Minecraft team on The Sift, a new dimension introduced in Dungeons 2 before coming to Minecraft in 2027. So the two worlds are literally converging.

Will you be jumping into Minecraft Dungeons 2 when it arrives? What do you think of the shift toward vanilla? Let us know in the comments!