Hero image: Minecraft Dungeons II screenshot. Image: Mojang Studios
Minecraft Dungeons II launches today, and this time the map between quests is part of the game. An Xbox Wire hands-on explains how its connected world works, and here is what to use first.
Minecraft Dungeons II is out on 29 September on Xbox, PC, PlayStation 5, Switch and Switch 2, and it’s included with Game Pass. We covered the Australian prices last week: A$39.95 for the standard edition on Steam, or A$69.95 for the Deluxe Edition.
The big change is the world. The first game ran on missions with clear beginnings and ends, but in the sequel the regions connect, and Xbox Wire’s hands-on says players can travel from the Howling Woods to the Frozen Highlands and down to the Rainy Plains “with no loading screens to break up the journey.”
That world also holds the Sift, the new dimension we covered when it was revealed at Minecraft LIVE, alongside the rest of the show. The map is big. Xbox Wire’s editor writes that after “roughly a dozen hours” they felt they had only scratched the surface of the Overworld and the Sift.
So here is what to use on your first night.
Click down on the left thumbstick and you get the Guidance Trail. It’s a temporary line pointing to the active quest, and it can be ignored whenever something off the path looks more interesting.
Use the Minecart Stations and Teleport Statues for fast travel. A fall in the Overworld or the Sift sends heroes back to Brave Haven. From there, the Teleport Statue sends them to the nearest Respawn Shrine already passed, which saves walking the whole route again.
Want a rematch? Boss Totems restart a boss fight. The post singles out the Witch in the north of the Howling Woods, where the totem offers “a second, third, or 10th attempt” at its loot. Rifts and Dungeons on the map work the same way, packed with enemies and loot chests.
Look out for Enchantment Books among those rewards. They fuse abilities onto your gear, and the post’s picks are Healing Smite, Ender Mines and Somersault, which stacks for extra dodge rolls. Echo Shards upgrade Merchants, Blacksmiths and equipment.
You can play solo or with up to four players, online or on the couch, according to the store listing Xbox Wire carries with the post. So grab a friend, pick a direction and see how far the map goes.
Source: Xbox Wire – How Minecraft Dungeons II’s Interconnected World Makes Every Journey an Adventure, Steam – Minecraft Dungeons II