Two new guides went up this week, and we quietly patched something behind the scenes in the world — nothing you'll see, but worth mentioning since this weekly post is where we tell you about that stuff.
Two new guides
The Nether has two mobs almost everyone runs into and almost nobody had a real guide for — until now:
- Ghasts: The Nether's Crying Sky Mob — how their fireballs work, why the cry is your warning sign, and the deflection trick that turns a scary encounter into a free kill.
- Blaze: The Fortress Guard You Actually Need — where they spawn, how to fight them without getting burned, and why every Blaze Rod you collect is worth the trip.
Behind the scenes
We also did a little housekeeping in the World hub — the save system now keeps better track of its own version behind the scenes. It's not a new feature and there's nothing new to click on; it just makes the world more reliable to maintain going forward.
An older guide, refreshed
The Ancient Debris guide now links out to the world, so it's easier to get from one to the other without hunting around.
See you in the Nether
If you haven't read up on Ghasts or Blazes yet, this is a good week to start — both are mobs you'll meet early and often. And if you haven't walked the world in a while, it's still there, waiting for you to come back through.
There's no comments section here and no forum — this weekly post is where the site talks back. If something changes, gets fixed, or gets built, this is where it'll be announced first.
What Piglins Actually Are
Piglins are the Nether's closest thing to a society. They spawn in groups across nether wastes, crimson forests, and bastion remnants, and they act like it — patrolling together, guarding loot, and reacting as a pack when one of them gets angry. Unlike most Nether mobs, piglins aren't hostile by default. The game calls this "neutral": they'll leave you completely alone right up until you break one specific rule.
They're also collectors. Piglins pick up gold items off the ground, wear gold armor and gold tools they find, and will stop what they're doing to stare at a gold block for a few seconds — a small "admiring" animation that's part curiosity, part obsession. Gold isn't just currency to them. It's the whole personality.
The Gold Armor Rule
This is the one fact that matters most: a piglin will not attack a player wearing at least one piece of gold armor. Helmet, chestplate, leggings, or boots — any single piece counts. You don't need a full set. One gold boot on one foot is enough to walk through a piglin patrol without a fight.
Take that last piece of gold armor off in front of them, or arrive with none at all, and piglins turn hostile almost immediately. It's a hard rule, not a probability — no gold means they will attack. That's why every Nether packing list for kids should include "put on the gold" before "bring a sword."
What Piglins Avoid and Fear
Piglins won't walk onto soul sand or soul soil, and they back away from players who are standing on it. Nobody's fully sure why the game wrote it that way, but the effect is useful: a base built on soul sand valley terrain tends to stay piglin-free, since they'd rather route around it than cross it.
They're also afraid of the wither and of wither skeletons specifically. If either shows up nearby, piglins won't fight — they run. It's one of the few times you'll see a piglin retreat instead of standing its ground.
How Piglins Treat Other Nether Mobs
Piglins attack hoglins on sight, without being provoked first. It's a one-way rivalry — piglins start it, not the other way around, and it's part of why hoglins tend to keep their distance from bastion territory.
Zombified piglins get the opposite treatment. Even though they look like a corrupted version of a piglin, living piglins don't attack them. The two mobs simply ignore each other, which can be a little unsettling to watch the first time you see it happen near a bastion.
One more thing worth knowing without turning this into a full trading guide: piglins will barter if you throw them a gold ingot, picking it up and tossing something back a few seconds later. It's how they interact with players who are wearing gold rather than fighting them — the full breakdown of what they give back lives in the bartering guide linked below.
A Practical Tip
Keep a single piece of gold armor equipped at all times in the Nether, even if it's just old gold boots you'd otherwise throw away. It costs you almost nothing in armor value, but it's the difference between walking past a piglin group and fighting one you didn't plan for. If you're building a base and want it piglin-free without fighting anyone, look for soul sand valley terrain first — piglins tend to stay out of it on their own.
Nethercon — practical guides for players who want to understand the Nether, not just survive it.
Related: Piglin Bartering | Bastion Remnants
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