For the most part, Minecraft Dungeons is a very simple game. There aren't a lot of ways for players to mess up since almost everything is reversible, and it encourages experimentation thanks to these forgiving mechanics. Despite this, the newest game mode added to the Minecraft spin off, Ancient Hunts, is very confusing at first glance and has the potential to ruin a player's character if they aren't careful in how they go about using it. This game mode is overwhelming at first, but it's really quite simple once players understand how it works. The main thing to look out for in the new Ancient Hunts is the powerful Gilded gear that is now available.
Previously, hunting for Unique items was the end game of Minecraft Dungeons, with players farming certain areas in order to get the perfect item with the perfect roll. Unique items were powerful because they came with an enchantment built into them, meaning they could technically have four enchantments on them instead of three. Gilded gear works much the same way in that these items come with an enchantment built into them, but a Unique item can also be Gilded, so these powerful items can have up to five enchantments effectively.
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There are two main ways of acquiring Gilded items, purchasing them from the Piglin Merchant or looting them from Ancient Mobs. In order to buy Gilded items, players will need to spend Gold Bars, a new currency added to Minecraft Dungeons in the Ancient Hunt game mode. Looting any chest in an Ancient Hunt or defeating certain bosses and enchanted enemies will yield the player gold bars, these can then be used to trade with the Piglin Merchant in the cave at town. After completing enough Ancient Hunts, the Piglin Merchant will have three Gilded items available per run, and players can refresh his offerings for 10 gold bars or reserve an item for later.
Aside from trading with the Piglin Merchant, the other way to get Gilded items is to loot them by defeating Ancient Mobs. These are powerful enemies that only appear during the Ancient Hunt game mode, and they have a chance to drop Gilded gear when defeated. This is the most reliable way to obtain these powerful items, but it will require quite a bit of farming and experimentation in order to figure out how to spawn specific Ancient Mobs and which ones drop what kinds of items. Thankfully, other players have already started compiling a database for that purpose.
Unlike other missions in Minecraft Dungeons, players can't just start an Ancient Hunt whenever they want. They first need to sacrifice gear and enchantment points in order to open the portal. The important thing to note is that the type of gear that players sacrifice will determine if an Ancient Mob can spawn and which ones will spawn, while the number of enchantment points used will determine how likely an Ancient Mob is to spawn and how many will spawn on average.
This is where players need to be extra careful, as once an Ancient Hunt is started, all the weapons, armor, artifacts, and enchantment points used to open the portal will be destroyed for good. This is one of the few irreversible things players can do in Minecraft Dungeons, so it's vital to be absolutely certain about what gear the player is sacrificing. When sacrificing enchantment points, the player's character level will actually decrease, making this best to do at high levels when the player has too many enchantment points. When choosing what gear to sacrifice, it's important to understand how it will affect the Ancient Hunt itself.
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The gear that players sacrifice will affect the generation of the Ancient Hunt, the power of the enemies found within, the rewards obtained during the hunt, and finally what kinds of and how many Ancient Mobs spawn. In general, the more powerful the sacrifice, the more powerful the enemies and the better the rewards, but things are a bit more complicated for Ancient Mobs. As players select gear to sacrifice, they will notice a series of runes appearing on the screen. The combination of runes players choose will determine which Ancient Mobs spawn.
This part is especially complicated, but there is a fan made database that compiles all of the different Ancient Mobs, how to spawn them, and even what gear produces which runes. For example, players wanting to spawn the Grim Guardian (an Ancient Zombie mob) will need two "T" runes and one "n" rune. In order to get these, they could choose to sacrifice an axe (one "T" rune) and a battle robe (one "T" rune/one "n" rune). As long as these two items' power equals 100 or greater, Ancient Mobs will be able to spawn. Now players can invest Enchantment Points to make it more likely for the Grim Guardian to spawn. Once inside the Ancient Hunt, a Grim Guardian might drop Gilded versions of the Sword, Dark Armor, or Grim Armor items, including their Unique variants (Gilded Diamond Sword, for example).
Above all else, players should be sure they know what they are getting into when they start an Ancient Hunt. These areas can be extremely challenging, especially when the coveted Ancient Mobs actually do spawn. With that in mind, do some research beforehand in order to guarantee that the desired Ancient Mobs will spawn as a result of the player's offerings.
Once inside, play carefully and be sure to bring the most powerful build available. Players can leave and come back to an Ancient Hunt at any time, but if they lose all of their lives then the Ancient Hunt will close and all the items sacrificed to start it will be lost forever. These Ancient Hunts can be extremely rewarding, but they are also very punishing to players that try them without knowing enough about it beforehand.
Minecraft Dungeons is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.