No one is going to enable me? that’s fine, I can do it myself :)
For those who don’t know, Mojang recently held a mob vote. The mobs put forward were the glare, the allay and the copper golem. And because the allay won, I want to share some thoughts I had when they first announced this little angel.
First, let’s look at its main mechanics:
When given an item, the allay will fetch same and similar items (these items already exist in the world, items are NOT duplicated)
It will bring these items either to the player or a note block
It dances near noteblocks and when the player plays noteblocks (Dankis, 2021)
lengthy analysis and speculation continues under cut
So what does this add to the game?
I’m sure you’ve heard it being described as a flying hopper, with the potential to create new sorting systems, of which I wholeheartedly agree. The allay, assuming it can hold more than a couple items at a time, can help automate the sorting process, especially if your inventory is full or you’re strapped for time. Or help manage item overflow for farms, which I find particularly interesting, because I didn’t know a way to fix that which didn’t involve re-wiring redstone or adding extra hoppers. (Ashcroft, 2021)
On top of this, it adds another flying mob to the game, as well as adding a use for note blocks outside of actual music making. This little guy also dances! I don’t know about you, but after the parrot, I really wanted another dancing mob. Not only is it just cute, but it also adds personality to a mob. It shows a kind of intelligence that isn’t seen in most mobs, who only react to the player or certain stimuli, like food, pain, etc. it’s nice to see mobs interact with the world like that.
What does this mean for the Minecraft storyline? (this is all speculation, theory and fiction, there is no explicit “canonical” storyline)
First, this contributes to the theory/storyline that illagers are evil magicians/versions of villagers, that corrupt and manipulate creatures and magic (I first saw this theory in this video, but if anyone knows if someone else talked about it first, please let me know!). The allay is basically the polar opposite of the vex, even down to its name (that post goes into a lot more detail, I highly suggest checking it out):
allay: to subdue or reduce in intensity or severity: ALLEVIATE or to make quiet: CALM (Allay, n.d.)
vex: to bring trouble, distress, or agitation to or to bring physical distress to (Vex, n.d.)
The allay would assist the player, whereas the vex actively seeks the player out to harm them. The allay is also blue, a colour associated with souls in this game*, whereas the vex is desaturated blue/grey, with grey veins (I believe they are veins, however, on closer inspection, they seem more like random markings). Even the facial expressions are different! The allay is visibly calm, while the vex has a manic grin, with eyebrows that resemble their summoner’s.
(Magic Theory 003 - Allay and Vex Comparision, 2021)
*this also contributes to the theory that vexes are souls, summoned by an evoker. Perhaps vexes are corrupted allays/souls that evokers use to attack players?
Speculative uses/facts for the allay? (again, this is just speculation, as of my writing this, none of these are confirmed)
What does the allay do when not carrying an object? Would they follow the player or float around, doing their own thing?
I presume other mobs would not attack them unprovoked. But maybe the vex might, as they are opposites
When killed, the allay drops the items it's holding (assuming we can kill it like we can a vex)
We can see the items it’s holding
We can see if there are one or multiple items
The allay is a similar size to a vex
What do you think? Anything I missed or got wrong?
Sources
Merriam Webster. n.d. Allay. [online] Available at: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allay>
Ashcroft, H., 2021. Minecraft Live: Everything You Need To Know About The Allay. [online] TheGamer. Available at: <https://www.thegamer.com/minecraft-allay-details/>
Tumblr. 2021. Magic Theory 003 - Allay and Vex Comparision. [online] Available at: <https://its-skelly.tumblr.com/post/664896665174622208/magic-theory-003-allay-and-vex-comparision>
Merriam Webster. n.d. Vex. [online] Available at: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vex>
