Should there be an aquatic rust monster threat?

[DeanF]

I mean in the ocean, not in lakes.  And mundane animals like sharks, of course.  Both only over deep water, since what I think would be desirable is to discourage long deep-water swims.

Or is the sea supposed to be a peaceful, idyllic place?

[LadyWYT]

Diving bell. 

39 minutes ago, DeanF said:

Or is the sea supposed to be a peaceful, idyllic place?

I don't think that the ocean is supposed to be peaceful, given that in reality the ocean is a rather treacherous place. However, aquatic content hasn't been fleshed out very much yet, so until there's more reason for the player to be out on the water or a way for players to really explore underwater, there's not a lot of reason to add aquatic monsters.

When it comes to aquatic rust monsters, I'm not sure they're really needed, outside of maybe some kinda of rogue automaton guarding a shipwreck or underwater ruin. The water shouldn't necessarily be a default "safe zone" for the player when it comes to dealing with monsters, but I think most players probably will get annoyed if they're assaulted by monsters on land and sea, annoyed if they lose their sailboats/cargo to monsters, or might otherwise find the challenge uninteresting if it's the same type of challenge posed by land monsters. Thus I think it's better to stick to more natural threats when it comes to the ocean, like sharks, squids, jellyfish, etc, as well as the good ol' oxygen meter. Sharks aren't typically dangerous themselves, but injured players would definitely want to stay out of the water lest the scent of blood send the sharks into a frenzy. Jellyfish stings can be lethal. Squids can be terrifying, especially the Humboldt squid, and would be good candidates for potentially hunting the player. Octopus don't tend to be aggressive, but some of them are extremely venomous, and they can also be curious...which can be dangerous since they don't exactly understand how diving equipment works. As for oxygen, even with diving equipment, the player can still drown easily enough if they get too greedy or get lost in underwater caves.

[Calmest_of_lakes]

On 5/10/2026 at 3:40 PM, LadyWYT said:

but I think most players probably will get annoyed if they're assaulted by monsters on land and sea, annoyed if they lose their sailboats/cargo to monsters, or might otherwise find the challenge uninteresting if it's the same type of challenge posed by land monsters.

thats why some people were annoyed by the 1.12 Minecraft update, because your peaceful seaside villa being swamped by drowned gets old hella fast (me, im that person)

 

also the sea does seem to be a safe zone of sorts in the lore considering thats how the merchants survived you know what 

[Perdido Street]

4 hours ago, Calmest_of_lakes said:

thats why some people were annoyed by the 1.12 Minecraft update, because your peaceful seaside villa being swamped by drowned gets old hella fast (me, im that person)

Maybe it would be possible to borrow from the better part of that update; Instead of creating a new unique rust monster, have the normal mobs' appearance vary based on biome: dripping with sea-weed on the coast, spattered with mud in the forest, or covered with snow in the winter (like the player character's model gets when cold). It would be a purely aesthetic rather than mechanical change.

For the monsters that spawn in from portals or storms this wouldn't affect them, but the ones that come out at night are presumably meant to have been wandering around for a while.

Edited May 13 by Perdido Street
spelling

[Perdido Street]

5 hours ago, Calmest_of_lakes said:

also the sea does seem to be a safe zone of sorts in the lore considering thats how the merchants survived you know what 

ngl, independent of if it should or shouldn't happen, that seems like the exact reason a rust beast might be added to the sea. 

The fact that the merchant fleet is such a big part of the lore pretty much guarantees that "shipwrecks" are going to appear in-game at some point. Either they will be procedurally generated world features (like the ruins/dungeons), or more likely the setting of a future story chapter (which have all come with new enemies and a boss so far).

Edited May 13 by Perdido Street
clarification