After four long years, Mojang is finally making copper useful in Minecraft in its big September update

Starting on September 30, Minecraft’s least useful ore is getting some long-awaited new crafting recipes. The Copper Age game drop, which was announced back in August, finally got a full reveal and release date during Minecraft Live on Saturday.

This update will introduce a slew of new copper items to the game including weapons, tools, armor, horse armor, chests, lanterns, torches, chains, and bars. There will also be a new copper golem mob that autonomously organizes items you leave in copper chests into nearby regular chests. Like other copper items, the golems can oxidize and change color over time.

While I wish I could have made all of those copper items when the ore was first added to the game in 2021, better late than never. Copper tools and gear have been in Java mods for a while now, so it’s nice to see them officially added to the vanilla version.

Copper is much easier to find early on in a new Minecraft world than iron, so this update will make it easier to gear up right after spawning into a new game. While it’s pretty time consuming mining and smelting copper for building, its abundance at surface level in the overworld makes it perfect for crafting starting gear. The copper gear will be more durable than leather, but slightly less durable than iron.

Copper Age also includes the new shelf item, which allows you to display up to three items and quickly swap them in and out of your hotbar. The shelves, along with copper lanterns, will be welcome additions for players who like to focus on building and decorating. I can see all the copper decor and the little copper golem looking great in steampunk-style builds.

The Copper Age update will arrive on September 30, followed by the Mounts of Mayhem game drop coming during the holiday season later this year. Mounts of Mayhem introduces the new spear weapon, which is crafted with two sticks and an ingot (arranged diagonally on the crafting table). There’s a whole new attack set for the spear, but its most intriguing use is in mounted combat, such as jousting on horseback.

Finally, along with the spear, Mounts of Mayhem will also include zombie horse riders (who also have spears), zombie horses, mounted drowned, and a new rideable underwater mob called the nautilus. Described as “the happy ghast of the sea,” the nautilus is a type of mollusk that looks a bit like a squid with a shell. They’re tamed using pufferfish and allow you to travel faster underwater without diminishing your air supply. Like a horse, you can even equip your nautilus with armor. The new mounted drowned ride zombie nautilus.