Ambient Mobs.... Are They a BAD Thing?

Bat Bad?

Since its addition in 2012, the Bat has become the subject of much opprobrium as the most pointless and useless mob in Minecraft. Serving absolutely no purpose other than existing and flying in your face, no drops, no XP, broken AI... many have questioned why this mob was even created in the first place. Heck, in my complete ranking of all mobs in Minecraft, I ranked bats as the 2nd WORST mob in Minecraft, 2nd only to the Endermite! 

The Bat is the only mob in Minecraft that is purely, 100% ambient. It has absolutely no greater purpose or drops. It doesn't interact with the player in any way or have any mechanics. Even the Endermite drops XP on death, the Bat drops none. It serves literally NO purpose other than to just be there and add some atmosphere to caves.

Part of why the Bat is so hated and ostracised may be because it is the only mob that is truly 100% "useless", and is one the player will encounter often. Every time we see it, it reminds us that it is truly one-of-a-kind in not needing to exist. We may hate on the Bat because a purely ambient mob is not normal for Minecraft. Every mob serves SOME use - from giving us God Totems, to meat, to potion ingredients, to acting as modes of transport, to ink sacs, to just a little bit of experience. The Bat sticks out like a sore thumb for having literally no use whatsoever. If there existed other mobs of a similar category, the Bat wouldn't seem like such a resounding exception.

I mean, with all these things it is also heavily about how it's executed - and there is no doubt Bats are not the best-implemented mob in the game as they keep killing themselves in lava.

Pseudo-Ambient Mobs And What They Add

Some mobs in Minecraft which are deemed "useless" are actually mobs that are mostly ambient, but do occasionally yield something useful (that can often be easily obtained through other means). These are some of the "real-world animals", such as Pandas, Ocelots, Turtles, Parrots, Foxes, and Polar Bears. These six mobs in particular offer very little, almost nothing in fact, other than ambience and adding life into the game. They are probably the closest to the Bat in terms of being PURE ambience. And it's no surprise that these mobs are also often touted as being "useless" and not needing to exist.

The common complaint is that these pseudo-ambient mobs were added for the sake of it. And they're right. They were added for the sake of adding mobs. But is that a bad thing?

Don't get me wrong, I would not want Minecraft to become totally swamped with 2000 different real-life animals that serve little purpose, but adding a new animal here and there I really don't see the problem with. It does make Minecraft feel more alive. Exotic animals such as the Panda and Polar Bear are always a treat to find, as many of these pseudo-ambient mobs are biome-specific. The main point of these mobs is to make certain biomes feel more alive, and almost as a way to reward you with finding the biome. All of these mobs have unique characters, which definitely add some excitement to the game. They may not have good drops or mechanics that will help you in a survival world, but they are interesting in their own right. 

Lots of people take it upon themselves to make Minecraft Zoos. In doing so, they travel to every biome to find and recruit these animals, and bring them back to their base. This shows that these mobs can encourage players to explore. Who doesn't want to show their friends their amazing rare Arctic Fox they traveled 4000 blocks there and back to get??

On a side note, a lot of these animals are endangered, and their presence in Minecraft DOES raise awareness of them.

So yeah, these mobs aren't entirely useless. But obviously, when compared to highly useful mobs, they won't rank highly. And in the same vein, the Bat is there to add some life to the caves but won't be in anyone's top 20 any time soon.

Could Minecraft Do With MORE Ambient Mobs?

As I stated earlier, the Bat wouldn't stick out like such a sore thumb if there were more mobs like it. Mobs like Butterflies or Fireflies in Plains biomes or Rats in Villages (which get hunted by Cats) would just make the game feel that bit more alive. Maybe a new Jungle animal or two, since the Jungle is meant to be full of life. Maybe some small fiery worm native to the Nether. The possibilities are really endless.

I wouldn't want to see TONNES of these mobs, but it would definitely be just nice. Nice to be walking through a field and seeing several butterflies chilling. It would be funny to see games of Cat & Mouse going on in the background when trading with Villagers. To see Jungle Temples infested with Termites. To see Deer chilling in the Birch Forest which has no exclusive mob. To see generic Birds soaring in the skies. To see Fireflies lighting up the night in some biomes (glowing in the same way Glow Squid don't glow).

They wouldn't serve any real purpose, they would just make the game feel more alive, and that's definitely a good thing. The world of Minecraft can feel very static at times, and these so-called "bandaid" mobs would help make the world seem more dynamic, especially if they interact with each-other and other already-existing mobs.

But again, all this should be in moderation. 5 more mobs like this added over several updates could be cool, but ending up with 50 mobs that are just there would be a bit much.

And of course, this all depends on their execution. Even Butterflies have the potential to be bad if they constantly fly in the player's face or spawn like wildfire in farms or builds.

But we all know if any of these mobs were added, all the kids would whine so Mojang probably won't add more ambient mobs.