Copper is being added to the game- but thusfar, there seem to be not too many uses for it. Aside some cool decorative blocks, and a pair of useful items- (The lightning rods and spyglasses), it seems to be a bit lacking- especially when compared to the other metals. From what we have gathered so far about copper, it is used for some unusual purposes- though, admittedly, there isn't much to go of thusfar. It seems unlikely that Mojang will stop there- and, herein, I wanted to compile various ideas for how copper could be given more uses that would fit well with Vanilla Minecraft. Some of these ideas are my own, others have been noted or adapted from other threads, and some are essentially just features on various mods.
What ideas do you have regarding copper? I intend to update this post with new ideas as they come, and would greatly appreciate feedback. It's been a while since a proper new metal was introduced to the game, (Well, it depends on whether you count Netherite- I do), and Copper provides an exciting new opportunity to expand the possibilities of the game.
Copper armour has been suggested in several different forms. The problem I see right now is that it doesn't serve any particular niche- copper is (apparently) going to be more common than iron, but iron is easy enough to find that it doesn't make sense to add another tier between iron and leather. (Partly because, aside for decoration, leather armor isn't the most practical- even with the upcoming addition of powdered snow.) If copper armor were to be added, it ought to have some sort of special niche of its own. Also keep in mind that these wouldn't have to be mutually exclusive. Some ideas include:
-Copper Armor doesn't have a regular durability bar- instead, it rusts gradually over time like copper blocks. This means that copper armor could be made as or more durable than iron, (Not particularly realistic, admittedly), but would degrade quicker than iron, regardless of whether or not you used it. (This would be a bit annoying, but would mean that copper would be a very useful early game metal.) Waxed copper armor could also be made w/ a normal durability bar.
-Copper Armor can be charged using lightning. Lightning rods could be hooked up to networks of copper blocks that would transmit its power. Some sort of special block could then be used to... store, lightning charges, maybe? Once charged, copper armor becomes significantly more powerful than other sets, offering a speed speed, jumping boost, haste, etc. However, the charge is limited in time- and becomes fatal if you touch water while your armor is charged. (Rain, perhaps, simply causes the charge to degrade faster.)
-My personal favorite, copper armor could be made to have a proficiency... for copper. In order to encourage players to use copper in their builds, copper armor, while weaker than iron, would give a significant speed and jump boost when adjacent to copper blocks. Copper boosts and leggings would increase speed when running on copper, whereas the helmet and chestplate would allow the player to climb upward when adjacent to copper blocks. This could result in interesting networks of copper, 'copper highways,' so to speak, through bases- and would make copper the armor of choice for quickly getting around your base.
This has been mentioned such a surprising number of times, I think it sort of goes without saying. Players should be able to use the smithing table to combine a crossbow and a spyglass- or maybe even a normal bow and a spyglass- resulting in a scoped variant. This would... in addition to being really cool, allow players to finally live their dream of sniping creepers from alarming distances. Frankly, no further explanation is nessasary.
Copper could be used to make new improvements to farming. That being said, I would be hesitant about suggesting such things- if only because I sense many players would disapprove of new additions to the existing systems in the game. That being said, the goal here would be to offer new alternatives and possibilities for farms, rather than to invalidate older designs.
-A Copper Pulsar could act like an Item magnet- and could be set to pull items (Or mobs) near it when powered, or to push them away depending on its polarization. This would be a life saver for dealing with mob drops or simply the mobs themselves- but should be more expensive than, say, dumping some water in a chute.
-A Copper Rod could be a rare and powerful late game item that, when pushed against a block... breaks that block. Let that sink in for a moment. Up until now, the only real way to set up, say, an automatic quarry in Minecraft is to build redstone bombers- which are complicated, and feel a little exploity, at least to me. Crafted from an end rod and copper, this would act like a drill, and, (Perhaps as a balancing mechanic), might break over time, but could automatically be supplied with more copper to repair it. (I know I just suggested that one of the problems with existing automatic mining is that it requires a redstone genius to make it work... but that being said, you don't want just any player with a copper rod being able to make an automatic tunnel boring machine that goes forever.)
-A Copper Hopper, (That rhymes! But it sounds a little silly, maybe just call it a chute or something), could be used to add new levels of automation to farming- that is, levels other than enslaving villagers to do your farming for you- which, (At least to my knowledge), is the only way to automatically farm things like wheat or root vegetables. The Copper Hopper, (Yeah, I'm just going to call it a chute), would have some unique properties. Namely, it can be pushed by pistons, and can plant crops on farmland directly below it. (A simpler way would be to simply allow dispensers to plant crops, but we're here today to talk about copper!) This would unlock a variety of interesting auto farm designs. Having experimented with such a mechanic through mods, I can say with some certainty that this works pretty well.
-Copper Item Pipes, would probably seem like something out of a mod- if they weren't done properly! I like the way Quark does item pipes- that is, the pipes are a simple block made from iron ingots and glass. Like hoppers, they transport items. Pipes pathfind based on a simple set of rules- for example, items always flow downwards, go straight at a three way intersection, or select a random direction at a two way intersection. Hoppers, of course, are still necessary to put items into pipes and insert them back into chests- you just don't need so many of them to make a simple supersmelter or sorting system.
This is one of my own ideas- and (invariably), one of my favorites- if a bit odd. The idea goes something like this: Shulkers can shoot things. Dispensers can shoot things. Let's mash them together and see what happens! (You can check out the original thread here)
...It is, actually, more or less that simple. Combining a dispenser with two shulker shells, some copper, and maybe some amethyst or redstone, results in a Shulker Turret- which is sort of like a shulker, save in that it isn't obnoxiously shooting you all the time. Shulker Turrets, by default, can hold three stacks of projectiles, and will automatically try and shoot down any hostiles within their range. It requires a redstone signal in order to open, and, like a shulker box, retains its contents when picked up. (This means that in a tight spot, you can drop down a bunch of loaded turrets, and watch the fireworks. Endermen and creepers, however, will try and break the turret. (Players can also break them moderately quickly using a pickaxe.)
However, that doesn't really seem worth the trouble- by the time you're capable of building the turret, you aren't really going to be worried about defending yourself from weaker mobs. Thus, where the Shulker Turret really shines is in Multiplayer Servers- in which it offers players the ability to defend their base, even if they aren't there.
Which brings us to the aiming system- by placing different mineral blocks adjacent to the shulker turret, you can change what it aims at. (This isn't going to be at all consistent with my original thread, but...) When no block is adjacent, the turret only targets hostiles. With an emerald block adjacent to it, the turret will attack anyone who hasn't 'bonded' to it while closed- (That is, everyone at your base could bond with the turret, meaning it would attack anyone who wasn't a member of your faction, as well as hostiles.) With a gold block adjacent, the turret will attack anything within range. And, with a Lapiz block adjacent, the turret will only target players. (Useful for arenas, but little else.) Quartz, perhaps, would cause it to only target passive mobs- though this isn't particularly useful.
Turrets like this would be invaluable for base builders and PVP fanatics alike. Imagine trying to brave the imposing entrance of a base- when out of nowhere, turrets extrude from hidden nodes in the ceiling! There are, obviously, problems with this idea- namely, it's fairly simple for players to build walls to take cover from the turrets- or simply go around. For this reason, turrets can be loaded with all manner of projectiles. Arrows, tipped arrows, throwing potions, eggs, fire charges, fireworks, snowballs... dynamite. That being said, a turret loaded with TNT would only be able to shoot a very short range. There could even be additional mechanics, where loading a turret with certain items offers certain benefits, at the expense of an ammo slot. (Such as a Heart of the sea giving the turret the Guardian's laser ability.)
...Yes, this is a bit loosely related to copper- but that is just what copper is- an opportunity to go beyond the existing mechanics of the game to introduce unusual and useful new ideas.
...Essentially a version of the stonecutter that works on wood. ...That's pretty much it. The Kiln would be like the blast furnace- but would only smelt stone types, (With increased speed and efficiency.) It's irritating to be able to smelt metals and foods faster- but none of the other things you use a furnace for.
Instead of having its own unique armor set, copper could be used to provide reinforcement for iron and leather. Reinforcement would increase the maximum durability, and would also give a new use to the smithing table. This could consist of an entirely new smithing system too- with different sorts of reinforcement offering different benefits. Gold, for example, wouldn't increase durability, but would make cool 'gilded' armor that can have more enchantments. Iron would increase protection, but not durability, and diamonds, (If you're willing to use them on your existing diamond armor, or other armor sets), would offer all three benefits. Netherite, perhaps, could give additional protection and fire resistance effects, particularly if used on nettherite armor.) ('Reinforced' armor for copper, 'Studded' armor for iron, 'Gilded' armor for gold, and 'Forged' armor for netherite.)
Finally, instead of using ingots, (Which could wind up being too cheap), it might make more sense to use blocks of each material, in order to offer better benefits. Alternatively, there could be multiple levels of each type, each requiring more metal.
Another possible application for copper is in the world of traps. This could consist of retractable Copper Spikes- a block that has spikes protrude from it when it receives a redstone signal. These spikes could damage players if they're standing on the block when the spikes come out, and would do additional damage if the player jumps or lands on the spikes- walking through the spikes, however, would not result in damage. The blocks themselves are difficult to distingusih from normal copper blocks- at least from the top.
Another possibility is that, when in contact with redstone signals, adjacent copper blocks, (Within reasonable limits), become electrically charged- perhaps they change color slightly to show this. Stepping on a charged copper block would deal a very large amount of shock damage, especially if the player is wearing metal armor. This would, admittedly, be annoying when working with redstone- as such, any of the corroded versions of copper would not carry charge.
The main problem with this idea is that it becomes somewhat silly when you think about it- if you walk into a room you're not supposed to be in, and notice the floor consists of copper, it's a safe bet that it consists of spikes or is charged. For the electrical shock, this makes sense seeing as the damage would be considerable, and would thus allow for charged fences, (which would look particularly nice if a copper bar variant of iron bars were added.) For spikes, spikes could be able to protrude through snow and carpet- allowing the trap to be hidden.
Instead of trying to think where traditional copper weapons might fit in the skill tree, I tried to think of some new applications for copper that would fit, (sort of), with Vanilla Minecraft. This is what my thought process turned out:
Copper Chakrams would be a unique new weapon that could add some interesting aspects to PVP. Made using six copper and two diamonds in a ring pattern, the Chakram is sort of like a boomerang- while it can be used in close combat, it does less damage than an iron sword, and has a shorter range. The Chakram can be thrown a short distance, and returns to the player whenever possible- regardless of whether it hits a mob or bounces off a wall. The Chakram does considerable damage, (About as much as a bow), but is shorter ranged, and can be thrown more quickly. Their durability isn't the greatest, but they can be easily repaired with copper.
To make Chakrams even more interesting, a chakram, (Like an arrow), can be imbued with a potion effect- however, it only applies the potion effect to a single entity, and then returns as a normal chakram. (That is, unless you manage to hit multiple entities in a row with the potion-chakram. This could lead to interesting types of PVP encounters, and new layers of strategy.
Copper Spears are essentially a cheaper, craftable version of the trident. They behave in a similar manner, but have pretty low durability, with only a couple of uses- which figures, as they do a fair amount of damage, and are easy to make with a copper ingot and two sticks.
While this idea may initially seem like a glorified version of pistons, I think it has a lot of potential. The concept is simple- a magnet block is added that can push or pull iron blocks, (Iron Blocks, Iron Bars, etc; as well as whatever blocks are on the Iron surface, facing in the direction the magnet is pushing) towards its polarized face. The difference from pistons quickly becomes clear- the magnet can push things from a range of, say, a dozen blocks- and can pull things from that same range.
This unlocks a surprising number of new possibilities- all of which seem fairly balanced, as a fair bit of iron blocks are required to make such designs work. (It could be further balanced, say, by requiring netherite- which has already been shown to have magnetic properties via. the Lodestone.) Sliding Piston doors made easier than ever before; Elevators without any supports or tampering with flying machines; complicated redstone circuitry or memory systems based on the magnetic properties of iron! ...This practically deserves a thread on its own. And, on a side note, you could introduce magnets by using copper, netherite, and redstone, so I suppose it technically falls under this series of ideas.
Which seems as good a place as any to end for now. Please feel free to share your ideas, as I intend to regularly update this list!
Copper is being added to the game- but thusfar, there seem to be not too many uses for it. Aside some cool decorative blocks, and a pair of useful items- (The lightning rods and spyglasses), it seems to be a bit lacking- especially when compared to the other metals. From what we have gathered so far about copper, it is used for some unusual purposes- though, admittedly, there isn't much to go of thusfar. It seems unlikely that Mojang will stop there- and, herein, I wanted to compile various ideas for how copper could be given more uses that would fit well with Vanilla Minecraft. Some of these ideas are my own, others have been noted or adapted from other threads, and some are essentially just features on various mods.
What ideas do you have regarding copper? I intend to update this post with new ideas as they come, and would greatly appreciate feedback. It's been a while since a proper new metal was introduced to the game, (Well, it depends on whether you count Netherite- I do), and Copper provides an exciting new opportunity to expand the possibilities of the game.
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COPPER ARMOR
Copper armour has been suggested in several different forms. The problem I see right now is that it doesn't serve any particular niche- copper is (apparently) going to be more common than iron, but iron is easy enough to find that it doesn't make sense to add another tier between iron and leather. (Partly because, aside for decoration, leather armor isn't the most practical- even with the upcoming addition of powdered snow.) If copper armor were to be added, it ought to have some sort of special niche of its own. Also keep in mind that these wouldn't have to be mutually exclusive. Some ideas include:
-Copper Armor doesn't have a regular durability bar- instead, it rusts gradually over time like copper blocks. This means that copper armor could be made as or more durable than iron, (Not particularly realistic, admittedly), but would degrade quicker than iron, regardless of whether or not you used it. (This would be a bit annoying, but would mean that copper would be a very useful early game metal.) Waxed copper armor could also be made w/ a normal durability bar.
-Copper Armor can be charged using lightning. Lightning rods could be hooked up to networks of copper blocks that would transmit its power. Some sort of special block could then be used to... store, lightning charges, maybe? Once charged, copper armor becomes significantly more powerful than other sets, offering a speed speed, jumping boost, haste, etc. However, the charge is limited in time- and becomes fatal if you touch water while your armor is charged. (Rain, perhaps, simply causes the charge to degrade faster.)
-My personal favorite, copper armor could be made to have a proficiency... for copper. In order to encourage players to use copper in their builds, copper armor, while weaker than iron, would give a significant speed and jump boost when adjacent to copper blocks. Copper boosts and leggings would increase speed when running on copper, whereas the helmet and chestplate would allow the player to climb upward when adjacent to copper blocks. This could result in interesting networks of copper, 'copper highways,' so to speak, through bases- and would make copper the armor of choice for quickly getting around your base.
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SCOPED CROSSBOW
This has been mentioned such a surprising number of times, I think it sort of goes without saying. Players should be able to use the smithing table to combine a crossbow and a spyglass- or maybe even a normal bow and a spyglass- resulting in a scoped variant. This would... in addition to being really cool, allow players to finally live their dream of sniping creepers from alarming distances. Frankly, no further explanation is nessasary.
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FARMING W/ COPPER
Copper could be used to make new improvements to farming. That being said, I would be hesitant about suggesting such things- if only because I sense many players would disapprove of new additions to the existing systems in the game. That being said, the goal here would be to offer new alternatives and possibilities for farms, rather than to invalidate older designs.
-A Copper Pulsar could act like an Item magnet- and could be set to pull items (Or mobs) near it when powered, or to push them away depending on its polarization. This would be a life saver for dealing with mob drops or simply the mobs themselves- but should be more expensive than, say, dumping some water in a chute.
-A Copper Rod could be a rare and powerful late game item that, when pushed against a block... breaks that block. Let that sink in for a moment. Up until now, the only real way to set up, say, an automatic quarry in Minecraft is to build redstone bombers- which are complicated, and feel a little exploity, at least to me. Crafted from an end rod and copper, this would act like a drill, and, (Perhaps as a balancing mechanic), might break over time, but could automatically be supplied with more copper to repair it. (I know I just suggested that one of the problems with existing automatic mining is that it requires a redstone genius to make it work... but that being said, you don't want just any player with a copper rod being able to make an automatic tunnel boring machine that goes forever.)
-A Copper Hopper, (That rhymes! But it sounds a little silly, maybe just call it a chute or something), could be used to add new levels of automation to farming- that is, levels other than enslaving villagers to do your farming for you- which, (At least to my knowledge), is the only way to automatically farm things like wheat or root vegetables. The Copper Hopper, (Yeah, I'm just going to call it a chute), would have some unique properties. Namely, it can be pushed by pistons, and can plant crops on farmland directly below it. (A simpler way would be to simply allow dispensers to plant crops, but we're here today to talk about copper!) This would unlock a variety of interesting auto farm designs. Having experimented with such a mechanic through mods, I can say with some certainty that this works pretty well.
-Copper Item Pipes, would probably seem like something out of a mod- if they weren't done properly! I like the way Quark does item pipes- that is, the pipes are a simple block made from iron ingots and glass. Like hoppers, they transport items. Pipes pathfind based on a simple set of rules- for example, items always flow downwards, go straight at a three way intersection, or select a random direction at a two way intersection. Hoppers, of course, are still necessary to put items into pipes and insert them back into chests- you just don't need so many of them to make a simple supersmelter or sorting system.
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SHULKER TURRETS
This is one of my own ideas- and (invariably), one of my favorites- if a bit odd. The idea goes something like this: Shulkers can shoot things. Dispensers can shoot things. Let's mash them together and see what happens! (You can check out the original thread here)
...It is, actually, more or less that simple. Combining a dispenser with two shulker shells, some copper, and maybe some amethyst or redstone, results in a Shulker Turret- which is sort of like a shulker, save in that it isn't obnoxiously shooting you all the time. Shulker Turrets, by default, can hold three stacks of projectiles, and will automatically try and shoot down any hostiles within their range. It requires a redstone signal in order to open, and, like a shulker box, retains its contents when picked up. (This means that in a tight spot, you can drop down a bunch of loaded turrets, and watch the fireworks. Endermen and creepers, however, will try and break the turret. (Players can also break them moderately quickly using a pickaxe.)
However, that doesn't really seem worth the trouble- by the time you're capable of building the turret, you aren't really going to be worried about defending yourself from weaker mobs. Thus, where the Shulker Turret really shines is in Multiplayer Servers- in which it offers players the ability to defend their base, even if they aren't there.
Which brings us to the aiming system- by placing different mineral blocks adjacent to the shulker turret, you can change what it aims at. (This isn't going to be at all consistent with my original thread, but...) When no block is adjacent, the turret only targets hostiles. With an emerald block adjacent to it, the turret will attack anyone who hasn't 'bonded' to it while closed- (That is, everyone at your base could bond with the turret, meaning it would attack anyone who wasn't a member of your faction, as well as hostiles.) With a gold block adjacent, the turret will attack anything within range. And, with a Lapiz block adjacent, the turret will only target players. (Useful for arenas, but little else.) Quartz, perhaps, would cause it to only target passive mobs- though this isn't particularly useful.
Turrets like this would be invaluable for base builders and PVP fanatics alike. Imagine trying to brave the imposing entrance of a base- when out of nowhere, turrets extrude from hidden nodes in the ceiling! There are, obviously, problems with this idea- namely, it's fairly simple for players to build walls to take cover from the turrets- or simply go around. For this reason, turrets can be loaded with all manner of projectiles. Arrows, tipped arrows, throwing potions, eggs, fire charges, fireworks, snowballs... dynamite. That being said, a turret loaded with TNT would only be able to shoot a very short range. There could even be additional mechanics, where loading a turret with certain items offers certain benefits, at the expense of an ammo slot. (Such as a Heart of the sea giving the turret the Guardian's laser ability.)
...Yes, this is a bit loosely related to copper- but that is just what copper is- an opportunity to go beyond the existing mechanics of the game to introduce unusual and useful new ideas.
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CARPENTRY BLOCK & COPPER KILN
...Essentially a version of the stonecutter that works on wood. ...That's pretty much it. The Kiln would be like the blast furnace- but would only smelt stone types, (With increased speed and efficiency.) It's irritating to be able to smelt metals and foods faster- but none of the other things you use a furnace for.
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COPPER REINFORCEMENT
Instead of having its own unique armor set, copper could be used to provide reinforcement for iron and leather. Reinforcement would increase the maximum durability, and would also give a new use to the smithing table. This could consist of an entirely new smithing system too- with different sorts of reinforcement offering different benefits. Gold, for example, wouldn't increase durability, but would make cool 'gilded' armor that can have more enchantments. Iron would increase protection, but not durability, and diamonds, (If you're willing to use them on your existing diamond armor, or other armor sets), would offer all three benefits. Netherite, perhaps, could give additional protection and fire resistance effects, particularly if used on nettherite armor.) ('Reinforced' armor for copper, 'Studded' armor for iron, 'Gilded' armor for gold, and 'Forged' armor for netherite.)
Finally, instead of using ingots, (Which could wind up being too cheap), it might make more sense to use blocks of each material, in order to offer better benefits. Alternatively, there could be multiple levels of each type, each requiring more metal.
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COPPER TRAPS
Another possible application for copper is in the world of traps. This could consist of retractable Copper Spikes- a block that has spikes protrude from it when it receives a redstone signal. These spikes could damage players if they're standing on the block when the spikes come out, and would do additional damage if the player jumps or lands on the spikes- walking through the spikes, however, would not result in damage. The blocks themselves are difficult to distingusih from normal copper blocks- at least from the top.
Another possibility is that, when in contact with redstone signals, adjacent copper blocks, (Within reasonable limits), become electrically charged- perhaps they change color slightly to show this. Stepping on a charged copper block would deal a very large amount of shock damage, especially if the player is wearing metal armor. This would, admittedly, be annoying when working with redstone- as such, any of the corroded versions of copper would not carry charge.
The main problem with this idea is that it becomes somewhat silly when you think about it- if you walk into a room you're not supposed to be in, and notice the floor consists of copper, it's a safe bet that it consists of spikes or is charged. For the electrical shock, this makes sense seeing as the damage would be considerable, and would thus allow for charged fences, (which would look particularly nice if a copper bar variant of iron bars were added.) For spikes, spikes could be able to protrude through snow and carpet- allowing the trap to be hidden.
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COPPER WEAPONS
Instead of trying to think where traditional copper weapons might fit in the skill tree, I tried to think of some new applications for copper that would fit, (sort of), with Vanilla Minecraft. This is what my thought process turned out:
Copper Chakrams would be a unique new weapon that could add some interesting aspects to PVP. Made using six copper and two diamonds in a ring pattern, the Chakram is sort of like a boomerang- while it can be used in close combat, it does less damage than an iron sword, and has a shorter range. The Chakram can be thrown a short distance, and returns to the player whenever possible- regardless of whether it hits a mob or bounces off a wall. The Chakram does considerable damage, (About as much as a bow), but is shorter ranged, and can be thrown more quickly. Their durability isn't the greatest, but they can be easily repaired with copper.
To make Chakrams even more interesting, a chakram, (Like an arrow), can be imbued with a potion effect- however, it only applies the potion effect to a single entity, and then returns as a normal chakram. (That is, unless you manage to hit multiple entities in a row with the potion-chakram. This could lead to interesting types of PVP encounters, and new layers of strategy.
Copper Spears are essentially a cheaper, craftable version of the trident. They behave in a similar manner, but have pretty low durability, with only a couple of uses- which figures, as they do a fair amount of damage, and are easy to make with a copper ingot and two sticks.
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BLOCK MAGNETS
While this idea may initially seem like a glorified version of pistons, I think it has a lot of potential. The concept is simple- a magnet block is added that can push or pull iron blocks, (Iron Blocks, Iron Bars, etc; as well as whatever blocks are on the Iron surface, facing in the direction the magnet is pushing) towards its polarized face. The difference from pistons quickly becomes clear- the magnet can push things from a range of, say, a dozen blocks- and can pull things from that same range.
This unlocks a surprising number of new possibilities- all of which seem fairly balanced, as a fair bit of iron blocks are required to make such designs work. (It could be further balanced, say, by requiring netherite- which has already been shown to have magnetic properties via. the Lodestone.) Sliding Piston doors made easier than ever before; Elevators without any supports or tampering with flying machines; complicated redstone circuitry or memory systems based on the magnetic properties of iron! ...This practically deserves a thread on its own. And, on a side note, you could introduce magnets by using copper, netherite, and redstone, so I suppose it technically falls under this series of ideas.
Which seems as good a place as any to end for now. Please feel free to share your ideas, as I intend to regularly update this list!
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