I'm reposting this idea from 2014 with only a few minor changes, so bear with me if anything is dated. For those that are still here, here's what it is and why it is. Dinnerbone has been looking for a cool idea for a 6th type of major tool niche FOREVER. When I read his tweet about this several months back, I too began to ponder the meaning of life and the importance of the cosmos. One day a star fell from the heavens and punched me in the face with an idea - the sickle.
-INTRODUCTION-
No - it is not the hoe. You will want to waste your diamonds on a sickle, unlike the hoe. I mention the hoe since both are somewhat farm-oriented. The hoe is used to till soil, but the sickle actually does the harvesting (and much, much more). I was originally going to make this post about giving the hoe a few of these qualities, but I realized that it would make no sense for a hoe to perform said tasks, and thus the sickle was born. The big thing about this suggestion is that it's suggesting a new tool that ISN'T just a new weapon or a tool that takes the properties of already-existing tools; this is, as I already mentioned, an entirely new niche.
-TOOL DAMAGE-
The sickle would do less damage than the sword at every tier, but also swing slightly faster due to its small size. It would do 5.5 attack damage (same as the shovel) at the diamond tier and, again, swing slightly faster than the sword to make it viable as a weapon, while still keeping the sword as the combat king.
-USE #1: FARMING-
The sickle, while relatively useful as an improvised weapon simply by nature and design (it's a harvesting tool with a GIANT, CURVED BLADE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle), actually has a very peaceful niche - you harvest things. No - this does not mean that you can no longer use your hands. You can most certainly use your hands, but it makes it a bit more difficult and time-consuming as you have to collect the seeds and replant the crop (as it always has been in Minecraft). Before I continue, let me say that it should take time to break crops with your fist and you should very rarely get seeds from it (see http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/2633026-overhaul-farming/) With the sickle, whenever you left-click (attack) a crop, you get the crop, but, instead of disappearing and dropping seeds, the crop instead just gets cut down to its base (you still have a chance of getting seeds depending on tier - your fists have a 2.5% chance, wood has a 5% chance, stone has 15% chance, iron has a 40% chance, diamond has a 75% chance, and gold has a 95% chance) and begins growing again, saving you the time of planting the seeds yourself. This seems lame, but is actually very useful and handy. This is also not the only use of the sickle. Like the sword (deals damage and removes cobwebs), bow (deals damage and activates redstone), and axe (harvests wood and deals damage), the sickle is a multipurpose tool.
-USE #2: SEED COLLECTION-
When you harvest a crop, you (might) get the seeds and the crop (always) regrows without having to be replanted. The same goes for wild plants. If you break tall grass with the sickle, the tall grass is not completely removed but is instead cut down to two pixels high and will regrow, but WAIT; THERE'S MORE! I forgot to mention that you have a chance to get wheat seeds from doing this. However, as is mentioned in my "Overhaul Farming" post, you should no longer get seeds from breaking tall grass with your fist and should instead require the use of a tool to collect the seeds. Yup! If you break any wild, seed-bearing plant (there's only two in Minecraft as of this post, sorry; 5/3/14 - never forget) with a sickle, you will have whatever chance the tier of sickle you are using has of getting their corresponding crop/seed and the plant will always just grow back. If you break a fern or any flower, however, you'll get nothing (it will still regrow), as collecting plants is a niche already taken by the shears. There is an exception to the collection thing, though - if you break a tall fern, you'll always get a small fern. That is because small ferns can take bone meal to become a large fern, so they technically count as "crops".
-USE #3: TREE DROP COLLECTION-
If you break leaves with a sickle, they will disappear and will not regrow, but they are more likely drop a sapling, and, in the cases of oak, dark oak, and jungle trees, are more likely to drop their rare drop. If you break oak/dark oak leaves with a sickle, your chances of getting an apple are increased. Breaking jungle leaves gives a higher chance for a sapling and cocoa beans. The perk of the golden sickle is that it makes Skyblock and other specialized survivals easier as trees don't always drop saplings. The chances for saplings and rare drops are:
-Wood: 5% Sapling - 0.5% Rare Drop
-Stone: 7.5% Sapling - 1% Rare Drop
-Iron: 10% Sapling - 1.5% Rare Drop
-Diamond: 12.5% Sapling - 3% Rare Drop
-Gold: 15% Sapling - 5% Rare Drop
-USE #4: LANDSCAPING-
Ever get tired of your yard? This requires a ton of upkeep, but, since the sickle simply cuts plants that it breaks down to 1/8th of a block tall, you could use it to make it look like you cut your lawn. Of course, if you wanted it to remain this way, it would become an actual chore to keep the plants cut, so this is not recommended. It's possible, but really, really not recommended.
-POSSIBLE ENCHANTMENTS-
This is just a list of enchantments that could go onto the sickle if you guys like the idea (which you probably will if you're actually still reading):
Fortune: Increases amount of seeds and crops harvested per use.
Unbreaking
Sharpness: It's a sickle. This should be obvious.
Smite
Bane of Arthropods
Weed Whacking: As sickles are designed to effectively cut plants, and creepers are plants... It's basically Smite/BoA for creepers. I think the sickle deserves a special enchantment of its own, and creeper-killing fits the harvesting theme perfectly.
Looting
Fire Aspect
Knockback
Efficiency: Plants grow back more quickly after being cut.
-GAME BALANCE-
The sickle may seem extremely overpowered, but I assure you that it is only my imagination that is overpowered. The sickle actually isn't as overpowered as it sounds.
Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions for my suggestion ("yo dawg..."), questions, feedback, or criticism, PLEASE be sure to share it. I probably should have posted it here, first, but I just put it straight onto Reddit. If it doesn't do well, I'll submit it to Reddit again after seeing all the feedback here and changing it accordingly.
Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/minecraftsuggestions/comments/6esru0/the_6th_major_tool_niche_the_sickle/
I definitely like the idea of a tool designed for harvesting crops (and an extra weapon of sorts) however I don't think tree drop collection and landscaping are necessities, and could be left out. I also think looting, fire aspect and knockback enchantments should be exempt from being applied to a sickle.
I think the second crafting recipe should be used, it just looks the most aesthetically pleasing imo.
Aside from the features I listed above, I support the idea of sickles being added into the game.
If we're going to add a tool specifically for harvestwork, maybe it shouldn't actually break the plant? Just have it cause an item drop and reset the plant back to state 0. Even if we kept the block-breaking, perhaps the sickle's big trick could be to autoplant the harvested plant's seed (breaking a wheat block would attempt to replant a seed)
Perhaps also tweak enchant effects based on tool...you could surely put fortune 3 on a shovel, but harvesting wheat with a shovel probably shouldn't get you more wheat (or at least not as much as the sickle).
At first I was expecting a badly done suggestion, that would be either useless or overpowered, but I actually like this suggestion. Now I don't have to get a hundred seeds from clearing out an area for construction. My only problem with suggestions for new tools is that the player will quickly run out of space in the hotbar for blocks and items.
Mostly Support.
Although, could you please make the title not be in all caps, and not put every paragraph in spoilers? It makes it a pain to read.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My avatar is a texture from a small block game I made in Python. It's not very good and it probably won't work if you install it.
I'm very alone in my Minecraft worlds as I don't have a very good internet connection to run a server. If you're like me, you might be interested in my Posse mod suggestion.
Ehh I don't think this is all that needed but I can get behind it anyway. It has enough originality and development for me to support.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Yeah, that guy in the avatar is me. I'm *that* strange. It happens. Sometimes people act like that. Just go with it. I can offer help with suggestions even before you post them - NOT make your suggestions - but help you with them.
Yeah I like it. I would kind of rather it all be lumped into the Hoe tool even though it wouldn't make as much sense, because it would make the hoe useful after you've made your little garden.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
If we're going to add a tool specifically for harvestwork, maybe it shouldn't actually break the plant? Just have it cause an item drop and reset the plant back to state 0. Even if we kept the block-breaking, perhaps the sickle's big trick could be to autoplant the harvested plant's seed (breaking a wheat block would attempt to replant a seed)
Perhaps also tweak enchant effects based on tool...you could surely put fortune 3 on a shovel, but harvesting wheat with a shovel probably shouldn't get you more wheat (or at least not as much as the sickle).
That's exactly what I said the tool does, haha. Read it again; I said that the sickle wouldn't break the plant, but would instead simply cut it down to 1/8th of a block high, and it would then begin to regrow.
-Wood: 5% Sapling - 0.5% Rare Drop
-Stone: 7.5% Sapling - 1% Rare Drop
-Iron: 10% Sapling - 1.5% Rare Drop
-Diamond: 12.5% Sapling - 3% Rare Drop
-Gold: 15% Sapling - 5% Rare Drop
Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions for my suggestion ("yo dawg..."), questions, feedback, or criticism, PLEASE be sure to share it. I probably should have posted it here, first, but I just put it straight onto Reddit. If it doesn't do well, I'll submit it to Reddit again after seeing all the feedback here and changing it accordingly.
Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/minecraftsuggestions/comments/6esru0/the_6th_major_tool_niche_the_sickle/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/6esuve/the_6th_major_tool_niche_the_sickle_still_looking/
http://www.minecraft...d-mob-spawning/
I definitely like the idea of a tool designed for harvesting crops (and an extra weapon of sorts) however I don't think tree drop collection and landscaping are necessities, and could be left out. I also think looting, fire aspect and knockback enchantments should be exempt from being applied to a sickle.
I think the second crafting recipe should be used, it just looks the most aesthetically pleasing imo.
Aside from the features I listed above, I support the idea of sickles being added into the game.
Thanks for the support! Any criticisms or things to add to it?
http://www.minecraft...d-mob-spawning/
If we're going to add a tool specifically for harvestwork, maybe it shouldn't actually break the plant? Just have it cause an item drop and reset the plant back to state 0. Even if we kept the block-breaking, perhaps the sickle's big trick could be to autoplant the harvested plant's seed (breaking a wheat block would attempt to replant a seed)
Perhaps also tweak enchant effects based on tool...you could surely put fortune 3 on a shovel, but harvesting wheat with a shovel probably shouldn't get you more wheat (or at least not as much as the sickle).
At first I was expecting a badly done suggestion, that would be either useless or overpowered, but I actually like this suggestion. Now I don't have to get a hundred seeds from clearing out an area for construction. My only problem with suggestions for new tools is that the player will quickly run out of space in the hotbar for blocks and items.
Mostly Support.
Although, could you please make the title not be in all caps, and not put every paragraph in spoilers? It makes it a pain to read.
My avatar is a texture from a small block game I made in Python. It's not very good and it probably won't work if you install it.
I'm very alone in my Minecraft worlds as I don't have a very good internet connection to run a server. If you're like me, you might be interested in my Posse mod suggestion.
Ehh I don't think this is all that needed but I can get behind it anyway. It has enough originality and development for me to support.
Yeah, that guy in the avatar is me. I'm *that* strange. It happens. Sometimes people act like that. Just go with it. I can offer help with suggestions even before you post them - NOT make your suggestions - but help you with them.
Unofficial Suggestions Guide (2.0) - by Theriasis
Unofficial Critics Guide - by yoshi9048
Yeah I like it. I would kind of rather it all be lumped into the Hoe tool even though it wouldn't make as much sense, because it would make the hoe useful after you've made your little garden.
Want some advice on how to thrive in the Suggestions section? Check this handy list of guidelines and tips for posting your ideas and responding to the ideas of others!
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2775557-guidelines-for-the-suggestions-forum
That's exactly what I said the tool does, haha. Read it again; I said that the sickle wouldn't break the plant, but would instead simply cut it down to 1/8th of a block high, and it would then begin to regrow.
http://www.minecraft...d-mob-spawning/