Please read the full post as there will be edits and alternatives presented.
I've put some thought into this after finding one of my old articles on it and thinking about the flaws. At that time, potions were pretty new, and I've assembled a new thought. I'm sure this has been thought of before, but I'm not sure to what detail.
This potion is fairly practical, and follows along the lines of other potions (having different attributes with glowstone dust and redstone dust and gunpowder.)
Brewing:
The potion would require nether wart, of course, to start the potion out as an Awkward Potion.
From there, you would add a snow ball to create a Potion of Freezing. This potion has no real use now, and drinking it would freeze the player in place for a small amount of time.
Then, you would have the choice of skipping to the last stage or adding glowstone or redstone. Glowstone would have an option effect explained later. Redstone would extend the time that the target is frozen (or the player, if s/he is foolish enough to drink it.)
The last stage would be adding gunpowder. This would convert the potion to a splash potion so it could be used against mobs.
Effect:
The ultimate effect of this would be to freeze a mob in place, rather another player (in PvP situations), yourself if you just feel like cooling yourself down, or especially for hostiles. One good practical use of this would to be getting ghasts away from lava pits, freezing them then killing them, so they their loot isn't so difficult to get.
Mobs that should be unaffected however are blazes, however it should hurt them instead (maybe slightly more than a normal snowball) and perhaps magma cubes, because they are pretty much made of magma and of course, the enderdragon. This would also make fighting endermen easier, but still require a player to use snow, nether wart, and gunpowder to get the potion in the first place and require them to have gone to the nether.
Additional attributes. This would take a bit of feedback and consideration, but would affect the use of freezing a mob other than to just get away from it (like a creeper). I think of it working like a Stasis affect, and it would also give glowstone a use. What it would be is that the mob can take a certain amount of damage while frozen, perhaps like 8 points or 4 hearts at first. This would allow you to get a good hit on the mob normally. Redstone, as said before, would extend the time frozen, which may be 6 seconds normally, and extended to 12 seconds, but either lowering the damage they could take to 2 hearts, or not affecting it at all.
Glowstone would increase the amount of damage they could suffer before breaking. It wouldn't affect the time they were frozen, at 6 seconds (I considered 4 seconds originally but if you were using it to damage the mob that wouldn't give much of a window), but would up how much they could be damaged to perhaps 8 hearts. Essentially, this would let you kill most mobs, notable creepers in melee, or ghasts, before they break, if you get lucky.
Ghasts as well should fall out of the air when frozen. This again, would let you collect their loot easier, by causing them to fall onto the nether floor and quickly killing them with a sword, if you reached them fast enough and obviously got them away from lava.
The visual effect of this will be similar to that of a charged creeper. It would add a blue-ish layer over the mob, but look more like ice than electricity.
Scenarios:
I can think of a good few scenarios. The most notable one would be creepers that suddenly appear infront of you. If you had a potion on hand, you could, if fast enough, quickly throw it to freeze them and escape (in this case, the redstone potion would be best.)
Collecting ghast tears would also be easier, as I've said before, or getting cornered by zombies or killing endermen.
Alternatives:
This is some alternative ideas to what the potion does. Feel free to add to this. One good alternative, is rather than making glowstone affect damage that can be taken (and in fact just making a frozen target unfreeze if damaged at all) is allowing it to affect multiple targets. A regular or redstone version would affect the closest target hit, but with glowstone, it could affect up to three targets for 6 seconds.
Alternative Brewing:
A good point made is the fact that it would only take one snow ball to make. Considering it creates three potions, I do agree that it should take a full snow block to create, OR...
How about Ice? Ice can be collected with Silk Touch only, making it considerably more difficult to collect thus balancing out the effect. You'd have to collect an ice block with a silk touch pickaxe to brew the potion.
Also, how many of you think this should affect layers (with the PvP flag on)?
Let me know what you think!
PvP:
A lot of you are commenting on the PvP aspect of the potion. I agree that this could easily be abused, my opinion on it is that it should be created with Ice rather than snow now that we can collect ice with Silk Touch pickaxe and only affect other players with the PvP flag toggled. This would make it so ice potions are difficult to obtain thus not easily spammed. When used, the other player does have to be close, and the potion does have a limited Area of Effect range, making them considerably easy to kite.
It's a bit too easy to make, a single snowball is just far too easy.
Maybe a snow block, or something like snowball(s) mixed with a slimeball, making "ice cream" which can be eaten(2 hunger points?) or brewed(a better and less silly name could be "tundra cream").
Good idea, but i think it should not be used in pvp would be really stupid. And instead of snowballs, how about killing a snow golem drops a special block and that would be used to craft it.
It's a bit too easy to make, a single snowball is just far too easy.
Maybe a snow block, or something like snowball(s) mixed with a slimeball, making "ice cream" which can be eaten(2 hunger points?) or brewed(a better and less silly name could be "tundra cream").
Still requires gunpowder but I see what you mean. I think I'll edit it to take a snow block instead.
As far as PvP, how often is any server PvP focused compared to regular servers and single player? I was also thinking it'd require PvP to be active, or simply not affect players at all.
I don't think that this potion will be as useful as you think.
For one thing, splash potions have a really small range when compared to other throwable items. Trying to hit a ghast with one of these would be nigh on impossible, unless they were right next to you, and if that were the case you wouldn't need to use one anyway.
Also, your alternative suggestion that glowstone should make it affect more than one target doesn't make sense for a splash potion, since, by definition, splash potions 'splash', meaning that they already have an AoE aspect.
Also, freezing isn't a potion effect. There is already a slowness potion effect instead.
As a splash potion, this idea doesn't work.
Here is my suggestion. Instead of making this item a splash potion, make this item like the icy opposite of a fire charge (which I think should be throwable) and make it craftable rather than brewable, like the fire charge. Maybe snowballs, an ice block and a slimeball or something?
You can call it an ice charge. it would have the same throwing range as a snowball or enderpearl and would cause a freeze effect that would be like the opposite of the 'on fire' effect. It would immobilize the mob and if used on a player might have a vision impairment, icy effect, like fire, as well.
You could also have this effect caused by the environment. Like if you stand still for too long when it is snowing?
I don't think that this potion will be as useful as you think.
For one thing, splash potions have a really small range when compared to other throwable items. Trying to hit a ghast with one of these would be nigh on impossible, unless they were right next to you, and if that were the case you wouldn't need to use one anyway.
Also, your alternative suggestion that glowstone should make it affect more than one target doesn't make sense for a splash potion, since, by definition, splash potions 'splash', meaning that they already have an AoE aspect.
Also, freezing isn't a potion effect. There is already a slowness potion effect instead.
As a splash potion, this idea doesn't work.
Here is my suggestion. Instead of making this item a splash potion, make this item like the icy opposite of a fire charge (which I think should be throwable) and make it craftable rather than brewable, like the fire charge. Maybe snowballs, an ice block and a slimeball or something?
You can call it an ice charge. it would have the same throwing range as a snowball or enderpearl and would cause a freeze effect that would be like the opposite of the 'on fire' effect. It would immobilize the mob and if used on a player might have a vision impairment, icy effect, like fire, as well.
You could also have this effect caused by the environment. Like if you stand still for too long when it is snowing?
This is untrue. They do have a limited range, which is an intended drawback, but your claim of how difficult they are to throw is fairly inaccurate. You would most likely need to elevate yourself over the ghast, but the use of this potion is not just limited to them. It would still be helpful against creepers.
And just because it is an AoE does not mean it affects all targets in range. AoEs can have a target limit, this is demonstrated in many games and could be implemented into MineCraft, most likely without much difficulty. Being throwable (and having a minimal range) is helpful and intended. Being able to affect 3 targets instead of 1 would be a neat mechanic.
If you're suggesting potion effects can not be added, which something Mojang has already said they will most likely do, then, well, that's kind of why a suggestion to add something is a suggestion to add something. It's not working off something that already exists, why would I suggest a second slow potion?
I support I want Freezing potions! but like said before in PvP its kinda broken.
Also when you throw it as a splash potion, it should freeze the area around it also.
so blocks will get Snow on it and water will be frozen throwing it in lava would stop the lava then.
Freeze all Creepers! Freeze All Endermans! Freeze myself : D
That could be neat, throwing it at lava and it turns to cobblestone in the range of the potion.
As far as PvP, I think if it were done with Ice instead of snowballs, it would still work in PvP, as it would be considerably more difficult to obtain anyway.
I've put some thought into this after finding one of my old articles on it and thinking about the flaws. At that time, potions were pretty new, and I've assembled a new thought. I'm sure this has been thought of before, but I'm not sure to what detail.
This potion is fairly practical, and follows along the lines of other potions (having different attributes with glowstone dust and redstone dust and gunpowder.)
Brewing:
The potion would require nether wart, of course, to start the potion out as an Awkward Potion.
From there, you would add a snow ball to create a Potion of Freezing. This potion has no real use now, and drinking it would freeze the player in place for a small amount of time.
Then, you would have the choice of skipping to the last stage or adding glowstone or redstone. Glowstone would have an option effect explained later. Redstone would extend the time that the target is frozen (or the player, if s/he is foolish enough to drink it.)
The last stage would be adding gunpowder. This would convert the potion to a splash potion so it could be used against mobs.
Effect:
The ultimate effect of this would be to freeze a mob in place, rather another player (in PvP situations), yourself if you just feel like cooling yourself down, or especially for hostiles. One good practical use of this would to be getting ghasts away from lava pits, freezing them then killing them, so they their loot isn't so difficult to get.
Mobs that should be unaffected however are blazes, however it should hurt them instead (maybe slightly more than a normal snowball) and perhaps magma cubes, because they are pretty much made of magma and of course, the enderdragon. This would also make fighting endermen easier, but still require a player to use snow, nether wart, and gunpowder to get the potion in the first place and require them to have gone to the nether.
Additional attributes. This would take a bit of feedback and consideration, but would affect the use of freezing a mob other than to just get away from it (like a creeper). I think of it working like a Stasis affect, and it would also give glowstone a use. What it would be is that the mob can take a certain amount of damage while frozen, perhaps like 8 points or 4 hearts at first. This would allow you to get a good hit on the mob normally. Redstone, as said before, would extend the time frozen, which may be 6 seconds normally, and extended to 12 seconds, but either lowering the damage they could take to 2 hearts, or not affecting it at all.
Glowstone would increase the amount of damage they could suffer before breaking. It wouldn't affect the time they were frozen, at 6 seconds (I considered 4 seconds originally but if you were using it to damage the mob that wouldn't give much of a window), but would up how much they could be damaged to perhaps 8 hearts. Essentially, this would let you kill most mobs, notable creepers in melee, or ghasts, before they break, if you get lucky.
Ghasts as well should fall out of the air when frozen. This again, would let you collect their loot easier, by causing them to fall onto the nether floor and quickly killing them with a sword, if you reached them fast enough and obviously got them away from lava.
The visual effect of this will be similar to that of a charged creeper. It would add a blue-ish layer over the mob, but look more like ice than electricity.
Scenarios:
I can think of a good few scenarios. The most notable one would be creepers that suddenly appear infront of you. If you had a potion on hand, you could, if fast enough, quickly throw it to freeze them and escape (in this case, the redstone potion would be best.)
Collecting ghast tears would also be easier, as I've said before, or getting cornered by zombies or killing endermen.
Alternatives:
This is some alternative ideas to what the potion does. Feel free to add to this. One good alternative, is rather than making glowstone affect damage that can be taken (and in fact just making a frozen target unfreeze if damaged at all) is allowing it to affect multiple targets. A regular or redstone version would affect the closest target hit, but with glowstone, it could affect up to three targets for 6 seconds.
Alternative Brewing:
A good point made is the fact that it would only take one snow ball to make. Considering it creates three potions, I do agree that it should take a full snow block to create, OR...
How about Ice? Ice can be collected with Silk Touch only, making it considerably more difficult to collect thus balancing out the effect. You'd have to collect an ice block with a silk touch pickaxe to brew the potion.
Also, how many of you think this should affect layers (with the PvP flag on)?
Let me know what you think!
PvP:
A lot of you are commenting on the PvP aspect of the potion. I agree that this could easily be abused, my opinion on it is that it should be created with Ice rather than snow now that we can collect ice with Silk Touch pickaxe and only affect other players with the PvP flag toggled. This would make it so ice potions are difficult to obtain thus not easily spammed. When used, the other player does have to be close, and the potion does have a limited Area of Effect range, making them considerably easy to kite.
Maybe a snow block, or something like snowball(s) mixed with a slimeball, making "ice cream" which can be eaten(2 hunger points?) or brewed(a better and less silly name could be "tundra cream").
Still requires gunpowder but I see what you mean. I think I'll edit it to take a snow block instead.
As far as PvP, how often is any server PvP focused compared to regular servers and single player? I was also thinking it'd require PvP to be active, or simply not affect players at all.
For one thing, splash potions have a really small range when compared to other throwable items. Trying to hit a ghast with one of these would be nigh on impossible, unless they were right next to you, and if that were the case you wouldn't need to use one anyway.
Also, your alternative suggestion that glowstone should make it affect more than one target doesn't make sense for a splash potion, since, by definition, splash potions 'splash', meaning that they already have an AoE aspect.
Also, freezing isn't a potion effect. There is already a slowness potion effect instead.
As a splash potion, this idea doesn't work.
Here is my suggestion. Instead of making this item a splash potion, make this item like the icy opposite of a fire charge (which I think should be throwable) and make it craftable rather than brewable, like the fire charge. Maybe snowballs, an ice block and a slimeball or something?
You can call it an ice charge. it would have the same throwing range as a snowball or enderpearl and would cause a freeze effect that would be like the opposite of the 'on fire' effect. It would immobilize the mob and if used on a player might have a vision impairment, icy effect, like fire, as well.
You could also have this effect caused by the environment. Like if you stand still for too long when it is snowing?
This is untrue. They do have a limited range, which is an intended drawback, but your claim of how difficult they are to throw is fairly inaccurate. You would most likely need to elevate yourself over the ghast, but the use of this potion is not just limited to them. It would still be helpful against creepers.
And just because it is an AoE does not mean it affects all targets in range. AoEs can have a target limit, this is demonstrated in many games and could be implemented into MineCraft, most likely without much difficulty. Being throwable (and having a minimal range) is helpful and intended. Being able to affect 3 targets instead of 1 would be a neat mechanic.
If you're suggesting potion effects can not be added, which something Mojang has already said they will most likely do, then, well, that's kind of why a suggestion to add something is a suggestion to add something. It's not working off something that already exists, why would I suggest a second slow potion?
That could be neat, throwing it at lava and it turns to cobblestone in the range of the potion.
As far as PvP, I think if it were done with Ice instead of snowballs, it would still work in PvP, as it would be considerably more difficult to obtain anyway.