Mojang and Blackbird Interactive today unveiled the correct look for the PvP mode of their spin-off strategy game Minecraft Legends, along with an April 18 release date.Prior to the reveal at the Microsoft showcase, Mojang's Executive Producer Dennis Ries and Blackbird's Executive Producer Lee McKinnon Pederson spoke with us about what it felt like to actually play a round of Legends.

Mojang and Blackbird describe Minecraft Legends as an "action strategy" game, not an RTS. This is because the player character rides around the map on a mount and commands troops and buildings from the ground. Like standard Minecraft, Legends uses procedurally generated maps, and this applies to PvP as well.

"The worlds are all different, so you don't know where the mountains are, where the valleys are, where the other team's base is. So even though it's familiar, it's quite distinctive," Pederson said.

"You might choose the redstone strategy if the redstone is close to your base, or you might choose the diamond strategy if the diamond is close to your base. Each strategy requires a different way of gathering resources." Like the rather intense looking Redstone launcher shown in the new gameplay video, which rains TNT mortars down on the opponent's base.

According to Ries, the developers are aiming for 20-30 minute matches in PvP, which has led them to change some features from the campaign. The maps, for example, are smaller, although they are still procedurally generated. Basic resources such as wood and stone occur closer to the starting point, so production is more progressive and resource collection by array helpers is a little faster.

Hordes of enemy piglins also affect PvP play. The more the match progresses, the more the piglins escalate their attacks on you and your opponents," Pederson said. The piglins are more than just a nuisance. They become a much larger part of PvP gameplay.

Overall, Legends is "clearly Minecraft, but clearly not vanilla either," says Ries. What is different is obvious: the strategy game style is completely different, but the collaborative atmosphere seems to retain a "Minecraft" feel.

Pederson describes how the division of roles can be created between teammates who prefer to gather, build strongholds, or go on the offensive: in the PvP gameplay reveal, participants talk about their favorite roles as fort builders, resource gatherers, combatants, etc., an idea that is 15]

"You definitely need to work together," Pederson says.

"Especially sharing the resources that everyone needs so we can collectively understand how we're moving toward a strategy."

This is not reminiscent of the hectic player-run mini-game servers of Minecraft PvP, but of the way friends work together on a survival server. We all know whether we are friends in mining and combat or friends in base building and house building. Similarly, if you consider yourself a diabolical base designer, it seems you don't necessarily need to lead from the front lines in PvP. You would need to hone all kinds of skills to play in a campaign, but at least not in the realm of player-to-player combat.

Minecraft Legends supports up to four-on-four player matches and allows players to invite friends before being opened up to matchmaking; Mojang has announced that, like Minecraft Dungeons, Legends will launch on April 18 on Steam and Microsoft Store (open in new tab), and cross-platform multiplayer will be available when it launches on Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation.