History 18: Banned Items throughout Mercian History

Today we'll explore the banning of certain items throughout Mercias' History. How and why they were banned, as well as a possible comeback for items. These fall into two seperate classes.


 * Banned Items via Commands
 * Banned Items through Rules

We'll start from the very beginning and work our way up. Starting in the 2nd Age, multiple items were banned either altogether or for personal ownership. For example, Furnaces were not illegal to use, but owning one was. The reason for this was because of Skills. In order to properly manage Skill levels, Furnaces were used as a way to guarantee that the items were made by the respective player. Upon checking their furnace for items, they would be counted and given back to the player. If an item was made in a personal Furnace, they would receive no experience.

Other items that were outlawed for personal uses during this age were: Crafting Tables, Ender Chests, Spawn Eggs, and Enchantment Tables for the reasons listed above. Bricks and Nether Quartz were also banned due to them being used to signify a Quest Building. This changed, however, during the Third Age when all except the Brick/Quartz were made legal.

The Third Age lifted many of the former restrictions that were in place during the Second, ushering in the Business side of things. During the Fourth Age, everything for the first time was made legal and it seemed to many that it would remain that way. Up until this point, no item had ever been banned via Commands. This was until Locator Maps were outlawed along with Compasses. They were later made legal and once again illegal.(edited)

Items like Flint & Steel and TNT could be obtained, but had no uses during the middle of the Fourth Age. Similarly, Ender Pearl's were given a Prestige Lock, but could still be obtained in the game. The only items that were banned fully besides Compasses and Maps during this time were through Rules. These included items such as Enchantments over X and some lesser known hacked items.

That brings us to the Fifth Age, where we are today. The list is quite extensive and seems to keep growing. The first item banned during this age was the Enchanted Golden Apple. The reason was because Duping at this point was still legal and with an infinite amount of Gapples, combat could essentially go on forever with no victor. This was later reverted when duping was made illegal.

Speaking of Duping, Sticky Pistons and Regular Pistons were made illegal. Any that are placed will automatically disappear, effectively ending duping. Harming Arrows followed shortly after and Ender Pearl's shortly after that. The latest to be added to this list was Chorus Fruit due to the newly founded Bank Vault. Mercia has had it's fair share of items being exploited and attempts of breaking the game will continue to be a problem as long as they can be found. While the items are banned, and cannot be obtained anymore, this doesn't mean they don't exist.

Shulkers containing these items will continue to exist as long as they aren't picked up or otherwise moved, making them more valuable to collectors if they don't already have them