Rival Echoes

Rival Echoes adds recurring named enemies to ordinary Minecraft survival. A rival can appear by day or night with its own name, level, gear, dialogue, and combat ability. Defeat one and it may return stronger. Lose to one and it gains a level before withdrawing. Encounters mix new faces with old rivals, and occasionally bring two or three opponents at once.

Rival encounters

- Zombies, husks, drowned, skeletons, strays, zombified piglins, piglins, pillagers, vindicators, and rare evokers can become rivals.
- Rivals grow through rematches up to level 20. Their health, damage, speed, armor, and equipment scale with experience.
- Nine distinct abilities include a flank teleport, shockwave, snare, life siphon, counterguard, arrow volley, cinder burst, grappling pull, and war cry.
- Live hearts above each rival show current and maximum health. Visual lightning marks arrivals without starting fires.
- Enemies speak in chat during arrivals, combat, victories, retreats, surrender, and final endings.
- Some defeats yield a clue. Each clue becomes clearer until it reveals one of seven ways to end that rival's return for good. A final victory drops a named enchanted reward.

Recruit an ally

Wounded rivals may flee or surrender. Bring a surrendering rival its requested item before the offer expires to recruit it. Allies speak in chat, gain levels from combat, and can be equipped through a right-click orders screen. Set them to follow or wait, choose when they attack, choose hostile mobs, all mobs, players, or all targets, and set their follow teleport distance. Allies carry healing potions and use them when hurt. If one dies, offer a Totem of Undying at a craftable Echo Altar to bring it back.