World Barrier Blocks

So, when travelling from quest to quest, sometimes I will encounter a very tall mountain range or something similar to it. I decide I'll just parkour over it. But barrier blocks stop me from crossing over and so my travel time is doubled or tripled because I must go around these landmarks. If there is nothing to hide and there is no secret temple on that mountain that one should only have access to via a quest, then it would be greatly appreciated if barrier blocks are removed. What point do they serve if they're not hiding anything? They simply act as an obstacle that impedes players travel.

 

Exactly. An obstacle is supposed to prevent you from passing, and barriers are there to enforce it.

It might seem daunting to spend tons of time climbing a mountain, only to get disappointed by how you can't get over it, but that's what they're there for. They disencourage you from spending that time brute forcing your way through the game, while simultaneously encouraging you to explore the environment and find paths that you'll also be able to use in the future.

This is especially prevalent on locations such as canyon of the lost, where as its name suggests, you'll probably get lost often as a newcomer. As you spend more time traversing the place though, you're likely going to piece together the canyon's structure of having an upper and a lower level with their own segmented areas, and realize that there's a linear main path through it all. With even more exploration and a keen eye, you might even find some of the dozens of shortcuts that'll not only speed up your travel, but also serve as a reward for those who bother to look around.

Some might argue that despite paths existing, players should still be given an option to climb mountains, should they want to do so. If that were to happen though, it's highly unlikely that players would ever learn not to do so. Because of this, they'd be skipping over all the environmental content of the game, such as mobs, caves, and the XP & loot that comes with them, ultimately making the experience worse for themselves. Sure, it might make one trip faster if you're stuck in a specific area, but in the long run, it'll grind your progress to a halt by causing you to never have any idea of where to go.

Now, I'm not saying that all barriers are equally justified. Sometimes a 10 blocks tall hill is barriered up for seemingly no reason, which is more likely just an oversight. What I am saying though, is that having barriers on mountains is not only a good thing, but also a necessity for the game's envorinment to work as it should.

 

Well, you've certainly got a good point there.

 

Also you might be able to see out of bounds from atop the mountains, and it would ruin both the magic of the game and the surprise of finding a new place during a quest.

 

Very true

 

My problem with this is that a lot mountains are actually climbable especially in COTL, and then you eventually find some that aren't and it just seems... Mean? Idk the word to to use here. They should really go all or nothing with this, imo.

 

It's kinda hard to get around the fact that minecraft allows you to stand on any solid block. There are no slippery slopes, and perfectly flat 90 degree walls don't really make for great terrain, hence anything is technically climbable. It's also pretty hard to make jumping down be possible without allowing players to also go up the same way, in case you're referring to the mountains from lower to upper canyon being climbable. If some actual mountains are climbable though, it's more likely an unintended oversight instead of a deliberate inconsistency. Haven't personally come across even one of those though

 

Fair point