Does Tick Speed Affect Mobs in Minecraft? A Deep Dive
The short answer is: yes, tick speed does affect certain aspects of mob behavior in Minecraft, but not all. While the game tick rate itself (fixed at 20 ticks per second) is immutable and governs the overall rhythm of the game, the random tick speed significantly impacts the world, and indirectly, some mob-related processes. It’s crucial to understand the difference between these two to grasp how mobs are affected. This article will explore these nuances and provide a comprehensive look at how tick speed influences the mob ecosystem in Minecraft.
The Two Types of Ticks: Game Tick vs. Random Tick
Understanding the two distinct types of “ticks” in Minecraft is fundamental to understanding their effect on the game:
Game Tick
The game tick is the fundamental heartbeat of Minecraft. It is a fixed, unchanging rate of 20 ticks per second. Everything that occurs within the game, from movement and redstone circuits to entity updates and time progression, is based on this game tick. A Minecraft day is equal to 24,000 game ticks or 20 minutes. This tick speed is not changeable and is consistently the basis for game calculations.
Random Tick
The random tick is where most of the changes in the world occur. It represents how often the game attempts to perform random processes within each subchunk (a 16x16x16 area). Unlike the fixed game tick, the rate at which random ticks are attempted can be changed using the /gamerule randomTickSpeed command. This setting affects a vast array of processes, including plant growth, fire spread, and the spawning of certain mobs, or, rather, the conditions that affect mob spawning.
How Tick Speed Affects Mobs
Although the game tick speed remains constant, the adjustable random tick speed has several indirect impacts on mob activity.
Mob Spawning
Most hostile mobs have a spawning cycle once every game tick (1/20 of a second). This makes them spawn frequently when conditions are right. However, passive mobs, like animals, only have a spawning cycle once every 400 game ticks (20 seconds). Thus, passive mobs spawn less frequently. While random tick speed doesn’t directly influence these spawning cycles, it influences the conditions for spawning. This is a very important distinction. If grass grows faster due to higher random tick speed, it might indirectly increase the chances of passive mobs spawning, as suitable spawning locations for them increase more rapidly.
Mob Growth
The growth of baby mobs into adults is not primarily affected by tick speed. Instead, feeding adolescent mobs the same food you used to breed the parents can speed up their growth. However, sheep are an exception as they can grow faster by eating grass. Again, a higher random tick speed will grow that grass faster, thus indirectly speeding up sheep growth. Baby horses (foals/colts) can also be fed to accelerate their growth, while generally breeding can happen again after 5 minutes.
Mob Breeding
The core mechanics of animal breeding are not influenced by tick speed. Feeding two suitable animals will make them breed if they are in love. While the article mentioned that Turtle and Villager breeding may be indirectly affected, the difference will be negligable.
Other Indirect Effects
Plant Growth: A higher random tick speed makes plants grow much faster. While not a direct mob effect, it can lead to faster food production in mob farms, thereby indirectly impacting mob behavior by providing more resources.
Sculk Growth & Spread: The spread of sculk and its associated blocks is affected by random ticks. This indirectly alters mob spawn locations and the environment that they inhabit.
Lava flow & Fire Spread: When these spread faster due to the random tick, it can impact mob pathfinding and behavior as more areas can be made unsuitable to them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the default tick speed in Minecraft?
The game tick speed is fixed at 20 ticks per second. The default random tick speed is 3.
2. Can I change the game tick speed?
No, the game tick speed is not changeable. It is a fundamental element of the game’s mechanics. However, you can adjust the random tick speed.
3. How do I change the random tick speed?
Use the command /gamerule randomTickSpeed #, replacing # with the desired number. A value of 0 disables random ticks, while higher numbers increase the rate.
4. Does increasing random tick speed affect mob spawning rates directly?
No, not the base mob spawning rates or cycles. It mainly affects the conditions required for spawning, like plant growth, and therefore the availability of spawning locations.
5. Does tick speed affect hostile mob behavior?
Not directly. Hostile mobs are governed by their AI and the core game tick. However, changes in the world like faster lava flow may change how hostile mobs behave.
6. Does tick speed affect the speed at which mobs move?
No, the speed of mob movement is determined by the game tick and the mob’s individual attributes, not by the random tick speed.
7. How does random tick speed impact crop growth?
A higher random tick speed makes crops grow significantly faster. This is one of its primary uses.
8. Does increasing random tick speed affect tree growth?
Yes, increasing the random tick speed will make trees grow back faster, allowing you to harvest wood more quickly.
9. Does increasing the tick speed disable achievements?
Yes. Changing the random tick speed using commands will disable achievements for that world.
10. What is the maximum random tick speed I can use?
There is no in-game defined maximum. You can use very high numbers but beware, it can result in lag or unexpected outcomes. It is best to experiment with values such as 5, 10, 20 or 50 to see what works best.
11. How many ticks are in a Minecraft day?
There are 24,000 ticks in a Minecraft day, which is equivalent to 20 minutes in real time.
12. How does random tick speed impact fire spread?
Higher random tick speeds will cause fire to spread much more rapidly, which can be both a hazard and a tool.
13. Does random tick speed affect the day/night cycle?
No, the day/night cycle remains the same and is governed by the fixed game tick, regardless of random tick speed.
14. Does random tick speed affect redstone components?
Not directly, redstone components are primarily driven by the game tick. However, the world changes caused by random ticks can indirectly affect their functionality, such as faster fire propagation changing the circuit.
15. Can I speed up mob growth without using tick speed?
Yes, by feeding baby mobs with their parents’ breeding food, growth will speed up. Sheep can grow faster by eating grass, and foals/colts can be fed. There is no other way to speed up mob growth.
Conclusion
While the fundamental game tick in Minecraft operates at a fixed rate, the random tick speed is a powerful tool for altering the game world. Although it doesn’t directly influence core mob mechanics like movement speed, it significantly impacts the conditions under which mobs spawn and indirectly, how they interact with the environment. By understanding and manipulating random tick speed, players can optimize various aspects of the game, from crop production to mob farming, even though the changes aren’t a direct influence, they are an indirect influence. Just remember that changing the random tick speed using commands will disable achievements for that save file.