Season 3 is coming to the 77th Combine along with the 1.1 Discovery update! This new season will be here shortly while Season 2 will live on to allow for some of the larger ongoing builds to have time to be finished. However,  for those ready for Season 3, they can expect new items, new buildings, and new mobs ready to attack!

How did we get here and why are we updating? Well, that’s a bit of a story…

There once was a group of players who liked to play Minecraft.  After many months the world started to get laggy and have issues.  A newer version of the game was coming out which offered more stability, more features, and better game play.  So the decision was made that once 1.0 came out the realm would reset, we’d say our goodbyes to Season 1, and start out in a  brand new world.

And all was good.

Well, for a time.  Many months later the Realm had started to once again get laggy.  It would crash frequently or have mini rollbacks.  Looking into things the players found that the Realm had grown and grown over the months.  The players have been so active and so expansive that it outpaced what Realms could support.

They tried to stabilize things, but no issues with the realm itself were found.  All the tools just pointed to that the realm had grown too big.  Other realms would barely get to half the size of the 77th, and even after talking with some people at Microsoft, they agreed that our world was huge for a PE Realm.

Playtime started to get cut back as the realm became harder to play on.  Extra realms were started to pass the time, temporary realms were started to see how fast Dragons and withers could be defeated… mini game realms, creative worlds, puzzle and mashup maps came about to pass the time and allow us to still be a family and enjoy this game together while we wait.

And now, once again, a “big” update was on the horizon: 1.1 was coming, and coming soon.  Again new features were on the way, and although no structural change was planned for the realm, a new world would allow access to a lot of those features without having to go searching long distances, as well as fix the biggest size related issues so bothering our current world.

So a reset, and a farewell to the old builds, was in store for the group.  Season 2 will stay up and running so larger projects can be finished, but the primary realm would start again and a brand new world would be ready to be discovered.

So what’s all in this Season 3 reset?  Well for those already in the 77th Combine, get ready for a smaller, faster (aka less laggy) realm filled with Woodland Mansions, fancy new blocks, and Lamas! There’s a lot of new items waiting for us.  You can read all about the new features of the Discovery Update post or on the wiki here.

For those Minecraft enthusiasts that have been following the 77th Combine realm, either in videos or via the website, now is the time to get on the ground floor of a brand new season!  Please check out our application process either here on the website, or the forum thread itself where you can apply.  It’s a great community, with a great group of players.

So now the big question…. “When is this happening?”

Well, not sure exactly, but sounds like soon.  Very soon.  We’ve heard the final builds for the 1.1 release have been submitted and just waiting to be approved by their respective app stores.  For those waiting to join us, apply now!  Take some time to get familiar with the group and possibly accepted to the 77th. Getting ahead of the formal opening of the new season is a great way to be there at or close to start of the season.

And for those waiting on Season 3, hold tight.  We will be starting soon! Look for an invite to Season 3 shortly after it’s released!