Overview

Pros

• Gills: You can breathe underwater.
• Wet Eyes: You have perfect vision underwater. You can disable/enable this primary ability.
• Aqua Affinity: Breaking blocks underwater is as easy as breaking blocks on land.
• Fins: Your underwater speed is increased.
• When underwater you do not sink to the ground unless you want to.

Cons

• Water Dependency: Your skin loses moisture over time. Running low on Moisture causes you to lose both health and hunger!

Origin Playstyle

Reclaim Atlantis. As a descendant of a late fish species, the Merlings live and breathe oceanic life. You gain a significant advantage over land dwelling counterparts by having instant access to the wonders of the ocean world, at the cost of rarely setting foot on land in the early game.

When starting, head for water immediately. Merlings have been adjusted over the base Origin to have a hydration meter, meaning that you will not instantly begin taking damage while on land, but you will dehydrate quickly. Hot biomes will drain this meter quicker, as will sprinting. Once in water, you are free to move and explore, and your hydration will replenish. Your perfect vision and increased agility makes you one of the apex predators of the sea, so access to food will not be a struggle since Fish will be all around you. Their nutritional value is minimal, but renewable and easy to access and farm.

However, you are still half human, and require the tools to build your underwater empire. Getting wood will be a great struggle, since wood doesn't grow underwater. However, your land loving counterparts left behind relics of their golden age in the form of shipwrecks, now scattered across your oceanic realm. You can deconstruct these wrecks and claim their loot within to get wood and other useful resources. Beware the new Creeper menace that stalks you from the depths...

The bottom of the ocean is full of useful ore resources to obtain, and flooded caverns will be your (soggy) bread and (waterlogged) butter. Consider farming Kelp as a highly abundant source of food and furnace fuel. If you need to step on land, you can craft either a bucket of water to keep on your person at all times, or drink bottles of water to keep your breathing going.

Many mechanisms can be built underwater, so while the bottom of the sea may seem limited, you actually have the same creative potential as a surface dweller. Consider building a base with depth, into the floor of the ocean or in the side of an ocean chasm. Building will be easier as you can ascend levels of your base with greater ease, without the need of a ladder or scaffold. Due to the abundance of sand, glass will be much easier to come by and use.

What you decide to do between now and the endgame is entirely up to you, but there are some interesting tips to keep in mind:

Effects which once affected water breathing now have an inverse effect on you. Potion of Water Breathing will enable you to remain hydrated on land. Getting access to a brewing stand will be your near impossible task for this useful brew however, and it may be more tactful to ask for help from other players by trading valuables you find, or favors. Note: Do not forget your grass treading neighbors who help you, as they may ask for your help later. Rainfall will perpetuate your hydration, but if you are not exposed to the sky then you will drain your breath as normal. Finally, Conduit Cages will now also let you stay hydrated land infinitely, so consider this as a late game option if you are daring enough to venture to the surface for a longer stay.

Obtaining a Trident and a Turtle helmet will be a priority. Tridents are now craftable by defeating the three Elder Guardians of a Guardian Temple, collecting their drops and crafting them together (Refer to the in-game REI menu for a specific recipe.) Tridents are the perfect weapon for this arena, but can also be enchanted as a traversal tool. When paired with an Elytra, they can make overseas travel extremely quick, and when it rains the majority of the overworld will be yours to explore. The Turtle helmet will buy you some valuable seconds of breathing before you have to dip into the water again, so use it as an efficient rebreather for outings on the topside.

If you are bold enough to venture into other dimensions, avoid entering the Nether, as it is the antithesis of your very existence. You will dehydrate very quickly while there. If you do need to go there for any reason, you cannot rely on buckets of water for breathing, so potions and bottles of water will be your life support. Crying obsidian is also a valuable source of hydration, so consider picking it up and using it as a checkpoint for your nether adventures. The End has pockets of water scattered through the new biomes, but finding one such body will be your challenge. It is theoretically possible to get a working conduit in the End, but no Merling has ever lived long enough to try.

Overall, if you want to reign control over the seas, Merling is the origin for you. You will struggle to obtain any land-based resources in the early game, but you will become most effective after building a conduit or when it is raining. Stay away from other dimensions unless you are fully prepared. Consider playing this origin if you want to set up a base in the ocean, enjoy oceanic exploration and loot finding, or if you deeply enjoy the Trident.

Main Page