Assassin of Steve 3: Endergeddon

*"The Assassin has escaped once again, with the Squiggly Replic, and a plot to end the world. The player and a collection of allies, both old, new and unexpected, are the only ones who can stop him from bringing about Endergeddon. Much of the map sees the player trying to track the Assassin and then discover the way to enter the Assassin's domain in order to stop him while being relentlessly hunted by fleets of End Ships. But when the player discovers the true nature of the Assassin's plans, Minecraft will never be the same again."*

**Assassin of Steve 3** is the third and possibly final map in the Assassin of Steve trilogy. It is the sequel to Assassin of Steve and Assassin of Steve 2: The Tribal Snouts.

The events of the map begin a couple of weeks after Assassin of Steve 2. It is unknown over what time-frame the events of the entire map take place over.

## Gameplay

**Assassin of Steve 3** is a PVE Adventure map. In its current state, it contains a number of differences and improvements over the first two maps in the trilogy. It has a required resource pack that gives every weapon in the map a unique 3D model as well as custom heads and models for a number of characters and blocks. It also features a large number of cutscenes created using TheRedstoneScientist's CutscenePRO, which give certain sections of the map a more cinematic feel. There is also a much greater emphasis on storytelling than in the previous two maps.

Unlike Assassin of Steve 1 and 2, there is no Starter Mission - instead it jumps straight into Mission 1, which has some similarities to Starter Mission in that they get the player into the style of the map, but it also establishes a plot line that runs through much of the map involving following Roger's telepathic path.

There are fifteen missions in total in this map. Each mission has similar gameplay involving fighting and defeating custom mobs. Most missions end with a boss fight that is against either a much more powerful custom mob or against a structure that must be destroyed in some way. There are also five Hidden Missions, which are hidden optional missions that the player can complete to get special equipment and unique Runes and Consumables.

As before, most of the missions contain chests, which can either lead to a lore book or equipment. Custom Music may also be played if the player has the map's music pack, which is linked in the startup rooms of the map. Assassin of Steve 3 incorporates a number of other gameplay elements from the first two maps such as codes and parkour, but also introduces a number of new mechanics such as grappling.

The Shop Button from Assassin of Steve 2 was remodelled into the Shop Altar, which serves a similar function. Like before it contains storage chests and an Equipment and Potion shop, the latter additionally containing unlockable consumables. However, instead of the Power Shop there is the Runes area instead, where the players can turn in Gems they obtain to unlock Runes to give themselves passive buffs. There is also the Legendary Box Altar, where players can place down and open Legendary Boxes they find for epic loot.

### Missions

Mission 1

Mission 2

Mission 3

Hidden Mission 1

Mission 4

Mission 5

Hidden Mission 2

Mission 6

Mission 7

Mission 8

Hidden Mission 3

Mission 9

Mission 10

Hidden Mission 4

Mission 11

Mission 12

Mission 13

Hidden Mission 5

Mission 14

Mission 15

## Plot

**WARNING: THIS SECTION CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS THAT MAY SPOIL YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE MAP. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

*This plot summary does not include Hidden Missions.*

The map opens with a prologue cutscene showing the Assassin entering his tower and meeting a mysterious entity that he refers to as Master. He tells the Master that he successfully got the two items he sent him out to get, the first being from Steve, the second from the Snout Temple. However, when hearing about the player, the Master grows angry, saying 'WE CANNOT LET THEM FIND OUT WHAT WE ARE UP TO!' He lends the Assassin 'his greatest powers', and commands him to go. The Assassin teleports away, his last words being that he will find the player and kill them. The camera pans to show the Master, but all that is seen is a dark, black orb.

The titles roll, and the player finds themselves travelling with Roger through the Disaster Desert in pursuit of the Assassin. Roger reveals he has telepathic abilities that allow him to see the paths left behind by magical individuals, such as the Assassin. While travelling, they run into the Sand Monster. After a bit of combat, the Sand Monster breaks the floor, but the player is able to defeat it.

They arrive in Moostern, a town inhabited by Cowboys, and Roger tells the player the Assassin's path runs west along a train line leading out of Moostern. The player asks the Train Driver when the next train runs west, but he says someone stole all the coal out of the train. The player goes to the blacksmith to get some, but he also says he has no coal because the miners haven't given him their supply. So the player travels to the mines, where they get ambushed by Desert Bandits. After defeating the Bandit Leader, the miners say they will take coal straight to the train.

The player goes to leave, but sees Roger getting captured by Sheriff Firearm and a Cowboy, who take him into the saloon. The player follows them inside, but it was a trap. Sheriff Firearm says they are under arrest for crimes they have committed. Despite the player saying they haven't done anything, the cowboys attack. After the player fights through some waves, he and Roger escape out the back door, but have to stealthily weave their way through town without being seen by patrolling cowboys with Colt Bows. After taking a route through the bank's vault, they make it back to the train station and are able to board the train to head off. However, Sheriff Firearm catches up with them in a mesa biome, blowing up the train. He demands that the player get off the train, which they do, and they fight, the player eventually defeating him.

Roger shows up, telling the player that the Assassin's path diverts off of the train line, so they journey through the mesa, making their way through extremely amplified terrain and old mining tunnels. Soon they come across a ruined village, the only remains being the foundations of some buildings, where they finally meet the Assassin. At first the Assassin is only toying with them, teleporting around whenever the player gets close, but soon reveals he 'has orders to kill you'. When the player presses with questions, the Assassin retaliates by unveiling his new cloning powers. The player is forced to fight through several waves of Assassin Clones, including a maze with clones that drop fireballs that the Assassin builds. They are soon able to corner the real Assassin and defeat him, but upon doing so they see a vision of the Orb, now slightly purple, with the Master saying 'Perhaps one of my ships can stop them...'

When coming to, Roger says all the clones disappeared and says the Assassin they had been chasing all along may have been a clone himself. However, he says he also noticed the solitary mansion down the hill, prompting the player to go investigate. At the entrance is a librarian villager, who cries out when the player approaches him before disappearing, leaving the mansion doors open. The player encounters the villager a couple more times in the mansion before finding a secret tunnel down to some grotty underground caves, which leads to a room where they find Count Twoten, an Illager who has the villager held captive in a cave. Count Twoten alternates between sending waves of enemies and fighting the player himself, but they are soon able to defeat him, and release the villager from the cage. He introduces himself as Ernest, saying a long time ago endermen invaded their village, reducing it to ruins, but also unleashing a virus that transformed them into illagers. Ernest was the only one immune, but Count Twoten captured him and began practising his newfound spells on him. They soon turn to talking about the Empty Orb, Ernest saying it, combined with the Squiggly Replic, might have been how the Endermen opened their End Portal, prompting the player to conclude that their next step should be to go find where the Empty Orb is kept before the Assassin can get his hands on it and combine the two items to reopen the End Portal.

The player returns to Roger, who says he picked up the Assassin's path again. However, upon following it, it leads them to the Green End Ship, which abducts the player (leaving Roger behind) and imprisoning them. Onboard the player somehow breaks free, and begins to fight their way through the ship. At one point they discover a chest containing a Gravity Device, and use it to get their way through some more areas of the ship before meeting the Green Ender Captain, who drops the player down into the central area of the ship. They have to use the Gravity Device to disable the upper segments of the four Energy Towers, then the captain steals the Gravity Device away, forcing the player to try to disable the lower segments of each tower with him constantly switching gravity. The towers all explode, and the player escapes into the hangar. In the hangar they commandeer a ship and escape. However, because the player has no idea how to fly, they just shoot straight out the side of the Green End Ship and crash-land in a rocky savanna. Based on the fact that they were just abducted by Endermen, the player concludes the Assassin may have already gotten the Empty Orb and reopened the End Portal.

The player then meets Opara, an iron golem, who leads them to the nearby Iron Golem Factory, where the Iron Soul teaches them how to use Grappling Guns. However, just before the player can get some rest, they hear explosions, and it transpires that the Steam Pirates are invading the Iron Golem Factory. The player fights their way through the factory, having to don a Steam Mask when the pirates start using scalding steam guns against the player. They meet Captain Coldbeard, who 'coldwires' the mechanisms of the factory, dropping the players into a conveyor belt area. Narrowly escaping, they chase after him, meeting him in a large chamber where a huge army of Steam Pirates are sent out. Fortunately, the player has assistance of fellow iron golems and Opara in the battle. After defeating them all, the player goes after Coldbeard again, who coldwires some Iron Golems, turning them against the player. The player escapes and again chases after Coldbeard, however he has boarded his flying pirate ship, the Steelbumper, and turns all its cannons on the player, blowing them up.

When the player comes to, Opara says that they were knocked out, and that Captain Coldbeard left. The Iron Soul brings up that Commander Clock might know more about the Squiggly Replic and Empty Orb, so the player and Opara travel to Mechanical Island - a floating village in the sky. They board it and go to speak to the commander, who says the Empty Orb and Squiggly Replic can only create an End Portal in the Fringe, a place between dimensions that can only be accessed through the Distorted Caves. While he doesn't know where the Distorted Caves are located, he says the Minemistress might. He says that since Mechanical Island is currently on a trade route to her mines, the player and Opara can rest in the quarters until they arrive. However, Steam Pirates attack Mechanical Island on the way over, this time with the Steelbumper and three other flying pirate ships. The player and Opara have to fight their way across the island, taking down the three pirate ships before using Steam Hovercraft to fly over to the Steelbumper and confront Captain Coldbeard. He first drops them into a lava trap, which the player narrowly escapes. After chasing Coldbeard across the ship's masts, they fight, and Coldbeard is defeated.

Upon arriving at the Minemistress's mines, Opara and the player disembark and try to gain entrance by speaking to one of the Gold Miners out the front. He denies them entry, but then the player notices three Clay Miners exiting out of a side mineshaft and leaving the trapdoor open, so they head in. After fighting their way through some spider-infested caves and parkouring across the ribs of some extinct beast, they meet the Minemistress. However, she recognises the player as the one who murdered her brother, so she drops them into some caves below to feed them to her pet Bedrock Serpent. The player is able to ward off the serpent by feeding it TNT, and they finally manage to speak to the Minemistress. She says she doesn't know where the Distorted Caves are since their entrance always changes location, but she does know how to find them, by using the Distorted Star located in the Pyramid of Uivvah. However, this is when the Yellow Ender Captain appears, who sets off an explosive trap, attempting to bury them all in a cave-in.

The Minemistress digs them all out, and manages to excavate a way to an abandoned part of the mines before her golden pickaxes break. The player and Opara are relentlessly attacked by Yellow Ender Warriors that teleport down to them, but by riding a minecart through a lava-filled tunnel, they escape to the surface, where the Yellow End Ship is looming over them. The Yellow Ender Captain appears and they fight, managing to defeat him. As they do, the player has another vision of the Master, the Orb about half-full, who says that Endergeddon is impending.

When the player comes to, they find Opara and the Minemistress carried them to the pyramid. The Minemistress leaves them, leaving Opara and the player to enter the pyramid. They find an entrance hidden among the sand, which Opara slams down on to break in. There are numerous challenges, puzzles and parkour within the pyramid, including a few occasions where the player has visions of the Distorted Caves. Eventually they reach the bottom of the pyramid, where they face off against the Ancient Uivvah. It morphs into its strongest form, but the player is able to defeat it and claim the Distorted Star. As they do however, they have another vision, this one of Blue End Fighters coming out of a portal.

When the player comes to, they find Roger has rejoined them, he saying he kept on following the Assassin's path. They go along the nearby Tanivac Highway, but come across some villagers on horses, who say Blue Endermen are invading Tanivac, the Blue End Ship looming menacingly over the town. The player and Opara first have to fight their way down the bridge leading into Tanivac, shooting down several Blue End Fighters on the way. Upon reaching Tanivac they meet the Blue Ender Captain, who unleashes the Illager Virus upon Tanivac's population, turning them into illagers and adding to the threat. The player and Opara have to fight their way through Tanivac and destroy the four Pulse Landers, which are spreading the virus out among the town. After doing so Roger gives the player some Elytra, and Opara uses his immense strength to throw the player up high enough such that they can fly directly into the Blue End Ship. The player fights their way through alone, Roger telepathically communicating with them. However, at one point Roger reveals to the player that Opara is leaving a magical trail behind him just like how the Assassin is, causing him to come to the conclusion that Opara might not be who he says he is. Perhaps he is the Assassin in disguise, once again. The player reaches the top of the Blue End Ship, and after facing off against the Blue Ender Captain they defeat him. Another vision of the Master ensues, the Orb now almost completely purple.

The Blue End Ship disappears after the Blue Ender Captain's defeat, dropping the player back down into Tanivac. However, it starts raining immediately after, this rain being electrified by the Blue End Ship's residue. The Mayor of Tanivac closes up the shades, preventing the downpour from killing any of the citizens, but the electric rain poses a new, unexpected threat to reaching the Distorted Caves. The player, Roger and Opara leave Tanivac and start journeying there, using trees and some ledges created by an earthquake as cover. When getting close the desert begins to get distorted, several floating rocks appearing in the air and Distorted Zombies attacking them. They manage to reach the entrance, and defeat the Dragon Guardian in order to enter. The Distorted Caves is full of challenges that test not just ability but also sanity, but soon they come across a mysterious entity known as the Distorted Monstrosity. At first the player seems to be able to hold their own against it, but soon the monstrosity grows to a much larger size and begins tossing them around the cavern with telekinesis. They land on a granite platform, and find King Parcore is there. He entrusts the player with firework rockets, enabling them to fly around the monstrosity and destroy it.

After leaving the caves, they come out into The Fringe. King Parcore first explains that he survived after being thrown into the volcano in Assassin of Steve 2, and goes on to explain that he and Steve fought together in the Ender War, and that they were the ones to shut down the End Portal, breaking it up into the Empty Orb and Squiggly Replic. Of course, King Parcore took the Squiggly Replic and hid it in the Snout Temple, but he reveals Steve had the Empty Orb all along, and that this was likely why the Assassin killed Steve. He also says that the three End Ships that the player had encountered so far were both leftovers from the Ender War, having been trapped in the Overworld since it ended.

The player heads out into the Fringe, making their way through several areas, before eventually reaching the Assassin's Tower. A lot of Assassin Clones are guarding the walkway into it as well as its interior, but the player, with the help of Opara, Roger, and King Parcore, are able to make their way up to the top of the tower, where they meet the Assassin, standing on top of the Orb, which is now fully purple, and reveals the Master is about to arrive. He teleports in front of the player to attack, but then the screen goes black.

The player wakes up in a Stronghold, and makes their way through as an unknown voice speaks to them. Upon falling through the End Portal, they are greeted with a flashback, showing the original four mobs of Minecraft - Steve, Black Steve, Beast Boy, and Rana. They used to be friends, but when Black Steve, Beast Boy, and Rana were removed, they were put in the End, and they managed to unite the Endermen and forge a portal back to the Overworld, hence kicking off the Ender War. However, Beast Boy was killed in battle by Steve using a spell bestowed in him by the Creators, and Rana was sent back to the End. Black Steve was the only one who survived, and the cutscene shows Steve in Mt Jewel, just before he is killed. The camera pans to reveal Black Steve, putting on the enderman mask that makes him the Assassin.

Then begins the Black Steve boss fight. After some fighting, Black Steve reveals his and the players' minds have merged, and that 'the superior will win, while the inferior will lose', saying this is the only way to permanently kill individuals who can respawn such as the player without the spell that Steve used on Beast Boy. However, this is when Opara shows up. At first the player is skeptical of him, remembering when Roger told them that Opara left a magical trail behind him, meaning that he is not who he says he is. Opara says that is correct, that he is not really an iron golem, but he says he is still on the player's side. He turns to deal with the Assassin Clones, leaving the player alone with Black Steve. The player tries their best, but Black Steve overpowers them, but just before he can end them, Opara starts flying about, using spells against Black Steve, saying he will end him, but the player has to get out of there. The player uses some firework rockets and elytra to fly out, escaping the vision.

Once back in the real world, Opara and the Assassin both seem to be gone. The player explains what happened, but Roger is the one to notice that the Orb is beginning to act up. It is all too soon before it bursts, and the Master - Replicus - appears. After a lot of monologue, the screen goes black, and the player is ejected into the End. Once there they meet Rana, who reveals it had been Replicus who had made her, Black Steve and Beast Boy create an End Portal and invade the Overworld, and that she had told Steve how to shut down the End Portal, and that to prevent Replicus from thinking she'd betrayed him, Steve had sent her back to the End. When the player asks her who Replicus is, she explains he is an interdimensional conqueror who got trapped in the End somehow, and that Black Steve restoring the Orb had enabled him to come back into the Overworld. Being trapped in the End now, the player resolves to escape in order to return and stop Replicus. The player has to attack and defeat the Ender Dragon first, however this doesn't reopen the End Portal since the three Ender Captains took the three Endfinity Sources, so the player has to travel through three different end gateways in order to confront each of the Ender Captains. After defeating them, they are able to reopen the End Portal and return to the Overworld.

Once back in the Overworld, the player regroups with Roger and King Parcore, though Rana isn't there, and it soon becomes apparent that the Assassin's Tower has been flipped on its side and that a lot of Replicus Clones have been left behind in order to stop them from escaping. The player fights their way through, King Parcore helping them through the tower by placing blocks. They soon escape, and end up facing off against Replicus. However, they are unable to defeat him before he reaches the Overworld, coming out just above the entrance to the Distorted Caves. He has now grown to a ginormous size, and is holding the Orb in his hands, resolving to use it in order to destroy the Overworld. King Parcore tries to build a staircase to get up there, but Replicus uses telekinesis to fling him up into the sky. So the player instead climbs up his rib cage and armor and get on top of the Orb, where they are able to destroy it. From there they destroy Replicus's arms, but he turns his telekinesis upon the player instead, throwing them around before they land in front of... Opara. Charging the player up with a spell, he throws the player up into the air, who uses elytra to fly and ram into Replicus's eye. From there Replicus appears to be defeated.

The final cutscene of the map sees the player in a wide-open area. The first thing they see is Rana, who congratulates them on defeating Replicus, saying that all the dimensions, including the Overworld and the End, are now safe and at peace. Opara is there, too, who says the Creators bestowed the killing spell in the player, and additionally reveals that he was Steve all along. When the player is gobsmacked, he explains that he is indeed 'dead', but the Creators still allowed him to return to the land of the living in the form of Opara, in order to help the player on their quest. Rana says she died too, when Replicus learnt of her betrayal. Steve and Rana then leave, returning to the Creators.

## Development

After Assassin of Steve 2 was completed, Cavinator1 started work on a map called Beacon Defence, which was intended to be a standalone minigame/adventure map where the aim was to defend a beacon from waves of zombies. Development was cancelled when problems arose during 1.9's snapshots, which were mostly due to mob AI becoming too laggy when attempting to pathfind over large distances, which the map did a lot of.

Development for *Assassin of Steve 3* didn't start until shortly after Assassin of Steve 1's 1.9 update. The long break between finishing Assassin of Steve 2 and Assassin of Steve 3 meant Cavinator1 had had a lot of time to think of how the plot would go. It originally had the subtitle *Desert of Disaster*, a reference to a long-abandoned CTM map Cavinator1 once tried making named Disaster Desert, but this was changed to *Endergeddon* in order to emphasise the Enderman threat more as well as stress the finality of the map.

*Assassin of Steve 3* vastly improved on its two predecessors with lots of brand new technology. It was built from the ground up supporting 1.9’s loot tables meaning some very creative things with loot design such as legendary items and boxes were done. It was the first to use a required resource pack, which gave every weapon a custom 3D model as well as numerous custom mobs with custom masks such as the Sand Monster. Additionally, it was also the first map to use external tools to build the world - MCEdit was used to copy and paste in terrain from different biomes as well as to create some areas such as the Assassin’s Tower, the Fringe, and the Distorted Caves. The Steam Pirate Ships were copied and pasted from the abandoned Beacon Defence map and redesigned for the Steam Pirates. CutscenePRO by TheRedstoneScientist was used to make custom cutscenes for various story elements in the map. I also implemented royalty-free custom music into the map through the resource pack.

*Assassin of Steve 3* was built in 1.10, but 1.11 came out by the time command work started, so it was initially made for that. Originally *Assassin of Steve 3* was going to be updated for 1.12 in order to include advancements, however a minor change to command writing made this impossible without spending tons of time going through every command block in the map.

*Assassin of Steve 3*’s development started around the same time that Cavinator1 made his Twitter account, so it was the first map where he actively posted developmental screenshots throughout its development. He kept away from the plot where possible, mostly showcasing screenshots of builds and of 3D models to begin with, then eventually some gameplay screenshots.

This was also the first map where teaser trailers were released long before its release. Two teaser trailers were recorded and released during its development, the first revealing the subtitle - *Endergeddon -* as well as introducing the Green Endermen, while the second focussed on the pyramid mission with some hints at the Fringe and Distorted Caves. Both teasers as well as the release trailer made use of the Replay Mod to create epic cinematics.

## Release and Updates

**Assassin of Steve 3** was released on the December 1st, 2017. Its trailer was uploaded on January 14th, 2018, the delay mainly being due to problems recording in multiplayer. Fortunately, the cause of said problems was eventually discovered by a commenter on MinecraftForums, enabling the trailer to be made and released.

Its Lore update was released on March 30th, 2018, which added Lore Books to the map. Another update was released on its first anniversary, adding multiple new weapons to the legendary loot tables including fifteen new chairs as well as a new secret code that unlocked Chair Mode. It also added Baby Sand Monsters, which were petitioned to be added by the community on the Blaze and Cave Discord.

## Reception

*Assassin of Steve 3* currently has had over 17,000 downloads across all sites. It is praised as being one of the most cohesive of the trilogy as well as having one of the most clear stories. Many also praise the 3D weapons as well as some specific missions such as Mechanical Island. Some do criticise its bosses for being a little bit lackluster compared to Assassin of Steve 2's, and a few have said the ending is slightly unsatisfying or that Mission 14 is nothing but filler, or that Replicus is filler.

*Assassin of Steve 3* is currently the 4th highest rated map on Minecraft Maps.

*Assassin of Steve 3* was also the first (and still only) of the trilogy to gain any sort of recognition from a popular English-speaking YouTuber, namely Logdotzip, who mentioned it on one of his Minecraft News Update videos (the one with the clickbaity title “IS NOTCH CREATING A MINECRAFT 2?”).

## Legacy

*Assassin of Steve 3*, as well as the two other maps in the trilogy, have become something resembling cult maps, attracting a small but dedicated community on the Blaze and Cave discord.

## See also

Transcript of Assassin of Steve 3: Endergeddon

Assassin of Steve

Assassin of Steve 2: The Tribal Snouts

## References

1. ↑ See Sheriff Firearm's Journal#Trivia