"if we can respawn, shouldn't they be able to as well?", they must've been playing in hardcore mode all along, smh

Speed runners: yeah, we freed our ancestors faster than average

Everyone asks what’s Steve but no one asks how’s Steve 😔

Actually, it has been stated there's lore in Minecraft. Ravagers were initially supposed to be scared off by bunnies in much the same way as creepers are afraid of cats, but one of the devs rejected that idea siting lore inconsistency.

“The enderman are our ancient ancestors” Won’t stop me making a enderman genocide farm

It’s simple, the ancient builders where on hardcore mode. Steve has just learned how to use open to lan

I have two issues with this theory: 1. Timing. If Steve is resurrected from the moment he initially died, then how has the world changed so much? Presumably, it took a long time for the various structures to fall into ruin, for the builders to become the endermen, for the piglin civilization to rise up in the Nether etc... There has to have been a long, long, _long_ time between the destruction of the builders' civilization and the appearance of Steve given how pristine and untouched the world is when we first arrive. Also, if the wither was the cataclysm that started all of this, where is it? Surely it didn't just disappear. There has to be at least one wither out there still wrecking havoc. 2. If defeating the enderdragon is the key to Steve's redemption, why can we still respawn after dying, even if the enderdragon is dead? Tangentially, wouldn't it make more sense for the task of redemption to be killing the wither? Why get this completely unrelated space dragon involved? It's an interesting theory and, if nothing else, would make for a good story, but I don't think it necessarily fits Minecraft

My biggest problem with theories like this is people taking game mechanics at face value when they don't necessarily line up with the canon lore.

Fun fact: When Steve dies in hardcore he takes existence with him

Unpopular opinion: everybody is Steve with a costume on top

I like to think that Shulker Boxes are weightless. If you think about it Shulkers can fly, and since their boxes would be really heavy because there's something in them controlling the boxes that would make it impossible to fly if they were really that heavy.

1:07 just imagine you’re an Guardian just seeing an unkillable man talking to them self while tweaking and fisting the water while on the place you’re guarding.

“If I kill Jerry he won’t respawn” Hypixel Skyblock would like to disagree.

Alternate theory: the other builders died and ragequit

I like this cycle theory. One of the official Minecraft books “The End” talks about a cycle, the two entities, and endermen being able to interact with each other (share stories from generation to generation which leads to them know what Steve is)

1. the respawn mechanic isn't necessarily canon, but bringing it up is an interesting idea. 2. it's cool to have an explanation for why Steve exists. 3. the game continues after you beat the dragon, and you continue to respawn. 4. there's definitely a time skip between the start of the game and the calamity, which the two entities would've had to do on purpose, which isn't impossible, yet seems odd.

“The ability to respawn” Hardcore players: Yep definitely

Theory: The respawning isnt a gift, its a curse from the gods so we can never escape the chaos we have caused

5:08 "The ability to respawn" Hardcore: Am I a joke to you?

People like to connect Steve with some sort of ancient builders, but Steve kind of seems like some sort of eldritch god, able to dig and build massive things in seconds and change the landscape, and is literally immortal.

Minecraft Steve is a character where you can remove two pixels on the eyes and be horrified as a child

Videos in a few years be like: What is Minecraft, Steve: Q&A with Steve himself

Very interesting theory, only one problem. How come you can still respawn after killing the dragon?

What I just realized is that we have two souls, that guy that started this, and the last builder. We are merged but not the same. Main proof “how did WE get here” that means that guy is guiding us but isn’t really us. Like a backseat driver. That is how we know crafting recipes, he knew them.

My theory is that steve is the reason the ancient builders disappeared. He didn’t kill them, they just found out some immortal guy who could basically do anything was going to appear, so they got tf outta there.

Wifies: Villagers are smart. Villagers: *Kidnapped using a land boat*.

Survival steve : building level or lower Creative steve : Universal level.

Three issues: 1) Endermen still hate you after you free the end. 2) You can still respawn after freeing the end. 3) The gods directly say "Now, wake up" implying you're not finished. While I like this theory, I feel there are better explanations. To me, Steve is one of those gods, but inside a human body and with limited power. What are the gods? People playing in creative, people who have the true powers you can get, and as such, are bored. So, to amuse themselves, one of them got turned into a human, one got given the ability to roam this world with finite power. But there's nothing fun on seeing someone fail, the same way you can still play football after a defeat, so they made him immortal so he could try again and again. But being creatures who were used to be all powerful, most of them just gave up, they didn't wanna try anymore because there was no reason to do so if it was going to be THAT hard. And so, we get Steve. He wanted to try, he wanted to see what happens, he was new for this people and he wanted to be new for this world. The gamemode is called "Survival" for a reason. He thrived, he found new things to amuse himself. Now, as another creature of this plane, he could experience the world around him. Endermen hate you not because you're the cause of the dragon slaving them, but because you're not supposed to be here, they hate endermite precisely for the same reason. As such, even if you free the end, they'll still hate you. As such, even if you free the end, you'll still respawn because there's more things to do in order to amuse yourself. You're a god, you're just playing. You played well, and while going back to a new body, you hear your mates praise you for your efforts. They know who you are, what made you, what are you inside of. You're not in a real world, this is just something they created to amuse themselves. You're inside a machine, dreaming. And the dream was long, and the dream was beautiful. And for your dream they created the world around you, the computer in which said world is inside. The person moving you around and the people before them. Steve is you, you're Steve, you're one of those gods playing the Steve's role. You're the player. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Unknown.

"You, the player, Steve" The cleric villager in the backgroud: falling down a bottemless pit for villager reasons 0:45

I think witches are also intelligent mobs, they know how to brew potions and strategically use them in battle.

not sure about Steve having created the wither, but I feel like when the gods are talking about being proud of this Steve in the poem, it's maybe referring to the idea that Steve doesn't actually respawn in his actual body, but instead respawns in a completely new body, and his memories are transferred into the new body.

Steve was in a safe state of suspended animation. When he awakens after the apocalypse he/you have no memory of anything that happened before being frozen.

“And yeah, we can sprint, we can swim, we can crawl, but that’s just because Steve is built different.” - Wifies 2021

"How do you, Steve fit into the game" Players that play as Alex: *why are we here, just to suffer?*

I like the idea of Steve being respawned and tested by higher, powerful god-like entities. Another thing I thought of while viewing your video and processing the theory was the kind-of resemblance with the choice of world difficulty while starting a new world and Undertale, where our actions lead to different routes (good ending, bad ending etc..). I think the world might be a crafted dimension by said superior entities to serve as kind of Limbo, where the player is given a second chance to redeem themselves and their misconduct that led to the extinction of the ancient builders in their past life. That would explain why there is a canon name for the player (Steve being part of the ancient builders) and why it is easy for us to change our "identities" (being the username, the skin..) - because it would be a "wish" of rebirth granted by higher-ups. Though, the hardcore mode would make a lot of sense being the real canon route, since based on the End Poem, we do serve as a "player" - an entity being toyed by god-like creators. However, the part "this player" in the End Poem makes me wonder if the universe might multidimensional, given that we are designated and there might be another one like the player and MC and variations of the game such as MC Dungeons are connected altogether.. Then, would that mean that Steve isn't the only one at fault for destroying the race of ancient builders.. Another thing that would confirm this thought would be the interactive Minecraft game where the player has the purpose to beat the Wither Storm that they spawned "on accident" and is accompagnied by other people.

Wifies: steve cant fly Elytra: allow me to introduce myself Creative Mode: me too!

Notch after watching this video: "Ye this what I planned happened, yep totally"

Remember: It's a smile, not a beard.

Oh, that's easy. He's a character! A very iconic one.

Before the release of Minecraft Story Mode, there was a little game you could play where you'd ask questions to a bot. If you asked about Steve, this is the response: "Steve has expressed that he doesn’t want us delving into his sordid past." Another bit of offical dialog from the same thing: "Minecraft: Story Mode won't be about Steve's disturbing origin story" This was back in 2014

"you cannot give up yet!" "Steve Stay Determined!"

"the ability to respawn" Hardcore mode: Am i a joke to you?

I always figured that Steve was something created by the ancient builders. Something that coudn't die, and their first successful experiment for immortality. Then, confident in their abilities, they made the wither, and it's all history. Or maybe Steve was taking a long time to complete the process of being brought to life and they got impatient, and that's why we spawn to long after the events take place, because we just finished gaining life. I dunno, with the 1.19 update and the echo shards and the recovery compass, it gets all wierd and complicated.

One thing that can really prove this theory right is the book that contains all the recipe for you to advance, it's not an actual book but more of a memory where steve stock recipes, but recipe can be optain with only one object even for more complex items/blocks, so maybe steve lost memory from his first death and slowly remembers recipe that he did with fellow builders, given this idea the advancements could totally come from the same thing, the first advancement is just commun sense that every builders would have but the more he does it the more he remember what he gotta do, and also what he did explaining "the beggening" achivement name

Mojang: "We made a sandbox game and we just keep updating it, calm down." LOL

Sbeve the Sbinner

I actually really like this theory. Very well thought out and ties a lot of things in together. Yup. I’ll sub to that theory.

I have been on the Minecraft lore grind, and this is the 23rd lore video I’ve seen. If we look at RGN’s breakdown of how to interpret Minecraft lore, we see that there are categories. Not to downplay your research, but this seems like more of a gameplay aspect, just like infinite water sources or milking any cow. Without the ability to respawn, it would limit the sandbox gam side of it. There is also hardcore mode…

Steve can basically do anything, yet dies to hunger

I'm shocked how everyone puts together these theories and never acknowledges the zombies. You always hear people compare Steve to the villagers but they are always missing the fact that the zombies shapes and colors are almost exactly like Steve.

every time steve wakes up from a nap he creates a new multiverse out of sheer unmatched power steve is omniscience

Consider this: things in Steve's inventory don't age or decay Corals don't dry, Torches don't fizzle, Observers don't pulse, Leaves don't fade He can be described as a "time fridge"

Wifies talking about Enderman being dumb be like: "Oh No!" "Anyway..."

This is an interesting idea, and I enjoyed how you approached it from a more symbolic perspective. I have been thinking about the "Steve question" for months now, and I have come to a much different conclusion (which I will eventually explain in a video of my own). Nonetheless, I always like seeing how others approach the lore of Minecraft. One of the beautiful parts of the game is how it's open to interpretation, and I'm happy I got the chance to see what you think about one of the tougher subjects in Minecraft!

Steve is the Main Protagonist of Minecraft.

I like this theory... it fits with one thing the Endermen all seem to say to me: "Its the Creator" At first, I thought they were telling each other "Its the creator, the player, of this game world..." Only now, it fits nicely in your theory, "Its the Creator. Of the Wither."

Theory: respawning isn’t supposed to be canon

“The ability to respawn” Hardcore: am i a joke to you?

I wasn't expecting a game theory parody.

Wifles I am impressed this makes actual sense the facts and achievements it makes concrete sense. Most Impressive!

“We respawn.” Me, a hardcore player: well yes, but actually no

Theory: The gods manipulate Evokers to create Totems of Undying for Steve. Think about it. Evokers possess items that can cheat death, but never use them? And we know that it is possible for these Illager species to hold things like Axes and crossbows- and even Evokers spread their arms apart to summon Vexes and Fangs. I think the gods are tasking the illagers as challenges for Steve. The Illagers only perform coordinated raids on villages when they know Steve is there (somehow). They certainly have beef with the Villagers but seem to only act when Steve is around. It’s a pretty loose theory but it kinda fits the idea that these gods are setting things up in favor of Steve.

this is an interesting idea,and definitely explains a lot of unexplainable stuff that shouldnt make sense,such as the wither achievement,the end achievement,and the enderman's rage and reluctance for us to look in their eyes.Freeing our ancestors and having the ability to respawn help us with that would also be sensible. However,the ability to respawn and carry large amounts of heavy blocks carry on throughout the entire game,unless your in hardcore where you can never respawn regardless of before or after you defeat the dragon. So why do we have the ability to respawn and carry large amounts of blocks even when we have finished all our tasks?if the gods of the world are powerful enough to give us these abilities,surely they are able to take away those powers as soon as possible?

What is a steve? : "A miserable pile of...."

Let's just stop for a while and appreciate the way he said "death" with the beat at 10:28

“I like this player” implies others…. Could Steve not have been alone, but he would have been the only one not to give up

Since cartographers sell tons of maps and Steve knows how to read them, I thought that Steve was an explorer who was far away during the outbreak and came back to see the civilisation he once belonged to destroyed and thus tried to rebuild it.

I always liked Steve even though I didn’t know anything about him. Now that he is a potential villain I like him even more.

I- how are y’all making these amazing theories!? I’m over here trying to figure out how to craft a bow n’ arrow!? 😭

these are the questions nobody else is getting the answers to!

Making Piglin trades like Villager trades would improve them as a mob

Dude I never thought of it this way, it makes sense and Matpat completely overlooked this. Somebody show him this PLEASE.

wifies should make a video that combines all of his lore theories into one main story

“If I kill jerry here-“ *scared hypixel skyblock noises*

i didnt notice u had 1 mil subs!! CONGRATS!!

Id say steve is some being like a growth that evolved, like sculk is it evolved so far that it has a body and if that body dies it will create a new one from resources around its set point (where it would prob leave something that could actually gather energy or resource to create the body aka a bed or a respawn anchor). which for respawn anchors would be the glowstone inside, and for overworld just the around materials creating artificial bodys to house its mind in. It would also work with the fact the warden prob killed remaining withers, and with the time it mustve took for all the builders structures to decay and for them to turn into endermen.

"Steve is just the way he is". He is just finding for Alex who is his female counterpart

Wifies: Why don't they respawn? Me: they were playing on hardcore mode.

"it's marketed as a *sandbox*" *shows desert* i totally believe that

Wifies: steve has the ability to respawn Me: so does the ancient builders in hardcore mode?

Steve is what i called "The Chosen One" because he was chosen to free the end.

I like to believe Steve’s ability to respawn is correlated with the illagers and their tests with life. I believe they found a way to make a master builder be able to respawn, and some other turn of events led to their escape to the end.

7:06 Because from a lore standpoint i’d say we should play in hardcore, whereas the normal survival mode is forgiving.

Steve is a powrefull multiversal God who creates worlds on a whim,then Imposes various limitations upon himself to make existance more interesting/challenging but he never looses his power. Commands are alwyas on.

Notch just chillin wondering what happens.

I honestly feel like the pillagers, and specifically the evokers have something to do with Steve being immortal or atleast respawning. From totems that defy death, to wools that has the same exact color of Steve, it's almost impossible to never point out the relationships of both entities.

You had to much fun making this video!

I have a theory, spectator mode is just the perspective of a free soul, because when you use boots with the soul speed enchantment or whatever its called you can see the souls getting freed into the air

And then when the dragon is dead another steve comes and places 4 end crystals and the gods are like wtf man

People in hardcore: *And i took that personally.*

Ilysm you explained this in such a GOOD Way SO EPIC

Lemme give you my theory, Before the builder's exinction, they know it was happening, their population was getting thinner and theu could't make new builders (babies or otherwise), so they recruited witches or did the magic themselves to create something that would save them from death and extinction, the first iteration was healing potions then the totem of undying, it worked but wasn't perfect, at some point, a witch realized that escaping death by regenerating the body may not be the answer and decided to experiment with soul transfer, the result was a curse that reconstructs a new body and transfers the soul to it, the soul tried to go back to the last place it was free in, the place of birth or the place of sleeping. Although this worked, there wasn't enough time left to save everyone, you, the first successful experiment was lost to them when you died the first time as they didn't know where you were born, the last ones ended up dying and you remained, forever cursed by the cicle of life and death, living in loneliness, trying to find a meaning to your lives.

6:38 “We the player are the last person alive” Multiplayer: let me introduce myself

Hardcore mode: I’m about to end this mans whole career.

The Ender Dragon when Wifies says no other mob can respawn: Bruh, ever heard of end crystals?

“Why can we respawn but the old builders can’t?” *Minecraft hardcore joins the chat*

Interesting theory! Perhaps also, the achievements/goal system is a way for the ancient gods to guide the player towards defeating the dragon, encouraging the player to work forward systematically to get more prepared and closer to the end, to repent for Steve’s past mistakes…

"one thing seems so much more advanced and intelligent, you, the player" how dare you assume I can put a staircase down at the right orientation on the first try

As far as im concerned, this is the lore fits like a glove! Good stuff man 👉😎👉

One problem: you still can respawn when we kill the dragon.