Withers are the new mob introduced in 1.4. I conducted an experiment to see what would happen if someone happened to spawn lots of withers and other live mobs. This is what happened, In only 20 minutes. I spawned 1 wither on a village I happened to find, Damage was done. I spawned more, and placed pig spawners and bats, this happened in only 20 minutes. *Many pigs and bats were harmed in this process, for science*
Its a lot easier to just spawn the wither in a cage (block doesnt matter), filled with water with one hole, and kill it. No damage will be done, not the player, and not to the terrain.
Oh If I wanted to battle the wither safely, I would have. This is for purposes o experiment and see what could possibly happen. Lets say a determined griefer got a hold of a few skulls and some soulsand, they could do this, and protect themselves while doing it. Also, It was fun
This could probably be done with a limit of one boss mob per area that counts other entities, just adding BOSS MOBS: 0/1 could probably be done as long as they are in a different mob class than the rest
There was some discussion on a limiting system. The biggest thing to keep in mind is getting the skulls needed to spawn a wither isn't easy, and the nether star drop is extremely valuable. It's not going to be as easy as tossing some creative eggs out there. Still, there's a few things in testing that should limit some of it, but we will see whether they are needed.
Okay, I know the amazing staff will probably make this impossible for anyone to do, but It was a fun experiment. P.S. I think I killed all the villagers and burned down their houses.
Best option is to prevent the creation of Withers in the Wild. That at least means the Nether will have another good reason to go hunting in it.
Spawning a wither in a cage wont work too well, because if its captive, it has an easier chance of hitting you and when it does hit you, its life slightly refills.
Maybe there could be one area in the wild made of bedrock, it could be maybe the size of a residence, 60x60x60 and the coords would be made public, thats the only area you can battle the wither or spawn it, or you can make it larger, just make it contained.
