[Suggestion] Enderman Features: "Get Over Here", "Get Out of Here", Block Moving, Item Stealing

[SandwichHorror]

Apologies for the suggestion spam. Still, I figure you can either be inspired by these thoughts, or close the issue and move on.

What is this?
New features for Endermen to carry on the legacy of Epic Siege Mod and Rough Mobs.
To fit with the rest of Enhanced AI, each feature would of course be chance-based, perhaps 5-10% by default, and could be set to 0 or 1 to disable or guarantee every Enderman have these features.

• "Summoning" teleport ability or "Get Over Here!"
  This feature would allow Endermen to have a "Summoning" or "offensive" teleport ability. An angered Enderman with this ability has a chance to teleport its target within its reach. The Enderman would have a higher priority to use this task when its target is well out of its reach, but has a chance to use it at any distance within its follow range.

• "Defensive" teleport ability or "Get Out of Here!"
  This feature would allow Endermen to have a "defensive" teleport ability. An angered Enderman that has recently taken damage and is nearby its target would have a chance to teleport its target to a random location within a radius - at least 8 or 12 blocks away from the Enderman. Optionally, the Enderman could dynamically use this ability based on its current health. The lower the health, the greater the chance an Enderman would use this ability. Disabling the health-based usage would make the Enderman use this ability sporadically, causing any fight with an Enderman to be very chaotic and unpredictable.

Taken together, these two teleportation features would make any Enderman a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. With the Enderman's existing way to teleport itself plus two new ways to reposition its enemy to its own advantage, fighting an Enderman would feel more like you're fighting a clever and disorienting alien than a tough zombie that randomly warps around. Just as a creeper can rush up, spot you through a wall, launch itself to you and breach your defenses, an Enderman with both of these abilities would be able to warp you to itself and attack you, warp you away as you nearly kill it with a Netherite sword, then teleport behind you and close in for the kill.

• Block Moving
  Currently, an Enderman is easily thwarted by a 2-block tall ceiling. While the “Get Over Here” teleport would solve that, this would be a supplement or alternative feature akin to a deprecated feature of Quark: “Anti-Enderman Cheese”. With the Block Moving ability, an Enderman would quickly pick up and break any individual block in its way preventing it from reaching its target. This would not be like the zombie Digger ability, and would only be used if there were 1-2 blocks between the Enderman and its target (whereas a zombie could make a proper tunnel into a base).
  By default, not all Endermen would have the “Get Over Here” teleport, if implemented: this block moving alternative would allow more variation in strategy when facing Endermen - could this one teleport me, or will it break my 3-block-high shelter? Additionally, players who feel being forcibly teleported is too overpowered may prefer this less intrusive alternative.

• Item Stealing/Disruption
  Inspired by Rough Mobs, this is another utility or disruptive feature that Endermen could have. With this ability, an Enderman would have the ability to displace an item the player is holding in their main or offhand. If this is something that appeals to you, you could have it either so that the “stealing” happens when the Enderman hits its target (akin to whacking the item out of the player’s hands), or something that happens more remotely without requiring the Enderman to damage its target, such as within 5-10 blocks (akin to telekinesis). The item would be thrown from the player over a distance of a few blocks.
  As a very direct and invasive ability with a high potential for frustration, a kind and generous modder might provide some way to counteract this feature. Rough Mobs originally had it so that holding an Eye of Ender (by default) in the hotbar would prevent Endermen from stealing items. The specific item could be configured, or multiple items could be added. For greater difficulty, an option might be added that the player must hold the configured item in the main or offhand, like a Totem of Undying.

• Mob Farm Mechanics
  Forced teleportation and block-moving features, when they existed in mob-AI-mods, were immensely unpopular with players who sought to make Enderman farms. I believe most people interested in Enhanced AI and new ways of mob griefing do not particularly care about making foolproof mob farms, but if you implement any similar features to the above suggestions, Enderman farmers can still be thrown a bone with an optional nerfing mechanic. This might be as simple as a damage-based cooldown where “if an Enderman has taken water damage in the last X ticks, it can’t use its forced teleportation” or an option where “Endermen can only use the forced teleportation on minecraft:player” (so endermites couldn’t be teleported, thereby breaking farms). If a built-in nerf like this were to be included, I recommend it be off by default, because clearly the core demographic of Enhanced AI is masochists who don’t care about making abilities “fairer”.

Why?
Enhanced AI seeks to upgrade vanilla mobs with enhanced AI behaviors for greater difficulty and carry on the legacy of Epic Siege Mod, appealing to players who crave tougher and more unpredictable monsters. No mods in 1.16.5 currently add any equivalent features to the Endermen. If Enhanced AI allows creepers to be shock troopers and elite assault forces, breaching walls and launching themselves through the air, skeletons to be deadly snipers from 4 chunks away, and zombies to be deadly miners and architects, Endermen deserve tricky and frightening abilities to cement their identity as a rare and powerful teleporting alien.

It's worth noting that all these features can be experienced on older versions with Epic Siege Mod, Rough Mobs Revamped, and Quark, and this combined experience makes Endermen a terror to fight!

[Insane96]

Ok, Endermen ... have a problem: they are pretty strong, having them teleport the player everywhere make them too unpredictable. The "Summoning" and "Defensive" abilities might be too strong. I'll think about them.

[SandwichHorror]

I think it's in-line with the other mobs' features for a couple reasons.

• Other mobs are getting hella buffed. Skeletons sniping from 4 chunks away and creepers launching and breaching walls are very intimidating. The skeleton buffs aren't even chance-based; by default, all skeletons have those.

• The Enderman, unlike the others, is a neutral mob. You engage it on your terms, and never sooner, unless you accidentally look at one (which would still be your fault). If anything, this would warrant stronger buffs for the Enderman comparatively to the other hostile mobs, because you don't get to choose whether a creeper is going to breach your wall or whether a skeleton is gonna turn you into a pincushion from across a valley.

• The Enderman already has a lot of counters to it. A pumpkin prevents accidental aggro, making them truly harmless until you attack first. They can't walk in water, so a bucket is a quick safe zone or area denial tool. And, of course, the cheesy 2-block high wall is just a ridiculous counter to Endermen in general.

If Endermen were hostile, I would agree that these abilities are too strong, but I've played for years with these features (and made a modpack with them) and I think they are exactly what Endermen need to maintain their reputation as something you should only fight when you're truly ready, instead of a pushover that can be nullified with any of several easy methods.

[Insane96]

The skeleton buffs aren't even chance-based; by default, all skeletons have those.

That's true, I will add a config for that.

The Enderman already has a lot of counters to it. A pumpkin prevents accidental aggro, making them truly harmless until you attack first. They can't walk in water, so a bucket is a quick safe zone or area denial tool. And, of course, the cheesy 2-block high wall is just a ridiculous counter to Endermen in general.

That's true, I will think about this.

[kristibektashi]

Any progress on this? I do believe endermen need a buff to be more in line with other mobs

[Insane96]

Partially done "Get over here", but I don't like it so it's disabled by default

[Insane96]

Item disruption done for 2.0