Minecraft may be the best-known game of our time about building things with friends. It only makes sense, then, that developer Mojang continue to release updates and patches for the game four years after its official retail release, and nearly a decade since the game was first made available to blockheads everywhere.
According to a blog post from the Mojang website, the newest patch – which brings the game to version 1.9 – is designed to update combat mechanics to “make fighting more interesting and offer more map-making options.”
If you’re at all confused about how a game like Minecraft could release an update almost entirely focused on combat, you are almost definitely not alone. But Mojang’s post revealed a near-exhaustive list of changes, including the addition of items like shields and new mechanical tweaks like cool-down meters for attacks. Take a gander at the full shebang:
- Added shields
- Attacking now has a “cool-down” delay, making it more important to time your attacks
- You can now hold items in both hands (default quick key to swap items is ‘F’)
- Swords have a special sweep attack
- Axes have a special crushing blow attack
- Added the elytra
- New mob: Shulker
- Expanded The End
- Added Chorus plants
- New Purpur blocks
- New End Rod block
- Added dragon head block
- Ender Dragon can be resummoned
- Added beetroot and beetroot soup (from MC:PE)
- Added grass path block
- Added igloos
- Armor protection values have been lowered
- Added tipped arrows
- Added spectral arrows
- Added Frost Walker enchantment and frosted ice block
- Added a whole bunch of new sound effects
- Added sound effect subtitles
- Brewing Stand now requires Blaze Powder to activate
- Added skeleton riders
- We believe we’ve fixed MC-10 and a whole bunch of other issues
- Removed Herobrine
The v. 1.9 update has been released as of today for PC, with no official word as to when a console version of the patch will be out.
