The Combat Update is the name for Java Edition version 1.9, a major update released on Monday, February 29, 2016.^[1] This update overhauled the combat system, among other additions and changes.

The official name for the update, the Combat Update,^[2] was discovered on April 1, 2015 by Reddit user 3dDeters (and several others independently) who found a QR code hidden in the snow falling pattern of the April Fools 15w14a snapshot.^[3]

Development on the Combat Update began at least a month before the Bountiful Update was released.^[4][5] The development period was over twice as long as the development period for 1.8 at 576 days; 2015 became the first year where a major update to Minecraft: Java Edition was not released. Snapshots began the day after 1.8.8 was released. 56 development snapshots were released, from 15w31a to 16w07b, making it the update with the most snapshots so far. The time between releases of 1.8 and 1.9 represent the longest time span between major updates, at 545 days. Fifteen iterations of the launcher were released during this period, from 1.5.2 to 1.6.59. 1.8.9 was also released during this period.

The development team called the release feature-complete by the end of October 2015, and started a lengthy period of gameplay balancing and bug-fixing^[6]. They later announced that 1.9 would not be released in 2015, as the developers "want to fix more bugs before release, and keep the game stable over the holidays".^[7]

Mojang released the first pre-release on February 17, 2016. The date for this was hinted at by the image in the blog post that announced snapshot 16w06a. The data values of the wool in the image were (1, 7, 0, 2, 2, 0, 1, 6), having a possible (though never confirmed) interpretation of "17-02-2016", a date just one week from 16w06a. The second pre-release was released on February 18th, the third pre-release was released on February 24, and the fourth pre-release was released on February 26.

Notable features[]

Additions[]

• A method of restarting the ender dragon boss fight.
• The infinite generating outer islands of the End, populated by chorus trees, end city structures and ships, and shulker mob.
• "Off-hand" slot for dual wielding.
• Attack strength mechanic.
• Attribute system expanded.
• Shield, spectral arrow, 14 types of tipped arrow and a lingering potion for each type of potion.
• Elytra for Gliding .
• Subtitles.
• Dominant hand option.
• Igloo structures that generate in cold biomes.
• Skeleton trap horses that spawn during thunderstorms.
• 13 new blocks: grass path, frosted ice, 2 new types of command block, chorus flower and chorus plant, end gateway block, end rod, end stone brick, purpur block, pillar, slab and stairs.
• New items: beetroot with seeds and soup, end crystal, normal and popped chorus fruit, luck potion and dragon's breath.
• 5 new splashes.
• 4 new particles:
  • sweepAttack, dragonBreath, endRod and damageIndicator
• 4 new status effects:
  • Levitation, Glowing, Luck and Bad Luck.
• 2 new enchantments:
  • Frost Walker and Mending
• 5 new statistics:
  • sleepInBed, sneakTime, pickup, drop and aviateOneCm
• Lots of new NBT tags.
• 3 new gamerules.
  • disableElytraMovementCheck, spectatorsGenerateChunks, spawnRadius
• 150+ new sound events.
• Support for Chinese, Japanese and Korean, and probably other IME languages.

Changes[]

• Changed the layout of the end island pillars and the ender dragon boss fight.
• Skeleton AI is more difficult.
• Sword blocking removed, and several other weapon techniques added.
• Tool damage is rebalanced.
• Sharpness and protection enchantments are nerfed.
• Status effect icons are now visible on the main screen.
• Health regeneration is rebalanced.
• Fishing is rebalanced.
• Brewing stands now require blaze powder.
• Enchanted golden apples are no longer craftable.
• Maps changed.
• Healing system based on saturation.
• Attack cool down on melee tools and weapons.
• Loot found in chests generated in the world is rebalanced.
• Death in hardcore mode allows the player to continue in spectator mode.
• Boats are improved.
• Stronghold generation increased to a maximum of 128 strongholds.
• Large oak trees generate in forests again.
• Increased fire spread while raining.
• Glass panes and iron bars have a thin appearance when not connected, as opposed to a crosslike appearance.
• Mobs and players now push one another around.
• Death message is now displayed on the death screen.
• Mob and player heights are slightly modified.
• Resource packs can specify models depending on damage value, item state, and hand.
• Structure data now comes from /assets/structures.
• Loot from mobs, fishing and chests is now determined by loot tables.

Performance and optimizations[]

• Particles are no longer entities
• Block ticking
• Mob pathfinding
• Memory usage when connected to servers

Trivia[]

• As the trend has been since version 1.2, the update notes say "Removed Herobrine", despite the fact that Herobrine was never part of the game.
• This update is often considered one of the worst updates to Minecraft (at least on Java Edition) due to the new unpopular combat mechanics.
• The name for the update was teased in the joke snapshot 15w14a with a QR code.
• This is the only update to date that released on leap day (February 29th) and is guaranteed to remain that way until at least 2024 (assuming no alterations are made to the calendar).

Further revisions[]

• 1.9.1 added elytra sound effects, the generic.armorToughness stat, and made the crosshair attack indicator visible by default, as well as other minor changes and bugfixes.
• 1.9.2 was released soon thereafter to fix a crash in 1.9.1, when riding boats and minecarts on Realms servers.
• 1.9.3 was released to fix several stability issues, add the /stopsound command, and to implement a blacklist for servers not in conformance with the Minecraft EULA.
• 1.9.4 was released soon thereafter to fix an erroneous Realms warning.

References[]

[hide]Minecraft: Java Edition versions
Versions	Demo Locations PC Gamer demo (Beta 1.3) Classic remake (0.0.23a_01) Missing versions (Launcher)
Development cycle	Pre-Classic (2009) Classic (2009) Indev (2009–10) Infdev (2010) Alpha (2010) Beta (2010–11) Full Release (2011–present)
Other updates	Launcher updates Beta Sound Update (2011) Music Update (2013) Texture Update (2019)
April Fools updates	2.0 (2013) 15w14a (2015) 1.RV-Pre1 (2016) 3D Shareware v1.34 (2019) 20w14∞ (2020)
[show]Pre-Classic
[show]Classic
[show] Indev
[show] Infdev
[show] Alpha
[show]Beta
[hide]Full Release Version history Development versions 1.0 Adventure Update (Part 2) (Guide) 1.0.0 pre pre2 pre3** pre4* pre5 pre6 RC1 RC2** 1.0.1 1.1 (Guide) 1.1 11w47a 11w48a 11w49a 11w50a 12w01a 1.2 (Guide) 1.2.1 12w03a 12w04a 12w05a* 12w05b 12w06a 12w07a 12w07b 12w08a 1.2 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.2.5 1.3 (Guide) 1.3.1 12w15a 12w16a 12w17a 12w18a 12w19a 12w21a 12w21b* 12w22a 12w23a 12w23b 12w24a 12w25a 12w26a 12w27a 12w30a 12w30b 12w30c 12w30d 12w30e 1.3 1.3.2 1.4 Pretty Scary Update (Guide) 1.4.2 12w32a 12w34a 12w34b 12w36a 12w37a 12w38a 12w38b 12w39a 12w39b 12w40a 12w40b 12w41a 12w41b 12w42a 12w42b 1.4 1.4.1 1.4.4 1.4.3 1.4.5* 1.4.6** 12w49a 12w50a 12w50b 1.4.7 1.5 Redstone Update (Guide) 1.5* 13w01a 13w01b 13w02a 13w02b 13w03a** 13w04a 13w05a* 13w05b 13w06a* 13w07a 13w09a 13w09b 13w09c 13w10a 13w10b 1.5.1* 13w11a 13w12~* 1.5.2* 1.6 Horse Update (Guide) 1.6.1 13w16a* 13w16b* 13w17a 13w18a 13w18b 13w18c 13w19a 13w21a 13w21b 13w22a 13w23a 13w23b* 13w24a 13w24b 13w25a 13w25b 13w25c 13w26a 1.6 1.6.2** 1.6.4 1.6.3* 1.7 The Update that Changed the World (Guide) 1.7.2 13w36a** 13w36b** 13w37a 13w37b 13w38a 13w38b 13w38c* 13w39a 13w39b 13w41a 13w41b* 13w42a 13w42b 13w43a 1.7 1.7.1 1.7.4 13w47a 13w47b 13w47c 13w47d 13w47e 13w48a 13w48b 13w49a 1.7.3 1.7.5 1.7.6 pre1 pre2 1.7.7* 1.7.8 1.7.9 1.7.10 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 1.8 Bountiful Update (Guide) 1.8 14w02a 14w02b 14w02c 14w03a 14w03b 14w04a* 14w04b* 14w05a 14w05b 14w06a 14w06b 14w07a 14w08a 14w10a 14w10b 14w10c* 14w11a 14w11b 14w17a 14w18a 14w18b 14w19a 14w20a 14w20b 14w21a 14w21b 14w25a 14w25b 14w26a 14w26b 14w26c 14w27a 14w27b 14w28a 14w28b 14w29a 14w29b 14w30a 14w30b 14w30c 14w31a 14w32a 14w32b 14w32c 14w32d 14w33a 14w33b 14w33c 14w34a 14w34b 14w34c 14w34d pre1 pre2 pre3 1.8.1 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 1.8.2 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 1.8.3 1.8.4 1.8.5 1.8.6 1.8.7 1.8.8 1.8.9 1.9 Combat Update (Guide) 1.9 15w31a 15w31b 15w31c 15w32a 15w32b 15w32c 15w33a 15w33b 15w33c 15w34a 15w34b 15w34c 15w34d 15w35a 15w35b 15w35c 15w35d 15w35e 15w36a 15w36b 15w36c 15w36d 15w37a 15w38a 15w38b 15w39a 15w39b 15w39c 15w40a 15w40b 15w41a 15w41b 15w42a 15w43a 15w43b 15w43c 15w44a 15w44b 15w45a 15w46a 15w47a 15w47b 15w47c 15w49a 15w49b 15w50a 15w51a 15w51b 16w02a 16w03a 16w04a 16w05a 16w05b 16w06a 16w07a 16w07b pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 1.9.1 pre1 pre2 pre3 1.9.2 1.9.3 16w14a 16w15a 16w15b pre1 pre2 pre3 1.9.4 1.10 Frostburn Update (Guide) 1.10 16w20a 16w21a 16w21b pre1 pre2 1.10.1 1.10.2 1.11 Exploration Update (Guide) 1.11 16w32a 16w32b 16w33a 16w35a 16w36a 16w38a 16w39a 16w39b 16w39c 16w40a 16w41a 16w42a 16w43a 16w44a pre1 1.11.1 16w50a* 1.11.2 1.12 World of Color Update (Guide) 1.12 17w06a 17w13a 17w13b 17w14a 17w15a 17w16a 17w16b 17w17a 17w17b 17w18a 17w18b pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 1.12.1 17w31a pre1 1.12.2 pre1 pre2 1.13 Update Aquatic (Guide) 1.13 17w43a 17w43b 17w45a 17w45b 17w46a 17w47a 17w47b 17w48a 17w49a 17w49b 17w50a 18w01a 18w02a 18w03a 18w03b 18w05a 18w06a 18w07a 18w07b 18w07c 18w08a 18w08b 18w09a 18w10a 18w10b 18w10c 18w10d 18w11a 18w14a 18w14b 18w15a 18w16a 18w19a 18w19b 18w20a 18w20b 18w20c 18w21a 18w21b 18w22a 18w22b 18w22c pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 pre8 pre9 pre10 1.13.1 18w30a 18w30b 18w31a 18w32a 18w33a pre1 pre2 1.13.2 pre1 pre2 1.14 Village & Pillage (Guide) 1.14 18w43a 18w43b 18w43c 18w44a 18w45a 18w46a 18w47a 18w47b 18w48a 18w48b 18w49a 18w50a 19w02a 19w03a 19w03b 19w03c 19w04a 19w04b 19w05a 19w06a 19w07a 19w08a 19w08b 19w09a 19w11a 19w11b 19w12a 19w12b 19w13a 19w13b* 19w14a 19w14b pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 1.14.1 pre1 pre2 1.14.2 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4* 1.14.3 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 1.14.4 pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 1.15 Buzzy Bees (Guide) 1.15 19w34a 19w35a 19w36a 19w37a 19w38a 19w38b 19w39a 19w40a 19w41a 19w42a 19w44a 19w45a 19w45b 19w46a 19w46b pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 1.15.1 pre1 1.15.2 pre1 pre2 1.16 Nether Update (Guide) 1.16* 20w06a 20w07a 20w08a 20w09a 20w10a 20w11a 20w12a 20w13a 20w13b 20w14a 20w15a 20w16a 20w17a 20w18a 20w19a 20w20a 20w20b 20w21a 20w22a pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 pre6 pre7 pre8 rc1 1.16.1 1.16.2 20w27a 20w28a 20w29a 20w30a pre1 pre2 pre3 rc1 rc2 1.16.3 rc1 1.16.4 pre1 pre2 rc1 1.16.5 rc1* 1.17 Caves & Cliffs: Part I 1.17 20w45a 20w46a 20w48a 20w49a 20w51a 21w03a 21w05a 21w05b 21w06a 21w07a 21w08a 21w08b 21w10a 21w11a 21w13a 21w14a 21w15a 21w16a 21w17a 21w18a 21w19a 21w20a pre1 pre2 pre3 pre4 pre5 rc1 rc2 1.17.1 pre1 pre2 pre3 rc1 rc2 1.18 Caves & Cliffs: Part II 1.18 Experimental 1 2 Combat Tests 1.14.3 - Combat Test Combat Test 2 Combat Test 3 Combat Test 4 Combat Test 5 Combat Test 6 Combat Test 7c Combat Test 7 Combat Test 7b Combat Test 8b Combat Test 8c