Minecraft‘s combat rework had been on ice for a long while, but it looks like Mojang is making up for lost time. The third revision of the month, combat snapshot 8b, is now live with another set of changes. There aren’t any huge gameplay tweaks this time – instead, we’ve mostly got balance adjustments, which offer up hope that the changes will be hitting the live game sooner rather than later.
“Mostly balance changes this time,” Mojang’s Jens Bergensten writes. “I think we’re getting somewhere.” Two major gameplay features have been restored after snapshot 7c. Eating will once again be interrupted by attacks, and bow fatigue is back – though now, the accuracy penalty will only apply after you’ve held the string back for three seconds.
Otherwise, it’s all balance changes. Healing potions now heal more points per level, and all potions and liquid food can be consumed faster. Strength I and II have been tweaked to provide percentage bonuses instead of raw number upgrades, and enchantments are now considered part of a weapon’s base damage, offering up better numbers for crits and potions.
As always, you can download and install the combat snapshot via Reddit. These combat tests are only available through Java, and unlike the usual snapshots, have to be installed through a separate download rather than through the client itself. Check out the full list of tweaks and changes below.
Features that have made a return:
- Returned eating interruption for getting hit (by players or mobs), also applies to drinking
- Returned bow fatigue for holding the bow pulled, but it doesn’t start until 3 seconds. Bow fatigue will also cancel out “critical arrows”
Balance changes:
- Weapon enchantments are now included in the base damage when calculating crits and potion effects
- Strength I/II now adds +20%/+40% (was +3/+6 damage)
- Instantenous effects on tipped arrows are now scaled by 1/8, just like the duration of other effects
- Healing potions now heal 6 points per level (was 4)
- Cleaving now adds +2/+3/+4 points of damage (was +1/+2/+3)
- Liquid food (stews, honey, milk) can now be consumed faster (20 ticks, was 32 or 40 ticks)
- Potions can now be drunk faster (20 ticks, was 32 ticks)
Bug fixes:
- Fixed shield protection arcs… again!
- Improved server-side attack range calculations, should hopefully mean fewer “false misses” but still needs more work
If you missed what else was changed in Minecraft combat snapshot 6 and Minecraft combat snapshot 7c, you know where to click. We’ve also got guides to Minecraft mobs, Minecraft enchantments, and the best Minecraft builds if you’re looking to get more out of the sandbox.