Java Edition 20w12a

20w12a is the seventh snapshot for Java Edition 1.16, released on March 18, 2020, which adds respawn anchors and polished basalt, as well as several other changes and fixes.

Blocks

 * Polished basalt
 * Obtained by smelting normal basalt.
 * Purely decorative and directional, like normal basalt.
 * Respawn anchor
 * Crafted with crying obsidian.
 * Can be used to set spawn points using glowstone as charges.
 * A maximum of 4 charges can be set at once, and one charge is depleted with each respawn.
 * Emits a slight amount of light, which gets stronger for each charge added.
 * Using it in the Overworld or The End causes it to explode and set fire to surrounding blocks.

General

 * Tags
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains soul sand and soul soil.
 * Determines what blocks can support soul fire.

Blocks

 * Nether gold ore
 * Can now be mined with any pickaxe.
 * Now drops a 2-6 gold nuggets, instead of itself, when mined.
 * This is affected by Fortune the same way other ores are, for a maximum possible drop of 24 golden nuggets with Fortune III.
 * Nether gold ore can still be smelted into a single gold ingot.


 * Soul fire
 * Now burns on soul sand in addition to soul soil.


 * Twisting vines and weeping vines
 * Are no longer replaced when an attempt is made to place another block in the same spot.

Items

 * Hoe
 * Are now the appropriate tools for mining sponges and wet sponges.


 * Fungus, Roots, Nether Sprouts
 * Grow on nylium when Bone Meal is used on it.

Mobs

 * Bee
 * Reduced the maximum distance a bee can wander away from its home hive when randomly wandering to around 22 blocks.


 * Parrot
 * Parrots imitate hostile mobs less often.
 * Parrots do not randomly imitate hostile mobs when gamemode is on peaceful.

Particles

 * [[File:Glint.png]] Bone meal particles
 * Now use 64-bit floats for spawning, not 32-bit.
 * This means that using bone meal at high distances from the world origin (notably greater than 17 million) will cause the particles to appear in expected places, and not far away from the target.

Gameplay

 * Advancements
 * Added hoglins to Two by Two.


 * Recipe book
 * The sign recipes are now grouped.
 * The netherite ingot recipes are now grouped.

General

 * Materials
 * Weeping and twisting vines now use the "plant" material.
 * Shroomlights now use the "grass" material.


 * Tags
 * The block tag is no longer used in setting the required pickaxe tier.


 * Splashes
 * The list of available splashes was changed to:(The temporary change also effects the 1.15.x versions.)
 * "Wash your hands!"
 * "Soap and water!"
 * "Support local businesses!"
 * "Stay home and play games!"
 * "Stay safe!"
 * "Stay strong!"
 * "Cough or sneeze into your elbow!"
 * "Don’t touch your face!"
 * "Support elderly relatives and friends!"
 * "Prepare, but don’t hoard!"
 * "Gamers unite – separately in your own homes!"
 * "Save the world – stay inside!"
 * "Shop for your elders!"
 * "Hang out with your friends online!"