Java Edition 1.8

1.8, known as the Bountiful Update, added and changed many aspects of Minecraft which made it easier for map makers to create adventure maps, and added many blocks and mobs for survival play.

General

 * Splashes
 * "That's Numberwang!"
 * "pls rt"
 * "Do you want to join my server?"
 * "Put a little fence around it!"
 * "Throw a blanket over it!"
 * "One day, somewhere in the future, my work will be quoted!"
 * "Now with additional stuff!"
 * "Extra things!"
 * "Yay, puppies for everyone!"
 * "So sweet, like a nice bon bon!"
 * "Popping tags!"
 * "Now With Multiplayer!"
 * "Very influential in its circle!"
 * "Rise from your grave!"
 * "Warning! A huge battleship "STEVE" is approaching fast!"
 * "Blue warrior shot the food!"
 * "Run, coward! I hunger!"
 * "Flavor with no seasoning!"
 * "Strange, but not a stranger!"
 * "Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream!"
 * "Getting ready to show!"
 * "Getting ready to know!"
 * "Getting ready to drop!"
 * "Getting ready to shock!"
 * "Getting ready to freak!"
 * "Getting ready to speak!"
 * "It swings, it jives!"
 * "Cruising streets for gold!"
 * "Take an eggbeater and beat it against a skillet!"
 * "Make me a table, a funky table!"
 * "Take the elevator to the mezzanine!"
 * "Stop being reasonable, this is the Internet!"
 * "/give @a hugs 64"
 * "This is good for Realms."
 * "Any computer is a laptop if you're brave enough!"
 * Difficulty
 * Difficulty is per world.
 * No more global difficulty option.
 * Prevents accidentally changing the difficulty when joining the world.
 * Can be locked for each world.
 * Prevents the temptation to change to an easier difficulty in difficult situations.
 * Locking can not be undone without external editors.
 * However, using the command will still work.
 * Hunger now refills on Peaceful difficulty.
 * Options
 * New 'Skin Customization' settings.
 * Can toggle cape and skin layers from here.
 * Multiplayer settings
 * 'Reduced debug info' toggle to enable/disable reduced information on the F3 debug screen.
 * Video settings
 * Alternative Block toggle.
 * Can disable/enable (weighted) alternative block models.
 * When turned off, the least complex highest priority model, will always be used for each block.
 * Use VBOs toggle
 * Can enable/disable vertex buffer objects.
 * May offer a ~10% performance increase when set to ON.
 * Anisotropic filtering has been removed.
 * Render distance slider now goes up to 32 when using 64-bit Java.
 * Requires 2 GB of allocated RAM.
 * Removed the Advanced OpenGL toggle.
 * Shaders
 * New "creeper" shader (creeper.json), applies a green tint.
 * Is applied when spectating from the perspective of a creeper.
 * Can also be applied using Super Secret Settings.
 * New "spider" shader (spider.json), applies octuple vision.
 * Is applied when spectating from the perspective of a spider.
 * The newly added shaders can also be applied using the "Super Secret Settings" button.
 * The previously existing "invert" shader, is now applied when spectating through an enderman.

Gameplay

 * Statistics
 * Detects how many cm the player has moved while crouching.
 * Detects how many cm the player has moved while sprinting.
 * Detects how much time has passed in ticks, since the player's last death.
 * Detects how many times the player has talked to villagers.
 * Detects how many times the player has traded with villagers.
 * Achievements
 * New achievement Overpowered
 * Obtained by crafting an enchanted golden apple.
 * Requires first obtaining Getting an Upgrade.
 * Spectator game mode
 * Flying mode
 * It can only be accessed via, either using ,  , or.
 * No interaction with blocks or entities.
 * Only the Void and can damage a spectator.
 * Landing is not possible and the player can fly through the ground (noclip).
 * The mouse scroll wheel, the sprint key, the slowness and swiftness effects all affect the flying speed.
 * Night vision potions still have an effect in spectator.
 * First-person view through another player or mob’s eyes.
 * Certain mobs apply a shader while spectating through them.
 * Pressing the dismount key (shift by default) returns the player to flying mode.
 * Viewing privileges
 * Spectators can see other spectators.
 * Invisible players and mobs appear visible, but translucent.
 * An optional hotkey shows bright outlines on all players whilst spectating.
 * Can be color coded to teams.
 * The outline is seen while the key is held down.
 * Spectators have a UI to teleport to other players.
 * Teleportation works across dimensions.
 * The players are organized by teams, when such teams are color coded.
 * Particles
 * Shows up at the location of barrier blocks, for players holding a barrier item in their hand.
 * Are created when a sponge soaks up water.
 * Shows up on one's screen when near an elder guardian.
 * Enchantments
 * "Depth Strider"
 * Allows the player to move faster in water.
 * Can only be applied to boots in survival.
 * Can go up to level III.
 * Are created when a sponge soaks up water.
 * Shows up on one's screen when near an elder guardian.
 * Enchantments
 * "Depth Strider"
 * Allows the player to move faster in water.
 * Can only be applied to boots in survival.
 * Can go up to level III.
 * Can only be applied to boots in survival.
 * Can go up to level III.

Commands & NBT Tags

 * Target selectors
 * Targets all entities.
 * Can specify the type of entity by entity ID, to either include or exclude with, to only apply it to chickens or  , to apply it to every entity that isn't a skeleton.
 * Example: – kills all chickens within a radius of 50 blocks.
 * Example: – any entity within a radius of 5 blocks will be teleported five blocks in the air.
 * Example:
 * Commands
 * Used to set size of border. The first argument sets the size of the border (both the width and depth) in blocks, and the second sets the speed of the border when it expands or shrinks.
 * The shape of the border is always a square.
 * Adds blocks to the current size of the world border. It can use negative numbers to subtract to the size of the border.
 * Sets the center of where the border will be placed.
 * The amount parameter customizes the damage rate, while outside the border.
 * The buffer parameter customizes the amount of blocks the player can go outside of the border, before starting to take damage.
 * Allows the player to customize how far the player has to be from the border, and/or the amount of time a shrinking border would take to reach the player, before it starts showing the warning.
 * Tells the player running the command, the current width of the world border in the chat.
 * Can make text display on the player screen, in the form of a title and/or subtitle using JSON.
 * Sets the text of the title, and starts showing both the title and the subtitle (when it has been set).
 * Sets the text of the subtitle (optional).
 * Sets the fade in, fade out and stay in time for the title and subtitle. This is in game ticks (1/20th of a second).
 * Removes the titles and subtitles off the screen immediately.
 * Resets all time parameters to defaults.
 * Can replace items in any inventory, including the inventories of mobs such as villagers.
 * Usage:
 * Example:
 * will give all the zombies iron swords.
 * will put 4 clownfish in the players first hotbar slot.
 * will put a redstone block in the 6th slot of a container, 1 block above the player.
 * Modifies NBT data at a specific coordinate, the  argument allows the  command, to run only if a block is detected at a specific location relative to the target.
 * Usage:
 * {{cmd|execute    detect     criteria (referred to as "triggers"), and can only modify the score of the player running the command.
 * Allows non-op players to use s as well as to prevent its abuse.
 * Can be used by non-operator players.
 * For a player to run this command, the trigger must be enabled for that player.
 * {{cmd|scoreboard players enable }} will enable the specified player to use the specified trigger objective.
 * Trigger availability is stored per player, on a per trigger basis.
 * One trigger may be disabled for a player, but that player can use a different trigger.
 * One player may be unable to use a trigger, but another player can use the same trigger.
 * Disabled after the trigger has been used (must be re-enabled to use the trigger again).
 * Mostly for use with {{cmd|tellraw}}.
 * Usage: {{cmd|trigger  }}.
 * {{cmd|clone}}
 * Clones all the blocks from a given area to a different given area.
 * Up to 32768 (32{{^|3}}) blocks can be copied.
 * The clone can be ,   or.
 * will copy every block (the default behavior).
 * will copy only non-air blocks.
 * will remove specified blocks.
 * It can additionally be,   or.
 * will move the selection from the first location to the second location, which may overlap.
 * will force the cloning operation, even if the areas overlap.
 * only needs to be specified if using.
 * Usage: {{cmd|clone          [mode]}}.
 * Example: {{cmd|clone 1001 3 1002 1011 3 992 1001 5 992 masked}}.
 * {{cmd|fill}}
 * Fills a given volume with a specified block.
 * Up to 32768 blocks can be filled.
 * Works similarly to {{cmd|setblock}}.
 * Usage: {{cmd|fill <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <TileName> [dataValue] [oldBlockHandling] [dataTag]}}.
 * The  parameter takes the same values here as it does in {{cmd|setblock}} – ,   and   – as well as two additional values:
 * to only fill the outer layer of blocks, and fill the inner part with air,
 * to fill the outer layer of blocks, and keep the inner part the same.
 * Example: {{cmd|fill 1001 3 1002 1011 5 992 wool 6 replace}} will fill the given area with pink wool.
 * Can filter specified blocks.
 * Only if it's used to fill in replace mode, with "normal" blocks.
 * It does not work when filling with tile entities.
 * Usage: {{cmd|fill [x] [y] [z] [x] [y] [z] [BlockName] [Data] replace [filterBlockName] [filterData]}}.
 * {{cmd|testforblocks}}
 * Compares two areas of a world.
 * The mode can be set to  or
 * is the default, while  will ignore air blocks.
 * Usage: {{cmd|testforblocks <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> [mode]}}.
 * Example: {{cmd|testforblocks 100 64 100 107 69 107 0 64 0 masked}}.
 * {{cmd|stats <entity{{!}}block> ...}}
 * Will update a scoreboard objective for an entity, based on the number of entities/blocks which have been affected or detected by the command.
 * Usage:
 * {{cmd|stats entity }}
 * {{cmd|stats block [x] [y] [z] }}
 * Alternative and more useful way of interacting with the  tag.
 * After the  there are currently 5 possible stats that can be updated: ,  ,  ,   and.
 * Example: {{cmd|stats entity @a set AffectedBlocks @a Test}} will update a scoreboard objective named 'Test' for all players whenever a command is performed relative to them. The objective will update by the number of blocks affected by the command. Since the stat was set to , this means that if the command is {{cmd|fill}}, it will update the objective for whoever is running the command (@a) by the number of blocks filled.
 * {{cmd|particle}}
 * Spawns particles in a given area.
 * Usage: {{cmd|particle <x> <y> <z> <xd> <yd> <zd> [count] [force]}}.
 * Example: {{cmd|1=particle lava ~ ~1 ~ 1 1 1 0.5 50 normal @e[type=Chicken]}} will create 50 lava popping particles, centered one block above the block/entity running the command, spreading around a radius of 1 block, with a speed of 0.5, relative to all chickens in that world.
 * The  argument can be set to   to display particles, even if a player has his 'Particles' toggle set to Minimal or Decreased.
 * List of particles:,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,.
 * Gamerules
 * Prevents command block output from being stored in chat logs. In multiplayer it also prevents player-initiated commands from being stored. Unrelated to commandBlockOutput, which is output into the visible chat.
 * Controls how often a random tick occurs
 * Random ticks influence the next things: pigmen spawning from portals, all plant growth, leaf decay, fire spread, ice melting, grass/mycelium spread and farmland hydration.
 * If set to 0, random ticks never occur.
 * Gamerule to enable/disable reduced information on the F3 debug screen.
 * Op-only unlike the 'reduced debug info' toggle in multiplayer settings.
 * This option overrides the 'reduced debug info' setting in clients.
 * If set to false, player-run commands will not show a success or message.
 * Prevents death messages like "[player] fell out the world" from appearing in the chat.
 * The ability to create custom gamerule variables.
 * These are fake gamerules which don't affect gameplay by themselves, but can be used with {{cmd|stats}} with the new  argument, to update a scoreboard objective based on the value of that gamerule.
 * Declare using: {{cmd|gamerule <newRuleName> }}.
 * Access using: {{cmd|gamerule <newRuleName>}}.
 * Scoreboard
 * New objective criteria for team-specific kills, e.g.:.
 * New objective criteria '.
 * Acts like the  criteria.
 * Can be interacted with using the {{cmd|trigger}} command.
 * Mostly for use with {{cmd|tellraw}}.
 * The ability to iterate over every scoreboard player with.
 * This will also affect people who have not yet joined the world.
 * Fake players can be used when run in a command block.
 * Fake players with a name starting with {{cmd|#}}, will never show up on the sidebar.
 * New {{cmd|scoreboard}} subcommands: {{cmd|scoreboard reset}}, {{cmd|scoreboard operation}}, {{cmd|scoreboard test}} and {{cmd|scoreboard enable}}.
 * The  subcommand can reset all objectives for a player or reset a player's objectives one by one.
 * Example: {{cmd|scoreboard players reset @a anObjective}} will reset the scores of an objective named anObjective for all players in the world.
 * The  subcommand can apply arithmetic operation to and between scores (+ – * / % < > =) and therefore accumulate player scores.
 * Example: {{cmd|1=scoreboard players operation #teamscores redScore += @a[team=red] blueKills}} adds every red player's count of kills on blue to the red team's score of kills.
 * Can be tested with a comparator to see if two scores are greater than, smaller than or equal to each other.
 * The  subcommand can be used to test, if a scoreboard value is between a min and a max value.
 * Example: {{cmd|scoreboard players test #global anObjective 12 19}} checks whether the global score of the given objective is between 12 and 19, inclusive.
 * The  subcommand can be used to enable a   objective.
 * Example: {{cmd|scoreboard players enable aTrigger}} enables a  named aTrigger.
 * Different teams can now have different objectives displayed in the sidebar.
 * Example: {{cmd|scoreboard|objectives setdisplay sidebar.team.yellow anotherObjective}}. This refers to the team color, not the team name.
 * Testing for scores now also works in  entity selector.
 * Added scoreboard team property to disable name tag visibility: {{cmd|scoreboard teams option nametagVisibility}} with options,  ,   and   (default).
 * Added scoreboard team property to disable death messages: {{cmd|scoreboard|teams option deathMessageVisibility}} with options,  ,   and   (default).
 * Command {{cmd|scoreboard|players}} can now filter by NBT data.
 * NBT Tags
 * BlockItem instances can now hold a custom NBT tag that is merged into a block entity when it's placed.
 * Example: {{cmd|give @p command_block 1 0 {BlockEntityTag:{Command:"{{cmd|setblock ~ ~ ~ minecraft:diamond_block}}" }} }} will give a command block that, when placed, will automatically have the command {{cmd|setblock ~ ~ ~ minecraft:diamond_block}} set.
 * Mostly for use in adventure mode.
 * Items with this tag display the names of the blocks that they can destroy in the item tooltip.
 * Example: {{cmd|give @p minecraft:diamond_shovel 1 0 {CanDestroy:["minecraft:sand","minecraft:grass"]} }} to give a diamond shovel that can break grass and sand.
 * If an invalid item name is put in, it will display as "missingno" under the "Can Break" list.
 * Allows placing of certain blocks against other blocks in adventure mode.
 * Example: {{cmd|give @p minecraft:stone 16 0 {CanPlaceOn:["minecraft:diamond_block"]} }} to give a block of stone that can only be placed on diamond blocks.
 * If an invalid item name is put in, it will display as "missingno" under the "Can Be Placed On" list.
 * Allows a command block or sign to increase a certain score in the scoreboard when it runs successfully.
 * The command will increase the score based on the number of items/blocks/entities/successes.
 * For example, a command block with this tag running a command which affects items (e.g. ) will cause it to update the score based on the number of items given.
 * Usage:.
 * Defines whether a written book is an "Original" a "Copy of Original" or a "Copy of a copy".
 * Allows hiding of certain parts of the tooltip.
 * Bit field determining which parts of the tooltip to hide on an item. 1 for, 2 for  , 4 for  , 8 for  , 16 for   and 32 for various other information (including potion effects,  , written book   and  ,   and  ).
 * Examples: Setting bit field to 3 would hide both  and   tags, and setting to 63 would hide everything.
 * A way to lock containers from being opened using NBT tags.
 * Mostly useful for adventure maps in adventure mode.
 * Containers can be unlocked by clearing their string for Lock.
 * Locked containers can only be opened while holding anything renamed to the given string – the item is not removed on use.
 * The lock can be completely removed utilizing the command.
 * Disables an entity's AI.
 * Entities without AI will not attack players, move or rotate on their own, and do not despawn.
 * They also do not respond to gravity or collision with other mobs, but can still take damage, die, be caught on fire, and ride other entities.
 * Setting to one disables AI.
 * The number of ticks before an item entity can be picked up.
 * Set to 32767 for items that can't be picked up.
 * Controls villagers giving xp for trading, set to 1 or 0.
 * Contains the item data of the item currently held in the player's hand.
 * Added to compact the process of testing if a player is holding a specific item.
 * Previous method required nine commands in command blocks; now requires only one command.
 * Option to show or hide all particles for a potion effect, as opposed to the  tag which only shows fewer particles.
 * Set to 1 to show, 0 to hide.
 * Determines whether sound is produced by an entity, such as idle and hurt sounds.
 * Setting to 1 disables sound.
 * If an invalid item name is put in, it will display as "missingno" under the "Can Be Placed On" list.
 * Allows a command block or sign to increase a certain score in the scoreboard when it runs successfully.
 * The command will increase the score based on the number of items/blocks/entities/successes.
 * For example, a command block with this tag running a command which affects items (e.g. ) will cause it to update the score based on the number of items given.
 * Usage:.
 * Defines whether a written book is an "Original" a "Copy of Original" or a "Copy of a copy".
 * Allows hiding of certain parts of the tooltip.
 * Bit field determining which parts of the tooltip to hide on an item. 1 for, 2 for  , 4 for  , 8 for  , 16 for   and 32 for various other information (including potion effects,  , written book   and  ,   and  ).
 * Examples: Setting bit field to 3 would hide both  and   tags, and setting to 63 would hide everything.
 * A way to lock containers from being opened using NBT tags.
 * Mostly useful for adventure maps in adventure mode.
 * Containers can be unlocked by clearing their string for Lock.
 * Locked containers can only be opened while holding anything renamed to the given string – the item is not removed on use.
 * The lock can be completely removed utilizing the command.
 * Disables an entity's AI.
 * Entities without AI will not attack players, move or rotate on their own, and do not despawn.
 * They also do not respond to gravity or collision with other mobs, but can still take damage, die, be caught on fire, and ride other entities.
 * Setting to one disables AI.
 * The number of ticks before an item entity can be picked up.
 * Set to 32767 for items that can't be picked up.
 * Controls villagers giving xp for trading, set to 1 or 0.
 * Contains the item data of the item currently held in the player's hand.
 * Added to compact the process of testing if a player is holding a specific item.
 * Previous method required nine commands in command blocks; now requires only one command.
 * Option to show or hide all particles for a potion effect, as opposed to the  tag which only shows fewer particles.
 * Set to 1 to show, 0 to hide.
 * Determines whether sound is produced by an entity, such as idle and hurt sounds.
 * Setting to 1 disables sound.
 * Contains the item data of the item currently held in the player's hand.
 * Added to compact the process of testing if a player is holding a specific item.
 * Previous method required nine commands in command blocks; now requires only one command.
 * Option to show or hide all particles for a potion effect, as opposed to the  tag which only shows fewer particles.
 * Set to 1 to show, 0 to hide.
 * Determines whether sound is produced by an entity, such as idle and hurt sounds.
 * Setting to 1 disables sound.
 * Determines whether sound is produced by an entity, such as idle and hurt sounds.
 * Setting to 1 disables sound.
 * Setting to 1 disables sound.

World Generation

 * Underground
 * Granite, andesite and diorite generate in pockets within stone terrain.
 * Slightly larger size and abundance than gravel.
 * Pockets don't reduce ore frequency, since ores can generate inside these pockets.
 * Ocean monuments
 * New underwater generated structure made out of prismarine, prismarine bricks, dark prismarine and sea lanterns.
 * 8 gold blocks can be found at the center of the monument.
 * A flashing boss guardian will appear on screen when close to an elder guardian, and Mining Fatigue III will be inflicted on the player for 5 minutes.
 * Will also generate in old worlds.
 * Customized world type
 * Highly customizable terrain generation.
 * To use, press create new world then ‘world type: customized’ and then press the 'customize' button.
 * There are 4 pages to customize the world.
 * Page 1: customizes generation of structures, chance of lake generation, size of certain structures, biome type and size, and sea level.
 * There are 18 customization options which affect whether generated structures will spawn in, as well as other environmental factors such as sea level. Some of these presets are Yes/No inputs or sliders.
 * Sea level height, toggles for cave, village, temple, ocean monument, dungeon, water lake, lava lake, stronghold, mineshaft and ravine generation, sliders to control water lake, lava lake and dungeon rarity, toggle to turn oceans into lava oceans, biome selection, biome and river size sliders.
 * Page 2: customizes the ore distribution for dirt, gravel, granite, diorite, andesite, coal, iron, gold, redstone, diamond and lapis.
 * Rarity, height range and vein size.
 * Page 3 & 4: Expert customization of the terrain generation.
 * There are 16 customization options which can be used to affect various aspects of Minecraft's terrain generator. These can be changed by moving sliders or by typing in values directly.
 * Main Noise Scale X/Y/Z to smooth out terrain, larger values for smoother terrain; Biome scale/depth weight and Biome scale/depth offset to stretch/squash terrain vertically based on the biomes default height settings; Upper/lower limit scale to make terrain more solid/riddled with holes, depending on how close the values are to each other; Height Stretch to pull terrain upward, with smaller values causing more extreme stretching; Height scale, Coordinate scale, Depth base size, Depth noise exponent and Depth noise scale.
 * There are seven presets.
 * Water World, Isle Land, Caver's Delight, Mountain Madness, Drought, Caves of Chaos and Good Luck.
 * Each page has a button to randomize the various values and a button to reset to default values.
 * Uses the 'generator-settings' string known from superflat presets for server.properties and world data.
 * Generate structures button disappears when selected.
 * Debug mode world type
 * Useful for resource pack makers.
 * Hold and cycle through "World Type" to select it.
 * Tweaked world creation.
 * Other world options are not available.
 * Only Spectator mode can be enabled.
 * All possible blocks with all possible data values are generated.
 * This includes all possible states of redstone wire, fire, tripwire, stairs, etc.
 * They are arranged in a grid across height y=70, with a barrier floor at y=60
 * Every block state generates only once.
 * Blocks placed are deleted, and blocks destroyed are restored.

Blocks

 * Diorite
 * Crafting recipe: 2 cobblestone and 2 Nether quartz in a checker board pattern.
 * Can be crafted into polished diorite.
 * Andesite
 * Crafting recipe: 1 cobblestone and 1 diorite.
 * Can be crafted into polished andesite.
 * Granite
 * Crafting recipe: 1 Nether quartz and 1 diorite.
 * Can be crafted into polished granite.
 * Polished diorite
 * Crafting recipe: 4 diorite in a 2×2 configuration.
 * Polished andesite
 * Crafting recipe: 4 andesite in a 2×2 configuration.
 * Polished granite
 * Crafting recipe: 4 granite in a 2×2 configuration.
 * Coarse dirt
 * Replaces the grassless dirt variant found in mega taiga, mesa and savanna biomes.
 * All worlds with grassless dirt blocks will seamlessly change over to coarse dirt as it uses the same block ID and data value as the original grassless dirt block.
 * Slightly darker texture than regular dirt.
 * Can be picked up with bare hands (silk touch is not required).
 * Tilling coarse dirt with a hoe will turn it to regular dirt.
 * Crafting recipe: dirt and gravel in a 2×2 checkered pattern yields four coarse dirt.
 * Red sandstone
 * Can be crafted with 4 red sand in a square.
 * Can be crafted into chiseled, smooth, stair and slab forms.
 * Chiseled variant has a wither pattern to complement the creeper pattern found in chiseled sandstone.
 * Slabs have a smooth variant, similar to stone and sandstone.
 * Comes as a smooth double slab –.
 * Generated only in Mesa biomes at cave entrances.
 * Prismarine
 * Generates in ocean monuments.
 * Can be crafted with prismarine shards.
 * The cracks in prismarine appear to slowly change color between brown, blue, gray and purple.
 * Prismarine bricks
 * Generate in ocean monuments.
 * Can be crafted with prismarine shards.
 * Dark prismarine
 * Generate in ocean monuments.
 * Can be crafted with prismarine shards and an ink sac.
 * Sea lanterns
 * Generate in ocean monuments.
 * Can be crafted with prismarine shards and prismarine crystals.
 * Emit light at a light level of 15 and have an animated texture.
 * Wet sponge
 * Obtained when a sponge soaks up water.
 * Smelting a wet sponge yields a dry sponge.
 * When smelted, they will fill empty buckets in the 'fuel' slot with water if possible.
 * Emits water dripping particles.
 * Dropped by elder guardians on player kills.
 * Slime blocks
 * Crafting recipe: 9 slime balls.
 * Can be crafted back into 9 slime balls.
 * Players and mobs that land on their top side will bounce, like on a trampoline.
 * Bounce rebound velocity is scaled by impact velocity.
 * Height can reach up to 60% of initial height, which implies a great restitucion coeficient.
 * Does not affect item entities.
 * Prevents fall damage.
 * Walking on it is slower than walking on soul sand, close to one's speed whilst sneaking.
 * The placing/breaking sounds use the hurt sounds of slimes.
 * Connected to sticky pistons, slime blocks will now push and pull blocks beside them when moved by pistons.
 * Connected to normal pistons, slime blocks will only push blocks, but not pull them.
 * Coded by KaboPC and Panda4994.
 * Follows all the rules that pistons follow:
 * Up to 12 slime blocks connected to a piston in any arrangement can be moved as long as the following conditions are met: blocks do not disrupt the chain, non-movable blocks are not in the way and the slime blocks are not attached to the piston itself.
 * Allows for moveable contraptions.
 * Extending a piston with a slime block attached to it will propel entities (mobs, players, items, launched arrows, etc.) in the appropriate direction.
 * Fences
 * New types of fences for all the different types of wood.
 * Different types can connect to each other.
 * Original fence renamed to oak fence.
 * New crafting recipe for fences to make this work: 2 sticks and 4 planks to make 3 fences.
 * Fence gates
 * New types of fence gates for all the different types of wood.
 * Different types can connect to each other.
 * Original fence gate renamed to oak fence gate.
 * Doors
 * New types of doors for all the different wood types.
 * Different types of doors have different textures, with some types having no windows.
 * Door recipes now require all 6 wood to be the same type.
 * Iron trapdoors
 * Can only be opened and closed using redstone, similar to an iron door.
 * Crafting recipe: iron ingots in a 2×2 pattern yields one iron trapdoor.
 * Banners
 * Can be worn as head gear – but only using commands.
 * Over a quadrillion possible combinations.
 * Crafted like a sign, but with one color of wool instead of planks.
 * Can be stacked to 16.
 * Most patterns are created by arranging dyes in certain ways around a banner on a crafting table.
 * Additional patterns: creeper, skull & crossbones, brick, flower, curly border and Mojang logo – making these without dyes will result in a black pattern, use dyes to get different colors (items: creeper skull, wither skeleton skull, brick block, oxeye daisy, vines and enchanted golden apple).
 * Banners can have up to six layers (in survival).
 * The layers show in the order they were created.
 * Custom banners with more than six layers are possible using commands.
 * Can be placed on walls or on the ground (16 rotations possible).
 * Has an animation that simulates swaying with the wind.
 * Can be cloned by crafting them together, with a blank banner of the corresponding base color.
 * Top-most layer can be removed using cauldrons.
 * This removes a third of the water of a full cauldron.
 * All layers can be removed.
 * Can be used as fuel in furnaces.
 * They are visually like an entity that is one block wide and two blocks tall, but in reality they are a block occupying the lower portion.
 * The hitbox is smaller than a full block and it lacks any collision properties.
 * Barrier blocks
 * Acts like bedrock, but is completely transparent.
 * Can transfer redstone signals and allows blocks to be placed on it.
 * Can only be destroyed in Creative mode.
 * Can be obtained using.
 * Becomes visible to players who are holding a barrier in their hand.
 * Appears to be rendered as particles; always facing the player.

Items

 * Prismarine crystals
 * Drop from guardians.
 * Can be crafted into sea lanterns.
 * Prismarine shards
 * Drop from guardians.
 * Can be crafted into all three kinds of prismarine blocks and sea lanterns.
 * Raw mutton
 * Restores and 1.2 saturation.
 * Drops from sheep.
 * Can be cooked into cooked mutton.
 * Cooked mutton
 * Restores and 9.6 saturation.
 * Raw rabbit
 * Restores and 1.8 saturation.
 * Drops from rabbits.
 * Can be cooked into cooked rabbit.
 * Cooked rabbit
 * Restores and 6 saturation.
 * Rabbit stew
 * Restores and 12 saturation.
 * This makes it the best food in the game other than golden carrots.
 * Recipe: 1 cooked rabbit, 1 mushroom, 1 carrot, 1 baked potato and 1 bowl.
 * Rabbit hide
 * Drops from rabbits.
 * Can be crafted in a 2×2 arrangement to produce leather.
 * Rabbit's foot
 * Brewed to make a Potion of Leaping.
 * Drops from rabbits.
 * Potion of leaping
 * Adds effect Jump Boost, for "I" and "II" levels.
 * Brewed with a rabbit's foot and Awkward potion.
 * The potion and particle effects are bright green colored.
 * Guardian Spawn Egg
 * Spawns the guardian mob.
 * Cyan colored with orange spots.
 * Endermite Spawn Egg
 * Spawns the endermite mob.
 * Purple colored with gray spots.
 * Rabbit Spawn Egg
 * Spawns rabbits.
 * Brown colored with brown spots.

Non-mob entities

 * Armor stands
 * Can be used to decoratively display armor (including pumpkins, mob heads and player heads).
 * Armor can be right-clicked to equip the armor stand.
 * Armor can be equipped by dispensers aimed at any part of the Stand.
 * Armor can be removed by right-clicking, by pointing on the piece of armor the player wants to remove.
 * Can render enchanted and dyed armor.
 * Can use pick-block on armor stands – this stand does not include any armor previously equipped.
 * Crafted using a stone slab and 6 sticks.
 * Stacks up to 16.
 * Can be placed on minecarts
 * NBT tags can be used to summon armor stands which are small, invisible , have arms , have disabled slots , have no base plate , have no gravity and are in pre-configured positions  – This can only be done through commands.

Mobs

 * Endermites
 * Sometimes spawns when a player teleports using an ender pearl.
 * Despawns after 2 minutes (unless it is named using a name tag).
 * Has the same sounds as silverfish.
 * Guardians
 * Spawns in ocean monuments.
 * Attacks squid and players with a beam.
 * The beam itself only warns of an imminent attack.
 * It has a few seconds of cooldown between each shot.
 * When on land, it flops around unlike squids.
 * Drops prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and raw fish.
 * Makes wet noises when hurt and squeaky wet noises when flopping around on land.
 * The player will also get damaged if is directly adjacent to the Guardian (as if it's being prickled by its spikes).
 * Elder Guardians
 * A boss-like variant of Guardians, with greater health, greater size and different appearance.
 * There are 3 elders in each ocean monument.
 * A flashing boss guardian will appear on screen when close to the boss guardian, and Mining Fatigue III will be inflicted on the player for 5 minutes.
 * Drops wet sponge.
 * Rabbits
 * Drops rabbit hide, raw rabbit, cooked rabbit and rabbit's foot.
 * They have 8 different skins, similar to horses and ocelots: Black, White, Brown, Gold, Black & White, Salt & Pepper, Toast and the Killer Bunny.
 * Naming a rabbit spawn egg or name tag "Toast" will give rabbits a special skin as a memorial to user xyZenTV's girlfriend's rabbit Toast.
 * "The Killer Bunny" is a special type of rabbit, that is hostile towards players within 4 blocks
 * It is a very rare spawn.
 * A reference to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 * It is white with bloodshot eyes, and blood on its legs and mouth.
 * Automatically spawns with a name tag titled 'The Killer Rabbit'.
 * It can be directly spawned in with the command.
 * Rabbits can be bred using carrots, golden carrots or dandelions.
 * Rabbits have the same AI as the most other passive mobs, and jump around randomly.
 * Makes little squeaky sounds when hurt or killed.

General

 * Splashes
 * "OpenGL 1.2!" changed to "OpenGL 2.1 (if supported)!"
 * "Now java 6!" changed to "Now Java 6!"
 * Debug screen
 * Text now has a gray and translucent background.
 * Restructured layout.
 * Now displays render distance, sections being rendered currently, sections being updated currently, an aB value for unknown reasons, version id, whether the client is modded and keywords for when clouds/VBOs/VSync are enabled.
 * Now displays which block the feet are in.
 * When looking at a block, its coordinates, block id and properties will be displayed.
 * The "Facing:" line now indicates in which axis-based direction you're looking. For example: "Towards positive Z".
 * Now displays the Java version, the display resolution and vendor, the graphics card model and vendor and the OpenGL version.
 * The crosshair now turns into 3 short, colored lines indicating the positive direction of the 3 axis: x/red, y/green, z/blue.
 * "Light" is now the light levels at the feet.
 * Before it was the at the eye level.
 * Player rotation is now displayed for the vertical angle, as well as the horizontal one.
 * Day counter added.
 * Increases by 1 every dawn.
 * Now displays difficulty.
 * Peaceful – 0.00, Easy – 0.75, Normal – 1.50, Hard – 2.25.
 * Looking at a block in the world will show the coordinates of that block on the debug screen.
 * F3 hotkeys
 * Debug tooltips now show how many NBT tags an item has.
 * When debug tooltips are enabled, items will now show their name id.
 * When debug tooltips are enabled, some instances of usernames and entities in the chat will now show the entity's UUID when hovered on.
 * + can now be used to clear the chat log.
 * + or  +  reloads block models.
 * + entity hitboxes now also display entity eye level in red, and which direction entities are looking at in blue.
 * + tooltips now show how many NBT tags an item has.
 * Block IDs
 * Occurrences of blocks/items now need to be named ids – old ids are being phased out.
 * NBT data in commands can now use block/item names in place of numerical ids.
 * Example:.
 * In scoreboards, the format is.
 * Superflat presets also use the new named id format.
 * Superflat world type
 * Block ID/number of layers format changed from  to.
 * Preset code version number changed to "3".
 * Internal block handling
 * Now internally use states instead of metadata.
 * Metadata will still be used for a while.
 * Block states of the block being looked at will now be displayed on the F3 menu. Examples: redstone, door.
 * Metadata no longer needs to be calculated out of the 4-bit data value; instead, the values of specified properties can now be easily gotten and set.
 * Chat
 * Improved chat communication.
 * Messages are now either chat, system or action bar messages.
 * Action bar messages are always shown, chat and system messages are only shown if chat settings are configured that way.
 * Entities now have tooltips in certain chat instances when hovered over.
 * These appear when hovered over an entity's name in chat (e.g. the success message for ).
 * Shows the name of the entity (e.g. Bob), the Id of the entity (e.g. Creeper (50)) and the entity UUID.
 * + while hovering over the entity's name inserts its UUID into your chat bar. They also work in commands.
 * + clears the chat history (including previously typed commands).
 * UUID
 * All player lists will now be converted to be UUID-based automatically.
 * Other features such as pet ownership now follow the same system.
 * This is part of the requirements for the Plugin API
 * Resource packs
 * Custom block models can be loaded
 * Several blocks in the game are rendered differently, using the new block models.
 * The cauldron's feet now have volume, instead of being just planes.
 * Grass blocks, dirt, sand, red sand, stone, Netherrack, bedrock and TNT all have their top texture randomly rotated
 * Custom item models can be loaded.
 * Many items' models are now rotated 90 degrees in the inventory and in hand.
 * + and + now reload models.
 * Resource packs can now be bundled with a world: put it in the map save directory, and name it "resources.zip".
 * Example:.
 * Skin customization
 * Added a new default skin: Alex.
 * Alex's model is that of Steve, but with 3-pixel wide arms instead of 4.
 * A choice to select between the Alex and Steve player models on minecraft.net/profile was added shortly after the update.
 * If you don't have a custom skin yet, you are randomly assigned Steve or Alex based on your random user ID.
 * Right and left arms and legs are now editable independently.
 * Uses a modified steve.png file, with new layout and new dimensions.
 * Dimensions for the file are now 64×64.
 * Overlay now includes the whole body.
 * Overlays are called hat, jacket, sleeves and pants legs.
 * New "Skin Customization" button in the options menu.
 * Cape visibility is now toggled from here.
 * The player can toggle the visibility of overlays, independent for each limb/body part.
 * Old skins still work, but won't have the new features, and may need some elements of it to be mirrored.
 * Servers
 * When editing and adding servers, you can now set how it handles resource packs: Prompt, Enabled or Disable.
 * Servers can now customize network compression in  using  :  to compress everything, or   to compress nothing.
 * Servers can now optionally send a hash for clients to verify resource packs, using  in  : Should be a 40 character hexadecimal string; it will otherwise only be used as a unique id.
 * Servers can now configure how long a tick may take before shutting down using  in.
 * Servers can now configure the maximum world size (which overrides ) using  in.
 * Servers can now send messages to be displayed on the action bar.
 * The Void
 * Removed fog and particles.
 * Options
 * Video Settings
 * fullscreen toggle now affects fullscreen option.
 * Rendering, graphics & multi-threading
 * Significant increase in FPS and performance.
 * Each dimension (Overworld, Nether, End) run on separate threads.
 * Chunk rendering and chunk rebuilds are now multi-threaded to speed them up.
 * Rewrote chunk sorting.
 * Better visibility culling code
 * Inherited from the Pocket Edition.
 * Now it only renders blocks in view of the player.
 * Mob pathfinding is now multi-threaded to alleviate previous slow downs associated with it.
 * Ore generation is now more than twice as fast.
 * Only transparent blocks will now render as transparent (this makes all x-ray texture packs useless).
 * Dropped items now face the player in all three directions on fast graphics.
 * Rewrote how blocks are rendered.
 * Rewrote how block data is handled.

Gameplay

 * Enchanting
 * There is now a material cost – enchanting now costs 1–3 pieces of lapis lazuli.
 * Enchanting will now cost 1–3 levels, but you still need the same minimum total levels.
 * For example, an enchantment may only become available for enchanting after reaching 13 levels of experience, but will only cost 2 XP levels and 2 pieces of lapis lazuli.
 * The actual enchantment calculation is the same.
 * One and only one of the possible enchantments will be displayed in the tooltip.
 * The enchantments you would get on a tool will not change until you enchant something – this enchantment seed is stored per player.
 * Leveling up now takes longer.
 * Level V enchantments can now appear on an item, without the use of an anvil.
 * Looting now gives an extra 1% chance of getting rare loot per level.
 * Villager trading
 * Villagers now have a profession, which is displayed in the trading GUI: Farmer, Fisherman, Sheperd, Fletcher, Librarian, Cleric, Armorer, Weapon Smith, Tool Smith, Butcher and Leather worker.
 * Existing villagers keep already unlocked trades.
 * Villagers start out with 2–4 trades unlocked.
 * Trading now gives experience to the player.
 * The disabled trade arrow now has a descriptive tooltip.
 * Villagers of the same profession will have the same trades except for price/item amount.
 * Villagers can level up, offering more trades per level.
 * Notable changes in trades: Villagers no longer buy cooked fish and no longer sell melons, steak or flint and steel. Apart from chainmail armor, iron helmets and chestplates, enchanted diamond chestplates, leather pants and enchanted leather chestplates are the only leather armor pieces that are still sold. Similarly, iron axes and enchanted iron swords, iron shovels, iron pickaxes, diamond pickaxes, diamond swords and diamond axes are the only tools still obtainable from villagers now.
 * Notable new trades: Villagers now buy potatoes, carrots, melon blocks, pumpkins, string, leather and rotten flesh, and now sell pumpkin pies, cakes, cooked fish, enchanted fishing rods, all colors of wool, bows, name tags and lapis lazuli.
 * Village mechanics
 * Doors are now added to the closest village rather than the oldest available one.
 * This will not break iron farms, but change them a little, enough to make them "practically pointless".
 * Anvil repairing
 * Costs reduced to balance out with the new enchanting system.
 * Renaming items will now only cost 1 level.
 * Repairing cost now increases exponentially (1, 2, 4, 8...).
 * Repairing costs can no longer be kept down by renaming items.
 * Adventure mode
 * Block detection and placement is now impossible by default.
 * Block hitboxes no longer appear in Adventure mode if interaction with the block is impossible.
 * The CanDestroy NBT tag can be used to determine which blocks can be allowed to be broken with what tool (see above for usage).
 * The CanPlace NBT tag determines which blocks can be placed on top what blocks (see above for usage).
 * Creative mode
 * In creative mode, players can create a copy of a block entity in their hotbar, including all NBT data, with ctrl+Pick Block key (+ by default).
 * Players in creative mode can now damage entities, even if they are flagged invulnerable.
 * Teleporting
 * Is now smoother and seamless.
 * Conserves the player's velocity and rotation by default.
 * Item tooltips
 * Now show the internal name for use in commands (+ mode).
 * Particles
 * Can be summoned using the command.
 * Changed the particle effect when landing on a block; it looks a lot more scattered.
 * Before the particles were arranges in a circle.
 * Life Bar
 * Now the life bar has a new animation for the damage that additionally shows how many hearts a player loses.
 * Enchantments & effects
 * Now also support named IDs as well as numerical IDs.
 * Example:.
 * Example:.
 * Player list
 * Improved the health objective display on the player list.
 * Will fall back to textual display if space is scarce, with colors (green/yellow/red) to show different health levels.
 * Additional health will squash the display together to fit.
 * Now groups together teams.
 * Now sorts players by name.
 * Player list shows the faces of the skin of players.
 * Sprinting
 * Sprinting while flying now actually affects movement speed.

Commands & NBT Tags

 * Commands
 * completing coordinate arguments will now fill in the coordinates of the block that the player is looking at.
 * Can now be used to clear only a specific number of items, and can be restricted to certain NBT data.
 * Example: will remove up to 34 villager spawn eggs named Michael from yourself.
 * Can now test for partial matches of NBT lists.
 * Can now be run in single player.
 * New arguments for debug.
 * x/y/z are required and valid only for chunk mode.
 * Can now also specify whether particle effects are to be shown:
 * Usage:.
 * Use 'true' to hide particles and 'false' to show; defaults to false.
 * Can now be followed by a target selector.
 * Example:.
 * Now lists all entity using @e.
 * Example: will list all the entities in your world within a 500 block radius.
 * command can now summon lightning using.
 * A new tag called "insertion" allows text to be inserted into the chat that, when shift-clicked, will insert more text into the players' chat input.
 * Example:.
 * Can now insert values from scoreboards into messages.
 * Example:.
 * Now has a  argument.
 * Allows to print player's names.
 * Example: will print the name of everyone who is on TeamRed.
 * Can display entity tooltips, when the  for   is set to.
 * Example: . Will print a message will display the tooltip of a zombie named "dummy".
 * Can now also check for dataTags.
 * Example:.
 * No longer is exclusively usable in command blocks.
 * Can now check for inventory specific items.
 * Example:.
 * Can now test for partial matches of NBT lists.
 * argument to check the time.
 * Has an another argument after that which can be  or   to check either the number of ticks since the start of the day or the number of ticks since the world was created, respectively.
 * Now supports rotation arguments.
 * Example: teleports the player so that he faces 20 degrees to the right and 40 degrees downwards.
 * Target selectors
 * Now supports cubic areas.
 * Example:  gets all entities between 0,0,0 and 10,10,10.
 * New radius value usable in target selectors, based on the block center.
 * A radius of 0 works for exact block positions.
 * New selector parameters for entity selectors to detect entity rotations, with rxm = x-rotation minimum, rx = x-rotation maximum, rym = y-rotation minimum and ry = y-rotation maximum.
 * Example:.
 * NBT Tags
 * Can now be set to -32768 for items that never despawn.
 * and
 * Now work on all entities.
 * Now uses the JSON text component instead of plain text.
 * Capable of using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * ,,   and
 * Uses the JSON text component instead of plain text.
 * Can be used to show scores of players by using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * Character limit is based on character width.
 * Can now be set to -32768 for items that never despawn.
 * and
 * Now work on all entities.
 * Now uses the JSON text component instead of plain text.
 * Capable of using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * ,,   and
 * Uses the JSON text component instead of plain text.
 * Can be used to show scores of players by using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * Character limit is based on character width.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * Character limit is based on character width.

World Generation

 * Villages
 * Gravel roads in villages have cobblestone underneath, to prevent them from collapsing into caves.
 * Wells in desert villages are now made of cobblestone, instead of sandstone.
 * Desert temples
 * Now spawn with stained clay instead of dyed wool.
 * Caverns
 * Now generate on the surface of desert, mesa, mega taiga and mushroom biomes.
 * Swampland
 * Changed generation of the marsh-like areas.
 * Mesas
 * Red sandstone now generates at cavern entrances in Mesa biomes.
 * World border
 * The default world border is now an animated texture rather than an invisible bedrock barrier.
 * There is now nothing beyond the world border.
 * It's set at a diameter of 60 million blocks by default, for both the Overworld and the Nether.
 * Players can't pass through the world border from the inside.
 * Players on the outside of the world border that are not in creative will take damage.
 * Aside from that, it is possible to freely fly/walk around.
 * When you get within a certain distance of the border, a red-aura-like warning will activate.
 * Only visible on Fancy graphics.
 * Outside the border, the warning is at full strength.
 * Inside the border, the warning gradually gets stronger as the player approaches the border.
 * If the border is stationary, the warning is first seen as the player passes the warning distance – default 5 blocks from the player's location.
 * If the border is shrinking quickly enough, the warning will be first visible at the warning time – default 15 seconds from the player's location.
 * The command allows one to customize various aspects of the world border, like its size, center, damage and warning.
 * The border extends infinitely in the vertical axis; below bedrock and beyond the build limit.
 * The width and length of the border are always the same with respect to each other.

Blocks

 * Sponge
 * Reintroduced sponge to survival mode, with new behavior and texture.
 * Sponge turns into wet sponge when it soaks up water.
 * Water particles appear around the sponge when this happens.
 * Sponge destroys water blocks from 5 blocks away in a kind of sphere.
 * Sponge soaks up water, only when some water is touching it.
 * Chiseled stone bricks
 * Now craftable from two stone brick slabs on top of each other.
 * Cracked stone bricks
 * Can now be obtained by smelting stone bricks, making them renewable.
 * Moss stone
 * Now craftable from one cobblestone and one vine.
 * Mossy stone bricks
 * Now craftable from one stone brick and one vine.
 * Beacons
 * Beacon light beams change color when going through stained glass and stained glass panes.
 * Making it feed into multiple stained glass blocks/panes will combine the colors.
 * Beam now goes through all blocks that don't completely block light: Ice, water and leaves.
 * Signs, chests, beacons, beds and heads
 * Now display the cracking animation.
 * Beds did display the cracking animation previously, but not on their top and bottom.
 * Doors
 * Stack to 64.
 * The crafting recipe for doors now gives 3 doors instead of one.
 * Doors made of oak wood are named "oak wook doors" instead of just "wooden doors".
 * Applies to both doors and iron doors.
 * New types of doors for all the different wood types.
 * Therefore, Wooden Doors have been renamed to Oak Doors.
 * Door item textures were given more detail, to be consistent with the item textures of the new doors.
 * Trapdoors
 * Trapdoors are now called "Wooden Trapdoors".
 * Can now catch fire.
 * Torches & redstone torches
 * Torches and redstone torches placed on walls now have an angled top side.
 * Furnace
 * When a furnace runs out of fuel, the smelting progress will rewind at 2× speed.
 * Empty furnaces will now only accept fuel and empty buckets in the fuel slot.
 * Hay bales
 * Rebalanced how they heal and accelerate the growth of horses.
 * Dead bushes & saplings
 * Can now catch fire.
 * Packed ice
 * Mined faster with a pickaxe.
 * Melons and Ladders
 * Mined faster with an axe.
 * Huge mushrooms blocks
 * When harvested with silk touch enchantment, they drop blocks with corresponding mushroom texture (red or brown) on all sides rather than the one with spores.
 * Mob heads
 * Made creeper, skeleton and zombie heads available in survival.
 * Creepers, skeletons, wither skeletons and zombies drop their heads when killed by charged creepers. Wither skeletons continue to have heads as rare drops.
 * Charged creeper explosions will not yield more than one mob head, regardless of how many mobs were killed by it.
 * Skulls worn on heads are now bigger, so the 2nd skin layer no longer peaks through.
 * Player and mob heads, both in inventories and held by mobs/players, now display the actual head skin/texture.
 * Placed player heads now show the 2nd skin layer.
 * Dispensers
 * Can now place pumpkins or wither skeleton skulls to spawn golems and withers respectively.
 * Will only place them if the body of the golem or wither is already built.
 * Can now place command blocks with pre-configured commands, rather than dispensing it.
 * Buttons
 * Can now be placed on ceiling and on the ground.
 * Redstone comparators
 * Can now detect what way an item frame is rotated.
 * Daylight sensors
 * Can be inverted with a right click.
 * Reaches full strength at the opposite time than it would when set to normal.
 * This can allow for a light that turns on at night rather than day, without the need of a NOT gate.
 * Inverted form cannot be obtained in inventory.
 * Activator rails
 * Powered activator rails will now shake minecarts, causing riders (players and entities) to dismount.
 * Cobblestone stairs
 * "Stone Stairs" were renamed to "Cobblestone Stairs".
 * Redstone repeaters
 * No longer emit light.
 * Pumpkins & jack o'lanterns
 * Top texture now rotates together with the face.
 * Signs
 * Use the JSON text components,  ,   and   instead of plain text.
 * Can be used to show scores towards players by using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * Character limit is based on character width.
 * Slabs
 * Removed double stone slab's item form.
 * Removed double wooden slab's item form.
 * Monster spawners
 * Can be right-clicked with a spawn egg in hand to change what the spawner produces.
 * Command blocks
 * Survival players cannot longer look inside the command block to see the command.
 * Now show the  target selector description, along with the rest in the GUI.
 * Added an X/O button next to "last output" in the command block GUI, to toggle the visibility of the last output string.

Items

 * Blaze rods
 * Are now held similarly to tools.
 * Carrots
 * Restore hunger points instead of.
 * Baked potatoes
 * Restore hunger points instead of.
 * Maps
 * Zoomed out maps now align to a grid as well.
 * Are now much faster to load.
 * Book and quill & written books
 * Use JSON text components instead of plain text with the new  tag.
 * Capable of using the  and   tags.
 * Previously, text formatting could only be accomplished using the section symbol via Formatting codes.
 * Written books
 * Books are now marked with an "original" tag upon signing by default.
 * Copying the original makes it a "copy of original".
 * Copying a copy of original makes it a "copy of a copy".
 * Copies of copies cannot be further copied.
 * The copying status of a book (ie. generation) is denoted in a separate line in the tooltip, beneath the author's name.

Non-mob entities

 * Item frames
 * Items in item frames can now face eight different directions.
 * Can now be seen from farther away.
 * As long as the frame remains placed, it remembers the orientation of the last item it held and uses that orientation for the next item it holds.
 * Item frames can give off a signal detected by comparators, based on the direction the item is facing.
 * Signal strength is as follows: 0: empty; 1: item; 2: item rotated once; 3: item rotated twice; ...; 8: item rotated 7 times.
 * Improved position handling of item frames.
 * Paintings
 * Improved position handling of paintings.
 * Minecarts with TNT
 * Minecarts with TNT can be ignited with a flame enchanted bow.
 * Minecarts with TNT explosions no longer stack.
 * Arrows
 * Behave differently underwater.
 * They will lose all velocity after a few blocks and slowly fall.
 * Fire arrows will be extinguished.

Mobs

 * All mobs
 * Updated to the new AI.
 * Mobs now show a glow of a slightly different color when hurt.
 * Villagers
 * When struck by lightning, villagers turn into witches.
 * Now have a head slot where helmets or blocks can be applied.
 * Villagers will now only breed when willing.
 * The first time a specific trade is done, the villager will become willing; any other time there's a 1 in 5 chance the villager will become willing.
 * When a baby villager is born, both parents lose their willingness.
 * Villagers become willing to breed by consuming food: 3 bread or 12 potatoes or 12 carrots.
 * Finding out a villager's willingness in survival is difficult: The only tell is the amount of xp they give when trading. Normal trading yields 3–6 experience points, but trading that makes a villager willing yields 8–11 experience points.
 * Changes to villager AI:
 * Villagers will now harvest, collect and replant grown potato, carrot and wheat crops.
 * Villagers will craft wheat into bread.
 * Villagers will share food with fellow villagers.
 * Baby animals (sheep, pig, cow, chicken, cat, dog, horse and rabbit)
 * Growth can now slowly be accelerated using the animal's breeding item: Each use takes 10% off the remaining time to grow up.
 * Wolves
 * Tamed and untamed wolves now attack skeletons without provocation, similar to how untamed wolves attack sheep in the wild.
 * Tamed Ocelots and Tamed Wolves
 * Now display a death message if named with a name tag.
 * Skeletons & wither skeletons
 * Now run away from wolves instead of fighting back.
 * Now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
 * Now drop a skeleton mob head when killed by a charged creeper.
 * Wither skeleton hitbox has been changed: 2.5 to 3 blocks.
 * Slimes and magma cubes
 * Now swim as a result of the update to the new AI.
 * Randomly change direction every so often, reducing the chance of them getting stuck at walls or corners.
 * Slimes will now randomly despawn over time if no player is within a 32 meter range.
 * Appear to jump a bit more randomly.
 * When named and attacked, each new slime will keep its given name.
 * Zombie pigmen
 * Angry zombie pigmen now pathfind, as a result of the update to the new AI.
 * Now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
 * Adult zombie pigmen will forgive after a short time (and lose the aggro speed boost), but will continue to attack until the player escapes their aggro distance.
 * Endermen
 * Now pathfind as a result of the update to the new AI.
 * Now walk slightly faster.
 * Spiders and cave spiders
 * Can no longer draw line of sight through opaque blocks.
 * Blazes
 * Blazes will now shoot the player even if there are solid blocks between them.
 * Giants
 * Armor on Giants is now rendered.
 * Silverfish
 * Silverfish will stop occasionally before moving again (similarly to most mobs).
 * Creepers
 * Now run away from other creepers that are about to explode.
 * Now drop a creeper mob head when killed by a charged creeper.
 * Zombies
 * Now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
 * Now drop a zombie mob head when killed by a charged creeper.
 * Witches
 * Now run away from creepers that are about to explode.
 * Iron golems
 * Now attack the player as soon as it is attacked, but only if the player is in survival.
 * Snow golems
 * Snow golems below layer 64 no longer leave a trail of snow.
 * Iron golems, snow golems & withers
 * Can be spawned by arranging the blocks in equivalent rotations of the default.
 * This does not affect the orientation of the spawned mob.
 * Sheeps
 * Now drop mutton when killed.
 * Armor
 * Worn armor no longer gets colored when the respective mobs/players are hurt.

Trivia

 * This was the longest wait for a major update to Minecraft, with 312 days having elapsed since the release of 1.7.2 on October 25, 2013.
 * That's over a month longer than the development of Infdev and Alpha combined (279 days), and slightly over 2 weeks shorter than the development of Beta (328 days).
 * 1.3.1 had the previous longest wait between major releases, with a release on August 1, 2012, 153 days after the release of 1.2.1 — less than a half of 1.8's.
 * This was also the longest development to a major update in the history of Minecraft, with the first snapshot coming out on January 9, 2014, 236 days before the full release.
 * The previous longest was also 1.3.1, with 111 days from the first snapshot to the final release, also less than a half.
 * This update had the most development snapshots of any major update so far, at 52 snapshots.
 * The update with the most snapshots previous to this was 1.3.1, with 19 snapshots, slightly more than one-third of 1.8's snapshot count.