Java Edition 1.9

, known as The Combat Update, is an upcoming update to Minecraft with no set release date. Dinnerbone has stated that many of the features he has shown for 1.9 are not “100% final”, so things may change later.

Gameplay

 * Dominant hand option
 * An option for players to change their dominant hand on their player model
 * Dual wielding
 * Only the main hand can be used for attacking
 * Bows can be used even when something is in the other hand
 * The other hand is invisible in first person view when not holding something
 * Key to swap items between hands, which is by default
 * For example, if you have a pickaxe in your main hand and a torch in your other hand, right click places the torch* The off-hand slot is displayed next to the hotbar, on the off-hand side (left for right-hand players and vice versa)
 * Some attributes and enchantments will apply to the off-hand item, while others will not.
 * Status effects
 * Levitation status effect
 * Recieved when player is hit by shulker projectiles
 * Makes player involuntarily float high into the air
 * Can be used to get to higher places
 * Listed as a negative effect due to the potential to kill from fall damage
 * Spectral status effect
 * Recieved when players or mobs are hit by spectral arrows
 * Makes player's outline glow, seen even through non-transparent blocks
 * Listed as a negative effect because it prevents you from hiding from players once you are hit
 * Supports different colors for different teams to allow usage in competitive maps, team co-op maps, etc.

Blocks

 * Grass path
 * A 15/16 block tall grass-like “path”. It features a somewhat similar texture to the grass block.
 * Cannot be obtained from the creative inventory.


 * Purpur Block
 * Generates in the End dungeons
 * Can be crafted with Popped Chorus Fruits
 * Purpur Pillar
 * Generates in the End dungeons.
 * Can be crafted with Purpur Slabs
 * Purpur Stairs
 * Generates in the End dungeons.
 * Can be crafted with Purpur Blocks
 * Purpur Slabs
 * Generates in the End dungeons.
 * Can be crafted with Purpur Blocks
 * End Stone Bricks
 * Can be crafted with End Stone
 * End Rod
 * Placable horizonally and vertically which produce white particles
 * Emits light (same level as torches)
 * Dragon Head
 * Moves its mouth when walking (when worn as a helmet)
 * Mouth opens when powered by redstone

Items

 * Beetroots and Beetroot seeds
 * Each beetroot gives the player.
 * Beetroot seeds can be found in End Cities.
 * Beetroot can be crafted in to Rose Red.
 * Beetroot Soup
 * Can be made using beetroots and a bowl
 * Gives the player.
 * Chorus fruit
 * Obtained from chorus plants
 * Can be eaten even if the player is not hungry, similar to Golden Apples
 * Can be cooked in Furnaces to obtain Popped Chorus Fruits
 * Teleports the player somewhere nearby
 * Chorus Flowers
 * Spawn on the top of the chorus plant
 * Don't drop when the supporting block is destroyed so you need to hand-pick them.
 * Can only be planted on End Stone in any dimension.
 * Arrows
 * Fourteen new arrow types.
 * New gold-colored spectral arrow
 * Shows mob and player outlines in their team color when hit – even when invisible
 * NBT tag for entities to disable outlines
 * The glowing is a status effect – you can find out whether you're glowing from a spectral arrow using the status effect HUD
 * Arrows can be tipped with potions
 * Each differently tipped arrow is available in the creative menu, just like enchanted books
 * Effect is applied on hit
 * Dragon breath
 * Dropped by the Ender Dragon

World generation

 * End city dungeon
 * Tree house-like structures composed of Endstone Bricks, Purpur Blocks (and their variants), and Purple Stained Glass
 * Contains the Shulker mob
 * Generates on separate end islands arranged around the main island in a donut fashion
 * Contains chests and Ender Chests
 * Loot includes beetroot seeds, diamonds, gold, and high-level enchanted diamond/iron equipment
 * Chorus Plants
 * Tree/cactus-like arrangements of new purple block.
 * Drop when supporting block is destroyed, like cacti.
 * Drop edible chorus fruit items.
 * Can be farmed by planting the chorus fruit flowers that come from the top of the plants.
 * Grow in stages.
 * End gateway portal
 * Appears after killing the dragon
 * New type of portal, due to its size it is only accessible using ender pearls, or by riding pigs, boats or minecarts.
 * Used to warp to other end islands depending on the direction of the ender pearl throw.
 * End ship
 * Spawns across from End dungeon
 * Composed of the same materials as End dungeons
 * Has Shulkers in it
 * Has a purple Beacon and a brewing stand

Mobs

 * Shulker
 * Short for "Shell Lurker"
 * The shell looks like a purple block
 * It can appear on the ground or walls
 * Appears in the End city dungeons
 * Using commands, they can be made to be part of a team to attack other teams and can be used as defense mobs
 * Can teleport to other locations.
 * When attacking, opens up and shoots projectiles which only move along the x/y/z axis
 * Projectiles can be knocked away by attacking them.
 * Getting hit by one causes damage and provides the levitation status effect

General

 * Options
 * Removed Super Secret Settings and Broadcast Settings
 * Removed Alternate Blocks from video settings

Gameplay

 * Bosses
 * Proper support for multiple bosses’ health bars, so they show at the same time without obstructing each other.
 * Death messages
 * Death messages will now be displayed on the player's death screen as well as in the chat.
 * Inventory
 * Rearranged the survival inventory and the creative "survival tab" to accommodate the new off hand slot.
 * Items
 * Can now render when equipped into the head slot

Commands

 * Allows for mirroring/rotating structures
 * Allows for mirroring/rotating structures

Blocks

 * Armor stands
 * Can now dual wield
 * Dead bushes
 * Will now drop anywhere between 0–2 sticks
 * Ender crystals
 * A version of the ender crystal can be crafted which spawns another dragon when placed

Items

 * Bows
 * The bow in your hotbar now shows an arrow when being drawn.
 * Arrows in the off hand are prioritized over arrows in the rest of the inventory slots.
 * Ender pearls
 * Can now be thrown in creative mode
 * Maps
 * Now display as a mini map when held in either hand, rather than being held with both hands.
 * Swords
 * Can no longer be used for blocking.

World generation

 * End island
 * A set amount of differently-sized pillars are arranged in a circular fashion
 * The tallest pillars have iron bars around their ender crystal
 * This makes it so that you have to climb some of the pillars, making the fight harder
 * The exit portal is pre-generated, but without the dragon egg and portal blocks
 * Infinite number of islands in the end
 * Mini islands generate between major islands
 * End islands and mini end islands have Chorus plants spread throughout the island
 * After the Ender dragon is killed an End Gateway will spawn and will briefly have a purple beacon beam from it.
 * To go through you must throw an Ender pearl through it
 * Opens up all the other End islands
 * Another End gateway will spawn on the island you where teleported to

Mobs

 * Ender dragon
 * Revamped boss fight inspired by the Console Edition.
 * The dragon can be respawned as often as you want by placing player-made craftable ender crystals
 * Subsequent dragons don't drop as much XP and won't drop a dragon egg
 * The dragon breathes fire/purple particles on players and mobs
 * The dragon will defend the obsidian pillars more the further the fight progresses
 * Every dragon drops dragon breath, but only one dragon egg can be obtained
 * A more controlled dragon
 * Hostile mobs
 * Will now have animations to show that they are attacking.
 * Skeletons
 * Skeletons now animate their bow
 * They pull it out when becoming hostile and draw it back to shoot arrows
 * Mapmakers can make skeletons shoot potion-tipped arrows
 * All mobs
 * More different textures for mobs

Potions

 * Added Mundane, Thick and, Awkward potions to the creative inventory.
 * Added splash water bottle, and Mundane, Thick, and Awkward splash potions.

General

 * Animations/Entity models
 * Might include model changes within the NBT data.
 * Would be implemented via resource packs.
 * Will make better use of code so that map/mod makers can create better/new mobs.
 * Same as the block data changes in 1.8.
 * Captions/Subtitles
 * Subtitles which display for each sound for the hard of hearing/deaf.
 * An example would be “Creeper hissing”.
 * Would have to point in the direction this sound is coming from.

Blocks

 * New block type

Items

 * Shields
 * Will be used for blocking instead of a sword.
 * Can be used to attack and defend at the same time.
 * Can use two shields at the same time
 * Shields can have customizable patterns, like banners
 * Used to block attacks from the side the shield is held on
 * Sounds for when you blocked an attack

General

 * Shaders
 * Switch away from using fixed-function OpenGL to using Shaders.
 * Block models
 * Models can be put together based on BlockState attributes – As a result, the vanilla set of block models was reduced by almost 300 models
 * These will also be changed in resource packs, allowing better rotation and translation handling, as well as consistent left hand support.

Gameplay

 * Clouds
 * New cloud rendering system.

Blocks

 * Command blocks
 * Will have a new UI
 * Will contain tab to complete.

Trivia

 * This is now the longest wait for a major update to Minecraft, with 3616 days days now having elapsed since the release of 1.8 on September 2, 2014.
 * Until this point, the longest waits had been those between 1.7.2 and 1.8 (312 days), and between 1.2.1 and 1.3.1 (153 days).
 * This has also been the longest span of time between the release of a major update to Minecraft and a snapshot for the next major update, with 330 days having elapsed between the release of 1.8 on September 2, 2014, and 15w31a on July 29, 2015.
 * Until this point, the longest waits had been those between 1.7.2 and 14w02a (76 days), between 1.4.2 and 13w01a (70 days), and between 1.6.1 and 13w36a (66 days).