Java Edition 16w06a

16w06a is the fifty-fourth snapshot released for 1.9.

This version was previously removed from the launcher for some time, but was added back in September 2018.

Items

 * Elytra
 * The elytra texture now defaults to the cape texture if no custom texture is uploaded and the player owns a cape.


 * Tipped arrows
 * Are now crafted by 8 arrows surrounding a lingering potion of that type, yielding 8 of them.
 * Can no longer be obtained by splashing down a lingering potion first, then shooting regular arrows through that cloud.
 * This new method can even create tipped arrows from a custom lingering potion using commands, but the tipped arrow will say "Arrow of Splashing" if it is custom-made.

World generation

 * Stronghold
 * Generation has changed (to a formation or pattern of rings):
 * The 1st ring has 3 strongholds distanced 1408–2688 blocks from the origin.
 * The 2nd ring has 6 strongholds distanced 4480–5760 blocks from the origin.
 * The 3rd ring has 10 strongholds distanced 7552–8832 blocks from the origin.
 * The 4th ring has 15 strongholds distanced 10624–11904 blocks from the origin.
 * The 5th ring has 21 strongholds distanced 13696–14976 blocks from the origin.
 * The 6th ring has 28 strongholds distanced 16768–18048 blocks from the origin.
 * The 7th ring has 36 strongholds distanced 19840–21120 blocks from the origin.
 * The 8th ring has 9 strongholds distanced 22912–24192 blocks from the origin.

Gameplay

 * Entities
 * The player's body, hand and held item is now rendered while sleeping in bed.
 * Most entities in the game should now move much more smoothly.


 * Frost walker
 * Maximum radius is now 16 blocks (i.e. levels over 14 don't increase the range).

General

 * Performance
 * Riding entities such as boats, horses, minecarts and saddled pigs, are now run by the client instead of by the server.


 * Sounds
 * In addition to previous patches of the 1.9 snapshots, more sounds have been modified.

Video
Video made by slicedlime:

Trivia

 * The wool in the hotbar in the snapshot cover image when converted into numbers based on the damage value reads “17022016”, which appears to be February 17, 2016 — the date that 1.9-pre1 was later released.