Java Edition 20w06a

20w06a is the first snapshot for Java Edition 1.16, released on February 5, 2020, which adds most of the announced content for the Nether Update.

Blocks

 * Ancient Debris
 * Can be found throughout the Nether at any altitude, though it is much more common at lower levels.
 * Can be refined into a Netherite Scrap by smelting in a furnace or blast furnace.
 * Is not affected by explosions.
 * A diamond pickaxe or better is required to mine it.


 * Basalt
 * Makes up basalt pillars.
 * Generates in soulsand valleys.
 * Can be placed directionally, similarly to logs.


 * Crimson and Warped Fungi
 * Generate in crimson and warped forests, respectively.
 * Can be placed on dirt, coarse dirt, farmland, podzol, grass, nylium, soul soil, and grass blocks.
 * Can be bonemealed to be grown into the respective huge fungi when placed on nylium.
 * Unlike mushrooms, fungi cannot spread.


 * Crimson and Warped Nylium
 * Resemble grass blocks.
 * Can be spread to netherrack by using bonemeal on a netherrack block next to a nylium block.


 * Crimson and Warped Planks
 * Does not burn.
 * Crafted from the respective stem.
 * Can be used to craft respective slabs, stairs, fences, fence gates, pressure plates, buttons, doors, trapdoors, and signs.


 * Crimson Roots, Warped Roots, Nether Sprouts
 * Generate in both crimson and warped forest biomes.


 * Crimson and Warped Stem
 * Blocks that comprise the trunks of huge fungi.
 * Have animated textures.
 * Has a top texture similar to regular log blocks.
 * Can be placed directionally, similarly to logs.
 * Does not burn.
 * Have respective stripped variants.


 * Netherite Block
 * Can be crafted with 9 Netherite Ingots.
 * Decorative.
 * Same blast resistance as obsidian, but is movable with pistons.


 * Shroomlight
 * Emits a light level of 15, similarly to glowstone.
 * Can be mined with any tool, but axes are the most efficient.
 * Generate as a part of huge fungi.


 * Soul Fire
 * Blue variant of fire.
 * Fire lit on soul soil is blue fire regardless of dimension.
 * Burns forever, similar to regular fire on netherrack.
 * Generates naturally in the soulsand valley biome in the Nether.
 * Deals damage at a rate of per second as opposed to the  per second of regular fire.


 * Soul Fire Lantern
 * Gives off a light level of 10.
 * Crafted similarly to a normal lantern, using a soul torch instead of a normal torch.


 * Soul Soil
 * Generates in the soulsand valley, alongside conventional soul sand.
 * Fire lit on soul soil is soul fire.
 * The player does not sink and is not slowed when walking in soul soil.


 * Soul Fire Torch
 * Gives off a light level of 10.
 * Crafted similarly to a normal torch, with soul soil being placed under the stick.


 * Warped Wart Block
 * A variation of the nether wart block.
 * Generates as a part of huge warped fungi.


 * Weeping Vines
 * Generates in the crimson forest.
 * Is placed on the bottom of a block and grows downward.

Items

 * Spawn eggs
 * Added Hoglin Spawn Egg.


 * Netherite Scrap
 * Created by smelting ancient debris in a furnace.
 * Used to create netherite ingots.


 * Netherite Ingot
 * Created with 4 gold ingots and 4 netherite scraps.
 * Can be used to upgrade diamond tools and armor.


 * Netherite Armor
 * Crafted with a piece of diamond armor and a netherite ingot.
 * Doesn't burn in lava.
 * Grants one additional point of knockback resistance per item.
 * Tougher than diamond armor.
 * Has a higher durability and enchantability than diamond.


 * Netherite Axe, Hoe, Pickaxe, Shovel, and Sword
 * Crafted with a netherite ingot and the respective item.
 * Do not burn in lava.
 * Have a higher durability, mining level, breaking multiplier, and enchantability than diamond.
 * All items, except the hoe, deal 1 more damage than their diamond counterparts.

Mobs

 * Hoglins
 * Spawn in crimson forests.
 * Drop rotten flesh.

Command format

 * Commands
 * Added.

World generation

 * Biomes
 * Soul sand valley
 * A vast grotto composed of uncovered nether fossils, soul sand, soul soil, large speleothems made of basalt, blue fog, and soul fire.
 * Skeletons, ghasts, and endermen may spawn here.
 * Crimson forest
 * A dense forest with huge crimson fungi. These blocks and fungi are found in patches on the ground and weeping vines are found under the trees.
 * Zombie pigmen and hoglins may spawn here.
 * Warped forest
 * A color variation of the crimson forest, but with somewhat different vegetation and particle, fog effects.
 * Only enderman may spawn here.


 * Structures
 * Basalt Pillar
 * Floor to ceiling pillars of basalt that generate in soul sand valleys.


 * Nether Fossils
 * New fossil structures have been added for the soul sand valley.
 * These fossils are different from the overworld fossils and do not generate with coal ore.


 * Huge Crimson and Huge Warped Fungi
 * New structure resembling trees found in crimson and warped forests, respectively.
 * Made of crimson and warped stem blocks as well as red nether wart blocks and warped wart blocks.
 * Can be grown from their respective fungi.

General

 * Tags
 * Added block tags.
 * Added item tags.


 * Particles
 * Added.

Blocks

 * Bamboo saplings
 * Renamed to "Bamboo Shoot".


 * Bone blocks
 * Generate as part of nether fossils in soul sand valleys.


 * Gravel and soul sand
 * Generate in soul sand valley biomes.


 * Netherrack
 * Using bone meal on netherrack adjacent to nylium will convert it into nylium.
 * If two nylium blocks of different types are present, it will choose the type at random based on how many blocks of each type are around it.


 * Nether wart blocks
 * Generate as a part of huge crimson fungi.
 * Texture changed.


 * Pistons and sticky pistons
 * Hardness was increased to 1.5.
 * Pickaxes are now more efficient on pistons.


 * Smooth quartz
 * Renamed to "Smooth Quartz Block".


 * Walls
 * Walls do not have gaps anymore when stacked vertically.
 * Blockdata now uses "none" "low" and "tall" for east/west/north/south directional values.

Items

 * Clay
 * Renamed to "Clay Ball".

Mobs

 * Endermen
 * Now spawn in soul sand valleys and warped forests.
 * Ghasts
 * Sounds are now heard at a shorter range.
 * Now spawn in soul sand valleys.
 * Skeletons
 * Now spawn in soul sand valleys.
 * Zombie Pigmen
 * Now spawn in crimson forests.

World generation

 * Biomes
 * The old Nether biome is now called Nether Wastes.


 * Structures
 * Shipwrecks and ocean ruins are now less common.

Gameplay

 * Knockback resistance
 * Is now a scale of the amount of knockback taken instead of a probability to take no knockback.


 * Patrols
 * Patrols no longer spawn when the player is close to any village.


 * Recipe Book
 * The cartography table recipe now unlocks with paper instead of string.

General

 * Materials
 * Added new nether wood material.
 * Uses the wood material color.
 * Uses default properties.


 * Rendering
 * Improved entity shadows to the ground.


 * Sounds
 * Updated block sounds for bone blocks, netherrack, soul sand, nether wart blocks, nether bricks (and variants), and nether quartz ore.


 * Tags
 * Added crimson and warped wooden items to the block tags.
 * Added crimson and warped wooden items to the item tags.
 * The block and item tags now use the respective  tag.

Video
Video made by slicedlime:

Trivia

 * 20w06a is the first snapshot of 2020 and of the 2020s decade, and the first snapshot not to start with a "1".