Java Edition 15w44a

15w44a is the thirty-seventh snapshot released for 1.9.

Items

 * End Crystal
 * Drops from skeleton and zombie horses when killed by the player.
 * Can only be placed on obsidian and bedrock blocks.
 * Has no bottom plate like "normal" End Crystals.
 * Used on the exit portal in the End to respawn the dragon.
 * The End Crystal can't be destroyed by explosions (except Wither).

Blocks

 * Cauldrons
 * A bucket can now be filled from a full cauldron.

Items

 * Golden Apple
 * Normal golden apples now provide Regeneration II (was Regeneration I since 15w37a).
 * Enchanted golden apples can no longer be crafted.
 * The achievement "overpowered" can no longer be obtained. Dinnerbone states the achievement will be changed to "obtain" instead of "craft" to fix this.

Mobs

 * Ender dragon
 * Changed the mechanic for respawning the ender dragon.
 * To respawn the dragon, one end crystal must be placed on each side of the exit portal at any one of the three blocks of that side.
 * While respawning, beams shoot out of these crystals, that will reset all the pillars, exit portal and end stone under the exit portal. When done they blow up and spawn the dragon.
 * It is no longer possible to spawn an ender dragon by creating a creeper face using clay.

World generation

 * Igloos
 * The red carpet at the corner of the igloo basement hides a block of polished andesite.
 * The sign has changed back to arrows though different arrows than they were initially.
 * Previously:


 * Now:


 * Large oak trees
 * Now spawn in forest biomes again.

Command format

 * NBT tags
 * Ender crystal
 * (boolean) Whether to show the crystal "base", within the block the crystal is on top of.

Gameplay

 * Enchantments
 * Mending enchantment level requirement lowered from 40–90 to 25–75.


 * Hunger
 * The new saturation -> food mechanic only applies when the player is not hungry.

General

 * Buff Bar
 * Now properly respects hidden & ambient effects.


 * Loot tables
 * New "enchant_randomly" and "set_attributes" functions.
 * Chests in mineshafts, desert pyramids, simple dungeons, and bonus chests pull loot from multiple pools, and their items were heavily rebalanced. Pools of valuable items generally precede pools of less valuable items.
 * Saddle and iron horse armor were removed from mineshaft chests; name tag, enchanted and normal golden apple, torch and powered, detector and activator rails were added.
 * Spider eyes, gunpowder, string, sand, and golden apple were added to desert temple chests.
 * Salmon was added to bonus chests. This chest now always contains one axe, one pickaxe, some food, and some wood items. Sticks and planks were made more plentiful.
 * Bone, rotten flesh, gold ingots, coal, enchanted golden apples, melon, pumpkin, and beetroot seeds were added to simple dungeon chests.

Video
Video made by slicedlime:

Trivia

 * 15w44a was previously removed from the launcher for some time, but was added back in September 2018.