Minecraft 1.21: All major features explained

Minecraft 1.21: All major features explained

Mojang has now officially announced that all of the features for Minecraft 1.21 have been disclosed in the recent snapshots. This implies that everything seen in the snapshots up until this point will be included in the final version of 1.21. Given this confirmation, now is an opportune moment to review all of the additions, as there should not be any further additions to consider.

The complete list of update 1.21’s features is provided below, along with all the necessary information for players to understand each feature.

Minecraft 1.21’s Full List of Features

Judicial Panels

Trial chambers are 1.21's most expansive feature by far (Image via Mojang)
Trial chambers are 1.21’s most expansive feature by far (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft 1.21’s most notable feature, both in terms of size and significance, are the trial chambers. These chambers are typically comparable in size to strongholds and are packed with a combination of peril and treasures.

There are spawners located within each trial that will activate whenever a player comes too close. The player must defeat all spawned mobs before the spawner goes on a 30-minute cooldown. Among the possible rewards such as diamonds, emeralds, and food, players may also receive a trial key.

The vault blocks in Minecraft are opened using these keys and serve as the primary source of loot in trial chambers. Any number of players can loot these blocks simultaneously. The loot found within is exceptional, featuring top-tier items such as tridents and coveted enchantments like fortune, silk touch, and mending, widely regarded as the best in Minecraft.

Discovering these subterranean structures for plunder will remain an effortless task, as a recent update introduced a cartographer villager who offers a map leading to a nearby trial chamber. This mirrors the existing trades for maps to ocean monuments, essential for obtaining guardians and locating elusive woodland mansions in Minecraft.

Flail

The mace also has a very useful AOE knockback effect (Image via Mojang)
The mace also has a very useful AOE knockback effect (Image via Mojang)

The addition of the mace could be considered one of the most significant updates in version 1.21. It is the first new weapon to be included in the game since the popular Village and Pillage update, which originally introduced crossbows.

The ability of maces to convert fall damage into direct entity damage, coupled with three new, potent mace-only enchantments, makes them capable of instantly defeating any mob with health in Minecraft. This high-risk, high-reward approach to combat and the immense strength of the weapon are bound to spark a PvP revolution.

To craft a mace, one must gather breeze rods and a heavy core. Breeze rods can be obtained by defeating breeze creatures, while heavy cores can be found as loot in ominous vaults. Further information on these items will be discussed later.

Wind

The breeze is a super unique mob, even if it resembles the blaze heavily (Image via Mojang)
The breeze is a super unique mob, even if it resembles the blaze heavily (Image via Mojang)

The breeze is a recently added elemental mob that bears a striking resemblance to the menacing blaze found in the Nether. In enclosed spaces, they pounce on players with gusts of wind, causing minimal damage but potentially launching them into the air. This poses a threat as players may accidentally trigger additional spawners and encounter valuable drops in trial chambers.

The breeze rods they drop are also closely connected to blaze and can be utilized to create the aforementioned mace weapon.

Enhanced blocks

Trial chambers are great for seeing most of the new blocks (Image via Mojang)
Trial chambers are great for seeing most of the new blocks (Image via Mojang)

Update 1.21 will bring a plethora of new blocks. Tuff has now been developed into a complete stone variation and there will be numerous additions of copper blocks and variants, such as the copper bulb which will serve as a new light source. Additionally, the crafter will also be introduced.

The crafter, previously believed to be beyond the capabilities of the vanilla game, is a redstone component that allows for automated crafting. Through the crafter’s UI, players can use hoppers or similar items to input materials and designate legal spaces in the crafting window. By utilizing redstone signals, the crafter will produce completed items.

Trapped

Bogged are a deadly skeleton variant due to how slow swamps are to move through (Image via Mojang)
Bogged are a deadly skeleton variant due to how slow swamps are to move through (Image via Mojang)

The bogged is a recently introduced type of skeleton and is considered the most lethal among all the undead archers in the game. Although they have a slower firing rate and lower health compared to regular skeletons, this does not necessarily mean they are weaker. In fact, their arrows are coated with poison, making any prolonged battle with them almost certain to result in death, as the poison is unaffected by armor.

In addition to regular skeletons and strays, bogged can also be found in swamps and upcoming trial chambers, forming a potentially deadly trio. Similar to strays, they may occasionally drop slowness arrows, but their main drops consist of the same items as regular skeletons. However, on occasion, they may drop poison-tipped arrows.

Overcoming Adversity: A Revamped Approach to Ominous Trials and Omens

Ominous variants burn with soul fire rather than regular fire (Image via Mojang)
Ominous variants burn with soul fire rather than regular fire (Image via Mojang)

The bad-omen Minecraft status effect underwent a major overhaul in version 1.21, which caught many players by surprise. Previously, it would automatically be applied upon defeating a randomly spawned raid captain, resulting in raids starting without the player’s control. This could potentially lead to unintentional destruction of a Minecraft villager trading hall.

Fortunately, the functioning of bad omen has been slightly altered in 1.21. Instead of directly triggering the effect, raid captains will now drop a consumable known as an ominous bottle. Upon usage, the bottle will impart a level of bad omen equivalent to its own level, granting players the ability to determine when the effect takes place. Additionally, ominous bottles can be obtained as rewards from trial spawners and vaults.

If a player is seen by a spawner while entering a trial chamber, the bad omen will transform into a trial omen. This signals the beginning of an eerie event or challenging trial. These trials are a voluntary, more challenging version of the standard trial chamber, offering superior loot but also more frequent spawning of equipped mobs.

Ominous keys have replaced trial keys and are now used to unlock ominous vaults. These vaults have been updated to include a small chance of dropping the heavy core required for crafting a mace, as previously mentioned. Additionally, players can also obtain enchanted golden apples, books containing the three new exclusive Minecraft mace enchantments, and ominous bottles from these vaults.

Improved Elixirs

New potions imply that Mojang might start revisiting alchemy in future updates (Image via Mojang)
New potions imply that Mojang might start revisiting alchemy in future updates (Image via Mojang)

The update for Minecraft also includes the addition of four new potions to the roster. All four potions are based on awkward potions, with the first being the wind charged potion. This potion causes mobs to explode in the air upon being killed. Another potion, the weaving potion, has a similar effect but instead creates a blast of cobwebs instead of air.

The two following potions are alike. The first one is the oozing potion, which causes slain mobs to release slime while under its effect. The second potion, infestation, gives hurt mobs a slight chance to spawn silverfish.

The complete list of newly introduced potions and their corresponding base ingredient required for brewing is:

Potion Base Ingredient
Wind Charged Breeze Rod
Weaving Cobweb
Oozing Slime Block
Infestation Stone

Customization options

New personalization options are always nice to see (Image via Mojang)
New personalization options are always nice to see (Image via Mojang)

In the upcoming 1.21 update, players can expect to see a handful of new personalization options. One of the most notable additions will be the pot sherds, which will enhance the existing archeology system in Minecraft with two new pot designs.

In addition, the game will feature two fresh armor trims and banner patterns. The flow armor trim gives the illusion of wind swirling around the edges of the armor, while the flow banner pattern resembles a compact ball of air. The guster banner pattern depicts a new Minecraft mob resembling a gust of wind, and the bolt armor trim adds a sturdy bolted look to the armor’s surface, giving the impression of multiple plates joined together.

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