Exciting Sneak Peek: Unveiling Minecraft 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1 Features!
Minecraft Java Edition welcomes the 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1 Update, introducing several notable enhancements. This update primarily focuses on refining the Villager Trading Rebalance, improving Recipe Book searching, and various other tweaks. For a detailed overview of all the changes and additional information, please refer to the full Patch Notes, which can be found linked on this page.
1. Experimental Features
1.1 Villager Trade Rebalance Part II
1.1.1 CARTOGRAPHER
In this experiment, Cartographers have expanded their offerings to include seven fresh maps alongside the familiar Ocean Monument and Woodland Mansion maps. These newly introduced maps are uniquely designed to guide adventurers to various villages and structures, each nestled within a distinct biome. This enhancement aims to expedite players’ quest for specific locations within the game world.
Cartographers hailing from diverse biomes will offer a unique assortment of maps. However, fret not, for with a starting point in one village, players can embark on a journey of exploration, using these maps to seamlessly navigate from village to village, regardless of the biome. The seven new maps introduced in this update include:
- Desert Village Map: Transporting you to the heart of arid dunes, this map showcases the serene beauty of desert oases and offers a chance to explore the distinctive architectural structures found in these harsh landscapes.
- Jungle Explorer Map: Leading adventurers deep into lush tropical jungles, this map unveils the breathtaking biodiversity and vibrant greenery unique to jungle biomes. Players can discover hidden treasures amidst the towering trees and dense foliage.
- Plains Village Map: Taking you to the serene plains, this map highlights the vast, open landscapes and picturesque scenery of rolling hills and meadows. It also reveals the charm of traditional village life in these tranquil settings.
- Savanna Village Map: Guiding you to the sweeping savannas, this map offers a glimpse of the striking acacia trees and the distinctive golden grasslands. It’s a chance to experience the beauty of the African-inspired biome.
- Snow Village Map: Navigating through the frozen tundras, this map captures the enchanting, snow-covered landscapes. Players can explore igloos, snow-capped mountains, and the serene ambiance of the icy wilderness.
- Swamp Explorer Map: Venturing into the mysterious swamps, this map showcases the eerie beauty of moss-covered trees, murky waters, and unique flora. It’s an opportunity to uncover the secrets hidden within these dark and enchanting wetlands.
- Taiga Village Map: Leading the way to the chilly taiga biomes, this map presents the charm of snow-dusted pine forests and frozen lakes. It’s a journey through a winter wonderland, complete with cozy village settings.
Each of these maps not only aids in navigation but also provides a glimpse into the stunning aesthetics and distinctive characteristics of the respective biomes, enhancing the overall Minecraft exploration experience.
1.1.2 ARMORER
The Armorer profession has undergone significant alterations, with the most notable change being the introduction of a small Diamonds cost alongside Emeralds when purchasing diamond armor. Additionally, several other adjustments have been made to Armorers:
- Iron Blocks Trading: Many master-level Armorers have now started buying Iron Blocks, and they offer generous returns for these valuable resources, making them a lucrative source of income.
- Exclusive Chainmail Armor: Chainmail armor sets are now exclusively available through clandestine Jungle and Swamp Armorers. These elusive traders specialize in offering this unique armor type.
- Cursed Diamond Armor: The Savanna Armorer now offers cursed diamond armor at discounted prices. These items may come with negative enchantments, adding an intriguing twist to your gear choices.
- Armor Exchange in Taiga: The Taiga Armorer provides a distinctive service by allowing players to exchange one piece of diamond armor for another. This flexibility can be invaluable for tailoring your equipment to specific needs and preferences.
These changes not only enhance gameplay variety but also provide players with intriguing opportunities for trade, exploration, and customization within the Minecraft world.
1.1.3 STRUCTURE LOOT
In certain structures across the Minecraft world, you’ll now discover Enchanted Books with a significantly higher likelihood of spawning. Here’s where you can expect to find these valuable enchantments:
- Ancient Cities: When exploring Ancient Cities, you’ll come across the coveted “Mending” Enchanted Books. These books are the key to preserving the durability of your equipment by repairing them with experience.
- Mineshafts: Delve into Mineshafts, where you can stumble upon Enchanted Books imbued with the “Efficiency” enchantment, ranging from levels I to V. This enchantment accelerates your mining and digging, making your tools more efficient.
- Pillager Outposts: Pillager Outposts are now home to Enchanted Books with the “Quick Charge” enchantment, available in levels I to III. This enchantment enhances your crossbow’s reloading speed, ensuring you’re always ready for combat.
- Desert Temples: Inside Desert Temples, you’ll have the chance to discover Enchanted Books with the “Unbreaking” enchantment, which can range from levels I to III. Unbreaking increases the longevity of your tools and armor by reducing their wear and tear.
- Jungle Temples: Jungle Temples also contain Enchanted Books featuring the “Unbreaking” enchantment, ranging from levels I to III. This enchantment is a valuable addition to maintaining the durability of your gear.
These changes not only enrich the exploration experience but also provide players with more accessible opportunities to acquire desirable enchantments for their equipment, making the journey through Minecraft’s diverse structures even more rewarding.
2. Changes
- The search now exclusively matches the beginnings of words in an item’s name. For instance, a search for “tor” will yield results like “Torch” and “Redstone Torch,” but it will no longer include “Daylight Detector.”
- All recipes, including those that have not yet been unlocked, will now appear in search results. This alteration is designed to empower seasoned players to quickly locate the recipes they seek, even if they haven’t unlocked them yet, without overwhelming newer players.
In addition to these Recipe Book changes, there have been updates to the structure icons on explorer maps sold by Cartographers. Furthermore, when villagers unlock new trades, the order of these trades in the user interface (UI) is now consistently randomized, ensuring a fair and unpredictable trading experience.
2.1 Technical Changes
Under the hood, there have been some technical changes in the Minecraft update:
- Data Pack Version: The data pack version has been incremented to 18. This signifies that there have been modifications or additions to the data pack structure or content, ensuring compatibility with the latest game version.
- Client Options during Configuration Network Phase: When joining a server, client options are now transmitted during the configuration network phase. This means that settings and preferences on the client side are synchronized with the server more efficiently, potentially improving the overall multiplayer experience and ensuring that the game operates smoothly in a server environment.
3. Full Patch Notes
The Minecraft 1.20.2 Pre-Release 1 is the latest update for the Java Edition of the game. It was released on September 6, 2023 and it brings some changes and improvements to the game, such as:
- A new feature that allows players to report player skins and usernames that violate the Community Standards in Java Edition. This feature is intended to make Minecraft a more inclusive and safe experience for everyone. Players who have their skins or usernames banned will need to change them before they can play online.
- A second part of the Villager Trade Rebalance Experiment, which introduces new maps sold by Cartographers that point to different villages or structures in different biomes. This feature is meant to help players find specific locations faster and explore more of the world.
- An update to the Recipe Book search, which now shows all recipes, including those that have not been unlocked yet. This change is meant to enable experienced players to find the recipes they are looking for without overwhelming new players. The search also only matches the beginning of any word in the item’s name, making it more precise.
- Some changes to the structure icons on explorer maps sold by Cartographers, the order of trades in the UI when villagers unlock new trades, and the data pack version.
- Some technical changes and bug fixes, such as new damage types, deterministic random sequences for loot tables, negative boundaries for string data sources, and fixes for encoding errors in server.properties, realms strings, breaking animation, end crystal placement, and more.