Release Date: November 14, 2016
Version(s): Java Edition 1.11
◄◄ Frostburn Update | World of Color Update ►►
The Exploration Update (Java Edition 1.11) was released on November 14, 2016. This update focused on expanding gameplay through new mobs, structures, blocks, and items centered around discovery and adventure. Its official name was first announced on September 24, 2016, during the Opening Ceremony at MINECON 2016. Interestingly, Jens Bergensten suggested at the same event that “Expedition Update” might have been an even better name to fit the theme.
The main features of this version were revealed the following day, September 25, 2016, in the “Minecraft 1.11 Change Log” panel at MINECON. Development, however, had already started earlier, with snapshots introducing some features weeks before the official reveal. Mojang only published a single pre-release on November 8, 2016, a few days before launch.
Contents
- Additions
- Further Revisions
- Trivia
- References
- Navigation
1. Additions
New Blocks
- Observer
- Crafted with six cobblestone, two redstone dust, and one Nether quartz.
- Detects block updates and sends out a redstone signal.
- Shulker Box
- Created with a chest and two shulker shells.
- Retains its contents when broken, making it portable storage.
- Can be dyed into any available color.
New Items
- Shulker Shell
- Dropped by shulkers.
- Used to craft shulker boxes.
- Totem of Undying
- Dropped by evokers.
- Revives the player when held in the main hand or offhand at the moment of death.
- Grants Absorption and Regeneration on use.
- Does not prevent death from the void.
- Explorer Maps
- Obtained by trading with cartographer villagers.
- Come in two types:
- Ocean Explorer Map (blue) → directs players to ocean monuments.
- Woodland Explorer Map (brown) → leads players to woodland mansions.
- Show terrain outlines and fill in as players explore.
- New Spawn Eggs
- Donkey, Elder Guardian, Evoker, Husk, Llama, Mule, Skeleton Horse, Stray, Vex, Vindicator, Wither Skeleton, Zombie Horse.
New Mobs
- Llama
- Found in Extreme Hills biomes.
- Can be tamed like horses, but cannot be ridden with a saddle.
- Leads cause nearby llamas to form caravans.
- Can be bred using hay bales.
- Attacks by spitting when provoked.
- Drops leather upon death.
- Evoker
- Spawns in woodland mansions.
- Hostile to players and villagers.
- Attacks using fangs and by summoning vexes.
- Rare easter egg: can turn nearby blue sheep red.
- Drops emeralds and a Totem of Undying.
- Vex
- Summoned by evokers.
- Small, flying hostile mobs that phase through blocks.
- Attack players and villagers with iron swords.
- Vindicator
- Another illager mob, found in woodland mansions.
- Attacks with an iron axe, capable of disabling shields.
- A vindicator named “Johnny” (via a name tag or NBT tag) becomes hostile to almost all other mobs.
- Drops emeralds and occasionally an iron axe.
- New Villager Professions
- Cartographer → sells explorer maps.
- Nitwit → green-robed villager with no trades available.
New Non-Mob Entities
- Evocation Fangs
- Summoned by evokers.
- Cause 6 HP (3 hearts) of damage.
- Do not harm illagers unless spawned by a player.
New Structures
- Woodland Mansion
- Large procedurally generated structure in Roofed Forest biomes.
- Contains vindicators and evokers.
- Features multiple floors and hidden rooms.
New Gameplay / Enchantments
- Curse of Vanishing
- Items enchanted with it disappear when the player dies.
- Curse of Binding
- Prevents enchanted armor or items (like mob heads and pumpkins) from being removed until they break or the player dies.
Other Additions
- New /locate command for finding structures.
2. Further Revisions
- 1.11.1
- Added iron nuggets.
- Introduced the Sweeping Edge enchantment.
- Firework rockets can now:
- Damage mobs and players.
- Boost players while flying with an elytra.
- 1.11.2
- Released soon after to fix a crash involving chicken jockeys.
3. Trivia
- At MINECON 2016, Jens originally said the name “Expedition Update” might have been more fitting.
- The woodland mansion was the largest naturally generating structure in the game at the time of release.