- Release Date: September 2, 2014
- Version(s): Java Edition 1.8
- Overview: The Bountiful Update is a major update for Minecraft Java Edition, focusing on two main themes: enhancing survival gameplay and adding features specifically for mapmakers. It introduced new blocks, mobs, items, commands, world generation options, and gameplay mechanics.
Development History:
Development started shortly after the release of version 1.7.4. A total of 52 snapshots were released (14w02a to 14w34d), making it one of the most extensively previewed updates. During this long development period of 236 days, six minor versions of 1.7 were also released. The update was officially named “Bountiful Update” on August 22, 2014, and pre-releases were launched on August 22, August 25, and August 28.
Notable Features
New Blocks:
- Banner: Crafted using six wool and a stick; customizable with patterns and dyes (up to six layers). Can be placed on walls or the ground.
- Barrier: Command-only, unbreakable, fully transparent; visible only when held in Creative mode.
- Coarse Dirt: Replaces grassless dirt, crafted with two dirt and two gravel; does not allow grass or mycelium to spread.
- Iron Trapdoor: Crafted from four iron ingots; opens with redstone.
- Slime Block: Crafted from nine slimeballs; entities bounce on it, negating fall damage; moves adjacent blocks with pistons.
- Wet Sponge: Obtained from sponges used in water; can be smelted back into sponge.
- Wood Variants: New fences, gates, and doors for spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, and dark oak.
- Stone Variants: Andesite, Diorite, Granite, and polished versions.
- Prismarine Blocks: Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, Dark Prismarine, Sea Lantern (crafted from prismarine shards/crystals).
- Red Sandstone Blocks: Red Sandstone, Stairs, Slabs, Smooth, and Chiseled variants.
New Items:
- Prismarine Shard & Crystal: Dropped by guardians; used for crafting prismarine blocks and sea lanterns.
- Rabbit Hide: Dropped by rabbits; used to craft leather.
- Rabbit Stew: Crafted from cooked rabbit, mushroom, carrot, baked potato, and bowl; restores 10 hunger points.
- Rabbit’s Foot: Used for brewing the Potion of Leaping.
- Raw/Cooked Mutton & Rabbit: Dropped by mobs; restores varying amounts of hunger and saturation.
- Potion of Leaping: Brewed with rabbit’s foot.
- Spawn Eggs: Endermite, Guardian, Rabbit.
New Mobs:
- Endermite: 5% chance to spawn when using Ender Pearls; attacked by Endermen.
- Guardian: Ocean monument mob; attacks with a beam; drops prismarine materials and fish.
- Elder Guardian: Three per ocean monument; applies Mining Fatigue III nearby; stronger attacks than Guardians.
- Rabbit: Spawns in multiple biomes; can be bred with carrots/golden carrots/dandelions; drops rabbit items. Special variant “Killer Bunny” is hostile and command-only.
New Non-Mob Entity:
- Armor Stand: Crafted using stone slab and six sticks; displays armor and heads.
New Structures:
- Ocean Monument: Found in ocean biomes; contains guardians, elder guardians, prismarine blocks, sponges, and eight gold blocks.
New Gameplay Features:
- Skin Options: Addition of second skin layer (“Alex”), customizable arms/legs.
- Spectator Mode: Invisible, free movement through blocks, view perspective of mobs/entities, cannot interact with inventories or load chunks.
- Customized World Type: Settings for structure generation, ore distribution, and terrain; seven presets available.
- Debug Mode World Type: Displays all blocks and states in grid; forces spectator mode.
- World Border: Visible boundary 30 million blocks from center; damages players outside; configurable via
/worldborder. - Enchanting: Depth Strider enchantment added; lapis lazuli required.
- Mapmaking Tools: New gamerules, statistics, commands, NBT tags, and entity selectors (
@e).
Notable Changes & Rebalances:
- Enchanting, repairing, and beacon coloring changes.
- Mossy and cracked stone obtainable via crafting/smelting.
- Item frames emit redstone and rotate in eight directions.
- Adjusted mob behaviors: swimming, pathfinding, creeper avoidance, skeleton/fleeing mechanics.
- Villager updates: professions, careers, trading system, breeding conditions.
- Adventure Mode: new arguments for commands, JSON-formatted signs/books, customizable block models.
- Performance improvements: VBO toggle, Advanced Cave Culling, render distance up to 32 chunks on 64-bit Java.
Further Revisions (1.8.x)
- 1.8.1: Performance optimizations and bug fixes.
- 1.8.2: Added new statistics and frame time graph; optimizations and bug fixes.
- 1.8.3: Crash fixes.
- 1.8.4–1.8.7: Exploit and vulnerability patches.
- 1.8.8: Realms mini-game, resource pack support for Realms, exploit patches.
- 1.8.9: Realms notifications and additional bug fixes.