The Pretty Scary Update is the Java Edition 1.4.2 update for Minecraft, officially released on October 25, 2012. It brought a host of new features, including new mobs, blocks, items, commands, and gameplay mechanics, and is widely remembered for its Halloween theme.
Key Additions
Blocks & Items
- Anvils – Crafted from three iron blocks and four iron ingots, anvils can repair or combine tools while keeping enchantments. They wear down with use and can eventually break. Players can also rename items or drop anvils on mobs.
- Beacon – Created from a Nether Star, glass, and obsidian, beacons require a pyramid base made of iron, gold, diamond, or emerald. They emit a beam of light and grant status effects based on pyramid tiers.
- Walls – Made from cobblestone or moss stone, walls block most mobs and players from passing over them.
- Command Block – Executes commands when powered by redstone (accessible only through commands).
- Flower Pot – Crafted from bricks, used to display mushrooms, saplings, flowers, and other small decorative plants.
- Wooden Button – Functions like a stone button but can be triggered by arrows.
Mob Heads
- Creeper Head
- Player Head
- Skeleton Skull
- Wither Skeleton Skull (only obtainable in Survival)
- Zombie Head
Food & Tools
- Carrot, Golden Carrot, Potato, Baked Potato, Poisonous Potato, Pumpkin Pie
- Carrot on a Stick – Controls pig movement when riding
- Nether Star – Dropped by the Wither, used to craft a beacon
Potions
- Night Vision (brewed with Golden Carrot)
- Invisibility (made by combining Night Vision potion with a Fermented Spider Eye)
New Paintings
- Wither – 2×2 painting created by Mojang
New Mobs
- Bat – Ambient mob spawning in dark areas, flies and hangs from ceilings
- Witch – Found in witch huts, uses splash potions for attack and defense
- Wither – A new boss mob, summoned using soul sand and wither skeleton skulls, can break blocks, fire wither skulls, and drops a Nether Star upon defeat
- Wither Skeleton – Spawns in Nether fortresses, carries stone swords, inflicts Wither effect
- Zombie Villager – Villager infected by zombies, can be cured with a splash potion of Weakness and a golden apple
- Baby Zombies & Villager Variants – Smaller, faster versions of zombies
Non-Mob Entities
- Item Frames – Display items and blocks
Structures
- Witch Hut – Spawns witches in swamp biomes
Gameplay Changes
- Wither Effect – Inflicts damage over time, can kill players unlike Poison
- Five new commands:
/difficulty,/spawnpoint,/weather,/gamerule,/clear - New command target selectors
- Improved mob AI and mechanics
- Villagers are more self-aware; zombies and skeletons can spawn with armor
- Zombie Villagers replace villagers instead of killing them
- Zombie Pigmen can now pick up items
Further Revisions
- 1.4.4 – Bug fixes and music disc updates
- 1.4.5 – Additional bug fixes
- 1.4.6 – Added fireworks, enchanted books, and Thorns enchantment
- 1.4.7 – Fixed crashes and remaining bugs from 1.4.6
Trailer
A trailer by Hat Films highlighting the update’s major features was released on October 26, 2012 on Mojang’s YouTube channel.
Trivia
The update was released exactly 11 years before snapshot 23w43a, which revamped bat models, animations, and textures.