Java Edition 15w33c

15w33c is the ninth snapshot for Java Edition 1.9, released on August 14, 2015,^[1] which added shields, changed various features, and fixed some bugs and crashes from the previous two snapshots.

Shields

• Used for blocking incoming attacks.
  • Holding the use item button while being attacked reduces damage on the player and the durability of the shield.
    • This works when the shield is either in the main hand or in the offhand.
      • The player can hold 2 shields at once, but it does not affect the damage taken.
• Can be combined with banners of the same base color to transfer its pattern.
  • This does not consume the banner.
• The player cannot attack while blocking.
• Crafting recipe: One column of wool (of the same color), one column of planks (any kind), an iron ingot in the middle of the last column.
• Can only be repaired on the anvil.
  • Requires planks to repair.
• Cannot be enchanted on the enchanting table, but can have Unbreaking added via an enchanted book.

Brewing stands

• Can now accept splash potions into the lower slots.
• Before, the only way to get splash potions in a brewing stand was to brew them from normal potions and leave them in the slots.

Ender crystals

• New BeamTarget tag.
  • Used to specify a custom target for the beam.
  • Example: /summon EnderCrystal ~ ~1 ~ {BeamTarget:{X:1,Y:2,Z:3}}.

Fire charges

• Now shoot as ender dragon fireballs when ejected from a dispenser, appearing purple and casting dragon's breath.
  • Before this, they had shot as blaze fireballs.
  • This was reverted in 15w44b to shoot as blaze fireballs once again.

Swords

• Can no longer be used for blocking, since shields now serve that function.

Ender dragon

• Respawned dragons now drop 500 experience.
• Respawning the dragon now regenerates the circle of pillars, including the ender crystals and iron bars.
  • Explosion particles appear at the tops of the pillars as they are being rebuilt.
  • All end gateways are left intact.

Creepers, skeletons, & zombies

• Detection range for players wearing the corresponding head adjusted to be 37.5% of the normal range.

End ships

• No longer generate with a pumpkin.
• The middle iron block has been replaced with a hopper.
  • Inside, there is a book written by Searge, which reads "We will have something else here soon..."

• Non-player entities can no longer regenerate the obsidian platform when entering an end portal.
• A non-player entity going through a nether portal no longer causes a return portal to generate on the other side if none exists already.

Pick block

• Respects the tags of items in item frames while holding ⎈ Control.

22 issues fixed

From released versions before 1.9

• MC-10447 – Pick up framed enchanted items with "Pick Block (MOUSE 3)" doesn't give player the enchanted item.
• MC-68399 – Pressing the '<' key takes screenshot on certain keyboard layouts.
• MC-73474 – Rail duplication glitch.

From the 1.8 development versions

• MC-48732 – ⎈ Control plus pick block overwrites selected item.

From the 1.9 development versions

• MC-82855 – Invisible shulker shows white box until relog.
• MC-82875 – Item use button with sword still blocks.
• MC-82986 – Stackable items of same id and meta value but different NBT tags will stack in Creative menu.
• MC-83350 – Entities teleporting through a portal disappear instead of teleporting.
• MC-83945 – Item counts can go negative when interacting with entities, allowing duplication.
• MC-84320 – Respawned ender dragon doesn't drop experience.
• MC-84681 – If in block when you log out, you spawn 1 block lower.
• MC-85500 – Syntax for '/scoreboard players' doesn't include 'tag' parameter.
• MC-85801 – Ender dragon dying randomly at portal.
• MC-85834 – Pick-Block on mobs gives you a blank spawn egg.
• MC-85865 – Can't put splash potions in brewing stands.
• MC-86007 – Both the bottle and dragon's breath are consumed when making lingering potions.

From the previous development version

• MC-85925 – Problems while loading NBT [AreaEffectCloud].
• MC-85973 – Modifying the 'Age' tag of an 'AreaEffectCloud' entity will result in the 'Effects' tag being duplicated.
• MC-85999 – NBT Tag "Peek" is broken.
• MC-86066 – Mob spawner spawns skeletons without bow.
• MC-86082 – Cannot summon an entity with a custom UUID.
• MC-86085 – Potions and spawn eggs still show data values in tooltips.

• This version was previously removed from the launcher for some time, but was added back in September 2018.