Java Edition 25w17a

25w17a is the third snapshot for Java Edition 1.21.6 released on April 22, 2025,^[1] which makes the locator bar available in normal gameplay and fixes bugs.

Locator bar

• Added waypoint style for changing waypoints' icon on specific distances in a resource pack.
  • Setting the style of a waypoint is possible using the new /waypoint modify ... style arguments.
  • The default implementation is as such:
    

    {
      "near_distance": 128,
      "far_distance": 332,
      "sprites": [
        "minecraft:default_0",
        "minecraft:default_1",
        "minecraft:default_2",
        "minecraft:default_3"
      ]
    }
    

  • near_distance and far_distance are optional and default to the values 128 and 332 respectively.
    • far_distance distance must be greater than near_distance
  • Each sprite is searched within the prefix of hud/locator_bar_dot/ (the directory textures/gui/sprites/hud/locator_bar_dot).

Options

• Added new video setting "Cloud Distance" to reduce the cloud range.

Tag

• Added the #happy_ghast_avoids block tag.
  • Contains blocks that happy ghasts avoid getting close to.
• Added the #triggers_ambient_dried_ghast_block_sounds block tag.
  • Contains blocks that can trigger ambient dried ghast sounds to play when a dried ghast block is placed on them.

Dried Ghast

• Dried ghast's rarity has been changed from Uncommon to Common.

Harness

• Can now be equipped on a happy ghast using a dispenser.

Woodland Mansion

• The room "1x1_b5.nbt" generates again.

/waypoint

• Replaced fade argument by style: For changing the icon spriteset and selection distances.
  • set <waypoint_style/resource> changes the style to a specific asset under waypoint_style/
  • reset will restore the default icon behavior of the Locator Bar.

Locator Bar

• Waypoints' icon now use different sprites based on how far away the player is to their locations instead of the fade effects previously implemented.

Game rule

• Renamed game rule useLocatorBar to locatorBar, consistent with Bedrock Edition.

Realms

• Changed the layout of the Realms configuration screen to use tabs.
  • A Worlds tab containing changes to any of the world slots, creating new worlds and changing their settings.
  • A Players tab to manage the players that have access and their level of access to the Realm.
  • A Subscription tab to manage the Realms subscription.
  • A Settings tab to change the settings of the Realm.
• Introduced a Region Preference setting that allows for more granular control over what region a Realm is started.
• Changed the wording for Close/Open Realm to Temporarily close/Reopen Realm.

Data pack

• The pack format version is now 74.

Resource pack

• The pack format version is now 58.

Shaders

• Added two new core shaders; stars, and sky which are used to render the stars and upper portion of the sky respectively.
• Post-process effects
  • Fog uniform block.
    • FOG_IS_SKY has been removed in favor of splitting up the sky shader.

All features previously behind the "Locator Bar" experimental toggle have been de-experimentified and are now available during normal gameplay.

28 issues fixed

From released versions before 1.21

• MC-240121 – "1x1_b5.nbt" piece does not generate in woodland mansions.

From the 1.21.6 development versions

• MC-296369 – Dispensers cannot equip harnesses onto happy ghasts.
• MC-296421 – Right-clicking a happy ghast equipped with a harness while crouching will play hand animation.
• MC-296438 – The "display" field on Attribute Modifiers is not optional, despite the changelog saying it is.
• MC-296443 – Happy ghasts don’t avoid pathfinding into dangerous blocks.
• MC-296511 – Gamemode Switcher icons become invisible when using resource pack with opaque or translucent selection.png.
• MC-296516 – Tooltips are incorrectly rendered below nearby elements when holding your mouse cursor over players that are online on realms.
• MC-296538 – Rarity of Dried Ghast is inconsistent with its crafting ingredients.
• MC-296542 – Waypoints on locator bar do not adjust to 3rd person front camera.
• MC-296567 – Waypoints on locator bar do not respect team colors.
• MC-296583 – Applying the waypoint_transmit_range attribute to an entity at the same time it is summoned makes it not show on the locator bar.

From the previous development version

• MC-296750 – The game crashes after startup on some systems (predominantly Linux systems) with AMD graphics.
• MC-296755 – Resource Packs: The panorama overlay now renders in front of everything in the title screen.
• MC-296756 – Clouds do not render at render distance 2 & 3.
• MC-296764 – The text cursor renders behind command auto-complete text.
• MC-296766 – GUIs of rideable mobs are missing their slots as of 25w16a.
• MC-296770 – Strikethrough text in the villager interface is rendered behind characters.
• MC-296774 – Player messages within the "Select Chat Messages to Report" menu aren’t rendered while selected.
• MC-296775 – Some elements within the "Select Chat Messages to Report" menu are rendered darker while player messages are selected.
• MC-296777 – Lead shift right-clicking doesn't work on Boats with Chests.
• MC-296779 – The social interactions menu is rendered darker than normal.
• MC-296782 – Player models within the “Report Player Skin” menu are rendered darker and lower than normal.
• MC-296794 – Furnaces, blast furnaces, and smokers sometimes do not show the burn progress and lit progress animations.
• MC-296805 – The game crashes when holding your mouse cursor over players that are online on realms.
• MC-296806 – Cloud rendering has a considerable impact on performance as of 25w16a.
• MC-296807 – The titles of selected tabs within the "Create New World" menu are rendered behind the background.
• MC-296808 – The titles of lists within the resource pack and data pack menus are rendered behind the background.
• MC-296984 – The "No pending invites!" text within the realms invitation menu is rendered behind the background.