Minecraft: Java Edition · Game update
Minecraft 1.9: Combat Update
1.9, the Combat Update, replaced click spam fighting with an attack cooldown and added shields, an offhand slot and elytra. It also rebuilt the End with outer islands, End cities, shulkers and a repeatable dragon fight.
- Released
- Server needs
- Java 8
- Protocol
- 107
Seven days free, no card. Pick 1.9 when you create the server, or switch an existing one from the panel.
What is new in Minecraft 1.9
The additions people noticed first, then everything else by area.
- Attack cooldown replaces click spam combat
- Shields and an offhand slot for dual wielding
- Elytra found on End ships let players glide
- The End gains outer islands, End cities and shulkers
- Tipped arrows, spectral arrows and lingering potions
- The ender dragon can be respawned with end crystals
Blocks and items
- Purpur blocks, pillars, slabs and stairs from popped chorus fruit
- End rods, end stone bricks and chorus plants
- Shields, crafted from six planks and an iron ingot
- Elytra, worn in the chest slot, with 431 uses
- Tipped arrows in fifteen types, plus spectral arrows
- Lingering potions that leave an area effect cloud
- Beetroot, beetroot seeds and beetroot soup from Pocket Edition
- Dragon head, end crystals, grass paths and structure blocks
Mobs
- Shulkers spawn in End cities and shoot levitation projectiles
- Shulkers teleport away when attacked, like endermen
- Shulkers can be stood on and pushed by pistons
- Shulkers open their shell to attack, revealing the creature inside
World and biomes
- Outer End islands generate roughly 1000 blocks past the main island
- End cities generate as branching towers with loot chests
- End ships carry elytra in an item frame and a brewing stand
- Chorus trees grow on the outer End islands
- Igloos spawn in ice plains and cold taiga, some with a basement
- End gateways generate each time the dragon is killed
- The Void superflat preset added
Gameplay
- Attack strength meter scales damage by swing timing
- Offhand slot usable with the left and right mouse buttons
- Axes have a chance to disable a shield for five seconds
- New treasure enchantments Frost Walker and Mending
- New effects Glowing, Levitation, Luck and Bad Luck
- Weapons gain individual attack speed attributes
- Chorus fruit teleports the eater a short distance
Commands and technical
- Repeating and chain command blocks added
- New scoreboard players tag subcommand for arbitrary entity tags
- Five new objective types: XP, hunger, oxygen, armor and level
- Teams gain a collisionRule option
- Area effect cloud entity with NBT controlled radius and duration
- The gamemode selector m accepts negation and literal values
- New generic.armor, generic.attackSpeed and generic.luck attributes
Running a Minecraft 1.9 server
What the release means for whoever runs the server.
- Java 6 was the original minimum; run it on Java 8
- Protocol 107 and data version 169; 1.8 clients cannot connect
- Memory use while connected to servers was optimised
- Mob AI and pathfinding, block ticking and chunk sending optimised
- Particles are no longer entities, cutting memory use
- Resource pack format raised to 2
- Combat mechanics change fundamentally; expect PvP behaviour to differ
Before you update a world: take a backup. A world opened in 1.9 cannot be opened in an older version again. How backups work here.
1.9 on FadeHost
- The right Java, set for you
- A 1.9 server needs Java 8 or newer, and the panel starts it with a Java that fits. Nothing to install, nothing to pick.
- Server software for 1.9
- SpigotVanillaForge
- Who can join
- Players on 1.9. Other versions need plugins such as ViaVersion on a Paper server.
Patches after 1.9
The fix releases that followed, oldest first.
Minecraft 1.9.1
· Java 8
1.9.1 added armour toughness and several combat tweaks, then was pulled the same day over a major multiplayer bug. 1.9.2 replaced it within hours.
What 1.9.1 changedMinecraft 1.9.2
· Java 8
1.9.2 replaced 1.9.1 the same day to fix the multiplayer bug that stopped players connecting. It closed seven issues in total.
- Fixes the 1.9.1 launch bug that blocked player connections
- Seven issues fixed
- Fixes head rotation when using the tp command
- Fixes some Realms connection issues
Minecraft 1.9.3
· Java 8
1.9.3 added the stopsound command and reworked networking and memory handling, clearing several pathfinding and chunk generation lag sources. It was replaced by 1.9.4 the same day over a wrong snapshot warning.
- New stopsound command
- Fixes memory leaks in pathfinding and biome caching
- Fixes zombie pathfinding lag and chunk generation regressions
- Netty now checks a blocklist of servers breaking the EULA
- Replaced by 1.9.4 the same day
Minecraft 1.9.4
· Java 8
1.9.4 shipped the same day as 1.9.3 to drop an incorrect snapshot warning shown for older world saves. It closed five small issues and is the last 1.9 release.
What 1.9.4 changedQuestions about 1.9
When was Minecraft 1.9 released?
Minecraft: Java Edition 1.9, Combat Update, was released on February 29, 2016.
What Java version does a Minecraft 1.9 server need?
Java 8. On FadeHost the server starts with the right Java for its Minecraft version on its own, so there is nothing to install or switch.
What did Minecraft 1.9 add?
1.9, the Combat Update, replaced click spam fighting with an attack cooldown and added shields, an offhand slot and elytra. It also rebuilt the End with outer islands, End cities, shulkers and a repeatable dragon fight.
Can players on another version join a 1.9 server?
Only players on 1.9 itself: its network protocol (107) is its own. A Paper server can let other versions in with plugins such as ViaVersion and ViaBackwards.
Can I update my world to Minecraft 1.9?
Yes. Take a backup, switch the server to 1.9 and start it: the world is converted on the first boot. A world opened in 1.9 cannot be opened in an older version again, so keep the backup until you are sure.
How do I start a Minecraft 1.9 server?
Create a server on FadeHost and pick 1.9 in the software list: Spigot, Vanilla and Forge are there for this version. It is online in about a minute. The free tier runs a 2 GB server at no cost, and a paid server is sized to the RAM you need.
Read on
Change a server's version
Version, software and loader build are one setting in the panel.
Java version errors
What the wrong Java looks like in the console, and why it does not happen here.
RAM calculator
How much memory a server needs, sized from servers measured on our nodes.
Every Minecraft version
All releases, what each one added and the Java it needs.
Release facts from the Minecraft Wiki:Java Edition 1.9. Minecraft is a trademark of Mojang; FadeHost is not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.