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    Staff
    Written By
    Staff
    Published
    1/31/19

    Wandering Trader, Shields and more now in beta!

    Available on Xbox One, Windows 10 Edition and Android!

    Have you tried playing a Minecraft beta? It's where we test upcoming features of the game! To try these features, you have to play a version of Minecraft that supports betas (so that's the Windows 10, Xbox One and Android versions). You can learn how to sign up for a Minecraft beta on each version here. You can also find more help regarding this specific beta on our feedback site.

    (Playing Minecraft Java and want to try upcoming features? Click here to learn more about Snapshots

    Remember, beta features can be unstable. The reason we want players to try them this early is to give us feedback and catch bugs for us to fix – so make sure to backup your worlds!

    We've added loads of stuff since the 1.9 beta, which added Pillagers, bamboo, new flowers and tons of new stairs and slabs! For a full list of changes and fixes, as well as a great place to give us feedback about the beta, head to our feedback site.

    EXPERIMENTAL GAMEPLAY FEATURES

    These features are only available when Experimental Gameplay is enabled in world settings.

    MEET THE WANDERING TRADER

    A villager mob that appears at a village's gathering site periodically and stay for a period of 2-3 game days. This trader offers items from all around the Overworld, random dyes, and other rare materials.

    Accompanied by a fancy custom llama!

    THE RAVAGER

    Run, chicken, run!

    We’ve added the Ravager mob, formerly known as the Illager beast! Additional behaviour and tweaks will be added in a future update.

    NEW BLOCKS

    We've added in the basic blocks to this beta, which can be used for decoration, at least for now. Future functionality will be added at a later date!

    • Composter
    • New stonecutter
    • Campfire
    • Cooking and smoke particles will be added in a future update!

    For a full list of Experimental Gameplay Features new for this Beta, which includes Pillager Outposts, village job sites and much more, head to this page of our Feedback Site

    NEW FEATURES

    Shields! They’ll help you defend yourself against nasty types like this…

    Quick, raise your shield!

    Sneaking activates the shield when equipped in either hand.

    LECTERN

    • Place a book and quill or written book on the lectern, which will allow multiple players to read it together
    • A book and quill can be read, but not edited when placed on a lectern
    • Redstone functionality coming in a later update!

    But that’s not all! We’ve added loooooooads more features. In fact, this is probably one of our biggest beta releases ever! For the full list of features, head to this page of our Feedback Site and don’t forget to give us your all-important feedback too!

    Enjoy the beta!

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