{
"title": "Pretty Scary Update",
"images": [],
"rows": [
{
"field": "''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as Java Edition)''",
"label": "Edition"
},
{
"field": "(link to Pretty Scary Update article, displayed as Pretty Scary Update)",
"label": "Official name"
},
{
"field": "<ul class=\"hlist\"><li>\n* (link to Java Edition 1.4.2 article, displayed as 1.4.2)\n* (link to Java Edition 1.4.4 article, displayed as 1.4.4)\n* (link to Java Edition 1.4.5 article, displayed as 1.4.5)\n* (link to Java Edition 1.4.6 article, displayed as 1.4.6)\n* (link to Java Edition 1.4.7 article, displayed as 1.4.7)</li></ul>",
"label": "Version(s)"
}
],
"invimages": [],
"footer": "<span style=\"display:inline-block; padding:0 .4em;\">[[java Edition guides/1.3 releases|◄ 1.3 releases]]</span><span style=\"display:inline-block; padding:0 .4em;\">[[java Edition guides/Redstone Update |Redstone Update ►]]</span>"
}
This guide is a simplified overview of all the changes in the Pretty Scary Update (Java Edition 1.4.x releases), which assumes at least some knowledge of the Java Edition 1.3.x releases.
Mobs
New
| Name |
Image |
Habitat |
Drops |
Note
|
| Wither
|
|
Can only be spawned by placing 4 blocks of soul sand in a T shape, and putting 3 wither skeleton skulls on top of the three upper blocks (see image below).
|
|
- Three-headed flying player-created boss mob shooting projectiles at any mob (that isn't undead) and players.
- After spawning, it flashes blue, builds up health, grows slightly and is invincible for a few seconds - ten it explodes and starts attacking players and mobs.
- Each head can fire projectiles, so-called wither skulls, at different targets.
- Shoots two kinds of projectiles - a blue one from the little heads, targeting mobs and a dark one from the big head targeting players.
- When hit by projectiles, players get the Wither II effect, which acts like a slower Poison effect that can kill and turns affected players' health bars' hearts black.
- Constantly regenerates health.
- Gains 'wither armor' when taken down to half health, making it immune to arrows.
- Darkens the sky when spawned in the Overworld.
|
| Wither skeleton
|
|
Nether fortress
|
Coal (0–1)
Bone (0–2)
- 5XP, plus 1–3XP per equipment piece (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)
Rare drops
Spawned equipment
|
- Give players Wither effect when hitting them.
- Rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools.
- Items that are picked up have a 100% chance of dropping after dying.
- More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players.
|
| Zombie villager
|
|
Anywhere in the Overworld where the light level is 7 or less.
|
|
- Have a 5% chance of spawning instead of a normal zombie.
- Have a chance of spawning when a villager is killed by a zombie (0% chance in easy, 50% chance in normal, 100% chance in hard).
- Can be cured into a villager using a golden apple and a splash potion of Weakness.
- Have the same bodies as normal zombies, only the head is different.
|
| Baby zombie and baby zombie villager
|

|
Anywhere in the Overworld where the light level is 7 or less.
|
|
Smaller and faster than normal zombies.
|
| Witch
|
|
|
They make 1–3 drops of 0–2 items each, for a maximum of 6 items total.
|
Throws splash potions of Poison, Slowness, Weakness, and Instant Damage at players.
|
| Bat
|
|
- Spawn in groups of two in the Overworld at a light level of 3 or less on opaque blocks below layer 63.
- Between October 20 and November 3, they only require a light level of 6 or less to spawn.
- On Superflat worlds, bats spawn below the top non-air layer, ignoring the usual layer-63 limitation.
|
None
|
|
Changed
| Name |
Image |
Changed
|
| All hostile mobs
|
|
- Now jump down to players as long as they can survive the fall.
- Depending on difficulty, they are willing to take more damage.
|
| Tamed wolves
|
|
Collars can now be dyed by using dye on the wolf
|
| Iron golem
|
|
- Now attack creepers, slimes and magma cubes
- Can become aggressive towards players depending on whether the player is liked or disliked by the villagers of a village
|
| Villager
|
    
|
- Improved villagers to make them more self-aware.
- The inhabitants of a village can now like and dislike specific players.
- Trading makes the villagers like the player.
- Hurting villagers or their iron golems makes the villagers dislike a player.
- When players are highly disliked, iron golems of that village can become aggressive towards those players.
- After a villager dies to natural causes (mobs excluded) while a player is within 16 blocks or if a mob kills a villager, no baby villagers are produced in the next few minutes.
- Changed and added some trades to counteract emerald farming and improve gameplay.
- Show particle effects indicating a change in player reputation.
|
| Pig
|
|
- Can now accelerate to up to 5 m/s.
- Now drop their saddle when killed.
|
| Slime
|
|
Now spawn in swamps at night.
|
| Sheep
|
              
|
Sheep from spawn eggs can now spawn natural colored sheep (white, pink, etc.)
|
| Creeper
|
|
- Start exploding when they hit the ground, with explosions being more imminent with higher falls.
- Can now have custom explosion radius and fuse timer using edited mob spawners and NBT data.
|
| Zombie
|
      
|
- Now rarely spawn with armor of all kinds, sometimes enchanted.
- Now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, headwear, items, blocks, weapons, and tools.
- All equipped gear is functional - swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob.
- Rare tool drops are now damaged.
- More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and drops rarely when the mob is killed by players.
- When wearing helmets, they don't burn up - instead, all damage is applied to the helmet.
- Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks.
- Now have a chance, depending on difficulty, to infect villagers after killing them - the villager then gets replaced with a zombie villager on death.
- Infected baby villagers turn into baby zombie villagers.
- Right-clicking a zombie villager under the influence of a Weakness potion with a golden apple inverts their potion effect, make them wiggle slightly, and eventually turn back into a villager.
- Rarely spawn holding iron swords or shovels.
- When holding something in their hands, their arms move upwards when attacking.
- Added baby zombie, which is only spawnable using mods or third-party tools.
- Now rarely drop carrots and potatoes when killed by players.
- Have a 25% chance of spawning with a pumpkin on their head during Halloween.
|
| Skeleton
|
     
|
- Now rarely spawn with armor of all kinds, sometimes enchanted.
- Now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, headwear, items, blocks, weapons, and tools.
- All equipped gear is functional - swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob.
- Rare tool drops are now damaged.
- More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players.
- When wearing helmets, they don't burn up - instead all damage is applied to the helmet.
- Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks.
- Rarely spawn with enchanted bows which can be dropped when killed by players.
- Have a 25% chance of spawning with a pumpkin on their head during Halloween.
|
| Zombie pigmen
|
|
- Now rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, headwear, items, blocks, weapons, and tools.
- All equipped gear is functional - swords and tools do more damage on attacks, armor protects the mob.
- Rare tool drops are now damaged.
- More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players.
- Using modified mob spawners they can have a custom drop rate of items and hold and wear all kinds of items and blocks.
- Rarely carry enchanted golden swords.
- Dropped golden swords now sometimes are damaged.
- Added baby zombie pigman, which is only spawnable using mods or third-party tools.
|
Blocks
New
Changed
Items
New
| Name |
Image |
Obtaining |
Uses
|
| Potato, poisonous potato, and baked potato
|
 
|
|
- Potatoes can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 1-4 potatoes when fully grown.
- Poisonous potatoes have a 60% chance to poison the player when eaten.
- Potatoes restore 1 (
) hunger and 0.6 saturation.
- Poisonous potatoes restore 2 (
) hunger and 1.2 saturation.
- Baked potatoes restore 6 (
  ) hunger and 6 saturation.
|
| Carrot and golden carrot
|

|
Carrots can be obtained by farming, as drops (from zombies, husks, and zombie villagers), or from chest loot.
|
- Carrots can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 2-4 carrots when fully grown.
- Carrots restore 4 (
 ) hunger and 3.6 saturation.
- Golden carrots restore 6 (
  ) hunger and 14.4 saturation.
|
| Carrot on a stick
|
|
|
- Used to control pigs.
- When held, it dictates the direction pigs players are riding head in.
- Nearby pigs flock towards players holding it.
- Pigs start slow but end up going about 5 blocks per second.
- Slowly loses durability when riding pigs.
- The pigs 'eat' the carrot eventually, leaving the player a fishing rod, and require another carrot to continue riding.
- Can be used to give the pig a short speed boost.
- This takes up a chunk of the durability.
|
| Pumpkin pie
|
|
|
Restores 8 (   ) hunger and 4.8 saturation.
|
| Nether star
|
|
Drops from the new wither.
|
- Used to craft the new beacon.
- Glows like an enchanted item.
- When dropped, it cannot be destroyed by explosions and take more than twice as long to despawn than other items.
|
| Music disc wait
|
|
Has a chance to drop when a skeleton kills a creeper.
|
- Plays the song "Wait" by C418.
- Added in 1.4.4.
|
| Enchanted book
|
|
Created by enchanting a book using an enchanting table.
|
- Used to apply enchantments to items using an anvil.
- Added in 1.4.6.
|
| Firework rocket
|
|
| Ingredients |
Crafting recipe |
Description
|
Paper + Gunpowder
|
|
When crafted this way (without a firework star), the rocket does not have explosion effects. Amount of gunpowder affects the flight duration.
|
Any Firework Star + Paper + Gunpowder
|
|
Adding more gunpowder increases the duration of the rocket. Up to three gunpowder can be used. Up to five firework stars can also be used with three gunpowder. Up to seven firework stars can be used by using firework stars instead of additional gunpowder. All firework stars explode almost simultaneously when the rocket detonates.
|
|
- Projectiles which can be launched into the air and explode.
- Added in 1.4.6.
|
| Firework star
|
|
| Ingredients |
Crafting recipe |
Description
|
Gunpowder + Matching Dye + Extra ingredients (optional)
|
|
Up to eight dyes can be added. One head, gold nugget, feather, or fire charge can be added. Both the diamond and the glowstone dust can be added with any of the other ingredients.
|
Matching Firework Star + Any Dye
|
|
Adds a "fade to color" effect to the firework star, overwriting any existing fades. Up to eight dyes can be added.
|
|
- Used to determine the color and shape of firework explosions.
- Added in 1.4.6.
|
| Spawn eggs for the bat and witch.
|

|
Available in the creative inventory.
|
Can be used to spawn the respective mob.
|
Changed
| Name |
Image |
Changed
|
| Music disc 11
|
|
Can now drop from creepers killed by skeletons like other music discs.
|
| Map
|

|
- Are now crafted as an empty map and become a real map by right-clicking.
- Start out at their closest zoom level and can be extended by adding more paper.
- Players see other players moving around on the same map.
- Craft an existing map with an empty map to receive an extra copy of the map.
- Removed text overlay.
- Are labeled 'Map #0' and so on.
- Now align to a grid and can be stacked to 64.
- When outside a map's range, the player is displayed as a small circle at the edge.
|
| Bow
|
|
A high pitched sound is now played when a player hits another player from far away with a bow.
|
Potions
New
Non-mob entities
New
| Name |
Image |
Creation |
Drops |
Note
|
| Item frame
|
|
|
|
- All items and blocks can be framed.
- Clocks, compasses and maps function.
- Maps show only one marker, the frame itself.
- Mounted maps are marked on copies of the map.
|
Changed
| Name |
Image |
Changed
|
| Painting
|
|
- Added a new painting depicting the creation of the wither.
- This is the only painting made by Jeb.
|
Structures
New
Enchantments
New
Effects
New
| Name |
Image |
Causes |
Description
|
| Wither
|
|
Withers and wither skeletons
|
Inflicts damage over time. Unlike Poison, it has the potential to be fatal on its own.
|
Gameplay
Changed
| Name |
Changed
|
| Inventory
|
- Items can now be dragged and dropped.
- Long pressing halves the stack before dragging.
|
| Hotbar
|
- Items now show their name when switching in the hotbar.
- Can be disabled by changing
heldItemTooltips to false in options.txt.
- Dropping items while holding ctrl now drops the whole stack.
|
| Enchantments
|
|
| Sneaking
|
Pressing use while sneaking now uses the held item instead of the currently selected block.
|
| Death messages
|
Now appear in server log files.
|
Sounds
New
| Name
|
Trigger
|
| Zombie, skeleton, cow, pig, spider, enderman, ghast, silverfish, magma cube, Wolf, ender dragon, bat, and anvil
|
Added sounds.
|
| Wood, stone, sand, gravel, plants
|
Added sounds for placing blocks.
|
| Sand, gravel, soul sand, grass block, and stone
|
Added sounds for walking on the block.
|
| Zombie villager
|
Added sounds for curing, infecting, and a remedy sound.
|
| Fire
|
Added sounds for setting things on fire.
|
| Sheep
|
Added sounds for shearing sheep.
|
| Ladder
|
Added sounds for climbing ladders.
|
| Minecart
|
Added sounds for riding minecarts.
|
| Experience
|
Added a sound for leveling up, which is played every five levels.
|
| Fluids
|
Added constant noise to fluids.
|
See also