Sword blocking

This article is about the outdated mechanic in Minecraft. For other namesakes, see Sword (disambiguation). For the current blocking mechanic used by shields, see Blocking.
BlockSprite rose.png: Sprite image for rose in Minecraft
This page describes content that has been removed from the game.
 
This feature was present in earlier versions of Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition, but has since been removed.
The blocking animation using a sword before and after Java Edition 14w30a (from the Adventure to the Bountiful updates).

Sword blocking was a mechanic in Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition (except for PlayStation 4 Edition) where a player could use a sword in their main-hand to block attacks. This mechanic was replaced with shield blocking in 1.9.

Usage

All types of swords could be used to block some forms of damage. If the player was blocking with a sword when attacked, the sword mitigates 50% of incoming damage from melee, non-magical projectiles like arrows, and explosions. Blocking also reduced airborne knockback. When blocking, the sword was held in front of the player, and it did not lose durability while blocking. The player would move slower when blocking with a sword than they did when sneaking. Sword blocking could be engaged and disengaged instantly, with no delay between the input and the damage mitigation, and no cooldown between stopping and starting sword blocking.

History

Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-releaseAdded blocking, which at the time could be activated by using a sword. Also, blocking negated only 50% of incoming damage, rather than 100%.
Pre-release 2 ;)Blocking now correctly reduces damage in multiplayer.
Java Edition
1.0.0Beta 1.9 PrereleaseBlocking now moves the player's hand, unlike previous versions, in which blocking moved just the sword.
The player no longer rises faster underwater when blocking.
Blocking no longer decreases fall damage. Blocking previously allowed the player to fall 42 blocks without dying, instead of 22.
1.814w30aThird person blocking position tweaked.
Blocking while mining was made impossible.
Blocking immediately after attacking no longer continues the swing animation.
1.915w33cThe blocking functionality of swords was removed and is replaced with the functionality of shields.

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