How the 1.9 Combat Update shaped Minecraft into what it is today.

So am sure you are all aware that about 2 years ago, Mojang introduced "Minecraft 1.9-The Combat Update" and it was a controversial update. With combat changes which divided the community to an expansion on the end dimension to the release date of the update. But actually, the 1.9 update actually did more good than bad and it has shaped the game of Minecraft into what it is today.

Combat, Off Hand and Shields

Here is one feature being shown off, dual wielding.

So the combat in this update changed forever. Before this update, combat was spam clicking and whoever had the best connection wins. But they introduced a MASSIVE change in the game which some members loved and some hated. But this really kick-started the feedback into Minecraft. While the developers were always wanting feedback before this update, more people were (and some still are) really angry about the changes and wanted to let their voices be heard. While the community team was small at this point, it was/is a strong team. People have given their feedback even more over the past few years to let the developers know that they don't like the update.

The Main changes.

Here is one of the main features added, the End City.

But this update just didn't introduce combat changes, they also introduced some interesting changes, such as tipped arrows and a MASSIVE overhaul to the end. While these changes were, to some people needed, it actually helped the developers even more. Let me explain.

So some major items added were the elytra, tipped arrows, treasure enhancements and a "new" end dimension. While people thought this was a great update at launch, some people were disappointed with this update. As this was the combat update, they were hoping for more community requested features such as daggers or different arrows apart from potions. Again the developers took this on board and have been getting feedback from us for the past few years.

The Release Date

Here is a first image of the first pre-release which meant it was coming!

The release date for this update was 29th February 2016. This was quite special for 2 reasons. Firstly this was the first update to appear on a leap year day. Secondly, this was the first MAJOR update in 1 year, 5 months and 27 days. This means that the Java Edition community went over 1 year without ANY new and MAJOR features being added. Now, thats a LONG time.

But yet again the developers listened and we got 2 more updates in the same year which were 1.10 and 1.11. These had features which the community requested and asked for some time.

While the 1.9 update divided the community into a few different parts, it has actually been a better update in the long run. It showed the developers what we wanted, so they took it on board and now we are getting 2 major updates for Java and Bedrock in 1 year. That is an improvement from 0 updates in 2015.