5 best changes in Minecraft 1.20.5 snapshot 24w03a

Minecraft: Java Edition's Snapshot 24w03a made its way to PC platforms on January 17, 2024, and introduces a host of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements to the game. A few changes were even made to the engine by way of altering spawning chunks, and some of the Experimental Features from the upcoming 1.21 update got a few improvements as well.

Although there's a laundry list of changes and improvements in Minecraft's 24w03a snapshot, some are more prominent than others. The most impactful adjustments are likely at a higher priority for most players than bug fixes they may not have even noticed, so it doesn't hurt to examine the best changes that arrived in Java 24w03a.

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Five of the best changes in Minecraft Java's 24w03a snapshot

1) Spawn Chunk Changes

Minecraft 24w03a reduced the size of spawn chunks in an effort to improve performance (Image via Ilmango/YouTube)

The most impactful change in Minecraft 24w03a is arguably the reduction in the size of spawn chunks. Encompassing the spawning area of a world, these chunks remain loaded regardless of how far away players are from them. However, this has also caused performance issues, particularly if you had a ton of redstone machines or name-tagged mobs in your spawning area.

By default, spawn chunks have been changed to a 48x48 area, a 98% reduction in the spawn chunk area coverage. Mojang stated this is intended to improve in-game performance on Java Edition and reduce load times. Fortunately, if you don't like this change, you can alter it with the new /gamerule command "spawnchunkradius" to increase it as you see fit.

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2) Breeze Improvements

The breeze mob has become more formidable thanks to a new change (Image via Minecraft/YouTube)

The breeze is a new hostile mob found in Minecraft 1.21's trial chambers, but players have been able to encounter it by activating the update's content via the Experimental Features setting. Although mobile, the breeze isn't particularly sturdy, and many players would simply defeat it by attacking it with certain projectiles while dodging its wind charge attacks.

In 24w03a, the breeze was given the ability to reflect all projectiles fired at it. Even better, the breeze's deflected projectiles will always aim back at whoever fired them, adding a dimension to battling this hostile mob that wasn't present before.

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3) An Updated Armadillo

Armadillos received a new spawn biome and visual/behavioral changes in this snapshot (Image via Mojang)

After fan feedback, Minecraft's armadillo mob has gotten a facelift. Its eyes have been placed back on the side of its head, and it can now spawn in badlands biomes in addition to savannas. Moreover, since armadillos snack on spider eyes in-game, spider and cave spider mobs will now run in fear of armadillos when they aren't rolled up into their shells.

The armadillo likely isn't finished being tweaked and updated, but it's good to see it get some love from Mojang and receive some extra functionality it didn't have when it won 2023's Mob Vote contest.

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4) Tweak to the Villager Trade Rebalance

Minecraft's experimental villager trade rebalance got a little good news (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft's villager trade rebalancing, currently available as an Experimental Feature, has been controversial, to say the least. However, Mojang did make a slight improvements to the function in 24w03a by allowing villagers to disregard the state of armor that players sell them in. At its essence, villagers can now trade for damaged armor and will have no complaints whatsoever.

Granted, this isn't a huge improvement to a feature many players aren't on board with, but Mojang has stated that player feedback will help shape it in the coming months.

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5) The XP Level Glitch is Fixed

A particularly annoying Minecraft 23w51a bug was addressed in 24w03a (Image via Mojang)

Fans who regularly play Java Edition Snapshots noticed a bit of an annoying GUI bug back in Snapshot 23w51a, where the health and hunger bars would overlap their experience levels. Fortunately, 24w03a has fixed this issue, and a player's XP levels should now appropriately overlay over the hunger and health bars.

It's a small bugfix, to be sure, but one that plenty of snapshot players will welcome wholeheartedly. Had this bug gone unreported, it may have made its way into the 1.20.5 update and continued to be a problem, but Mojang managed to address this glitch quickly and correct it.