7 best changes and features in Minecraft snapshot 24w33a

One of the best parts about Minecraft is that it's still receiving content updates, additions, and bug fixes. These updates are released as snapshots for public testing before being fully released. The most recent of these is snapshot 24w33a, which has brought with it several large-scale mechanical revamps and interesting new items.

This article lists seven amazing changes and additions from snapshot 24w33a, along with what makes them so great for the game.

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7 of Minecraft snapshot 24w33a's best features, changes, and additions

1) Bundles

A bundle filled with random stuff on a new world (Image via Mojang)

Bundles have officially re-entered development for Java as of 24w33a, though they are still locked behind an experimental Minecraft toggle. Each bundle has a 64-item capacity, with items placed inside taking up an amount of space proportional to their stack size.

By far the biggest thing that this snapshot has done to bundles is make them much cheaper. Instead of six rabbit hides and two strings, they now cost one string and one regular leather. This also makes them easier to craft and use in the early game, when they're intended to be used.

For example, a regular item that stacks to 64 will take up a single spot in the bundle. An item that stacks up to 16 times will use up four spots within a bundle. Items such as Minecraft swords that don't stack can be placed within bundles but will fill them in their entirety.

Players can left-click while holding an item over a bundle to place it inside or right-click on the bundle to remove the top item. Players can also use different number keys, or the scroll wheel, to switch the top item of the bundle.

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2) Minecart improvements

Minecarts have been made much nicer to ride in this snapshot (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft minecarts have an experimental toggle in 24w33a. This toggle contains a large overhaul for these interesting items. One of the biggest improvements made in the snapshot makes riding fast moving rails much smoother and less choppy. Minecarts have also had their ability to jump improved, as they will maintain vertical momentum when a track ends in a slope.

There's also a new gamerule, minecartMaxSpeed, that ranges from eight to 1000 blocks per second and controls the maximum speed that minecarts can obtain. Additionally, there are changes made to wind resistance and friction that will end up breaking a lot of older rails that relied on precise rail timings.

Thankfully, though, Mojang acknowledges that these changes are going to break several machines and farms and is open to community feedback regarding this.

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3) Wolf Bedrock parity

An injured tamed wolf about to be given tropical fish to heal (Image via Mojang)

As of 24w33a, Java Edition players can give cod, salmon, tropical fish, pufferfish, rabbit stew, or cooked cod and salmon to tamed wolves to heal them.

This is a welcomed parity change, as having more options for keeping wolves healthy makes them even better adventuring companions than Minecraft's wolf armor already made them.

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4) Reduced portal cooldowns for vehicles and projectiles

Nether portals are much easier to use in complex contraptions thanks to this change (Image via Mojang)

One of the most exciting changes in 24w33a is a reduction in the time that vehicles and projectiles have to be outside of a portal before they can pass back through. In older versions of the game, entities like this would need to wait a whopping 15 seconds before they could pass back through a portal.

The wait time has been reduced to half a second for boats and minecarts and an incredibly short 2 ticks for ender pearls and arrows. This makes it much easier to chain Minecraft Nether portals together within advanced farms and redstone contraptions.

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5) Bee AI improvements

Bees should be much smarter thanks to this snapshot (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft's bees have been made smarter in a number of ways that make it easier to raise them. They won't travel as far from their home hive before they start to return. Additionally, they wander for less time, making it easier to catch them near the hive.

Bees are also much less likely to pathfinder to an impossible-to-reach flower, meaning they shouldn't get stuck nearly as often.

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6) New baby mobs

A baby glow squid near an adult glow squid (Image via Mojang)

Three adorable new baby mobs have been added to Minecraft in 24w33a. The new baby mob variants are for dolphins, squids, and glow squids, adding a bit of extra immersion and life to the game's oceans.

This is a strange choice, though, as none of the mobs can currently be bred, meaning that these new baby verisons have to spawn randomly.

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7) Updated aesthetic items

The two new patterns added in snapshot 24w33a (Image via Mojang)

Armor smithing templates have been updated in 24w33a. In past Minecraft updates, the name of the specific template would be found as a subtitle for the item. Now, though, the template type is the item's full name.

Banner patterns have also been updated slightly. They have had their type names updated to be the full item name rather than the subtitle, similar to smithing templates. Additionally, these different patterns all have updated textures to make them all unique from one another.

Two new banner patterns have also been introduced for players to try out. The first is the field masoned pattern, which gives the appearance of a brick wall. The other is the bordure indented pattern, which adds a ridged central column to a banner.