All major changes in Minecraft 1.20.2 snapshot 23w31a

Not too long ago, the Minecraft 1.20.1 update was released, which fixed many major issues that came up with the previous major update. The developers have now released a snapshot for the next update, which will be the 1.20.2 update. The Minecraft 1.20.2 snapshot 23w31a brings unexpected changes to diamond ore generation, the ability to waterlog barriers, and a noteworthy change to how the villager trading feature works.

In this article, we delve deep into all the major changes made in this snapshot.

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Minecraft 1.20.2 snapshot 23w31a: Major features and changes

Snapshots are the most exciting updates as they reveal the features that are planned to be implemented later. These versions allow the players to try out upcoming features, express their opinions, or report any bugs.

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Main changes

Here's a list that covers all the major changes that have been introduced with snapshot 23w31a:

• Diamond Ore appears more often in the Deepslate layers of the Overworld.
• Curing a Zombie Villager only gives a significant discount the first time.
• There is no longer an extra discount for repeatedly curing the same Villager.
• In Creative mode, players can now waterlog Barrier blocks.
• Water can't be placed or removed from them using indirect methods like Dispensers.
• Players can no longer crouch while riding entities anymore.

Here are some of the technical changes that are worth noting:

• The history of used commands is saved and accessible across worlds. The last 50 commands used are saved.
• Optimized the way chunks are sent to clients for better performance on low-bandwidth internet connections in multiplayer servers.
• The network protocol has been changed to allow for more data-driven content in the future.

Arguably the change that will affect the average Minecrafter the most is the diamond ore spawning. It will be easier to farm diamonds as mining in lower Y levels has become more rewarding.

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Experimental features

New villager trade rebalance experimental feature (Image via Mojang)

In the Minecraft 23w31a snapshot, an experimental feature has been introduced that brings changes to the librarian and wandering traders' trade offers. With this new trade rebalance feature, players can no longer obtain any enchanted book they wish from a single librarian. Instead, the trade offers of librarians now depend on the biome they are in.

Certain highly useful enchanted books, such as those with Mending and Unbreaking III, are now categorized as special books. Each librarian can offer only one of these special books, and the specific book they offer is determined by the biome. Furthermore, special enchantments can only be acquired from Master level librarians.

Sadly, players can no longer exploit the villager infecting and curing feature. The cost of trades now reduces only once, preventing players from repeatedly taking advantage of this mechanic.

The wandering trader has also received some helpful changes. Now, they offer more useful items and may even purchase valuable items from players, increasing their interaction with players.