Minecraft 1.20.4 gets a release candidate to fix a critical issue with decorated pots in version 1.20.3 

Minecraft updates tend to save their release candidates for the end of an update's development cycle. However, the 1.20.4 version received a surprise release candidate on December 6, 2023. According to Mojang's official blog, this occurred due to a major issue with the newly revamped decorated pot block, which was capable of deleting items inside of it when worlds were reloaded.

Given that this issue is a pretty major one, resulting in the loss of one's hard-earned items, it's no surprise that the release candidate was introduced for Java Edition so soon after Minecraft 1.20.3's debut.

Other than the decorated pot fix, you won't find any other changes in this Java Edition release. However, it's an essential download to avoid problems with decorated pots going forward.

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How to download Minecraft 1.20.4 Release Candidate 1 for Java Edition

The Minecraft Launcher allows for quick access to the latest snapshots, pre-releases, and release candidates (Image via Mojang)

Thanks to the Minecraft Launcher, you can access Java Edition snapshots, pre-releases, and release candidates in an incredibly simple and straightforward fashion. As long as snapshots are enabled in the installations tab, you can click a few buttons and allow the launcher to download the necessary files, folders, and other assets for new experimental releases debuted by Mojang.

At the moment, you will have to rely on the 1.20.4 release candidate as a snapshot before the fix it made is placed in a future stable release of Minecraft Java. It can be a bit inconvenient if you want to avoid world corruption between stable and snapshot versions, but this fix may be worth the hassle.

Regardless, you can access 1.20.4 Release Candidate 1 with the following steps:

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher. If you haven't downloaded/installed it yet, you can find it on Mojang's official site for the game.
2. Select Java Edition from the game list to the left. If you haven't already, proceed to the installations tab at the top of the cover art and ensure that the snapshot checkbox is checked before returning to the main Java Edition page.
3. To the left of the green install/play button, you'll find a button that reads "Latest Release." Click this and choose "Latest Snapshot" instead. Then, simply hit the green Install/Play button.

Although this release candidate arrived surprisingly early, you still have plenty of content to look forward to in the future. An early release candidate doesn't mean that the development for the 1.20.4 update is already at an end, so Mojang should release future snapshots and pre-releases that implement content and/or changes for the 1.20.4 update in the coming weeks/months.

Although the 1.20.4 release will likely be nice, the patch that most fans are looking forward to is the 1.21 update recently announced by Mojang. However, it isn't likely to arrive for quite some time.

Based on Mojang's release scheduling, the 1.21 update should arrive at some point in the summer of 2024, likely during the first week of June, if the developer sticks to its typical timeframe.