Minecraft Bedrock vs Java: How different are their combat systems?

In both Minecraft Java and Bedrock Editions, players are required to fight countless hostile mobs and even other players on multiplayer servers. If a player has played both editions of the game, they must have noticed a massive difference between their combat mechanics. Both Java and Bedrock have small but game-changing differences when it comes to attacking and also defending.

Here is a breakdown of how different combat systems are on Minecraft Java and Bedrock Editions.

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Difference between Minecraft Java and Bedrock combat mechanics

Java Edition

Minecraft Java Edition has a charging period for every tool and weapon that can be used in combat (Image via Mojang Studios)

Java Edition is the older version of Minecraft that was released all the way back in 2011. During that time, the game had much simpler combat mechanics, which was somewhat similar to what Bedrock Edition has today. In older Java Edition versions, players could spam any melee weapon without losing its attack strength.

After the 1.9 Combat Update, however, the entire combat system of Java Edition changed. The update brought the charging mechanic and also a sweeping attack.

For example, if a player uses a sword on a hostile mob or another player, they will have to wait for the sword to charge up fully before landing the second attack with full power. If the player attacks with the sword repetitively, the sword will not get the time to fully charge and will not hit the opponent with full force. When a melee weapon is used, a charging bar shows up right underneath the crosshair, telling players when the weapon is fully ready to be used again.

This charging period applies to all weapons and even tools that can be used for melee attacks. This is the most notable combat feature that is exclusive to Java Edition.

Another exclusive Java Edition combat mechanic is the sweeping attack. When players attack with a sword, they will perform a sweeping motion after the first hit if they charge the sword fully. The sweeping attack not only inflicts damage to the main opponent but also deals half a heart's worth of damage to neighboring enemies. There is even an exclusive enchantment to enhance sweeping attack power called sweeping edge.

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Bedrock Edition

Weapons can be spammed in Bedrock Edition (Image via Mojang Studios)

When it comes to Bedrock Edition, the combat mechanics are quite different. As mentioned above, the older Java Edition mechanics still apply to Bedrock to this day.

This means that there is no charging mechanic where players have to wait for the melee weapon to fully charge before hitting the enemy. The weapon can be spammed continuously, with each hit inflicting full damage. This can make killing hostile mobs and players a lot easier in Bedrock.

On the other hand, the sweeping attack effect does not exist in Bedrock Edition. Players can only focus on hitting one entity at a time even if they are coming in hoards.

In terms of differences in defense, one feature disparity in Java and Bedrock Editions was fixed in 2022. Before the 1.18.30 version, axes did not disable shields in Bedrock Edition, as they did in Java Edition. After the update, however, Mojang decided to add the 5-second cooldown timer for shields when they are hit with an axe.

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