Minecraft Java 1.21.2 Bundles of Bravery update patch notes: Bundles, Realms Hardcore mode, and more 

Mojang announced the Bundles of Bravery drop for Minecraft at the end of September 2024. This small update focused on the addition of bundles, a feature announced nearly four years ago, and Hardcore mode for Bedrock Edition. Since Java Edition already had Hardcore mode, fans expected the update to be a light-hearted one.

However, Minecraft Java 1.21.2 has plenty of exciting features and changes outside of bundles for players to be excited about. For example, Mojang added baby variants of dolphins, squids, and glow squids, which have been available in Bedrock Edition for a long time.

Mojang also added more Bedrock-exclusive features like two banner patterns: Field Masoned and Bordure Indented. Let's go over the complete patch notes to find out what's new and changed in the Minecraft 1.21.2 update for Java Edition.

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Minecraft 1.21.2 update patch notes

New Features

• Added Bundles

Bundles are here (Image via Mojang)

Bundles

• A Bundle is an item that can pack different items together into the same stack
• A Bundle only fits one stack (usually 64 items) but it can be a mixture of many different item types
• You can insert items into a Bundle directly in the inventory
• Bundles have a tooltip that shows the items inside
• If a Bundle has less than 12 item types inside, the tooltip will show all of them
• Otherwise, the tooltip will show the top three rows of items (at least 8 item types) and the others will be hidden below
• You can select any of the visible items to pull out of the Bundle
• Right-click to take the first item
• Use the scroll wheel to select a different item, then right-click to take it
• When selecting an item to remove, the Bundle icon shows that item poking out of the Bundle
• When holding a Bundle in hand, you can empty items onto the ground by right-clicking or holding right-click
• The Bundle is crafted with one String above one Leather
• The controls have changed from the original prototype:
• Use left-click to put an item into a Bundle
• Use right-click to remove the top item type from a Bundle
• When the Bundle tooltip is visible, use the mouse wheel to select a different item type, then use right-click to remove it

Changes

• Enabled hardcore mode for Realms
• Updated the world creation screen for Realms
• Trial Chambers have been updated with new variations
• Added baby versions of Dolphins, Squids, and Glow Squids
• Added Salmon variants
• Sneaking while bouncing on a Slime Block will no longer cause fall damage
• Tweaks to existing Blocks, Items and Entities
• Thrown Ender Pearls now load and tick chunks
• Banner Pattern items have new names and icons
• Redstone Torches have been given a new look to give them a unique and distinctive identity

Redstone torch changes (Image via Mojang)

• Added two new Banner Patterns: Field Masoned, and Bordure Indented
• The distance that Bees fly as well as the cooldowns between Bee behaviors have been tweaked
• Raider spawn logic has been updated
• Smithing Template items are now named after their template type instead of the generic "Smithing Template" name
• They instead specify that they are a Smithing Template through a subtitle in the hover text
• Equipping a Carved Pumpkin on your head now removes the player marker from other players' maps
• Various items and blocks have had their assigned rarities changed
• Introduced new accessibility features
• The game will now limit the maximum frame rate when it is minimized or when the player is AFK
• A new video setting is introduced to configure this behavior
• Improvements to the game's performance
• Added language support for Tzotzil, Belarusian (Latin), and High Norwegian
• Throwing items out of your inventory very quickly in creative mode is now throttled

Realms

• Now uses the normal, fully-featured world creation screen
• Enables game rule customization
• Enables data pack customization
• The game mode for the last active world on a Realm will now be visible on the main Realms screen if applicable

Hardcore Mode

• Hardcore mode is now available in Realms
• It is accessible when creating a new world or recreating an existing one

Tweaks to Blocks, Items and Entities

• Wolves can now also be fed Cod, Cooked Cod, Salmon, Cooked Salmon, Tropical Fish, Pufferfish and Rabbit Stew
• Bats can now spawn at any height, not just below sea level, as long as it is dark enough and there is a solid block to spawn on
• Breeze no longer have a minimum distance required to attack a target
• The portal cooldowns of vehicles and projectiles have been tweaked
• After using a Nether Portal, Minecarts and Boats now only need to leave the portal for 0.5 seconds to use a portal again (down from previous 15 seconds)
• After using a Nether Portal, projectiles such as Ender Pearls and Arrows now only need to leave the portal for 2 ticks to use a portal again (down from previous 15 seconds)
• Projectiles such as Arrows, Tridents and Fishing Bobbers now bounce off the world border if hit
• Being killed by a Mace smash attack now shows a new death message
• Added unique block sounds to the Monster Spawner block
• Enchanted Shields now have the same reduced glint as enchanted armor
• Items that convert to another item after consumption will no longer do so in creative mode
• For example, a Honey Bottle will no longer add a Glass Bottle to your inventory when consumed in creative mode
• Suspicious Stew recipes are now shown in the Recipe Book
• Shulker Box coloring recipes are now shown in the Recipe Book
• Shulker Box and Bundle coloring recipes no longer work when trying to apply a Dye to an item of the same color

Trial Chambers

• Added new variations to the hallways, including "Encounters": Short challenges leading to a larger chamber
• Beds in intersections now have their colors randomized
• Replaced the empty Chests at the entrance of chamber with a Hopper and Barrel

New Mob Variation

New baby mobs (Image via Mojang)

• Added baby versions of Dolphins, Squids, and Glow Squids
• Squid Spawn Eggs will only spawn adult Squids
• There is a 5% chance of Squids spawned in groups in the wild to be a baby
• Salmon may now spawn as Small, Medium (current size), or Large

Ender Pearl Chunk Loading

Ender pearl chunk loaders are here (Image via Mojang)

• Ender Pearls now ensure that the chunk they are in or travel into is always loaded and ticking
• They also load chunks when crossing to a new dimension
• This ensures that Ender Pearls can always land, and makes cross-dimensional Ender Pearl travelling more predictable
• Ender Pearls now unload when a player logs out, and reappear whenever that player logs back in, similar to how ridden entities currently behave

Banner Patterns

• Each Banner Pattern item now includes their pattern type in their name instead of as a subtitle
• Unique item textures have been added to better distinguish each pattern type
• The following Banner Patterns have been added:
• Field Masoned
• Crafted with Paper and Bricks
• Bordure Indented
• Crafted with Paper and Vines
• The Bricks and Curved Border patterns in the Loom can no longer be accessed without the above Banner Patterns

Bee Behavior

• Bees now wander around randomly for less time after exiting a nest/hive
• A Bee with a known nest or hive will now stay closer to it, reducing the distance it travels and reducing the risk of getting lost
• Significantly increased the amount of time a Bee can take to return to a known nest/hive before it gives up trying to return home
• Bees are now a lot less likely to get stuck when on corners or when close to a nest/hive they are trying to return to
• Bees are also now a lot less likely to try and pathfind to a flower that it cannot reach

Raider Spawning

• A triggered raid will no longer start if the Raiders cannot find a place to spawn within a reasonable distance of the village they are trying to raid
• In order for a Raid to start, Raiders must now find a place to spawn no more than 96 blocks vertically above or below the Village center
• It is now much less likely for Raiders to not find a valid place to spawn when raiding

User Interface

• The Recipe Book now repeats the last selected recipe when a "selected" key is pressed (space or either enter key)
• Updated slot highlight in the UI so that the item texture has better visibility
• The previous textures have been added to Programmer Art resource pack
• Tweaked air bubbles UI
• Added an empty state for air bubbles along with a wobble when the player is drowning
• Added a popping sound when the bubbles pop in the UI

Rarity

• Rarity is a set of categories which determine the color used to display the name of an item or block
• It has no gameplay impact, but is used to signal how difficult something is to obtain
• By default, unless specified otherwise, all items and blocks have a rarity of Common which displays their name in the color white
• We have re-evaluated the rarity of all items and blocks in the game to more accurately reflect the current challenge of obtaining them, given the following guidelines:
• Items and blocks become more rare depending on the following factors:
• The chance of finding it in a loot table, including mob drops
• The amount of travelling required to obtain it
• The difficulty of any obstacle which must be overcome to obtain it
• The possible amount of that item or block which exists in the world
• Any item or block which can be crafted must inherit the highest rarity of its crafting ingredients
• For example, a Mace has an Epic rarity because one of its ingredients (the Heavy Core) has an Epic rarity
• Likewise, any crafted item which has only Common crafting ingredients must also be Common
• The lists below detail the items and blocks which have changed to that rarity category

Common

• End Crystal
• Golden Apple

Uncommon

• Sniffer Egg
• Chainmail Helmet
• Chainmail Chestplate
• Chainmail Leggings
• Chainmail Boots
• Recovery Compass
• Disc Fragment 5
• Nautilus Shell
• Echo Shard
• Goat Horns
• Pottery Sherds
• Ominous Bottles
• Ominous Banner
• Netherite Upgrade
• Sentry Armor Trim
• Dune Armor Trim
• Coast Armor Trim
• Wild Armor Trim
• Tide Armor Trim
• Snout Armor Trim
• Rib Armor Trim
• Wayfinder Armor Trim
• Shaper Armor Trim
• Raiser Armor Trim
• Host Armor Trim
• Flow Armor Trim
• Bolt Armor Trim
• The following Music Discs:
• 13
• Cat
• Blocks
• Chirp
• Creator (Music Box)
• Far
• Mall
• Mellohi
• Stal
• Strad
• Ward
• 11
• Wait
• Relic
• 5
• Precipice

Rare

• Enchanted Golden Apple
• Enchanted Golden Apples have become more common in recent years due to being accessible in both Ancient Cities and Trial Chambers, warranting a demotion to Rare instead of Epic
• Trident
• We recently increased Trident's rarity up to Epic from Common, but after re-evaluating felt that it was easier to obtain than other items in the Epic category such as Heavy Cores or Elytras
• Nether Star
• Ward Armor Trim
• Eye Armor Trim
• Vex Armor Trim
• Spire Armor Trim
• Wither Skeleton Skull
• Skull Charge Banner Pattern
• Now that Wither Skeleton Skulls are Rare, these banner patterns should be Rare as well
• Thing Banner Pattern
• Now that Enchanted Golden Apples are Rare, these banner patterns should be Rare as well
• The following Music Discs:
• Pigstep
• otherside
• Creator

Epic

• Elytra
• Dragon Head
• Silence Armor Trim

Accessibility

• Added an accessibility option to make targeted block's outlines more visible

High Contrast Resource Pack

Added the following high contrast textures:

• Frame and background textures for tooltips
• Slot background and highlight textures for the Bundle tooltip

Inactivity FPS Limit

• The game will now limit the maximum frame rate in certain situations
• These situations are controlled by a new Video Setting: Reduce FPS when
• Possible options are:
• Mimimized
• Limits frame rate to 10 FPS only when the game window is minimized
• AFK
• Limits frame rate to 30 FPS when the game is not getting any player input for more than a minute
• Further limits to 10 FPS after 9 more minutes of no input
• Also limits to 10 FPS when the game window is minimized
• The default is AFK

Performance

• Frame rate has been improved when using higher render distances
• Significantly reduced the performance impact when turning the camera
• The performance of the server (tick rate) has been improved when using higher render distances
• Furthermore, the impact of loading and generating chunks on tick rate has been reduced

Player Safety

Skin Reporting

• Added reporting reason "Sexually inappropriate"
• This is intended for skins that are graphic in nature relating to sexual acts, sexual organs, and sexual violence
• Removed reason "Defamation" for skins due to lack of relevance
• Removed reason "Threat of harm to others" due to already being covered by "Harassment or bullying" reporting reason

Name Reporting

• Added a text label above the description box to clarify that only the name of the player is subject to the report

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Experimental Features

Creaking is available in experimental (Image via Mojang)

Winter Drop

• Added Pale Garden Biome, Pale Oak tree, Pale Moss block, Pale Moss carpet, Pale Hanging Moss and Pale Oak woodset
• Added Creaking mob, Creaking Spawn Egg and Creaking Heart block

Pale Garden

Pale Garden is a biome variation of Dark Forest. Unique features:

• Pale Oaks generate here
• Pale Moss blocks/carpet generate on the ground here
• Hanging Pale Moss generate hanging from the foliage of Pale Oaks
• Animal mobs do not spawn naturally in Pale Gardens
• New biome specific ambient sounds
• Creaking Heart block can generate in Pale Oaks

Pale Oak Tree

• Pale Oak Leaves drop Pale Oak Saplings that can be planted in a 2x2 configuration to grow Pale Oak trees
• Pale Oak Logs can be crafted into the Pale Oak woodset:
• Door
• Fence
• Fence Gate
• Plank
• Sign
• Hanging Sign
• Slab
• Stairs
• Trapdoor
• Wood
• Stripped Log
• Stripped Wood
• Button
• Pressure Plate
• Boat
• Boat with Chest

Pale Moss Block

Pale Moss block generates naturally in the Pale Garden biome

Pale Moss Carpet

Pale Moss block generates naturally in the Pale Garden biome. Unique features:

• When placed, Pale Moss Carpet grows up to two blocks on the solid faces of any block that borders it
• Pale Moss Carpet can be bone mealed to grow to full on all solid faces of any block that borders it

Pale Hanging Moss

Pale Hanging Moss generates naturally in the Pale Garden biome under the foliage of Pale Oaks

• Pale Hanging Moss does not grow randomly, but can be bone mealed to grow down

Creaking mob

The Creaking mob spawns at night in the Pale Garden biome if there is a Creaking Heart block that has been generated in a Pale Oak tree. Gameplay features:

• Creaking will activate if a surivival or adventure mode player is within 12 blocks of it and looks at it
• Creaking stays active while there is a survival or adventure mode player within 32 blocks of it
• An activated Creaking will not move if a survival or adventure player is looking at it
• Creaking is invulnerable to damage
• Creaking has fire resistance
• When hit by players, a particle trail is shown between the Creaking and the Creaking Heart block it is connected to
• When the Creaking Heart block that the Creaking is connected to is destroyed, the Creaking is removed
• Is not affected by light levels but spawns and despawns based on the day/night cycle
• Creaking cannot enter Boats
• Creaking spawned from a Creaking Heart can not go through portals
• The Creaking Spawn Egg will spawn a Creaking mob that is not connected to a Creaking Heart. This form of Creaking:
• May also be spawned through commands
• Will persist through day and night, and loads and saves
• Is fire-resistant
• Takes damage from attacks and other damage sources
• Has one point of health (half a heart)
• A Creaking summoned from the Creaking Heart cannot be spawned with a spawn egg, nor can it be named with a Name Tag or summoned with commands
• It can only exist as a part of the Creaking Heart block
• Players wearing a Carved Pumpkin on their head can look at Creaking without it freezing in place

Creaking Heart

A Creaking Heart is a “living” block generating in Pale Oak trees, covered on all sides by Pale Oak wood logs. It can spawn a Creaking mob when it is nighttime, and it is placed between two correctly aligned Pale Oak Logs.

• Is active during the night and dormant during the day
• Sends a trail of particles towards the connected Creaking when the Creaking gets hit by the player
• When Creaking Heart block is destroyed, the connected Creaking is removed
• Comparators attached to the Creaking Heart block will output a signal strength dependent on the distance to the connected Creaking

New system for Pale Garden ambient sounds

Ambient sounds in the Pale Garden biome do not come from the biome settings, but are generated by blocks found in the biome.

• Pale Hanging Moss emits subtle atmospheric sounds when it is attached to Pale Oak Logs and Pale Oak Leaves
• Creaking Heart block emits a set of eerie sounds when it is active during the night and surrounded by Logs on all sides

Redstone Experiments

Experimental redstone features (Image via Mojang)

Added a new Experiment containing various Redstone-related changes.

Redstone Wire

• The performance impact of Redstone wire (connected blocks of Redstone Dust) has been improved
• Redstone wire now only triggers block updates on blocks that may receive power from the wire
• Before a line of wire causes block updates, the new signal strength of all connected wires is set
• The update order around Redstone wire has been changed
• The aim is to make wire work the same, independent of position and global orientation
• When possible the order is deterministic based on the context the updates are caused in
• When there is not enough context to fully determine the order, the rest is picked at random

Developer's note: We know that randomness in Redstone is usually unwanted. We've used it here because we've made things deterministic whenever it makes sense, and sometimes it just doesn't make sense - and we don't want some hidden state (like location-based hashes!) determining the order and making machines work differently at different coordinates or in different orientations.

Order in Which a Line of Wire Changes

• When a line of wire turns on, the wires closer to the power source will cause block updates first
• When a line of wire turns off, the wires closer to where the power source was, will cause block updates first
• When two wires have the same distance to the power source, the one to the left in the direction of travel updates first
• If there is not enough context to know the direction of travel (when the wire was powered from above or below), the side to update first is picked at random

Block Updates Around a Wire

• The order in which blocks around the wire update is based on the direction the wire received an update from
• The order of the updates is: back, front, left, right, down, up
• When the updates are further distributed through solid blocks, the same order is applied there

Known Issues

• As this experiment only changes Redstone wire, interactions with other components may not always act as expected, especially when it comes to update orders.
• The removal of excessive neighbor updates around wire affects behavior of Quasi-Connectivity based contraptions. We plan to address these issues at a later point.

Minecart Improvements

Experimental minecart changes coming (Image via Mojang)

Minecarts are getting updated for the better:

Movement Changes

• Minecarts will articulate their movement better when going fast, riding on the rail all the time
• Minecarts will now smoothly turn along with the track and are less likely to halt or derail
• Minecarts can now jump better
• They keep their vertical momentum when the track ends with a slope
• Minecarts will tilt to visually articulate while in the air
• No rail grinding sound is played when Minecarts are flying through the air
• Added a new accessibility setting that makes players follow the rotation of Minecarts they ride
• Defaults to off
• Only has effect when within a world with the experiment enabled
• Added new gamerule minecartMaxSpeed that changes the maximum speed of Minecarts
• Defaults to 8 and goes up to 1000 blocks per second.
• Setting it to a specific value does not guarantee that a minecart will reach that particular max speed - there are built in air resistances and similar effects that the speed added through slopes or powered rails need to overcome
• This gamerule only exists in worlds with the experiment enabled

Minecart Changes

• Minecarts can no longer be placed within another Minecart by the player
• Dispensers can still "stack" Minecarts by placing them on the Rail, even if there is another Minecart already there
• Minecarts can now consistently be placed next to each other along a track
• Minecarts now pick up mobs more consistently when moving along a track
• Minecarts will no longer phase through blocks on slopes

Known Impact

• We are aware that these changes will affect certain contraptions such as 'piston bolts', which may now not work at all, or have their behavior changed
• Very delicate rail networks will have their timings changed due to slight changes in speeds, movement distance, friction etc.
• Contraptions that rely on Minecarts snapping to rails will no longer work, or have their behavior changed

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Other than these, there are several technical changes and features in Minecraft 1.21.2 update. Interested players can check the full patch notes on the official Minecraft website.