Minecraft needs to add custom icons for potions and enchanted books

Mojang has lately attempted to make Minecraft's items and blocks more visually identifiable. The studio recently released a Bedrock Preview that has given distinct item textures/icons to banner patterns for players to better distinguish between them. However, a few more items could use a similar treatment, specifically potions and enchanted books.

It's true that players can tell the difference between different potions or enchanted books by hovering over them with their cursors. However, when sifting through storage blocks or a player's inventory, hovering over multiple items to distinguish between items can be tedious. Updated item icons for potions and enchanted books would go a long way to mitigate that process.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the opinions of the writer

---

Why custom icons for potions and enchanted books would be a huge win for Minecraft

Custom icons for potions and enchanted books would make inventory management much easier (Image via u/Yomna04/Reddit)

It's a situation as old as Minecraft itself: players toss their excess potions and enchanted books into a storage block and leave them be for a while. Then, when they return to retrieve their items, they spend more time than necessary determining which potions and enchanted books contain the needed effects so they can be transferred to their inventory.

Adding custom icons for potions and enchanted books would be a massive boon for players for the sake of clarity. If each potion and enchanted book's icon was more unique, players would spend substantially less time rummaging around. They could simply pocket the potions/books they need with a glance as opposed to highlighting various books/potions with their cursors.

Moreover, creating custom icons and textures for enchanted books and potions could also be a positive for decorators who enjoy placing these items into item frames. This would be particularly true if enchanted books and potions were given particularly ornate designs that made them stand out, perhaps as they increase in enchantment/effect strength as seen in various Minecraft mods and add-ons.

Although potions are technically separated in appearance based on the effects they confer on players, telling the difference between different potion colors - especially those like Potions of Luck, Night Vision, and Oozing - of similar shades is still inconvenient. However, by adding different bottle visuals or some form of symbol to their icons, telling potions apart would be a much easier ordeal.

All in all, while Mojang continues to make more accessibility options available to Minecraft and improves the legibility of various in-game blocks and items, enchanted books and potions certainly deserve a look.

There may be higher priorities on Mojang's development schedule, but it's something to keep in mind of as the game continues to evolve.