5 small but exciting features in Minecraft 1.20 Trails & Tales update

Minecraft 1.20, known as the Trails & Tales update, is certainly bringing along plenty of content on June 7, 2023. Many additions like cherry grove biomes, bamboo and cherry tree wood, and the sniffer mob have grabbed headlines. However, there are plenty of other additions that are equally exciting.

Given the sizable amount of new features and changes coming in Minecraft 1.20, players may not be able to keep up with all of the game's new additions. Some new features, blocks, and items may have flown under the radar, but they still deserve appreciation. This article will explore five underrated additions in the Trails & Tales update.

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5 underrated features arriving in Minecraft 1.20

1) Calibrated sculk sensors

Not much changed in the deep dark biome in Minecraft 1.20, but the Trails & Tales update did introduce one new sculk-related block. By combining a sculk sensor block with three amethyst shards in a crafting table, players can create a calibrated sculk sensor block.

This new sculk sensor block is capable of filtering out redstone signals based on their frequency, creating new dimensions for players who are handy with redstone builds. Furthermore, this calibrated sculk sensor has an extended range, as it can detect vibrations up to 16 blocks away instead of the eight that a normal sculk sensor can.

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2) Piglin heads

The number of obtainable mob heads has grown in Minecraft over the years, and the Trails & Tales update has added piglin heads to the game's expanding roster. By killing a piglin with a Charged Creeper's explosion, players will find that piglin heads drop as a result.

These heads operate much like other mob heads in the game, but have the added bonus of being animated. When equipped by a moving player, skeleton, zombie, or placed on an armor stand or redstone-compatible block, players will notice the piglin head flapping its ears.

Interestingly enough, placing a piglin head on a note block and then activating the note block will also play a piglin sound. This should present some interesting new build opportunities for creative Minecraft fans.

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3) Hanging signs

With so many blocks arriving in Minecraft 1.20, hanging signs started out as an exciting and early addition but excitement for them died down after other features were announced. Regardless, hanging signs should present plenty of new building and decorative options for players as they make their way through Trails & Tales.

By combining two chains and six stripped log blocks, Minecraft players can receive six hanging signs in return. These signs can be conveniently attached to the underside and the side-facing surfaces of solid blocks, so they should fit in nicely with town and structure builds.

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4) Bed/carpet/wool dye changes

In the earlier days of the game, once a player dyed a piece of wool, carpet, or a bed block, it had to remain the color it was dyed. The lone exception was in Education Edition, where players could apply bleach to the blocks. However, the Trails & Tales update amended this process in a positive way.

Players no longer have to dye white wool/carpet/beds and keep them in the same color. Dyes can now be applied to any wool, carpet, or bed block to change their coloration. This completely bypasses the need for blank white dye-able blocks, which should make decoration much easier in the long run.

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5) Revamped sign editing

Hanging sign blocks weren't the only new feature brought in update 1.20, as all signs also received a few nice quality-of-life tweaks. Before the Trails & Tales update, players had to break and place signs in the environment again to edit their text. Now, simply interacting with a sign will allow you to change the text.

Additionally, text can now be placed on either side of a given sign block in Minecraft, doubling the utility of these longtime blocks. This is to say nothing of the decorative potential that signs will have moving forward.