Minecraft 1.20 Snapshot 22w45a Adds New Bamboo Blocks and Redesigns Vex

Ever since the Minecraft Live 2022 event, players have been waiting for a new announcement every Wednesday, aka the snapshot day, to find out about new features coming to the game. And now, one of the major snapshots is here, which brings the biggest changes since the introduction of camels to Minecraft. The Minecraft 1.20 snapshot 22w45a improves the bamboo blocks, upgrades an existing hostile mob, and changes a major feature in the game. With that, let’s dive in and explore everything snapshot 22w45a brings to the table.

Bamboo Blocks Family is Now Bigger

Minecraft’s developers are known for keeping up with the fans’ demands and snapshot 22w45a is proof that they aren’t going to disappoint us. The heavily requested Block of Bamboo and Stripped Block of Bamboo are now a part of Minecraft 1.20. Both of them look like a bunch of bamboos tied together, which is exactly what was missing from this new wood family.

You can craft a block of bamboo by placing 9 pieces of bamboo on the crafting table, which is similar to creating solid blocks out of mineral items. Then, you can use an axe on this block to turn it into a stripped block of bamboo, just like any other wood log.

Surprisingly, this change also led to a change in the existing crafting recipe of bamboo planks which no longer exists in the game. Now, you have to place the block of bamboo on the crafting table to turn it into planks. It is worth noting that other wood logs in Minecraft give out 4 planks, making bamboo rather expensive.

Vex Finally Looks like Allay

When Allay first won the mob vote in 2021, users started comparing it with another tiny flying mob in the game, Vex. But other than flight and size, they shared no similarity. At least, until Minecraft 1.20 snapshot 22w45a, which updates the Vex’s design to the current Minecraft standards.

The new design of the Vex makes it look like a greyish Allay with an angry expression. Meanwhile, its new wings appear like a smaller version of the original wings. In case you are wondering, their skin still turns red when they notice an enemy (you) and try to attack. Lastly, even with a smaller body, the vexes retain a slightly larger hitbox than their body to make them easier to hit.

Other Important Changes

Other than the new bamboo blocks and the refreshed Vex design, the Minecraft 1.20 snapshot 22w45a brings the following changes to the game:

• The new default skins are now available offline
• When opened, the Shulker boxes break items (like torches), which require support to be placed
• The creative inventory now has a dedicated colored blocks tab
• Operator items now have a dedicated toggleable tab in the creative inventory
• More shuffling of the creative inventory (supposedly for the last time)
• The resource packs are now in their 12th version

Major Bug Fixes:

• You can now empty water buckets into waterlogged blocks
• Horses no longer while going through Nether portals
• Players don’t face desynchronization in relation to the Nether portals

You can find the other bug fixes in the official changelog. So, do you like the new design of the Vex? Or is it too similar to the Allay? Tell us in the comments below! And while you are at it, don’t forget to share what you are expecting from the next Minecraft 1.20 snapshot.