During the 2015 Minecon at the Upcoming Features panel Mojang talked about and revealed some of the areas the team was working to improve on and add to.
One of the areas is something talked about by fans for years and can be a popular mod among users; dual wielding or at least holding two items at once. Mojang revealed that players will be able to equip a second item in their left hand and the ability to change their main hand in game; if players wish can use their left hand as the main one. Which finally means it will be possible to to hold a tool in one hand a torch in the other, perfect for building through the night or digging out caves.
Mojang also added that Minecraft will be getting shields to add to the players arsenal which will not doubt please the medieval role players and the Minecraft role playing community as a whole.
For the Minecraft archers out there Mojang did reveal that they were looking into improving enchanted bows but were set on making sure the arrows were balanced to keep the game fun for all players. On top of this arrow types were mentioned including a ‘glow arrow’ which actually marks the target for a short time so you can track the enemy; a perfect addition to online Minecraft especially in PVP battles.
There was another combat update for Minecraft revealed by Mojang; a new UI update. The update for the UI will include a Buff Bar in the top right corner of the screen, the top row will display any positive effect such as regeneration or swiftness and the bottom row will display negative effects such as burning.
The combat update was expected at Mojang revealed that 1.9 would be the big combat update some time ago however they threw in more news at Minecon.
The End is getting a huge expansion into an area like The Nether with many islands and generally more to find and do in the area. The Ender Dragon will be seeing some changes as Mojang didn’t think the PC version of the final boss fight was all that great so instead it will be updated to be more like the console version. Players will also be able to respawn the Ender Dragon using ‘Ender Crystals’ which players can craft, you won’t be able to get a second dragon egg but there will be new ingredients you can get from the Ender Dragon.
Finally to get to the new End areas players will need to use a different portal called the End Gate however not much was revealed about them except for the portal was to be one block high.
The Pocket Edition of Minecraft is also set to receive some hefty updates to bring the mobile version closer to the PC and console versions. The updates will bring the Hunger and XP bars as well as items such as anvils, controller support and the ability to move the UI around the screen. Pocket Edition players will finally be getting cobblestone, The Nether, dynamic weather, ocelots and redstone as well.