Minecraft snapshot 23w51b patch notes: Armadillo, wolf armor, and more

Following Minecraft: Bedrock Edition's recent preview betas, Java Edition has released a new snapshot (23w51b) to introduce many of the same content additions that were seen on Bedrock. Among them is the inclusion of the Mob Vote's 2023 winner, the armadillo, as well as the scutes they drop and the wolf armor that can be crafted from them.

Minecraft Java's 23w51b snapshot also makes some quality-of-life tweaks and brings together a collection of bug fixes for improved performance. A few changes have even been made to the Experimental Features that currently display content from the 1.21 update.

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Breaking down the patch notes for Minecraft Java Snapshot 23w51b

The main menu remains unchanged in Minecraft Java 23w51b (Image via Mojang)

This Minecraft Java snapshot follows many of the conventions introduced in the Bedrock Edition Preview 1.20.60.23, introducing armadillos, their scutes, and wolf armor. A small number of gameplay tweaks have been implemented, bugs and crashes have been addressed, and 1.21 Experimental Features like trial chambers and breeze mobs have gotten some attention.

Minecraft Snapshot 23w51b patch note highlights

• Armadillos have been added to the game. These passive mobs spawn within savanna biomes and will roam about in a passive nature. They'll curl up when they feel threatened by undead mobs if a player is sprinting near them, or riding a mob or vehicle near them. They will scan the environment in this state, and if they don't see any threats for three seconds, armadillos will revert to their ordinary behavior. They can also be forced out of their curled-up position by being attached to a lead, damaged, or placed in the water. Armadillos can be bred by being fed spider eyes.
• Armadillo scute has been added. This new item can be collected from living armadillos by using a brush on them. They are the sole crafting component in creating wolf armor. Scutes can also be dropped periodically as the armadillo roams about the Minecraft world.
• Wolf armor has been added. Provides protection for wolves tamed by Minecraft players. One suit of armor is crafted by combining six armadillo scutes at a crafting table. Only the player who tamed the wolf can equip it with armor, and the owner can also remove the armor through the use of shears.
• Scutes that come from turtles have been renamed turtle scutes since there are now two scute types in Minecraft.
• Llamas and shulkers can no longer destroy placed armor stands.
• The sounds for the breeze mob have been tweaked, including the addition of new sounds for it while it is in the air, charging up its wind charges, has its projectiles deflected, and while the creature is idling. Existing sounds for the breeze have also been tweaked, according to Mojang.
• The trial spawner block now has the same two default loot tables as they would in trial chambers.
• Fixed a bug where some chat messages would disappear when the F1 key was pressed.
• The debug screen overlay will no longer render behind some UI elements like the hotbar.
• A bug has been fixed where respawn anchors wouldn't produce their ambient sounds.
• The sounds for entering and exiting Nether portals will now appropriately appear in subtitles.
• Title text should no longer render in front of player names, the sidebar, or narrator text.
• Subtitles between block breaking and those for breaking paintings, item frames, and leads have been normalized.
• Subtitles will no longer refer to respawn anchor sounds as portal sounds.
• Chat text will no longer render in front of player names in the player list.
• Wearing a helmet will now appropriately reduce the damage of falling anvils and stalactites by 25%.
• Nether portal and freezing effects should no longer be completely opaque when the spyglass is used.
• A crash has been fixed that occurred in Minecraft Java Snapshot 23w51a, which was released shortly before this snapshot.

Additional bug fixes and technical tweaks to data packs have also been made in this Minecraft Java snapshot. Players who are curious about the full scope of changes are encouraged to check out Mojang's full list of patch notes. Otherwise, they can dive into a new world and enable Experimental Features to enjoy the full breadth of 1.21 update content.