Java Edition guides/Pretty Scary Update

This guide is a simplified overview of all the changes in the Pretty Scary Update ( 1.4.x releases), which assumes at least some knowledge of the Java Edition 1.3.x releases.
== Mobs ==
=== New ===
Wither 		
* Can only be spawned by placing 4 blocks of soul sand in a T shape, and putting 3 wither skeleton skulls on top of the three upper blocks (see image below).	
* (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)	
* Three-headed flying player-created boss mob shooting projectiles at any mob (that isn't undead) and players
* After spawning, it flashes blue, builds up health, grows slightly and is invincible for a few seconds - Then it explodes and starts attacking players and mobs
* Each head can fire projectiles, so-called wither skulls, at different targets
** Shoots two kinds of projectiles - a blue one from the little heads, targeting mobs and a dark one from the big head targeting players
** When hit by projectiles, players get the wither II effect, which acts like a slower Poison effect that can kill and turns affected players' health bars' hearts black
* Constantly regenerates health
* Gains 'wither armor' when taken down to half health, making it immune to arrows
* Darkens the sky when spawned in the Overworld
Wither Skeleton 		
* Nether Fortress	
, plus per equipment piece (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)
Rare Drops
Spawned Equipment	
* Give players wither effect when hitting them
* Will rarely, depending on difficulty, spawn with the ability to pick up armor, head wear, items, blocks, weapons and tools
** Items that are picked up will have a 100% chance of dropping after dying
* More advanced gear is more likely to spawn with mobs when playing on harder difficulties and rarely drops when the mob is killed by players
Zombie Villager 		
* Anywhere in the overworld where the light level is 7 or less	
* (100% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* , plus per equipment piece (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)	
* Have a 5% chance of spawning instead of a normal zombie.
* Have a chance of spawning when a villager is killed by a zombie (0% chance in easy, 50% chance in normal, 100% chance in hard).
* Can be cured into a villager using a golden apple and a splash potion of weakness.
* Have the same bodies as normal zombies, only the head is different.
Baby Zombie and Baby Zombie Villager		
* Anywhere in the overworld where the light level is 7 or less	
* (100% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* (2.5% chance)
* , plus per equipment piece (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)	
* Smaller and faster than normal zombies.
Witch 		
* Swamp
* Witch Hut	
* (12.5% chance)
* (12.5% chance)
* (12.5% chance)
* (12.5% chance)
* (12.5% chance)
* (12.5% chance)
* (25% chance)
* (when killed by a player or tamed wolf)
They make 1–3 drops of 0–2 items each, for a maximum of 6 items total.	
* Throws splash potions of poison, slowness, weakness, and instant damage at players
Bat 		
* Spawn in groups of two in the Overworld at a light level of 3 or less on opaque blocks below layer 63.
** Between October 20 and November 3, they only require a light level of 6 or less to spawn.
** On Superflat worlds, bats spawn below the top non-air layer, ignoring the usual layer-63 limitation.	None	
* Hang on the ceiling when idle, starts flying when players come near
* Sleep during the day
* Don't trigger pressure plates or tripwire
== Blocks ==
=== New ===
Command Block 		
* Only obtainable using	
* Cannot be broken in Survival mode nor without operator permissions	
* Runs editable commands when triggered by redstone
* Intended for adventure maps
* Can only be edited by operators in Creative mode, as long as enable-command-block in server.properties is enabled
Beacon 			
* Any
** It will always take exactly 4.5 seconds to break it, regardless of tool used	
* Continuously glows and gives a selected status effect to players within a set amount of blocks while beaming a beacon of light directly upwards
* Activated by building a solid pyramid of iron/gold/emerald/diamond blocks underneath (can be used interchangeably) and selecting an effect
** The cheapest configuration requires 9 blocks (one layer), while the best configuration requires 164 blocks (four layers)
* Unlockable effects, with increasing amounts of required layers of blocks
* When all 4 layers of blocks underneath are built correctly, a second status effect can be chosen
Anvil 			
* Pickaxe	
* Used for repairing and combining enchanted items as well as for renaming any block or item at the cost of experience levels
** Tools can also be repaired using one piece of their material
** Enchantments that are the same are upgraded by one level as long as they are both the same level and the higher level exists
*** Conflicting enchantments will be removed and only the first one will be kept
* Becomes damaged from using and dropping it
** Damage persists in the inventory and splits up into 3 categories: Anvil, Slightly Damaged Anvil & Very Damaged Anvil
Flower Pot 			
* Any	
* Lets players plant all kinds of saplings, mushrooms, flowers, cacti, dead shrubs and ferns
** Right-click it with something to plant it, hit it to get both back
Cobblestone Wall and Mossy Cobblestone Wall			
* Pickaxe	
* Available in cobblestone and mossy cobblestone variants
* Behave like fences - Connect to each other, to other blocks and to fence gates & have a 1.5 blocks high collision box
* Have a different, higher shape in corners and when blocks are placed on them
Mob Head 		
* Wither skeletons have a 2.5% chance of dropping a wither skeleton skull when killed by a player or tamed wolf
** All other heads are only obtainable from the creative inventory	
* Any
** If a player head has a custom skin, the skin will be preserved when broken.	
* Can be put on the ground in 16 orientations and hung on walls
* Can be worn
Wooden Button 			
* Axe	
* Unlike stone buttons, can be activated by arrows
* When pressed, will stay activated longer that stone buttons
Carrot and Potato Crops 		
*Created by planting carrots and potatoes on farmland.	
*Any	
*Drop multiple carrots or potatoes when fully grown.
Nether Brick Slab 			
*Pickaxe	
*Can be used as a building block
*Added in 1.4.6
=== Changed ===
Chest / Ender Chest		
* When the computer's clock is set to a date between December 24 and 26, Chests and Ender Chests become retextured to look like presents.
* Added in 1.4.6.
== Items ==
=== New ===
Potato, Poisonous Potato, and Baked Potato		
* Potatoes can be obtained by farming, as drops (from zombies and zombie villagers), or from chest loot
* Poisonous potatoes rarely drop when farming potatoes	
* Potatoes can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 1-4 potatoes when fully grown
** Can be grown instantly using bone meal
* Poisonous potatoes have a 60% chance to poison the player when eaten
* Potatoes restore hunger and 0.6 saturation
* Poisonous potatoes restore hunger and 1.2 saturation
* Baked potatoes restore hunger and 6 saturation
Carrot and Golden Carrot 		
* Carrots can be obtained by farming, as drops (from zombies, husks, and zombie villagers), or from chest loot	
* Carrots can be planted on hydrated soil and drop 2-4 carrots when fully grown
** Can be grown instantly using bone meal
* Carrots restore hunger and 3.6 saturation
* Golden carrots restore hunger and 14.4 saturation
Carrot on a Stick 			
* Used to control pigs
** When held, it dictates the direction pigs players are riding will head in
* Nearby pigs flock towards players holding it
* Pigs start slow but end up going about 5 blocks per second
* Slowly loses durability when riding pigs
* The pigs 'eat' the carrot eventually, leaving the player a fishing rod and will require another carrot to continue riding
* Can be to give the pig a short speed boost
** This takes up a chunk of the durability
Pumpkin Pie 			
* Restores hunger and 4.8 saturation
Nether Star 		
* Drops from the new wither	
* Used to craft the new beacon
* Glows like an enchanted item
* When dropped, it cannot be destroyed by explosions and will take more than twice as long to despawn than other items
** However, it can still be destroyed by fire, lava, and cacti
Music Disc (Wait) 		
*Has a chance to drop when a skeleton kills a creeper.	
*Plays the song "Wait" by C418.
*Added in 1.4.4.
Enchanted Book 		
*Created by enchanting a book using an Enchanting Table.	
*Used to apply enchantments to items using an Anvil.
*Added in 1.4.6.
Firework Rocket 			
*Projectiles which can be launched into the air and explode.
*added in 1.4.6.
Firework Star 			
*Used to determine the color and shape of firework explosions.
*Added in 1.4.6.
Bat and Witch Spawn Eggs 		
*Available in the creative inventory.	
*Can be used to spawn the respective mob.
=== Changed ===
Music Disc (11)		
*Can now drop from creepers killed by skeletons like other music discs.
== Potions ==
=== New ===
		
* Night Vision
		
* Invisibility
== Non-mob entities ==
=== New ===
Item Frame				
* All items and blocks can be framed
* Clocks, compasses and maps function
** Maps show only one marker, the frame itself
** Mounted maps are marked on copies of the map
=== Changed ===
Painting		
*Added a new painting depicting the creation of the Wither.
*This is the only painting not based on a real painting by Kristoffer Zetterstrand, and is also the only painting to have been added in a post-release version so far.
== Structures ==
=== New ===
Witch Hut		
* Generates in Swamp biomes	
* None	
* Witch	
* The witch hut is a structure, which is the only place where witches spawn naturally. The structure consists mainly of spruce planks and oak logs, and has a cauldron and a crafting table inside it
== Enchantments ==
=== New ===
Enchantment	Max Level	Applicable Items	Notes
Thorns 	III 	 	
*Damages attackers.
== Effects ==
=== New ===
Wither		Withers and Wither Skeletons	Inflicts damage over time. Unlike Poison, it has the potential to be fatal on its own.
== Sounds ==
=== New ===
Zombie, Skeleton, Cow, Pig, Spider, Enderman, Ghast, Silverfish, Magma Cube, Wolf, Ender Dragon, Bat, and Anvil	
* Added sounds
Wood, Stone, Sand, Gravel, Plants 	
* Added sounds for placing blocks
Sand, Gravel, Soul Sand, Grass Block, and Stone 	
* Added sounds for walking on the block
Zombie Villager 	
* Added sounds for curing, infecting, and a remedy sound
Fire 	
* Added sounds for setting things on fire
Sheep 	
* Added sounds for shearing sheep
Ladder 	
* Added sounds for climbing ladders
Minecart 	
* Added sounds for riding minecarts
Experience 	
* Added a sound for leveling up, which is played every five levels
Liquids 	
* Added constant noise to liquids
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