Just did a quick fuckaround with 1.9 single player.
Here's the update details
http://mcupdate.tumblr.com/post/140212919664/minecraft-19-combat-updateHere's my simple +/- list, going point by point from the update list.
+ Shields seem decent, you right click to block, they can block arrows.
- Attack cooldown doesn't seem to work, or has a negligible effect, wtf is going on with this?
+ Dual Wielding is good, you can have a sword and shield this way, and you can swap hands with a hotkey. This will be incredibly handy for a variety of things.
+ Sword sweep attack animation is cool.
- Axe "special crushing blow attack" doesn't seem to work? I don't even know what it is. Does it have something to do with shields?
+ Elytra glider is awesome.
+ New End mob Shulker is a unique challenge.
+ The End is now slightly less retarded, actually has some minor exploration value with unlimited islands, weird fruit trees (Chorus plants), and some structures with loot (not nearly enough).
+ End Chorus plants are an acceptable addition.
+ End purpur blocks, stairs, slabs are a welcome addition.
+ End rod lights are a welcome addition.
+ Dragon head block is a welcome addition, I guess.
+ Dragons can be resummoned now, which is nice.
+ Beetroot farming and foodsource addition is welcome.
+ New grass path block is welcome.
~ Apparently there's igloos now, didn't see any. No comment yet.
~ Armour protection values lowered. No comment yet.
+ Lots of new enchanted "tipped" arrows.
+ Spectral arrows track your target through walls, which is unique.
+ Frost Walker enchantment allows you to walk on water by turning it into ice ("Frosted Ice"). It melts quickly in the sun, pretty cool.
~ Apparently there's new sound effects. I play on mute so I have no comment, but this is theoretically a good thing.
~ Sound effect subtitles, no comment.
~ Brewing stand now requires blaze powder, no comment.
~ Added skeleton riders, what does this mean? Didn't we already have those?
+ Lots of bug fixes apparently.
- Removed Herobrine.
And, some new major bugs:
- Respawning after death is absolutely fucked, and may cause your game to hang or crash due to the chunk around you failing to load properly. What the fuck Mojang?
- Significantly more lag when exploring (my computer should not have any slowdown whatsoever, and the game was grinding to a halt far too often). What the fuck Mojang? This sort of thing should be getting better with every update, not worse. Ditch Java already ya bastards.
Overall a very good update to the game, although surprisingly lacking on features (the new ones are good, but there aren't very many at all). What the hell does this insanely rich company do all day? This is all they did this whole time? So weird. Whatever, it's pretty good, however little.
Cheers