As Mojang works on the Minecraft 1.20 update scheduled for 2023, bug fixes and changes continue with regular snapshots and preview builds. Today's new Java snapshot 22w45a includes a "visual refresh" of the enemy Vex, in addition to extremely important bug fixes such as horse choking and backseat camel vandalism.

The real centerpiece change was, of course, the Vex redesign, which replaced the player-shaped, grayish flying enemy with a fairy-like silhouette similar in size to the helper mob Allay from the Wild Update. So now we have a matching helper fairy and a killer fairy.

"We've been planning a model change for Vex for a long time because it's been so requested, but we had no say in the matter! We've been planning this for a long time," tweeted Jasper Boerstra, art director of Minecraft. The patch notes for the update note that Vex still has a "slightly larger hitbox" so that it is not too difficult to actually fight when swinging his sword in the air at that small moving target.

Under the bug fixes section are several important mob-related fixes. Literally the first one listed is "horses can choke to death when passing through nether portals," which seems to have solved the problem of players pushing their horses into nether portals where the walls were too close together, causing the poor horse's entire head to spawn in the wall. Everyone, please be kind to your horses and look both ways before crossing the nether portal.

Another bug related to the new camel mob is now accessible in snapshot builds ahead of its full launch in next year's 1.20 update. Unlike horses, this mob can be ridden by two players at the same time, with the player in the front driving. The bug allowed the back seat passenger to activate the camel's dash ability by pressing the space bar, but now the turbo button function has been stripped from the back seat driver.

You can read the rest of the 22w45a snapshot patch notes on Mojang's website.