Minecraft 1.20.5 Preview: Armadillos, Scutes and Wolf Armor

The holiday season is over, and Mojang's next Minecraft drop could land at any moment. Version 1.20.5 looks unusually generous for a "minor" patch, with a new mob, a new resource and a fresh piece of gear for your tamed wolves. Here is what is coming and how each piece fits together.

The Armadillo Arrives

The 2023 Mob Vote winner is finally on the way, and yes, it now has a proper texture instead of placeholder geometry. Armadillos spawn across the savanna family of biomes: regular savanna, savanna plateau, and windswept savanna. To breed a pair, feed them Spider Eyes, which is an unusual diet but apparently lore-accurate.

Armadillos are also extremely jumpy. Sprint or move suddenly nearby and they curl into a ball until they feel safe. Approach gently.

Harvesting Armadillo Scute

Armadillo Scute is the new resource introduced alongside the mob, and despite the similar name it is unrelated to Turtle Scute. Two collection methods are available:

• Passive drops: every five to ten minutes, an armadillo naturally sheds one scute.
• Brushing: use the Brush tool directly on an armadillo for an instant drop.

The brush method is much faster if you need a stockpile in a hurry, which you will, once you see what scutes are used for.

Wolf Armor

The headline crafting recipe in 1.20.5 is Wolf Armor, the first protective gear designed for tamed wolves. It behaves much like Horse Armor but only comes in a single variant, crafted from six Armadillo Scute on a regular Crafting Table.

The pattern is straightforward:

1. Place one scute in the top-left slot.
2. Fill the entire middle row with scutes.
3. Place one scute each in the bottom-left and bottom-right slots.

Right-click a tamed wolf with the finished armor to equip it. Worth noting from the latest snapshot:

• The armor cannot be dyed.
• It can only be removed with shears.
• Damage reduction matches Diamond Horse Armor.

If a specific wolf has stuck with you through a long survival run, this update finally gives that loyalty a mechanical payoff.

A Surprisingly Full "Minor" Update

Patch 1.20.5 packs more than most minor releases. Mob Vote winners usually wait for a major version, so seeing Armadillos arrive early is a good sign for 1.21. Snapshot testing is open if you want a preview, and remember to update your servers when the build ships.