Description:
Following the optimization in beta 1.21.130.26 that improved spear-wielding mob behavior (preventing them from getting stuck facing away from targets while active), a new reload-related bug has emerged. When a zombie on a minecart wielding a spear enters its attack cooldown and turns away, if the chunk is unloaded (e.g., by exiting and re-entering the world) during this state, there is a chance the zombie will reload facing the wrong direction. Its orientation becomes locked away from its target, causing subsequent spear attacks to miss entirely despite correct target proximity.
How to Reproduce:
Place a zombie wielding a spear in a minecart near a target (e.g., iron golem or player).
Let the zombie attack, enter cooldown, and naturally turn away from the target.
At the moment it is facing away, exit the world or unload the chunk.
Reload the world/chunk and observe the zombie's facing direction and attack accuracy.
Observed Result:
After reload, the zombie sometimes remains permanently fixed in the direction it was facing when the chunk unloaded (away from its target).
The zombie continues its attack animation and cooldown cycle, but all spear thrusts are directed into empty space, missing the nearby target.
The zombie's target acquisition AI remains active (it may still aggro), but its physical facing and attack direction are uncorrected.
Expected Result:
Upon chunk/entity reload, all mobs should recalculate their proper facing direction based on current target location and AI state.
A spear-wielding zombie should never become permanently misaligned from its attack target due to a reload event.
Attack direction should always align with the mob's actual target when in combat.
Additional Notes:
This appears to be a state-saving bug where the zombie's "facing" data during the cooldown turn is preserved during unload, but the logic to reset its orientation to target upon reload is missing or fails. Since this only occurs with the new spear weapon and after the specific 1.21.130.26 changes, it is likely related to the new spear-specific AI routines not fully integrating with the chunk reload/reset mechanics. This significantly undermines the effectiveness of spear-wielding mobs in any situation where chunks might reload.
Attachments
Comments 2
The world save is here. The structure is quite simple, but please note that this issue is not 100% reproducible—in fact, the trigger probability is relatively low. However, the scenario does exist, and reloading may sometimes cause the facing direction to become incorrectly locked.
I can confirm there are no other nearby targets that could trigger the zombie's aggression. Additionally, this bug does not occur consistently with every reload. The behavior feels more like during reloading, the zombie determines its facing direction first, and then gets locked by the minecart’s orientation—as seen in the video, if you reload again, there's a high chance its direction will change back to the correct one.
Hi!
Thank you for your report!
Could you please provide a world where the issue occurs? If the file is too big to upload here, please upload it to OneDrive and post the link to it here.
Could you check if you have more than one target to attack nearby?
Is this still an issue after every reload?
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