Description:
In the latest beta version 26.40.30, a fix was applied to address an issue introduced in 26.40.26 where arrows would not despawn even after hitting high-health mobs. However, this fix was implemented too broadly: it causes any arrow with a potion effect to disappear immediately when the potion effect is applied, rather than waiting for the arrow entity itself to register a successful hit. As a result, Sulfur Cubes, Shulkers, and Creative-mode players—which are supposed to deflect arrows—now cause tipped arrows to simply vanish instead of being deflected. This is a significant regression from intended behavior.
How to Reproduce:
In beta 26.40.30, stand in front of a Sulfur Cube or Shulker.
Shoot a normal arrow (no potion effect) at the mob and observe the deflection.
Shoot a tipped arrow (with any potion effect, e.g., Slowness) at the same mob and observe the result.
Compare the behavior between the two arrow types.
Observed Result:
Normal arrows are correctly deflected by Sulfur Cubes, Shulkers, and Creative-mode players.
Tipped arrows disappear upon contact instead of being deflected; they do not reflect off the entity.
The potion effect is applied to the target (the Sulfur Cube/Shulker) briefly, but the arrow itself vanishes without completing the deflection mechanic.
Expected Result:
Tipped arrows should behave identically to normal arrows in terms of deflection: they should be reflected off Sulfur Cubes, Shulkers, and other deflect-capable entities.
The potion effect should persist and remain active until the arrow entity itself registers a valid hit that causes its despawn.
The deflection mechanic should override the despawn trigger for tipped arrows, just as it does for normal arrows.
Additional Notes:
This change was likely an unintended side effect of the 26.40.26 fix. The current implementation essentially treats "potion effect applied" as a termination condition for the arrow entity, bypassing the deflection logic. This breaks many existing designs and contraptions that rely on Sulfur Cubes or Shulkers for arrow-based farms or defense mechanisms. Since potion arrows are a core gameplay feature, the deflection behavior must be restored to match the 26.30.x behavior, where the arrow's hitbox and hit registration logic determined its despawn.
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