Minecraft has evolved a lot since its earlier days. Today, Minecraft’s combat system stands as one of its most attractive features, including enchanted armor, unique weapons, and the highly helpful shield.
So, going into danger with full enchanted armor, a crossbow with unique arrows, and a steel shield will almost make you invincible if you have decent knowledge of the game and good reflexes.
Besides, a steel shield can even make a creeper explosion seems like a simple bump.
Among many cool stuff that modern Minecraft combat has, one of them is its unique buffed arrows for crossbows and bows. So, instead of using a shield and a sword simultaneously, one can use a crossbow and different arrows on the off-hand. This way, ranged attacks will be way more fatal.
Moreover, if you plan on becoming a ninja in your attacks, you might enjoy holding one sword in each hand, making your attacks faster and more lethal.
But, what is the process of using the off-hand in Minecraft, and what other uses apart from combat is it recommended for?
Let’s discuss how to use off-hand in Minecraft and how it can be of help in the different editions of Minecraft.
Off Hand in Minecraft Bedrock
You can access the off-hand slot on versions 1.8. or higher by opening up the in-game inventory. After the inventory display pops up, look for the empty slot with a small shield drawing on the right side of the character’s image.
If you place an item on that slot, your character will hold that item in their left hand while bearing the primary on the right hand.
However, in Bedrock Edition, you can only place a specific list of items on the off-hand slot as opposed to Java, where any object can go into the segment.
The items you can place on the off-hand slot in bedrock edition are few, and they mostly fit the weapon category. For starters, the steel shield can go there, working similarly to the Java edition.
You can also place arrows and buffed arrows, such as the “arrow of harming” on the left-hand slot. Still, one of the most valuable things one can do by placing an arrow in said section is to carry a crossbow in the primary hand.
This way, you’ll be able to switch between arrows and optimize the use of ammunition in ranged combat.
Unfortunately, you cannot see the off-hand slot on the Bedrock Edition if you don’t have the inventory open. So, while playing, you’ll only be able to see the nine items in your hotbar.
Among other items you can place into the off-hand slot on Minecraft Bedrock are firework rockets, maps, nautilus shells, and totems of undying.
One helpful thing you can do with maps is to hold one with the left hand and another with the right hand. Of course, to better take advantage of the usefulness of this, you should combine the maps to show a larger area.
Using Minecraft Universal Editor
As we have mentioned, in the Minecraft Bedrock Edition, you can’t place any item on the off-hand segment, just a selected few. However, you can use an external solution to alter file information and get any item in the player’s left hand.
To do it, you’ll need to get your hands on the Minecraft Universal Editor.
Open the application and select your current world after having the Universal Minecraft Editor up and running. Then, browse the program’s menu located on the right border of the screen, and select “Players.”
Then, click on the “~local_player” tab, which will open up a list of assets and entries. Then, go to the “abilities” tab, which is most likely containing more than five entries.
On the “abilities” list, roll down to the “Offhand” tab, where you’ll click once again on the “4 entries” segment.
In this segment, you’ll read four tabs, “Count”, “WasPickedUp”, “Damage”, and “Name”.
Click on “Name” and change the item’s tag to any other object you want to see in your off-hand. For instance, you can write “minecraft:diamond_sword” and log in again to find the character wielding the sword in their left hand.
After doing so, hit the save button on the upper section of the screen’s right side.
Try logging into Minecraft once again and check if your character holds the item you’ve written for their left hand.
Unfortunately, this method will only allow the player to hold the item cosmetically on their off-hand. So, even while wielding the object, you won’t be able to use it as intended.
Using Plug Toolbox
In Minecraft, you can also try using one application called “Plug Toolbox”, which works similarly to the Minecraft Universal Editor.
On the application’s home page browse to worlds and create a new one or use the world you’re currently playing in. Then, pick any seed number and generate the world.
Tap on your world and a tab with various settings such as “Your Player Settings”, “Export To Minecraft”, “Duplicate”, “Delete”, and more. In this tab, tap on the “Your Player Inventory” segment.
The next panel will display segments such as “Armor” and “Offhand”. Go to “Offhand” and select the first tab, named “Slot 1 Empty”. After tapping the empty slot in offhand, a list will pop up and provide you with any in-game item to choose for your character’s left hand.
Still, this method works for pocket edition and is reasonably easy to do.
Moreover, both mods mentioned above are inventory editors for Minecraft. If you search for different inventory editors, you’ll likely find alternatives that will work just as intended.
So, if you decide to use a different inventory editor, focus on finding how to edit the player inventory and the offhand slot.
