Tutorials/Dual wielding

This tutorial will help you become familiar with Dual Wielding, a mechanic added in 15w31a. For this tutorial, keep in mind that in the 1.9 snapshots, there will be an option to switch your main hand. Before 1.9, it was always your right hand.

Summary

• Players can now use both hands at the same time to do different actions with the left and right mouse buttons.
  • For example, if a player has a pickaxe in his/her main hand and a torch in their other hand, right clicking will place the torch.
    • This happens because a pickaxe lacks a right click use, and therefore the game tries to then treat the other item as if it's being right clicked.
      • The player cannot click both buttons at the same time.
  • This is achieved through an extra inventory slot called the "offhand" slot.
    • Pressing F (by default) will switch whatever item is selected in the hotbar with the item in the offhand (including no item).
    • The offhand slot is displayed next to the hotbar when it's not empty (left for right-hand players and vice versa).
    • It's available on the main inventory screen.
      • It is distinguished by an outline of a shield like symbol.
• Only the main hand can be used for attacking.
  • Even bows can't be used while in the offhand.
• Bows can be used when something else is in the offhand.
  • Arrows in the offhand take priority over arrows in any other slot.
  • If there are multiple arrow types and none in the off-hand, the arrow closest to inventory slot 0 will shoot first
• The offhand model is invisible in first person view while it's empty.
• Some attributes and enchantments will apply to the offhand item, while others will not.

What is it?

Dual wielding is when you hold two things, one in each hand. In the inventory, there is a new slot. It is called the off-hand slot, and looks like a shield. When you put something in it, you are now holding two things. For easy equipping to the off-hand slot, press F by default. It is changeable in the settings. Using this, you can put something in the off-hand slot, switch the items in your hands, and put something in the main hand from the off-hand. You can see what is in your off-hand by a little box that pops up beside the hotbar. It will be on the opposite side from the main hand

Limitations

The main hand always takes priority when trying to use an item. This means that the main hand will be the only thing to be able to break/attack, which defaults to left click. This means that you cannot use weapons in the offhand. This even goes for bows, even though they use right-click to draw back. If the item in the main hand lacks a use item (defaults to right click) use, the offhand will use right click. For example, if you had a Pickaxe in your main hand and a torch in your offhand, you could mine with the pickaxe and place torches when needed, without switching.

Things to note

• You can only use one sword at a time in your inventory.
• Arrows in the offhand always take priority over arrows in the inventory.
  • Otherwise, the closest stack of arrows to slot 0 is used.

Uses

• Mining, using pickaxe in main hand and torch in offhand
• Pillaring up while placing ladders
• Building bridges
• Tunneling in the nether with a block in the offhand
• Planting crops with bonemeal in the right hand for continuous planting while holding right click
• Fighting, by using a sword in the main hand and a shield in the offhand to protect from incoming threats
• The offhand can act as a sort of quiver, as arrows there take priority over arrows in the inventory.