Boss Update

Boss Update brought major boss encounters and new customization tools to Pocket Edition. It arrived as Pocket Edition v0.16.0, on October 21, 2016.

Mobs and Bosses

Wither

Wither Wither

Pocket Edition gained the summonable Wither and its Nether Star reward. The associated Beacon Beacon gave players a reason to build mineral pyramids and choose beneficial effects around a base.

Guardians

Guardians and Elder Guardians protected Ocean Monuments. Their underwater attacks and mining restrictions made monument exploration a challenge that required preparation rather than a quick dive.

World Generation and Building

Ocean Monuments

Monuments supplied Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, Dark Prismarine, and Sea Lanterns, giving underwater exploration its own construction palette. Sponges and other monument resources made conquering and repurposing the structures useful for builders.

Creator Tools

Add-Ons and Commands

Add-Ons opened supported resource and behavior customization to Pocket-related editions. Expanded Commands gave creators more direct control over their worlds, connecting customized assets with map behavior.

Platform Releases

Most Pocket platforms received v0.16.0 on October 21, 2016; iOS followed on October 25. Windows 10 Edition Beta and Gear VR shared the feature set.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition later received its Boss Update as 1.3.12 on January 30–31, 2018. That later platform release is part of the named update’s history, rather than the original 2016 launch.