Minecraft Capes: Java Edition

Capes in Minecraft, also known as cloaks, add an extra layer of fun to the game. They're special vanity items that players wear over their skin for style. While they aren't items that players can just find or craft in the standard game, there are special ways to get them. These include attending Minecon events, earning specific achievements, or receiving them from Mojang, the game's creators, as a reward for contributing to the Minecraft community.

There are also mods, like Optifine, that let players get their own capes. Some of these mods even let players use any design they want for their cape. But, it's important to know that these capes aren't official and can only be seen by the player using the mod, or sometimes by other players who are also using the same mod. This article only talks about the official capes that everyone in the game can see.

Minecon Capes

These are perhaps the most well-known Minecraft capes, given out to attendees of the annual Minecon event. Each year has a unique design, reflecting the theme of the event. For instance, the 2011 Minecon Cape features a red Creeper face, representing one of the game's iconic mobs. The rarity of these capes, coupled with the sentimental value of attending Minecon, makes them a prized possession.

Mojang Capes

Mojang capes are exclusive to Mojang employees. These capes, featuring a red apple on a field of white, are a symbol of prestige within the Minecraft community. They demonstrate the wearer's direct involvement with the game's development, making them highly coveted.

Cobalt Cape

The Cobalt Cape was awarded to players who won the Cobalt competition. The cape features a blue and black design, representing the game Cobalt, developed by Oxeye Game Studio and published by Mojang. This cape is unique as it represents a cross-over between two games.

Translator Capes

The Translator Cape in Minecraft is a unique item bestowed upon a select group of proofreaders who have made significant contributions to the game's language translations. Initially awarded on May 16, 2012, to 29 contributors via a fair dice roll. Players who played a significant role into translating the game into Chinese where awarded the Chinese Translator Cape which is the same design with a hidden Chinese flag. The 3rd and last variation of this cape that exists is cheapsh0t’s cape. cheapsh0t was given this cape for helping the Mojang team in Tokyo, it features identical design with the only difference being a hidden Japanese flag.

Scrolls Cape

This cape was given to players who competed in the Scrolls tournament. Scrolls is another game developed by Mojang, and the cape features a scroll symbol, signifying the connection between the two games.

JulianClark’s Cape

This cape was given to Julian Clark in return for bringing Notch the TV presenter Ray Cokes. It features a design of a beverage glass, reflecting the humorous nature of its acquisition.

Prismarine Cape

The Prismarine Cape was given to Drullkus by Jeb for recreating the prismarine block for use in his Chisel mod rather than modifying Mojang's texture.

MrMessiah’s Cape

Awarded to MrMessiah for his contribution to the game through the 'BetterLight' mod, this cape features an isometric rendering of a pickaxe.

Millionth Customer Cape

As a way to celebrate Minecraft's one millionth customer, Mojang awarded a special cape to the lucky player. The cape features a green "M" on a field of white, signifying the milestone achievement. This cape is a rare item, as it was only given to one player, making it a highly sought-after collector's item among Minecraft fans.

dannyBstyle's Cape

dannyBstyle's Cape is a unique cape given to the Minecraft player dannyBstyle. He is a popular YouTuber who creates Minecraft content and has a large following. The cape features a green Creeper face on a field of white, similar to the Minecon capes. dannyBstyle received this cape as a gift from Notch, the creator of Minecraft, as a token of appreciation for his contributions to the game's community.

Birthday Cape

The Birthday Cape is a unique cape given to Mojang employee Gr8Bizzo (formerly known as Gr8_Escape) leading the work on minecraft.net

Mojira Moderator Cape

The Mojira Moderator Cape was given to Bug Tracker moderators.

Turtle Cape

The Turtle Cape was awarded to billyK_ in recognition of his idea to incorporate turtles into the game. Additionally, Mojang employees Michael Andersson and el_hefe_ temporarily received the cape for endpoint testing purposes. However, it was subsequently retracted from these two individuals.

Realms Mapmaker

The Realms MapMaker cape was given to mapmakers in the Java realms Content Creator Program who met the criteria.

Valentine Cape

The Valentine Cape was given by a Mojang employee to LolFoxy2 after helping them with a migration issue to Microsoft account. The cape was later removed after the employee realized it’s rarity.

Migrator Cape

The Migrator Cape was awarded to players who purchased Minecraft before December 1, 2020, and transitioned their Mojang or legacy accounts to a Microsoft account, starting from July 9, 2021. The official design of the cape was shared by Ined on Twitter on June 30, 2021.

Prior to the cape's release, cryptic text was discovered in language files stating, "And... a special Veteran Cape for each year you've played Java Edition!" Similar text was also found on the support page. The purpose of this text remains unclear, as Mojang has not provided any comments on it.

Vanilla Cape

The Vanilla Cape was awarded to players who had purchased both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition for Windows before June 6, 2022. The cape, wearable in both editions, was first hinted at in a Minecraft.net news article on August 12, 2022, and officially confirmed on the Minecraft Discord server. However, an artist's error resulted in the side textures being flipped in-game. The cape was integrated into the Bedrock Edition on August 22, 2022, and distributed to eligible players from August 31, 2022. Accounts migrated after June 6, 2022, were not eligible for this cape.

Modifications

The capes we've talked about so far are the ones that Minecraft officially supports, with no extra changes needed. But, for players who want to make their characters look even cooler, there are modifications, or "mods," that let them wear different capes.

Optifine

Optifine is a well-known mod that lets players customize their game. Besides making the game run smoother by boosting the frame rate, it also lets players change how the game looks with features like dynamic lighting and variable viewing distance. One of the coolest things about Optifine is that it lets players design and wear their own custom capes known as Optifine Capes. You can make your cape look like any banner you can create in the game.

Lunar Client

Another very popular way to get custom capes is Lunar Client. Lunar Client, which is free to use, is combination of a modpack and an anti-cheating system that makes playing Minecraft a smooth experience. It lets players pick and choose from a variety of mods to tailor the game to their liking. One of the standout features of Lunar Client is that it lets players wear unique capes, or "cloaks," allowing them to show off their style. The capes you can get from Lunar Client are limited to what's available in their store, but they offer a lot of cool designs and features that you can't get with Optifine, like detailed designs and animations.