If you want to find your friends in Minecraft, you have two options: a) share your coordinates, or b) use a map. It's not the most intuitive system, but after 16 years, Mojang is finally implementing a better way.
Enter the Player Locator. Situated above the hotbar, it displays other players in your world via different coloured squares. It will even signify if they're above or below you with a matching arrow, something maps don't do.
The XP bar will still appear when you're earning experience points, but otherwise the Locator Bar has taken its place.
The feature is live right now in the Bedrock beta and preview, and it will be implemented in a Java snapshot "soon". But if you don't want to use it, don't worry.
While this is a nifty feature sure to make co-op less of a hassle, it does raise a few questions — chiefly, what about PvP servers? Thankfully, Mojang thought ahead. Server admins and creators can disable the Player Locator bar in the settings, so don't worry about a built-in tracker ruining your Factions experience.
Adventuring with friends who are lacking in the spatial awareness department can be equally hilarious and infuriating,...
