diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/lucene/search/MoreLikeThisQuery.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/lucene/search/MoreLikeThisQuery.java
index cdfa9ad9991..410796497d5 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/lucene/search/MoreLikeThisQuery.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/lucene/search/MoreLikeThisQuery.java
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQuery extends Query {
         if (this.unlikeText != null || this.unlikeFields != null) {
             handleUnlike(mlt, this.unlikeText, this.unlikeFields);
         }
-        
+
         return createQuery(mlt);
     }
 
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQuery extends Query {
 
         BooleanQuery bq = bqBuilder.build();
         bq.setBoost(getBoost());
-        return bq;    
+        return bq;
     }
 
     private void handleUnlike(XMoreLikeThis mlt, String[] unlikeText, Fields[] unlikeFields) throws IOException {
@@ -257,8 +257,8 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQuery extends Query {
         this.unlikeFields = unlikeFields;
     }
 
-    public void setUnlikeText(List<String> unlikeText) {
-        this.unlikeText = unlikeText.toArray(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
+    public void setUnlikeText(String[] unlikeText) {
+        this.unlikeText = unlikeText;
     }
 
     public String[] getMoreLikeFields() {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.java
index bd43475c296..f777654195a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.java
@@ -75,11 +75,11 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
     public static final boolean DEFAULT_FAIL_ON_UNSUPPORTED_FIELDS = true;
 
     // document inputs
-    private final List<String> fields;
-    private List<String> likeTexts = new ArrayList<>();
-    private List<String> unlikeTexts = new ArrayList<>();
-    private List<Item> likeItems = new ArrayList<>();
-    private List<Item> unlikeItems = new ArrayList<>();
+    private final String[] fields;
+    private final String[] likeTexts;
+    private String[] unlikeTexts = Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY;
+    private final Item[] likeItems;
+    private Item[] unlikeItems = new Item[0];
 
     // term selection parameters
     private int maxQueryTerms = DEFAULT_MAX_QUERY_TERMS;
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
     // other parameters
     private boolean failOnUnsupportedField = DEFAULT_FAIL_ON_UNSUPPORTED_FIELDS;
 
-    static final MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder PROTOTYPE = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder();
+    static final MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder PROTOTYPE = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(new String[]{"_na_"}, null);
 
     /**
      * A single item to be used for a {@link MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder}.
@@ -437,82 +437,66 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
 
     /**
      * Constructs a new more like this query which uses the "_all" field.
-     */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder() {
-        this.fields = null;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Sets the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
-     *
-     * @param fields the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
-     */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(String... fields) {
-        this(Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(fields)));
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Sets the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
-     *
-     * @param fields the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
-     */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(List<String> fields) {
-        this.fields = fields;
-    }
-
-    public List<String> fields() {
-        return fields;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Sets the text to use in order to find documents that are "like" this.
-     *
      * @param likeTexts the text to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
      */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder like(String... likeTexts) {
-        this.likeTexts = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(likeTexts));
-        return this;
+    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(String[] likeTexts, Item[] likeItems) {
+        this(null, likeTexts, likeItems);
     }
 
-    public List<String> likeTexts() {
+    /**
+     * Sets the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     *
+     * @param fields the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeTexts the text to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     */
+    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(@Nullable String[] fields, @Nullable String[] likeTexts, @Nullable Item[] likeItems) {
+        // TODO we allow null here for the _all field, but this is forbidden in the parser. Re-check
+        if (fields != null && fields.length == 0) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("mlt query requires 'fields' to be specified");
+        }
+        if ((likeTexts == null || likeTexts.length == 0) && (likeItems == null || likeItems.length == 0)) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("mlt query requires either 'like' texts or items to be specified.");
+        }
+        this.fields = fields;
+        this.likeTexts = Optional.ofNullable(likeTexts).orElse(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
+        this.likeItems = Optional.ofNullable(likeItems).orElse(new Item[0]);
+    }
+
+    public String[] fields() {
+        return this.fields;
+    }
+
+    public String[] likeTexts() {
         return likeTexts;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Sets the documents to use in order to find documents that are "like" this.
-     *
-     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
-     */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder like(Item... likeItems) {
-        this.likeItems = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(likeItems));
-        return this;
-    }
-
-    public List<Item> likeItems() {
+    public Item[] likeItems() {
         return likeItems;
     }
 
     /**
      * Sets the text from which the terms should not be selected from.
      */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder unlike(String... unlikeTexts) {
-        this.unlikeTexts = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(unlikeTexts));
+    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder unlike(String[] unlikeTexts) {
+        this.unlikeTexts = Optional.ofNullable(unlikeTexts).orElse(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
         return this;
     }
 
-    public List<String> unlikeTexts() {
+    public String[] unlikeTexts() {
         return unlikeTexts;
     }
 
     /**
      * Sets the documents from which the terms should not be selected from.
      */
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder unlike(Item... unlikeItems) {
-        this.unlikeItems = Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(unlikeItems));
+    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder unlike(Item[] unlikeItems) {
+        this.unlikeItems = Optional.ofNullable(unlikeItems).orElse(new Item[0]);
         return this;
     }
 
-    public List<Item> unlikeItems() {
+    public Item[] unlikeItems() {
         return unlikeItems;
     }
 
@@ -685,20 +669,18 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
     }
 
     /**
-     * The text to use in order to find documents that are "like" this.
+     * Converts an array of String ids to and Item[].
+     * @param ids the ids to convert
+     * @return the new items array
+     * @deprecated construct the items array externaly and use it in the constructor / setter
      */
     @Deprecated
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder likeText(String likeText) {
-        return like(likeText);
-    }
-
-    @Deprecated
-    public MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder ids(String... ids) {
+    public static Item[] ids(String... ids) {
         Item[] items = new Item[ids.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < items.length; i++) {
             items[i] = new Item(null, null, ids[i]);
         }
-        return like(items);
+        return items;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -708,9 +690,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
             builder.field(MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.FIELDS.getPreferredName(), fields);
         }
         buildLikeField(builder, MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.LIKE.getPreferredName(), likeTexts, likeItems);
-        if (!unlikeTexts.isEmpty() || !unlikeItems.isEmpty()) {
-            buildLikeField(builder, MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.UNLIKE.getPreferredName(), unlikeTexts, unlikeItems);
-        }
+        buildLikeField(builder, MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.UNLIKE.getPreferredName(), unlikeTexts, unlikeItems);
         builder.field(MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.MAX_QUERY_TERMS.getPreferredName(), maxQueryTerms);
         builder.field(MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.MIN_TERM_FREQ.getPreferredName(), minTermFreq);
         builder.field(MoreLikeThisQueryParser.Field.MIN_DOC_FREQ.getPreferredName(), minDocFreq);
@@ -731,15 +711,17 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         builder.endObject();
     }
 
-    private static void buildLikeField(XContentBuilder builder, String fieldName, List<String> texts, List<Item> items) throws IOException {
-        builder.startArray(fieldName);
-        for (String text : texts) {
-            builder.value(text);
+    private static void buildLikeField(XContentBuilder builder, String fieldName, String[] texts, Item[] items) throws IOException {
+        if (texts.length > 0 || items.length > 0) {
+            builder.startArray(fieldName);
+            for (String text : texts) {
+                builder.value(text);
+            }
+            for (Item item : items) {
+                builder.value(item);
+            }
+            builder.endArray();
         }
-        for (Item item : items) {
-            builder.value(item);
-        }
-        builder.endArray();
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -799,15 +781,15 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         mltQuery.setMoreLikeFields(moreLikeFields.toArray(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY));
 
         // handle like texts
-        if (likeTexts.isEmpty() == false) {
+        if (likeTexts.length > 0) {
             mltQuery.setLikeText(likeTexts);
         }
-        if (unlikeTexts.isEmpty() == false) {
+        if (unlikeTexts.length > 0) {
             mltQuery.setUnlikeText(unlikeTexts);
         }
 
         // handle items
-        if (likeItems.isEmpty() == false) {
+        if (likeItems.length > 0) {
             return handleItems(context, mltQuery, likeItems, unlikeItems, include, moreLikeFields, useDefaultField);
         } else {
             return mltQuery;
@@ -828,7 +810,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         return moreLikeFields;
     }
 
-    private Query handleItems(QueryShardContext context, MoreLikeThisQuery mltQuery, List<Item> likeItems, List<Item> unlikeItems,
+    private Query handleItems(QueryShardContext context, MoreLikeThisQuery mltQuery, Item[] likeItems, Item[] unlikeItems,
                               boolean include, List<String> moreLikeFields, boolean useDefaultField) throws IOException {
         // set default index, type and fields if not specified
         for (Item item : likeItems) {
@@ -845,7 +827,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         mltQuery.setLikeText(getFieldsFor(responses, likeItems));
 
         // getting the Fields for unliked items
-        if (!unlikeItems.isEmpty()) {
+        if (unlikeItems.length > 0) {
             org.apache.lucene.index.Fields[] unlikeFields = getFieldsFor(responses, unlikeItems);
             if (unlikeFields.length > 0) {
                 mltQuery.setUnlikeText(unlikeFields);
@@ -885,22 +867,20 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         }
     }
 
-    private MultiTermVectorsResponse fetchResponse(Client client, List<Item> likeItems, @Nullable List<Item> unlikeItems,
+    private MultiTermVectorsResponse fetchResponse(Client client, Item[] likeItems, @Nullable Item[] unlikeItems,
                                                    SearchContext searchContext) throws IOException {
         MultiTermVectorsRequest request = new MultiTermVectorsRequest();
         for (Item item : likeItems) {
             request.add(item.toTermVectorsRequest());
         }
-        if (unlikeItems != null) {
-            for (Item item : unlikeItems) {
-                request.add(item.toTermVectorsRequest());
-            }
+        for (Item item : unlikeItems) {
+            request.add(item.toTermVectorsRequest());
         }
         request.copyContextAndHeadersFrom(searchContext);
         return client.multiTermVectors(request).actionGet();
     }
 
-    private static Fields[] getFieldsFor(MultiTermVectorsResponse responses, List<Item> items) throws IOException {
+    private static Fields[] getFieldsFor(MultiTermVectorsResponse responses, Item[] items) throws IOException {
         List<Fields> likeFields = new ArrayList<>();
 
         Set<Item> selectedItems = new HashSet<>();
@@ -928,7 +908,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         return selectedItems.contains(new Item(response.getIndex(), response.getType(), response.getId()));
     }
 
-    private static void handleExclude(BooleanQuery boolQuery, List<Item> likeItems) {
+    private static void handleExclude(BooleanQuery boolQuery, Item[] likeItems) {
         // artificial docs get assigned a random id and should be disregarded
         List<BytesRef> uids = new ArrayList<>();
         for (Item item : likeItems) {
@@ -943,23 +923,13 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         }
     }
 
-    public QueryValidationException validate() {
-        QueryValidationException validationException = null;
-        if (likeTexts.isEmpty() && likeItems.isEmpty()) {
-            validationException = addValidationError("requires 'like' to be specified.", validationException);
-        }
-        if (fields != null && fields.isEmpty()) {
-            validationException = addValidationError("requires 'fields' to be specified", validationException);
-        }
-        return validationException;
-    }
-
     @Override
     protected MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder doReadFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder((List<String>) in.readGenericValue());
-        moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.likeTexts = (List<String>) in.readGenericValue();
-        moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.unlikeTexts = (List<String>) in.readGenericValue();
-        moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.likeItems = readItems(in);
+        String[] fields = in.readOptionalStringArray();
+        String[] likeTexts = in.readStringArray();
+        Item[] likeItems = readItems(in);
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(fields, likeTexts, likeItems);
+        moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.unlikeTexts = in.readStringArray();
         moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.unlikeItems = readItems(in);
         moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.maxQueryTerms = in.readVInt();
         moreLikeThisQueryBuilder.minTermFreq = in.readVInt();
@@ -976,21 +946,21 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         return moreLikeThisQueryBuilder;
     }
 
-    private static List<Item> readItems(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-        List<Item> items = new ArrayList<>();
+    private static Item[] readItems(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
         int size = in.readVInt();
+        Item[] items = new Item[size];
         for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
-            items.add(Item.readItemFrom(in));
+            items[i] = Item.readItemFrom(in);
         }
         return items;
     }
 
     @Override
     protected void doWriteTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
-        out.writeGenericValue(fields);
-        out.writeGenericValue(likeTexts);
-        out.writeGenericValue(unlikeTexts);
+        out.writeOptionalStringArray(fields);
+        out.writeStringArray(likeTexts);
         writeItems(likeItems, out);
+        out.writeStringArray(unlikeTexts);
         writeItems(unlikeItems, out);
         out.writeVInt(maxQueryTerms);
         out.writeVInt(minTermFreq);
@@ -1006,8 +976,8 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
         out.writeBoolean(failOnUnsupportedField);
     }
 
-    private static void writeItems(List<Item> items, StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
-        out.writeVInt(items.size());
+    private static void writeItems(Item[] items, StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
+        out.writeVInt(items.length);
         for (Item item : items) {
             item.writeTo(out);
         }
@@ -1015,18 +985,19 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder extends AbstractQueryBuilder<MoreLikeThisQ
 
     @Override
     protected int doHashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(fields, likeTexts, unlikeTexts, likeItems, unlikeItems, maxQueryTerms, minTermFreq,
-                minDocFreq, maxDocFreq, minWordLength, maxWordLength, Arrays.hashCode(stopWords), analyzer, minimumShouldMatch,
-                boostTerms, include, failOnUnsupportedField);
+        return Objects.hash(Arrays.hashCode(fields), Arrays.hashCode(likeTexts),
+                Arrays.hashCode(unlikeTexts), Arrays.hashCode(likeItems), Arrays.hashCode(unlikeItems),
+                maxQueryTerms, minTermFreq, minDocFreq, maxDocFreq, minWordLength, maxWordLength,
+                Arrays.hashCode(stopWords), analyzer, minimumShouldMatch, boostTerms, include, failOnUnsupportedField);
     }
 
     @Override
     protected boolean doEquals(MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder other) {
-        return Objects.equals(fields, other.fields) &&
-                Objects.equals(likeTexts, other.likeTexts) &&
-                Objects.equals(unlikeTexts, other.unlikeTexts) &&
-                Objects.equals(likeItems, other.likeItems) &&
-                Objects.equals(unlikeItems, other.unlikeItems) &&
+        return Arrays.equals(fields, other.fields) &&
+                Arrays.equals(likeTexts, other.likeTexts) &&
+                Arrays.equals(unlikeTexts, other.unlikeTexts) &&
+                Arrays.equals(likeItems, other.likeItems) &&
+                Arrays.equals(unlikeItems, other.unlikeItems) &&
                 Objects.equals(maxQueryTerms, other.maxQueryTerms) &&
                 Objects.equals(minTermFreq, other.minTermFreq) &&
                 Objects.equals(minDocFreq, other.minDocFreq) &&
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryParser.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryParser.java
index c925a592af0..41dc9041553 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryParser.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryParser.java
@@ -187,11 +187,15 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryParser extends BaseQueryParser<MoreLikeThisQueryBu
             throw new ParsingException(parser.getTokenLocation(), "more_like_this requires 'fields' to be non-empty");
         }
 
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(fields)
-                .like(likeTexts.toArray(new String[likeTexts.size()]))
-                .unlike(unlikeTexts.toArray(new String[unlikeTexts.size()]))
-                .like(likeItems.toArray(new Item[likeItems.size()]))
-                .unlike(unlikeItems.toArray(new Item[unlikeItems.size()]))
+        String[] fieldsArray = fields == null ? null : fields.toArray(new String[fields.size()]);
+        String[] likeTextsArray = likeTexts.isEmpty() ? null : likeTexts.toArray(new String[likeTexts.size()]);
+        String[] unlikeTextsArray = unlikeTexts.isEmpty() ? null : unlikeTexts.toArray(new String[unlikeTexts.size()]);
+        Item[] likeItemsArray = likeItems.isEmpty() ? null : likeItems.toArray(new Item[likeItems.size()]);
+        Item[] unlikeItemsArray = unlikeItems.isEmpty() ? null : unlikeItems.toArray(new Item[unlikeItems.size()]);
+
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(fieldsArray, likeTextsArray, likeItemsArray)
+                .unlike(unlikeTextsArray)
+                .unlike(unlikeItemsArray)
                 .maxQueryTerms(maxQueryTerms)
                 .minTermFreq(minTermFreq)
                 .minDocFreq(minDocFreq)
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/QueryBuilders.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/QueryBuilders.java
index 8779bb8a70d..df823e166f7 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/QueryBuilders.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/QueryBuilders.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.geo.GeoPoint;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.geo.ShapeRelation;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.geo.builders.ShapeBuilder;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.query.MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.Item;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.functionscore.FunctionScoreQueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.functionscore.ScoreFunctionBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.search.MatchQuery;
@@ -422,21 +423,43 @@ public abstract class QueryBuilders {
     }
 
     /**
-     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided {@link MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder#likeText(String)}
+     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided texts or documents
      * which is checked against the fields the query is constructed with.
      *
-     * @param fields The fields to run the query against
+     * @param fields the field names that will be used when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeTexts the text to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
      */
-    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery(String... fields) {
-        return new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(fields);
+    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery(String[] fields, String[] likeTexts, Item[] likeItems) {
+        return new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(fields, likeTexts, likeItems);
     }
 
     /**
-     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided {@link MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder#likeText(String)}
+     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided texts or documents
      * which is checked against the "_all" field.
+     * @param likeTexts the text to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
      */
-    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery() {
-        return new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder();
+    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery(String[] likeTexts, Item[] likeItems) {
+        return moreLikeThisQuery(null, likeTexts, likeItems);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided texts
+     * which is checked against the "_all" field.
+     * @param likeTexts the text to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     */
+    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery(String[] likeTexts) {
+        return moreLikeThisQuery(null, likeTexts, null);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A more like this query that finds documents that are "like" the provided documents
+     * which is checked against the "_all" field.
+     * @param likeItems the documents to use when generating the 'More Like This' query.
+     */
+    public static MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQuery(Item[] likeItems) {
+        return moreLikeThisQuery(null, null, likeItems);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests.java
index 6eb53ace9f9..2b9c4d5efd6 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests.java
@@ -26,9 +26,12 @@ import org.apache.lucene.index.memory.MemoryIndex;
 import org.apache.lucene.search.BooleanQuery;
 import org.apache.lucene.search.Query;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchException;
-import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.*;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.MultiTermVectorsItemResponse;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.MultiTermVectorsRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.MultiTermVectorsResponse;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.TermVectorsRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.termvectors.TermVectorsResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.ParseFieldMatcher;
-import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.BytesStreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.lucene.search.MoreLikeThisQuery;
@@ -49,8 +52,6 @@ import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
-
 public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests extends AbstractQueryTestCase<MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder> {
 
     private static String[] randomFields;
@@ -133,17 +134,20 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests extends AbstractQueryTestCase<MoreLik
     @Override
     protected MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder doCreateTestQueryBuilder() {
         MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder;
-        if (randomBoolean()) { // for the default field
-            queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder();
-        } else {
-            queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(randomFields);
-        }
+        String[] likeTexts = null;
+        Item[] likeItems = null;
         // like field is required
         if (randomBoolean()) {
-            queryBuilder.like(generateRandomStringArray(5, 5, false, false));
+            likeTexts = generateRandomStringArray(5, 5, false, false);
         } else {
-            queryBuilder.like(randomLikeItems);
+            likeItems = randomLikeItems;
         }
+        if (randomBoolean()) { // for the default field
+            queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(likeTexts, likeItems);
+        } else {
+            queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(randomFields, likeTexts, likeItems);
+        }
+
         if (randomBoolean()) {
             queryBuilder.unlike(generateRandomStringArray(5, 5, false, false));
         }
@@ -228,7 +232,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests extends AbstractQueryTestCase<MoreLik
 
     @Override
     protected void doAssertLuceneQuery(MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder, Query query, QueryShardContext context) throws IOException {
-        if (!queryBuilder.likeItems().isEmpty()) {
+        if (queryBuilder.likeItems() != null && queryBuilder.likeItems().length > 0) {
             assertThat(query, Matchers.instanceOf(BooleanQuery.class));
         } else {
             // we rely on integration tests for a deeper check here
@@ -236,30 +240,23 @@ public class MoreLikeThisQueryBuilderTests extends AbstractQueryTestCase<MoreLik
         }
     }
 
-    @Test
-    public void testValidate() {
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
-        assertThat(queryBuilder.validate().validationErrors().size(), is(2));
+    @Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
+    public void testValidateEmptyFields() {
+        new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(new String[0], new String[]{"likeText"}, null);
+    }
 
-        queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY).like("some text");
-        assertThat(queryBuilder.validate().validationErrors().size(), is(1));
-
-        queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder("field").like(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
-        assertThat(queryBuilder.validate().validationErrors().size(), is(1));
-
-        queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder("field").like(Item.EMPTY_ARRAY);
-        assertThat(queryBuilder.validate().validationErrors().size(), is(1));
-
-        queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder("field").like("some text");
-        assertNull(queryBuilder.validate());
+    @Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
+    public void testValidateEmptyLike() {
+        String[] likeTexts = randomBoolean() ? null : new String[0];
+        Item[] likeItems = randomBoolean() ? null : new Item[0];
+        new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(likeTexts, likeItems);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testUnsupportedFields() throws IOException {
         assumeTrue("test runs only when at least a type is registered", getCurrentTypes().length > 0);
         String unsupportedField = randomFrom(INT_FIELD_NAME, DOUBLE_FIELD_NAME, DATE_FIELD_NAME);
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(unsupportedField)
-                .like("some text")
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(new String[] {unsupportedField}, new String[]{"some text"}, null)
                 .failOnUnsupportedField(true);
         try {
             queryBuilder.toQuery(createShardContext());
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/SimpleIndexQueryParserTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/SimpleIndexQueryParserTests.java
index dac1247160b..8d99d3d093b 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/SimpleIndexQueryParserTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/SimpleIndexQueryParserTests.java
@@ -1231,7 +1231,7 @@ public class SimpleIndexQueryParserTests extends ESSingleNodeTestCase {
     @Test
     public void testMoreLikeThisBuilder() throws Exception {
         IndexQueryParserService queryParser = queryParser();
-        Query parsedQuery = queryParser.parse(moreLikeThisQuery("name.first", "name.last").likeText("something").minTermFreq(1).maxQueryTerms(12)).query();
+        Query parsedQuery = queryParser.parse(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"name.first", "name.last"}, new String[] {"something"}, null).minTermFreq(1).maxQueryTerms(12)).query();
         assertThat(parsedQuery, instanceOf(MoreLikeThisQuery.class));
         MoreLikeThisQuery mltQuery = (MoreLikeThisQuery) parsedQuery;
         assertThat(mltQuery.getMoreLikeFields()[0], equalTo("name.first"));
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/morelikethis/MoreLikeThisIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/morelikethis/MoreLikeThisIT.java
index dc98d0d9312..0e7001555fe 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/morelikethis/MoreLikeThisIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/morelikethis/MoreLikeThisIT.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
 
+import static org.elasticsearch.index.query.MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.ids;
 import static org.elasticsearch.client.Requests.*;
 import static org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData.SETTING_NUMBER_OF_REPLICAS;
 import static org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData.SETTING_NUMBER_OF_SHARDS;
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis");
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 1l);
     }
 
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis");
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 0l);
     }
 
@@ -119,24 +120,24 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis on index");
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 2l);
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis on beta shard");
         response = client().prepareSearch("beta").setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 1l);
         assertThat(response.getHits().getAt(0).id(), equalTo("3"));
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis on release shard");
         response = client().prepareSearch("release").setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 1l);
         assertThat(response.getHits().getAt(0).id(), equalTo("2"));
 
         logger.info("Running moreLikeThis on alias with node client");
         response = internalCluster().clientNodeClient().prepareSearch("beta").setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(response, 1l);
         assertThat(response.getHits().getAt(0).id(), equalTo("3"));
     }
@@ -156,11 +157,11 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         assertThat(ensureGreen(), equalTo(ClusterHealthStatus.GREEN));
 
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("foo", "bar", "1"))).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("foo", "bar", "1")})).get();
         assertNoFailures(response);
         assertThat(response, notNullValue());
         response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("foo", "bar", "1"))).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("foo", "bar", "1")})).get();
         assertNoFailures(response);
         assertThat(response, notNullValue());
     }
@@ -182,7 +183,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         client().admin().indices().prepareRefresh("foo").execute().actionGet();
 
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("foo", "bar", "1").routing("2"))).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("foo", "bar", "1").routing("2")})).get();
         assertNoFailures(response);
         assertThat(response, notNullValue());
     }
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 .execute().actionGet();
         client().admin().indices().prepareRefresh("foo").execute().actionGet();
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("foo", "bar", "1").routing("4000"))).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("foo", "bar", "1").routing("4000")})).get();
         assertNoFailures(response);
         assertThat(response, notNullValue());
     }
@@ -233,41 +234,41 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         // Implicit list of fields -> ignore numeric fields
         SearchResponse searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).get();
         assertHitCount(searchResponse, 1l);
 
         // Explicit list of fields including numeric fields -> fail
         assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder("string_value", "int_value").like(new Item("test", "type", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(new String[] {"string_value", "int_value"}, null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
 
         // mlt query with no field -> OK
-        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery().likeText("index").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).execute().actionGet();
+        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"index"}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).execute().actionGet();
         assertHitCount(searchResponse, 2l);
 
         // mlt query with string fields
-        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("string_value").likeText("index").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).execute().actionGet();
+        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[]{"string_value"}, new String[] {"index"}, null).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)).execute().actionGet();
         assertHitCount(searchResponse, 2l);
 
         // mlt query with at least a numeric field -> fail by default
-        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("string_value", "int_value").likeText("index")), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
+        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"string_value", "int_value"}, new String[] {"index"}, null)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
 
         // mlt query with at least a numeric field -> fail by command
-        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("string_value", "int_value").likeText("index").failOnUnsupportedField(true)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
+        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"string_value", "int_value"}, new String[] {"index"}, null).failOnUnsupportedField(true)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
 
 
         // mlt query with at least a numeric field but fail_on_unsupported_field set to false
-        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("string_value", "int_value").likeText("index").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(false)).get();
+        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"string_value", "int_value"}, new String[] {"index"}, null).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(false)).get();
         assertHitCount(searchResponse, 2l);
 
         // mlt field query on a numeric field -> failure by default
-        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("int_value").likeText("42").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
+        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"int_value"}, new String[] {"42"}, null).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)), SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
 
         // mlt field query on a numeric field -> failure by command
-        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("int_value").likeText("42").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(true)),
+        assertThrows(client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"int_value"}, new String[] {"42"}, null).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(true)),
                 SearchPhaseExecutionException.class);
 
         // mlt field query on a numeric field but fail_on_unsupported_field set to false
-        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery("int_value").likeText("42").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(false)).execute().actionGet();
+        searchResponse = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"int_value"}, new String[] {"42"}, null).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).failOnUnsupportedField(false)).execute().actionGet();
         assertHitCount(searchResponse, 0l);
     }
 
@@ -295,16 +296,16 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Running More Like This with include true");
         SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).include(true).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).include(true).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
         assertOrderedSearchHits(response, "1", "2");
 
         response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "2")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).include(true).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "2")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).include(true).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
         assertOrderedSearchHits(response, "2", "1");
 
         logger.info("Running More Like This with include false");
         response = client().prepareSearch().setQuery(
-                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder().like(new Item("test", "type1", "1")).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
+                new MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")}).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).minimumShouldMatch("0%")).get();
         assertSearchHits(response, "2");
     }
 
@@ -326,7 +327,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         indexRandom(true, builders);
 
         logger.info("Running MoreLikeThis");
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery("text").ids("1").include(true).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1);
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"text"}, null, ids("1")).include(true).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1);
         SearchResponse mltResponse = client().prepareSearch().setTypes("type1").setQuery(queryBuilder).execute().actionGet();
         assertHitCount(mltResponse, 3l);
     }
@@ -354,8 +355,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         indexRandom(true, builders);
 
         logger.info("Running MoreLikeThis");
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery("text").include(true).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)
-                .like(new Item("test", "type0", "0"));
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder queryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"text"}, null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type0", "0")}).include(true).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1);
 
         String[] types = new String[numOfTypes];
         for (int i = 0; i < numOfTypes; i++) {
@@ -388,7 +388,8 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         for (int i = 0; i < maxIters; i++) {
             int max_query_terms = randomIntBetween(1, values.length);
             logger.info("Running More Like This with max_query_terms = %s", max_query_terms);
-            MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery("text").ids("0").minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)
+            MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"text"}, null, new Item[] {new Item(null, null, "0")})
+                    .minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1)
                     .maxQueryTerms(max_query_terms).minimumShouldMatch("0%");
             SearchResponse response = client().prepareSearch("test").setTypes("type1")
                     .setQuery(mltQuery).execute().actionGet();
@@ -419,8 +420,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         logger.info("Testing each minimum_should_match from 0% - 100% with 10% increment ...");
         for (int i = 0; i <= 10; i++) {
             String minimumShouldMatch = (10 * i) + "%";
-            MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery("text")
-                    .likeText("1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10")
+            MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"text"}, new String[] {"1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"}, null)
                     .minTermFreq(1)
                     .minDocFreq(1)
                     .minimumShouldMatch(minimumShouldMatch);
@@ -452,8 +452,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         indexRandom(true, client().prepareIndex("test", "type1", "0").setSource(doc));
 
         logger.info("Checking the document matches ...");
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", doc).routing("0"))  // routing to ensure we hit the shard with the doc
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", doc).routing("0")})  // routing to ensure we hit the shard with the doc
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .maxQueryTerms(100)
@@ -484,8 +483,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 .field("text", "Hello World!")
                 .field("date", "this is not a date!")
                 .endObject();
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", malformedFieldDoc))
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", malformedFieldDoc)})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .minimumShouldMatch("0%");
@@ -496,8 +494,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Checking with an empty document ...");
         XContentBuilder emptyDoc = jsonBuilder().startObject().endObject();
-        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", emptyDoc))
+        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", emptyDoc)})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .minimumShouldMatch("0%");
@@ -508,8 +505,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
 
         logger.info("Checking when document is malformed ...");
         XContentBuilder malformedDoc = jsonBuilder().startObject();
-        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", malformedDoc))
+        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", malformedDoc)})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .minimumShouldMatch("0%");
@@ -524,8 +520,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 .field("text", "Hello World!")
                 .field("date", "1000-01-01") // should be properly parsed but ignored ...
                 .endObject();
-        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", normalDoc))
+        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", normalDoc)})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .minimumShouldMatch("100%");  // strict all terms must match but date is ignored
@@ -556,8 +551,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         indexRandom(true, builders);
 
         logger.info("First check the document matches all indexed docs.");
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", doc))
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", doc)})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .maxQueryTerms(100)
@@ -568,12 +562,11 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         assertHitCount(response, numFields);
 
         logger.info("Now check like this doc, but ignore one doc in the index, then two and so on...");
-        List<Item> docs = new ArrayList<>();
+        List<Item> docs = new ArrayList<>(numFields);
         for (int i = 0; i < numFields; i++) {
             docs.add(new Item("test", "type1", i+""));
-            mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                    .like(new Item("test", "type1", doc))
-                    .unlike(docs.toArray(Item.EMPTY_ARRAY))
+            mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", doc)})
+                    .unlike(docs.toArray(new Item[docs.size()]))
                     .minTermFreq(0)
                     .minDocFreq(0)
                     .maxQueryTerms(100)
@@ -602,8 +595,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                         .field("text1", "elasticsearch")
                         .endObject()));
 
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery()
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", "1"))
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .include(true)
@@ -613,8 +605,7 @@ public class MoreLikeThisIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
         assertSearchResponse(response);
         assertHitCount(response, 2);
 
-        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery("text")
-                .like(new Item("test", "type1", "1"))
+        mltQuery = moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"text"}, null, new Item[] {new Item("test", "type1", "1")})
                 .minTermFreq(0)
                 .minDocFreq(0)
                 .include(true)
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/ContextAndHeaderTransportIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/ContextAndHeaderTransportIT.java
index 04e41548b99..abd0a063c90 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/ContextAndHeaderTransportIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/ContextAndHeaderTransportIT.java
@@ -229,8 +229,8 @@ public class ContextAndHeaderTransportIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 .get();
         transportClient().admin().indices().prepareRefresh(lookupIndex, queryIndex).get();
 
-        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery("name")
-                .like(new Item(lookupIndex, "type", "1"))
+        MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder moreLikeThisQueryBuilder = QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] {"name"}, null,
+                new Item[] {new Item(lookupIndex, "type", "1")})
                 .minTermFreq(1)
                 .minDocFreq(1);
 
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/validate/SimpleValidateQueryIT.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/validate/SimpleValidateQueryIT.java
index 505d41623ff..22c959f5cd0 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/validate/SimpleValidateQueryIT.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/validate/SimpleValidateQueryIT.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.validate;
 
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.alias.Alias;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.validate.query.ValidateQueryResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.Client;
@@ -28,6 +27,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.Fuzziness;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentFactory;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.IndexNotFoundException;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.query.MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryBuilder;
 import org.elasticsearch.index.query.QueryBuilders;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.ESIntegTestCase;
@@ -250,10 +250,10 @@ public class SimpleValidateQueryIT extends ESIntegTestCase {
                 containsString("field:jumps^0.75"), true);
 
         // more like this queries
-        assertExplanation(QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery("field").ids("1")
+        assertExplanation(QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] { "field" }, null, MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.ids("1"))
                         .include(true).minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).maxQueryTerms(2),
                 containsString("field:huge field:pidgin"), true);
-        assertExplanation(QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery("field").like("the huge pidgin")
+        assertExplanation(QueryBuilders.moreLikeThisQuery(new String[] { "field" }, new String[] {"the huge pidgin"}, null)
                         .minTermFreq(1).minDocFreq(1).maxQueryTerms(2),
                 containsString("field:huge field:pidgin"), true);
     }
diff --git a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_query_refactoring.asciidoc b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_query_refactoring.asciidoc
index d69e6c7542a..520a5fa2994 100644
--- a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_query_refactoring.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_query_refactoring.asciidoc
@@ -109,8 +109,11 @@ Also reusing new Operator enum.
 Removed `MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder.Item#id(String id)`, `Item#doc(BytesReference doc)`,
 `Item#doc(XContentBuilder doc)`. Use provided constructors instead.
 
-Removed `MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder#addLike` and `addUnlike` in favor to using the `like`
-and `unlike` methods.
+Removed `MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder#addLike` in favor of texts and/or items beeing provided
+at construction time. Using arrays there instead of lists now.
+
+Removed `MoreLikeThisQueryBuilder#addUnlike` in favor to using the `unlike` methods
+which take arrays as arguments now rather than the lists used before. 
 
 The deprecated `docs(Item... docs)`, `ignoreLike(Item... docs)`,
 `ignoreLike(String... likeText)`, `addItem(Item... likeItems)` have been removed.