Dripstone (feature)

A dripstone cluster is a large structure primarily made of dripstone blocks, found commonly in dripstone caves, and uncommonly in other cave biomes.

Generation
Dripstone clusters generate inside large dripstone caves, going from the ceiling to the floor of the cave. Clusters may also rarely generate in other cave types as well. Due to their size, they generate more commonly in canyons and noise caves, and less commonly in carvers. Dripstone clusters can generate in underwater caves.

Structure
There are two types of dripstone clusters. The first type takes the form of either a separated stalagmite and stalactite, or a stalagnate, and is composed of dripstone blocks. Stalagnates generate around two positions selected on the floor and ceiling of a cave, which may potentially be separated by several blocks horizontally. The maximum possible size of a cluster varies depending on the available space.

The second type is a patch of dripstone blocks replacing a section of a cave’s walls, floor and ceiling. Pointed dripstone generates hanging from the ceiling and growing on the floor in these patches, attached to the dripstone blocks, forming detailed speleothem growths. Water puddles can also occasionally be found on the floor patches. When the two cluster types overlap, it results in pointed dripstone generating on the large columns of dripstone blocks.

Trivia

 * For a brief time in snapshot 21w06a, dripstone clusters were one of the only underground structures that did not generate correctly in negative y levels. This was because the developers initially hardcoded the minimum y level to be 0, intending to change it when changing the world height, then forgot to.