Java Edition 21w17a

21w17a is the nineteenth snapshot for Java Edition 1.17, released on April 28, 2021, which tweaks the raw metal block textures, adds a new type of cave and fixes bugs.

General

 * Tags
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains clay and moss blocks.
 * Small dripleaf can be placed in blocks in this tag.

Experimental
Changes have been made to the official Caves & Cliffs world generation preview datapack, which gives early access to the world generation coming in Java Edition 1.18.


 * Noodle caves
 * A thinner, squigglier, tighter variant of spaghetti caves.
 * These are an improved version of the mesh caves announced around Minecon.

Blocks

 * Block of Raw Metal
 * Tweaked the textures of raw iron blocks, raw copper blocks, and raw gold blocks.


 * Copper ore
 * Now drops 2–3 raw copper when mined, or more when using a tool enchanted with Fortune.
 * This change also applies to deepslate copper ore.


 * Copper block
 * Are now crafted from 9 copper ingots, instead of 4.


 * Hanging roots
 * Can now be waterlogged, to match the behavior in.


 * Small dripleaf
 * Can now also be placed on moss blocks.

Items

 * Copper
 * Copper blocks can now be crafted into 9 ingots, instead of 4.

Entities

 * Wither
 * Is now immune to freezing.

World Generation

 * Ore
 * Emerald ore can now replace granite, andesite, diorite, tuff, and deepslate upon generating.
 * If coal ore, copper ore, or emerald ore replace tuff or deepslate, they will become their deepslate variants.

Gameplay

 * Recipe Book
 * The recipe for crafting mossy stone bricks from moss blocks or vines is now unlocked with moss blocks or vines, respectively, rather than mossy cobblestone.
 * The recipes for dyed candles are now grouped.
 * The recipes for smelting and blasting ores into their respective materials are bow grouped by ore type (i.e. smelting coal ore and deepslate coal ore are grouped).
 * For iron, gold, and copper, the recipes for smelting and blasting their raw materials into ingots are also grouped with their respective ore smelting and blasting recipes.
 * The recipes for crafting copper ingots from copper blocks and waxed copper blocks are no longer grouped.
 * The recipes for mossy stone bricks are now grouped, as are the recipes for mossy cobblestone.
 * Many of the waxed copper block recipes were grouped together.

General

 * Tags
 * Added the wither to the entity type tag.

Experimental
Changes have been made to the official Caves & Cliffs world generation preview datapack, which gives early access to the world generation coming in Java Edition 1.18.


 * Ore veins
 * Are now slightly rarer and slightly smaller.
 * Ores are clumpier and less evenly distributed.
 * Now have a chance to rarely contain raw metal blocks.