The Wild Update

The Wild Update is the name of an upcoming major themed update set to release in 2022 as Java Edition 1.19 and Bedrock Edition 1.19.0. It adds the Deep Dark biome, along with the warden, sculk blocks and the Ancient Cities, and makes various other biomes more atmospheric and immersive. In addition, it also introduces several new mobs and biome variants.

Blocks

 * Unknown frame block.png
 * Composes a large open frame at the center of every Ancient City generated structure.
 * Appears to be composed of deepslate.
 * Has some unknown "interesting" purpose.


 * Frog Egg.png Frog Egg
 * Can't be obtained in survival.
 * Frog lays it when bred.
 * Tadpoles spawns from it soon after.


 * Mangrove Flowers.png
 * Generated in mangrove leaves.


 * Mangrove Log.png
 * Generated as a part of mangrove trees which are located in swamps and mangrove swamps.
 * Can be crafted into mangrove planks.


 * Mangrove Leaves.png
 * Generated in mangrove trees.
 * A decorative block.


 * Mangrove Planks.png
 * Crafted from the respective logs.
 * Can be used to craft respective slabs, stairs, fences, fence gates, pressure plates, signs, buttons, doors, boats and trapdoors.


 * Mangrove Roots.png
 * A decorative block.
 * Can be waterlogged.


 * Mangrove Sappling.png
 * Grows into a mangrove tree.
 * Grows underneath mangrove leaves.
 * Can be placed both on land and in water.


 * Mud.png
 * Found in mangrove swamps.
 * Can be created by using a water bottle on a dirt block.
 * Can be placed on top of dripstone to dehydrate and form clay.
 * This in turn enables renewable clay.


 * Mud Bricks Render.png
 * Crafted using mud, sand, and wheat.
 * A decorative block.


 * Sculk in redstone.png
 * Sculk BE1.gif
 * Generates in the deep dark.
 * Has an animated texture.
 * Drops only experience when broken without Silk Touch.
 * Sculk blocks grow underneath a mob corpse around a sculk catalyst.
 * Warden may spawn from it, if nearby sculk shrieker was activated too many times.


 * Sculk Catalyst.png
 * Generates in the Deep Dark.
 * Made of sculk and a bone-like material.
 * May be used in redstone.
 * Spreads sculk blocks to wherever a nearby mob dies. The amount it spreads depends on the amount of experience the mob is meant to drop.
 * This means that even if the mob doesn't drop experience as it wasn't killed by a player, the blocks would still spread based on the amount of experience it normally drops.
 * Sculk Catalyst Bloom.gif Blooms when activated.
 * Drops only experience when broken without Silk Touch.
 * Emits light.
 * Emits soul particles after a mob dies and grows sculk.


 * Sculk Shrieker (pre-release).gif
 * Generates in the Deep Dark.
 * Perhaps made of sculk and a bone-like material.
 * Has 2 soul-shaped patterns in the center.
 * Has the ability to 'shriek', emitting ring-like/sonic particles.
 * Is activated by the sculk sensor.
 * Gives players the Darkness effect when activated.
 * If activated too many times, a warden spawns.


 * Sculk Vein BE1.gif
 * Generates in the Deep Dark.
 * Generates in a layer on top of blocks, similar to snow.
 * Can be placed in all directions, like glow lichen.
 * Has an animated texture.
 * Drops nothing when broken without Silk Touch.
 * Some have parts that are transparent, allowing the player to see the block it is on top of.
 * May be used in redstone as seen in this video when they talk about the sculk sensor.

Items

 * Warden Spawn Egg.png Warden spawn egg.
 * Frog Spawn Egg.png Frog spawn egg.
 * Tadpole Spawn Egg.png Tadpole spawn egg.
 * Allay spawn egg.
 * Allay spawn egg.


 * Bucket of Tadpole BE1.png Bucket of Tadpole
 * Obtained by using a water bucket on a tadpole, similar to obtaining a bucket of fish or axolotls.
 * Can be used to transport tadpoles, also as with fish and axolotls.

Mobs

 * AllayPixel.png
 * Voted to be in the update during Minecraft Live 2021.
 * Can find dropped blocks or items for a player.
 * Picks up dropped items in loaded chunks and can carry up to a stack at a time, and cannot duplicate items or take items out of chests. It drops its collected items when in range of a note block.


 * Firefly.gif
 * Glows in the dark.
 * Is eaten by frogs.
 * Is currently only two pixels big, making it the smallest mob in the game.


 * Swamp Frog BE1.gif Frog
 * Swamp Frog BE1.gif Snowy Frog BE1.gif tropical Frog BE1.gif Comes in three variants: default, snowy, and tropical.
 * The default variant is orange, the tropical variant is white, and the snowy variant is green.
 * Grows from a tadpole.
 * Variants depend on the temperature of the biome it turns from a tadpole to a frog in.
 * Jumps on lily pads and big dripleaves.
 * Can swim.
 * Eats fireflies.
 * Each variant is planned to have a unique use for players, currently unknown.


 * Tadpole.png Tadpole
 * Grows up into a frog.
 * Can be held in a water bucket.
 * Frog type dependent on which temperature a tadpole grows in. This mob has 3 variants, tropical, temperate, and tundra.


 * Warden.png
 * Spawns in the deep dark biome, specifically when too many sculk shriekers are activated.
 * The first fully blind mob (bats have basic eyesight, both in-game and in the real world).
 * Has a sense of smell. It can detect and pathfind towards the general location of a player or mob through a "smelling" action.
 * Prioritizes smelling the player or mob that it is most suspicious of, rather than the one closest to it.
 * Has a sense of vibration. When sensing movement, it pathfinds toward the source of the movement.
 * It follows and attacks players, mobs, and other entities that make vibrations.
 * It does not attack other wardens.
 * Seems to follow the same rules as the sculk Sensor when detecting vibrations.
 * When it detects a vibration, the growths on its head rattle and light up, similar to the sculk sensor.
 * If any projectile (e.g. egg, snowball, arrow) lands near the Warden, the mob inspects the location where the projectile landed, due to the projectile creating significant movement. This feature can be used in order to cause a distraction.
 * Does not detect players that are sneaking.
 * Because of this, it can detect players or mobs that are invisible.
 * Becomes more suspicious of a player or mob as it detects its location more through vibrations and/or smelling. When it suspects the target enough, it identifies its exact location, which causes it to aggravate and pathfind towards said target to attack regardless of outside distractions.
 * Burns in direct daylight.
 * It is the only mob that spawns in Deep Dark.
 * A mob designed to be extremely difficult, intended to be avoided and fled from.
 * Has a way to counter "cheesing" strategies like pillaring up to avoid attacks. The solution does not involve block breaking.
 * Incredibly strong, doing damage, bringing players wearing full netherite armor from full health to  health points.
 * Currently has health points.
 * At least as fast as the player's walking speed.
 * Seems to have knockback resistance.
 * The warden's chest has a glowing core that appears to brighten and dim in tandem with the Darkness effect.
 * The core creates a low throbbing or "heartbeat" sound as it pulses. The sound and animation speed up rapidly as the warden gets more suspicious of or closer to attacking a player or mob.
 * Is about 3.5 blocks tall, making it one of the tallest mobs in the game, exceeding the iron golem and enderman in height and width (the same).

World generation

 * New structure that generates within the Deep Dark.
 * Includes all of the Deep Dark features within it.
 * Made of deepslate and its variants, basalt blocks and its variants, planks, and wool.
 * Contains soul sand, soul fire and soul lanterns.
 * Contains candles and skeleton skulls.
 * Contains chests with unique loot.
 * The loot is intended to be items that cannot be found anywhere else, and that provide unique abilities and mechanics to players that weren't possible before and are not attainable by other methods.
 * Contains the unknown frame block.
 * Has different levels and open spaces.
 * Has different levels and open spaces.


 * New biome at the "deepest depths of the world".
 * Originally planned for 1.17, then moved to 1.18, and was then postponed to 1.19 due to increased scope.
 * May not contain any water or lava aquifers.
 * May be the rarest cave biome.
 * Tends to generate under continental/mountainous areas.
 * Generates exclusively within the deepslate layer between Y=-1 and Y=-64.
 * Contains Ancient Cities.
 * Wardens can spawn there through the activation of sculk shriekers.
 * Contains all sculk-related blocks.
 * With the exception of spawners, no mobs other than wardens can spawn there, similar to mushroom fields.
 * With the exception of spawners, no mobs other than wardens can spawn there, similar to mushroom fields.


 * New biome variant of a swamp.
 * Contains mangrove trees, and are the only trees that can generate there.
 * Contains mud as ground.
 * Contains mud as ground.


 * New type of tree.
 * Made of mangrove logs.
 * Generated roots composed of mangrove root blocks.
 * Has propagules hanging from leaves.
 * Found in swamps.
 * Found in swamps.


 * Completely overhauled.
 * Contains mangrove trees.
 * Contains mud.
 * Can spawn frogs.
 * Can spawn fireflies while nighttime.
 * Can spawn fireflies while nighttime.

Non-mob entities

 * Oak Boat with Chest.png
 * Similar to a minecart with chest but with a boat instead of a minecart.
 * Unlike the functionality of a minecart with chest, a player (but only one) can still ride in the boat when the chest is present.
 * Different wood variants.

Gameplay

 * Particles
 * Sculk Soul.gif
 * Sculk Catalyst Bloom.gif Emitted by sculk catalysts when activated.
 * Shriek.png
 * Sculk shriek particles.png Emitted by sculk shriekers when activated.


 * Status effects
 * Darkness.png
 * A status effect triggered by the sculk shrieker block, causing the player's camera to dim in brightness, thus limiting vision.

Blocks

 * Clay
 * More efficient way to regenerate clay by placing mud over a dripstone block with a stalactite dripstone growing under. The dripstone dries it out, producing a clay block.


 * Sculk Sensor
 * Now are able to activate sculk shriekers.
 * Now are able to communicate with warden.
 * Now are able to detect sneaking players who step on top of it.
 * Now generate in the Deep Dark biome.
 * Potentially planned to be able to detect a wool block but only when it is placed.

World generation

 * Biomes
 * Updating various overworld biomes, such as Birch Forests, to make them more diverse, unique and add more immersion to biomes in general.

Gameplay

 * Status effects
 * Darkness might also be triggered by wardens given how the duration of the effect extended past the one imposed by the sculk shrieker in the Minecraft Live 2021 showcase, and as suggested by a tweet from kingbdogz.

Trivia

 * The warden was originally known as the "stalker" early during development. That iteration also had white flesh with holes in it, to the point where it was deemed too gory by the developers and had to be tuned down.
 * Brandon Pearce also mentioned that this is one of various "wildly different" iterations that he's going to preview once the warden is released to the public.
 * This was the first update to add a 2-dimensional mob, the firefly.
 * This is the first update that features a losing vote candidate (biome, in this case), the Swamp biome update from MINECON Live 2019.
 * The tropical frog is based on the grey foam-nest tree frog.
 * While this update introduces mud as a block, mud has existed in the franchise as a fluid in Minecraft Earth. The properties of mud in this update have not been stated.

Concept artwork
Some concept art in this gallery was originally made for the Caves & Cliffs update.