Java Edition 1.18

1.18, the second release of Caves & Cliffs, is an upcoming major update to  set to release in late 2021. It was first announced alongside the release of 1.17 snapshot 21w15a when Mojang stated that the Caves & Cliffs update would be split in two. Some features for 1.18 were initially implemented during 1.17's development cycle, before getting postponed and relegated to official data packs used with a corresponding 1.17 snapshot.

World generation

 * Caves
 * Completely overhauled.
 * Now stretch down to Y=-59.
 * The caves now generate in 2 layers of different stone bases depending on the depth.
 * The layer above Y=0 is made up of regular stone.
 * Stone transitions to deepslate from Y=0 to Y=-7.
 * Deepslate now completely replaces stone from Y=-8 to bedrock.
 * Certain types of ores and structures still generate in the deepslate layer, as well as tuff.
 * Dirt, gravel, diorite, granite and andesite do not generate in this layer.
 * Biomes such as the dripstone caves and lush caves now generate in the underground.
 * Contain aquifers, bodies of water with different heights, independent of sea level (Y=63).
 * Aquifers below Y=0 sometimes generate with lava instead of water.
 * Improved old caves to blend in with the new generations of caves better
 * New noise caves, coming in 3 forms, "cheese", "spaghetti", and "noodle".
 * Cheese caves have large stone towers stretching from the bottom of the cave to the top, and are often large enough to allow safe elytra flight.
 * Spaghetti caves are long, thin caves that have small aquifers and are more similar to original caves.
 * Noodle caves are thinner, squigglier, and more claustrophobic variants of spaghetti caves.


 * Mountains
 * Come in 6 sub-biomes:
 * Meadow
 * A flat but elevated biome that looks like a flowery and colder plains, with an aqua grass color and dark blue water color.
 * Generates in plateaus and the lowest layers of some mountains, usually near plains and other temperate biomes.
 * Contains grass, tall grass, dandelions, azure bluets, cornflowers, poppies, daisies and alliums
 * Birch and oak trees can rarely appear in this biome, and always have bee nests.
 * Only rabbits, donkeys, and sheep spawn in this biome.
 * Plains villages and pillager outposts can generate in this biome
 * Grove
 * Reminiscent of a snowy taiga with a surface of snow blocks and powder snow, instead of grass blocks.
 * Generates in the slopes of a snowy mountain when next to forested biomes.
 * Rabbits, wolves, foxes, sheep, pigs, chickens and cows spawn in this biome.
 * Pillager outposts can generate in this biome
 * Snowy Slopes
 * Generates in the slopes of a mountain when next to plains and snowy tundras
 * Covered in snow, snow block and powder snow.
 * Only rabbits and goats spawn in this biome.
 * Igloos and pillager outposts can generate in this biome
 * Lofty Peaks
 * One of three biomes that generate in the mountain peaks.
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks and stone.
 * Tends to generate in sharp and jagged peaks in areas with snowy, cold, and temperate biomes.
 * Only goats spawn in this biome.
 * Pillager outposts can generate in this biome
 * Snow Capped Peaks
 * Covered in snow, snow blocks, ice, and packed ice.
 * Tends to generate in smoother and smaller peaks in areas with snowy, cold, and temperate biomes.
 * Only goats spawn in this biome.
 * Stony Peaks
 * Covered in stone, gravel, and strips of calcite.
 * Tends to generate in any peak surrounded by warm biomes such as jungles and savannas, to avoid temperature clashes.
 * Only goats spawn in this biome.
 * Pillager outposts can generate in this biome


 * Ore veins
 * Long and rare ore formations.
 * Copper ore veins mixed with granite and blocks of raw copper generate above Y=0.
 * Iron ore veins mixed with tuff and blocks of raw iron generate below Y=0.

Gameplay

 * Advancements
 * “Caves & Cliffs” for falling from the top to the bottom of the Overworld.
 * “Feels like home” for riding a strider on lava for 50 blocks in the Overworld.
 * “Star Trader” for trading with a villager at the build height limit.
 * “Sound of Music” for playing music with a jukebox in a meadow biome.

General

 * Commands
 * When enabled, begins profiling with Java FlightRecorder, as well as the following custom events:
 * minecraft.ServerTickTime: Sampling event exposing average server tick times in intervals of a second
 * minecraft.ChunkGeneration: Time taken to generate individual chunk stages
 * minecraft.PacketRead / minecraft.PacketSent: Network traffic
 * minecraft.WorldLoadFinishedEvent: Initial world loading duration
 * The profiling can be stopped in-game by using.
 * The profiling can be stopped in-game by using.


 * Debug screen
 * Added three new lines: Multinoise, biome builder, and terrain.
 * Only appear if the dimension where the player is uses the multi-noise biome source type.
 * Multinoise lists the parameters used at the player's position in order to place a biome. C is continentalness, E is erosion, T is temperature, H is humidity, and W is weirdness.
 * Continentalness goes up as you go more inland. In areas with low continentalness values, oceans may generate.
 * Erosion determines how flat or mountainous terrain is. Higher values result in flatter areas, lower values result in mountainous areas.
 * Temperature and humidity have no impact on the terrain itself, and only determine biome placement.
 * Weirdness indirectly drives the PV (peaks and valleys) noise and determines which biome variant gets placed.
 * Terrain lists values related to terrain generation.


 * Font
 * Added, the rune-like font from Minecraft Dungeons.
 * Currently only usable via commands


 * Languages
 * Added Lombard.
 * Added Toki Pona.


 * Loot tables
 * Added the field, which is mandatory.
 * Written into to ensure that the tag can be migrated correctly between versions
 * Added new loot table function, to set tag on any item.
 * Has following parameters:
 * : Potion ID


 * Options
 * Can now disable lightning flashes, which prevents lightning from making the sky flash. Lightning bolts themselves will still appear.
 * The device the game outputs audio to can now be chosen in-game.
 * Added "Priority updates" to video settings.
 * Determines as to which chunk sections are updated synchronously in a single frame.
 * Three options:
 * nearby, which corresponds to how chunk sections were updated before 21w37a, and by player and none, which reduce stuttering when placing or removing blocks.
 * However, the latter two options may cause rare visual delays in world updates. These options also appear to be improperly capitalized.
 * Added "Simulation Distance" video setting, a new slider.
 * Entities will not be updated outside of simulation distance.
 * Allows higher render distance with less CPU load.


 * Subtitles
 * Added subtitles for various bundle sounds.
 * Added a new subtitle for the crop sound of shears.


 * server.properties
 * Added.


 * Tags
 * Spawners now have a new tag, which lets players override the spawn rules of the spawned mob.
 * In the tag, players can specify, which indicates the highest block-light the spawners will spawn mobs at.


 * Telemetry
 * Readded, previously a part of game known as "snooper" until 18w20c.
 * Only implemented in world load event now.
 * Sent data when loading singleplayer world or connecting to multiplayer server.
 * Contains following information:
 * Launcher identifier
 * User identitifer (XUID)
 * Client session ID (changes on restart)
 * World session ID (changes per world load, to be reused for later events)
 * Game version
 * Operating system name and version
 * Java runtime version
 * If client or server is modded (same information as on crash logs)
 * Server type (single player, Realms or other)
 * Game mode
 * Cannot be disabled,

Blocks

 * Enchanting Table
 * Now emits a light level of 7.


 * Cave Vines, Kelp, Twisting Vines, and Weeping Vines
 * Now stop growing if shears are used on the tip.
 * This action changes the  block state of the tip to 25.


 * Sculk Sensor
 * Have been re-added to the Creative mode inventory.


 * Snow Block
 * Reverted change allowing plants to be placed on snow blocks.
 * This reversion results in the lack of vegetation in the grove biome.

Items

 * Bundle
 * Have been re-added to the Creative mode inventory.
 * Can once again be crafted.

Mobs

 * Axolotls
 * Now only spawn in lush caves.
 * Now has its own mob cap.
 * Evoker, Pillager, Vindicator, and Ravager
 * Will no longer attack baby villagers.
 * Goat
 * Now only spawn in snowy slopes, stony peaks, lofty peaks, and snow capped peaks biomes.
 * General
 * Hostile mobs will only spawn in areas where the light level is equal 0.
 * This change only affects block-light and not sky-light.
 * Zombie, skeleton, spider, and cave spider spawners now spawn mobs up to block-light level 11.

World generation

 * Overworld
 * Now uses the multi-noise biome source type.


 * Lush Caves
 * Now generate naturally underground and inside hills or mountains.
 * Azalea trees now generate above lush caves.


 * Dripstone Caves
 * Now generate naturally underground and inside hills or mountains.
 * Drowned can spawn in aquifers inside dripstone caves.
 * Zombies don’t spawn in dripstone caves.


 * Deep Warm Ocean
 * Now generates naturally.


 * Beaches
 * Beaches are generally wider.
 * In some places there is a chance where no beaches generate at all, to provide some variation.


 * Extreme Hills
 * Renamed mountains back to extreme hills, and gravelly mountains to gravelly hills.


 * Stone Shore
 * Now generate with strips of gravel
 * Can generate alongside any biome instead of just extreme hills.


 * Badlands
 * Now can generate in mountain peaks.
 * Red sand generates a bit higher.


 * General
 * Terrain generation is now independent from biomes, with biomes adapting to whatever terrain they happen to generate throughout.
 * This allows for natural variation in the terrain of any individual biome, both in terms of shape and elevation.
 * For example, forests and deserts could form up on a hill without needing a special biome just for that purpose.
 * This additionally allows for smoother transitions between biomes.
 * Terrain is now smoother and more extreme.


 * Sub-biomes
 * Wooded hills, birch forest hills, tall birch hills, taiga hills, taiga mountains, gravelly mountains+, desert hills, desert lakes, shattered savanna plateau, swamp hills, dark forest hills, snowy mountains, snowy taiga hills, snowy taiga mountains, modified jungle, jungle hills, bamboo jungle hills, modified jungle edge, giant tree taiga hills, giant spruce taiga hills, badlands plateau, modified badlands plateau, modified wooded badlands plateau, and mushroom field shore biomes no longer generate naturally.
 * As a result:
 * Water lakes are now incapable of generating in any desert biome.
 * All deserts are now eligible for village and desert pyramid generation.
 * All taigas are now eligible for village and outpost generation.
 * All swamps are now eligible for swamp hut generation.
 * All snowy taigas are now eligible for igloo generation.
 * Shipwrecks and buried treasure can no longer generate within the bounds of mushroom islands.
 * Whether any of the biomes listed will be re-added is currently unknown.

General

 * Height limit
 * Has been increased to 384 blocks, expanding 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, with 319 being the limit upward and -64 being the limit downward.


 * Buried Treasure
 * Buried treasure chests can now contain water breathing potions.


 * Chunk format
 * Chunk’s &  have moved to a container structure in.
 * Chunk’s are now paletted and live in a similar container structure in.
 * Chunk’s is now  instead of.


 * Clouds
 * Raised cloud level from 128 to 192.


 * Data packs
 * Data pack version number has been increased to 8.


 * Effects
 * Redesigned how effects look in the inventory screen.
 * Can display while recipe book is showing.
 * The list of effects are now shown to the right of the player's inventory, instead of the left side.
 * When the inventory effects list is visible, it will be hidden from the game view to reduce screen clutter.
 * There’s now two modes of seeing the effect list: compact and classic:
 * Classic is the pre-existing list of effects, one after another.
 * Compact is a single icon for each effect, suitable for small screen estate.
 * The game will automatically switch between the two looks to suit the available screen estate.


 * Options
 * The Sneak and Sprint, and Auto-jump options have been moved to the Controls tab.
 * Render distance now causes chunks to load in a cylinder shape around the player instead of a square.
 * Changed default brightness to 50.


 * Splashes
 * The splash "[this splash text has been delayed until part 2]" has been changed to "[this splash text is now available]".


 * Sprinting
 * No longer reduced to walking when touching the wall at low angles.


 * Tags
 * Renamed the block tag to.


 * World types
 * Removed the Large Biomes and Amplified world types.


 * Performance
 * Now, various background tasks including world generation are executed on a background thread pool.
 * The size of the thread pool equals.
 * Maximum amount of threads is 255, instead of 7. This limit can be overridden by Java system property.


 * Resource packs
 * Resource pack version number is now 8, as the following has been changed:
 * inventory.png now contains an extra sprite for a thin-layout version of the effect list in the inventory.


 * Scoreboards
 * Removed length limits for scoreboards, score holders and team names.


 * Server
 * now bundles individual libraries instead of merging all the files into single archive.
 * This change is meant to solve certain problems related to Java modules.
 * On startup, will unpack libraries into a directory configured by  (default: working directory).
 * To run different main class than server, use property.


 * Splashes
 * The splash "[this splash text has been delayed until part 2]" has been changed to "[this splash text is now available]".

Planned additions

 * An option for existing chunks to have new terrain generate below the bedrock layer, with the old bedrock layer replaced with deepslate

Blocks

 * Sculk BE1.gif


 * Generates in the mysterious new cave biome where the Warden lives, called the Deep Dark.
 * Has an animated texture.
 * May be used in redstone.


 * Sculk Catalyst.png


 * Generates in the Deep Dark cave biome.
 * Made of sculk and a bone-like material.
 * Sculk Catalyst (bloom).gif Has state.
 * May be used in redstone.
 * May have something to do with axolotls.
 * Glows, but does not emit light, similar to the glow squid or the glow item frame.


 * Sculk Vein BE1.gif


 * Generates in the Deep Dark cave biome.
 * Generates in a layer on top of blocks, similar to snow.
 * Can be placed in all directions, like glow lichen.
 * Has an animated texture.
 * 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.


 * Sculk Shrieker.gif


 * Generates in the deep dark biome.
 * Perhaps made of sculk and a bone-like material.
 * Has 2 soul-shaped patterns in the center.
 * Has the ability to 'shriek' as revealed by internal textures.

Items

 * Goat Horn


 * Dropped by a goat if it rams into a block.
 * When used for a short period of time, it makes a sound identical to the horn heard during raids.




 * Warden Spawn Egg.png Warden spawn egg.

Mobs





 * Will spawn in the new deep dark cave biome.
 * The first fully blind mob (bats, despite relying almost exclusively on echolocation, still have basic eyesight).
 * When sensing movement, it moves toward the source of the movement.
 * It follows and attacks players, mobs, and other entities that make vibrations.
 * It does not attack other Wardens.
 * When attacked, it path finds toward the player.
 * Seems to follow the same rules as the sculk sensor when detecting noise.
 * 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 movement and noise. This feature can be used in order to cause a distraction.
 * Does not detect players that are sneaking.
 * Can detect players that are invisible.
 * When aggravated for long enough, the warden follows the player continuously, regardless of any other distractions.
 * Will burn in direct daylight.
 * Incredibly strong, doing damage, bringing players wearing full netherite armor from full health to  health points.
 * It is the only mob that spawns in the Deep Dark.
 * Does not spawn like normal hostile mobs, but instead uses completely new spawning rules.
 * A mob designed to be extremely difficult, intended to be fled from.
 * Has a way to counter the strategy of building up 3 blocks to avoid attacks.
 * 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 ambient lighting of the deep dark cave biome.
 * The core creates a low throbbing sound as it pulses. The sound and animation seem to speed up rapidly when the warden notices a player.
 * 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).

Biomes

 * Deep Dark


 * New biome at the "deepest depths of the world".
 * May not contain any water or lava aquifers.
 * May be the rarest biome out of the three cave biomes.
 * May go deep underneath very continental/mountainous areas and stretch all the way to -64.
 * Wardens can spawn here.
 * Contains sculk blocks and sculk sensors.
 * Contains deepslate.
 * Generates exclusively within the deepslate layer between Y=-1 and Y=-64.
 * May contain candles.
 * May contain loot chests.
 * With the exception of spawners, no other mobs can spawn here, similar to mushroom fields.

Gameplay



 * While in the deep dark cave biome, the ambient lighting occasionally dims temporarily, limiting the player's visibility. This serves as a warning that the warden is nearby.

World generation

 * Likely change to the generation of alternate stone types, to make them appear in larger but less numerous deposits.
 * Possibly seen in a screenshot tweeted by Henrik Kniberg, in which diorite appears to generate in a long and flat horizontal strip, rather than a small unevenly shaped patch.
 * Ore generation has further rebalancing to add strategy to mining.
 * This is also largely through the addition of ore veins, which influence surrounding stone.




 * Blobs


 * Copper ore will generate in a different fashion - the blob generation was a temporary solution.


 * Fossils


 * The fossils in the deepest part of the underground generate with Deepslate Diamond Ore instead of Coal Ore.


 * Strongholds


 * Try to generate fully encased in stone, or deepslate at low y-levels.


 * General


 * Terrain generation is now independent from biomes, with biomes adapting to whatever terrain they happen to generate throughout.
 * This allows for natural variation in the terrain of any individual biome, both in terms of shape and elevation.
 * For example, forests and deserts could form up on a hill without needing a special biome just for that purpose.
 * This additionally allows for smoother transitions between biomes.
 * Terrain is now smoother and more extreme.

Blocks

 * Sculk Jaw (pre-release).png Jaw


 * Generates in the Deep Dark biome.
 * Has a different top texture than the Sculk Block and Sculk Catalyst.
 * Sculk Jaw 2 (pre-release).png Has state with unknown name.
 * May not make it into the final release.


 * Lush caves overview concept art.jpg Blossom


 * Can close.


 * Azalea Log


 * Between Java Edition snapshots 21w05a and 21w10a, many blocks (flowers, leaves, grass, ferns, sweet berry bushes, small dripleaves) had a block tag called "azalea_log_replaceable", possibly implying the existence of azalea logs.

World generation

 * Underground Cabin
 * Seen in the Deep Dark biome during the Minecraft Live 2020 stream.
 * Consists of a chamber with a cobblestone floor and stripped log support beams, containing 3 barrels, a blast furnace, and a large chest, with cobwebs and candles in and around it.
 * May possibly not be a generated structure, but instead a construction built for the purpose of the Warden showcase.

Trivia

 * This is the first major update for that is split into two updates since Adventure Update in 2011.
 * This is also the first update that starts with experimental snapshots, instead of regular snapshots.