This page documents a major update currently being worked on.
Therefore, not all official feature names or items are mentioned.
1.18,[1][2] the second release of Caves & Cliffs, is an upcoming major update to Java Edition set to release in late 2021.[3] It was first announced alongside the release of 1.17 snapshot 21w15a when Mojang stated the Caves & Cliffs update would be split in two.[4] Features from 1.18 are being developed alongside 1.17, and an official data pack has been released by Mojang to preview the world generation changes.[note 1]
Planned additions
Blocks
- Sculk Block
- Will generate in the mysterious new cave biome, referred to as the "deep dark".
- Has an animated texture.
- May be used in redstone.[5]
- Sculk Trap[unofficial name]
- Will generate in the deep dark biome.
- Has a different top texture than the Sculk Block and Sculk Chute.[6]
- May be used in redstone.[5]
- Sculk Chute[unofficial name]
- Will generate in the deep dark biome.
- Made of sculk and a bone-like material.[7]
- May be used in redstone.[5]
- Glows but does not emit light, similar to the glow squid or the glow item frame.
- Sculk Veins[8]
- Will generate in the deep dark biome.
- Generates in a layer on top of blocks, similar to snow.
- Can be placed in all directions, like glow lichen.
- 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.[5]
Items
- Spawn Eggs
Mobs
- Warden
- 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.[note 2]
- 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.[10]
- When aggravated for long enough, the warden follows the player continuously, regardless of any other distractions.
- It follows and attacks players, mobs, and other entities that make vibrations.[note 2]
- Incredibly strong, doing 30 × 15 damage, bringing players wearing full netherite armor from full health to 7 health points.
- A mob designed to be extremely difficult and fled from.[11]
- Has a way to counter the strategy of building up 3 blocks to avoid attacks.[12]
- 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).[note 3][13]
World generation
- Height dependent generation.
- Revamped, featuring some new small spruce trees on the slopes and ice and packed ice above the peaks.
- Contain goats, rabbits, snow blocks, snow layers and powder snow.
- Iron ore, emerald ore and coal ore are found in abundance.
- Emerald ore no longer generates in blobs of only one.
- Can generate up to Y=256.
- New sub biomes.
- Completely overhauled.
- Now stretch down to Y=-59.
- The cavern now generates in 2 layers of different stone bases depending on the depth.
- Biomes inside of caves introduced such as dripstone caves.
- 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.[14]
- Improved old caves to blend in with the new generations of caves better.[15]
- New carver called crack carver, which appears as a fissure on the ground, like ravines but narrower and can go very deep.[16]
- New noise caves, coming in 3 forms, cheese, spaghetti and noodle.
- The original caves still exist, mixing with the noise caves.
- Cheese caves have large stone towers stretching from the bottom of the cave to the top.
- 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.
- Large, rare, snake-like ore formations.
- Copper ore veins mixed with granite generate above Y=0.
- Iron ore veins mixed with tuff generate below Y=0.
Biomes
- Deep Dark biome
- New biome at the "deepest depths of the world".
- Wardens can spawn here.
- Contains sculk blocks and sculk sensors.
- Contains deepslate.
- Likely generates exclusively within the deepslate layer between Y=-1 and Y=-64.
- May contain candles.
- Contains pointed dripstone (both stalactites and stalagmites) and dripstone blocks.
- Dripstone clusters are abundant here, often forming pillars.
- Contain moss, moss carpet, spore blossom, glow berry vines, big dripleaf and small dripleaf.
- Moss covers the ceilings and floors.
- Axolotls can spawn here.
- Clay pools generate inside.
- Come in 5 sub-biomes:
- Mountain Meadow
- The lowest layer of a mountain.
- Contain flowers and sweet berry bushes.
- Mountain Grove
- The second lowest layer of a mountain.
- Covered in snow, snow blocks and powder snow, and is filled with spruce trees.
- Rabbits spawn in this biome.
- Snowy Slopes
- Lofty Peaks
- The highest layer of a mountain, and will only generate if the mountain is high enough.
- Generates if the surrounding biomes are too warm for snow capped peaks.
- Covered in snow and ice.
- Snow Capped Peaks
- The highest layer of a mountain, and will only generate if the mountain is high enough.
- Generates if the surrounding biomes are too cold for lofty peaks.
- Covered in snow, snow blocks, powder snow, ice and packed ice.
- Mountain Meadow
Gameplay
- Dimming of light[unofficial name]
- 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.[17]
Planned changes
World generation
- More extreme and smooth terrain.
- Likely change to the generation of alternate stone types, to make them appear in larger but less numerous deposits.[18]
- Possibly seen in a screenshot tweeted by Henrik Kniberg,[19] 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.
- The fossils in the deepest part of the underground generate with Deepslate Diamond Ore instead of Coal Ore.
Blocks
- Are now crafted with honeycomb and string.
- Now appear in creative inventory
- Will generate in the mysterious new cave biome, referred to as the "deep dark".
- Now appear in creative inventory
Items
- Is now crafted with 2 string and 6 rabbit hide.
- Now appear in creative inventory
Unconfirmed features
Structures
- Underground Cabin[unofficial name]
- Seen in the Deep Dark biome during the Minecraft Live 2020 stream.[20]
- 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 Java Edition that is split into two updates since Adventure Update in 2011.
Notes
- ↑ The latest data pack (21w18a): CavesAndCliffsPreview.zip.
- ↑ The warden does not attack other entities but it does follow the vibrations that they make. (For example it follows a snowball but it breaks upon impact to a block rendering it non-attackable by the Warden.
- ↑ Height of the Warden is based from the image found on twitter.
References
- ↑ "Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs Update FAQ" – Minecraft Help Center, April 17, 2021. "the first (1.17) this summer, and the second (1.18) around the holiday season"
- ↑ "I've seen some confusion around 1.17 and 1.18, thinking that it's weird that Part 2 is considered 1.18. As a general note, remember that versions are just a way to keep track of changes in a game, and Part 2 will be considered 1.18 because it is a major version change from 1.17." – @kingbdogz on X, April 25, 2021
- ↑ "A Caves & Cliffs announcement" – Minecraft.net, April 14, 2021
- ↑ "Minecraft Snapshot 21w15a" – Minecraft.net, April 14, 2021
- ↑ a b c d "Caves, Cliffs & Other Updates: How We Make Minecraft - Episode 5" – Minecraft on YouTube, November 27, 2020
- ↑ "While not related, Sculk name was inspired by Jeb's process with naming the Shulkers - he liked the word "Lurker", but changed it around a bit to feel new. Sculk is one letter changed of Skulk, meaning "keep out of sight, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive"" – @kingbdogz on X, October 13, 2020
- ↑ "That is actually a bone-like material, not End Stone :)" – @kingbdogz on X, November 13, 2020
- ↑ "This is really cool, but won't be necessary because Sculk Veins (on the edge of growths) can be placed in all directions like Glow Lichen. That means you can find veins on top of anything, including Grimstone Bricks, which is a better approach than a specific block type." – @kingbdogz on X, February 18, 2021
- ↑ "Feeling kinda short myself..." – @kingbdogz on X, October 6, 2020
- ↑ "Wardens will still be able to detect entities that are invisible :)" – @kingbdogz on X, October 26, 2020
- ↑ "I'd actually consider it something entirely new. The Warden is a force of nature, not a boss. When a tornado is barreling toward you, you don't try to kill it - you run away! The Warden is exactly the same." – @kingbdogz on X, October 3, 2020
- ↑ "It absolutely has some tricks up its sleeves to counter that particular strategy :)" – @kingbdogz on X, October 26, 2020
- ↑ "Looking kinda short there, Iron Golem." – @kingbdogz on X, October 6, 2020
- ↑ "Minecraft Snapshot 21w16a" – Minecraft.net, April 21, 2021
- ↑ "Oh forgot to mention in the changelog* we also added some more variation to the old cave carvers (width, heigh, floor cutoff, etc). Just to make them blend in a bit better with the noise caves instead of being instantly recognizable." – @henrikkniberg on X, February 25, 2021
- ↑ "There it is. The crack carver. Watch your step, they can go REALLY deep!" – @henrikkniberg on X, February 25, 2021
- ↑ "The mechanical purpose is to warn you that the Warden is nearby. You should get ready if you start to see pure darkness like that..." – @kingbdogz on X, October 4, 2020
- ↑ "Lol been prototyping that today actually! Thx for the pic though very useful." – @henrikkniberg on X, October 8, 2020
- ↑ "Sometimes weird things happen when messing around with world generation. The villagers up there look mighty confused :) #devbloopers" – @henrikkniberg on X, October 22, 2020
- ↑ "Minecraft Live 2020: Full Show @ 42:16" – October 3, 2020 on YouTube