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This guide is a simplified overview of all the changes in Update Aquatic (1.13 releases), which assumes at least some familiarity with World of Color Update (1.12 releases).
Mobs
New
1.13 adds several new mobs to the game, here is a list of the mobs to look out for:
| Name | Image | Habitat | Drops | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphin | All oceans except for Frozen oceans |
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| Turtle | Any beaches except for cold beaches |
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| Fish |
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| Drowned | Drowned spawn in all ocean, swamp and river biomes. Additionally, groups of drowned will spawn in ocean ruins when the structures are first generated. |
Spawned Equipment
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| Phantom | Phantoms spawn at night and during thunderstorms high above players who are below sea level, have no obstructions above them, and have not entered a bed for at least three ingame days. |
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Changed
| Name | Image | Change |
|---|---|---|
| All undead mobs |
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| Husk |
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| Squid | ||
| Zombie |
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| Skeleton |
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Blocks
New
| Name | Image | Acquired | Tool Required | Uses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Can be broken with any tool as well as by hand, but fastest with an axe. |
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| Blue Ice |
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Can be broken with any pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch. |
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| Conduit |
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Can be broken with any tool. | Conduits will give the Conduit Power status effect when powered. See Tutorials/Conduits for more information. | |||||
| Coral, Dead Coral, Coral Fan, Dead Coral Fan, Coral Block, and Dead Coral Block |
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Can be used as decorative blocks. | |||||
| Dried Kelp Block |
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Can be broken by hand. |
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| Kelp | Can be obtained by breaking kelp plants. | Can be broken by any tool as well as by hand. |
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| Prismarine Stairs, Dark Prismarine Stairs, and Prismarine Brick Stairs |
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Can be broken with any pickaxe. | Can be used as decorative blocks. | |||||
| Prismarine Slab, Dark Prismarine Slab, and Prismarine Brick Slab |
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Can be broken with any pickaxe. |
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| Pumpkin |
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Can be broken with any tool as well as by hand, but fastest by axe. |
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| Purple Shulker Box |
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Can be broken with any tool as well as by hand. |
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| Sea Pickles |
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Can be broken with any tool as well as by hand. |
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| Stripped Log | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Can be obtained by right clicking any log with any tier of axe, this will consume one durability on the axe. | Can be broken with any tool as well as by hand, but fastest by axe. |
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| Turtle Eggs |
File:Turtle Egg1.pngFile:Turtle Egg2.pngFile:Turtle Egg3.pngFile:Turtle Egg4.pngFile:Turtle Egg5.pngFile:Turtle Egg6.png |
Can be obtained by breeding two turtles | Can be broken by any pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch. |
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Changed
| Name | Image | Change |
|---|---|---|
| All semi-transparent blocks. | All semi-transparent blocks can now have water placed within them by right clicking them with a water bucket. | |
| Carved pumpkin |
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| Shulker Box |
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| Packed Ice |
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Items
New
| Name | Image | Obtaining | Uses | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buried Treasure Map | Can be found in underwater ruins loot chests. | Can be used to find buried treasure chest. | |||||
| Heart of the Sea | Can be found in all buried treasure chests in stacks of one. | One of the ingredients for crafting the conduit. | |||||
| Kelp and Dried Kelp |
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| Nautilus Shell |
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One of the ingredients for crafting the conduit. | |||||
| Phantom Membrane | Dropped by phantoms when killed. |
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| Scute | Dropped by baby turtles when growing into an adult. | Can be used to craft a turtle shell. | |||||
| Trident | Can be dropped by drowned as part of there naturally spawned equipment. |
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| Turtle Shell |
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Changed
| Name | Image | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Elytra | Elytra now requires the phantom membrane to be repaired. |
Potions
New
| Name | Ingredients | Brewing recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Potion of Slow Falling | Phantom Membrane + Awkward Potion |
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| Potion of the Turtle Master | Turtle Shell + Awkward Potion |
Biomes
New
| Name | Internal id | Image | Description | Structures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Ocean | minecraft:cold_ocean |
Like the frozen ocean, this ocean variant has a gravel seabed, with the occasional patch of sand or dirt. Additionally this ocean biome has dark indigo water. It is home to kelp, seagrass, cod, salmon, and dolphins. | ||
| Cold Deep Ocean | minecraft:deep_cold_ocean |
Cold deep oceans are the same as cold oceans, with the exception that they are twice as deep, as well having the potential to generate ocean monuments. |
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| Frozen Ocean | minecraft:frozen_ocean |
A partially frozen area of ocean, with large, yet broken up, sheets of ice covering the water. This variant of ocean has a gravel seabed and is home to kelp, seagrass, squid, salmon, stray, and polar bears. |
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| Frozen Deep Ocean | minecraft:deep_frozen_ocean |
Essentially the same as the frozen ocean biome, but it's deeper and can generate ocean monuments. |
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| Lukewarm Ocean | minecraft:lukewarm_ocean |
This ocean variant can be recognized by its light teal water and sandy seabed. It is home to kelp, seagrass, pufferfish, dolphins, tropical fish, and cod. |
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| Deep Lukewarm Ocean | minecraft:deep_lukewarm_ocean |
Similar to the lukewarm ocean, but twice as deep and can generate ocean monuments. |
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| Warm Ocean | minecraft:warm_ocean |
An ocean variant with light green water at the surface. It can contain coral reefs, sea pickles, seagrass, dolphins, tropical fish and pufferfish. |
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| Small End Islands | minecraft:small_end_islands |
This biome is part of the outer End islands. They're between the bigger islands, which can be accessed easily by End gateway portals. |
Changed
Nearly all the biomes were renamed, here is a list of the new biome names versus the old names, note that the debug screen will no longer show the biome name but will rather show the internal biome id:
| Old name | New name |
|---|---|
Cold Beach |
Snowy Beach
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DesertHills |
Desert Hills
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Extreme Hills |
Mountains
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Extreme Hills+ |
Wooded Mountains
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ForestHills |
Wooded Hills
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FrozenOcean |
Frozen Ocean
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FrozenRiver |
Frozen River
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Hell |
Nether
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Ice Plains |
Snowy Tundra
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Ice Mountains |
Snowy Mountains
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JungleEdge |
Jungle Edge
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JungleHills |
Jungle Hills
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Mesa |
Badlands
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Mesa Plateau F |
Wooded Badlands Plateau
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Mesa Plateau |
Badlands Plateau
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MushroomIsland |
Mushroom Fields
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MushroomIslandShore |
Mushroom Field Shore
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Birch Forest M |
Tall Birch Forest
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Birch Forest Hills M |
Tall Birch Hills
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Desert M |
Desert Lakes
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Extreme Hills M |
Gravelly Mountains
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Extreme Hills+ M |
Gravelly Mountains+
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Ice Plains Spikes |
Ice Spikes
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Jungle M |
Modified Jungle
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JungleEdge M |
Modified Jungle Edge
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Mesa (Bryce) |
Eroded Badlands
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Mesa Plateau M |
Modified Badlands Plateau
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Mesa Plateau F M |
Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau
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Mega Spruce Taiga |
Giant Spruce Taiga
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Redwood Taiga Hills M |
Giant Spruce Taiga Hills
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Roofed Forest M |
Dark Forest Hills
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Savanna M |
Shattered Savanna
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Savanna Plateau M |
Shattered Savanna Plateau
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Swampland M |
Swamp Hills
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Taiga M |
Taiga Mountains
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Cold Taiga M |
Snowy Taiga Mountains
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Mega Taiga |
Giant Tree Taiga
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Mega Taiga Hills |
Giant Tree Taiga Hills
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Roofed Forest |
Dark Forest
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Extreme Hills Edge |
Mountain Edge
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Stone Beach |
Stone Shore
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Swampland |
Swamp
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Cold Taiga |
Snowy Taiga
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Cold Taiga Hills |
Snowy Taiga Hills
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TaigaHills |
Taiga Hills
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For more information see 1.13/Flattening.
Water
The physics for water has also been changed, and the way the player interacts with water has also changed.
Swimming
There is now an actual swimming animation used by the player while underwater, this can be activated by sprinting underwater. This also allows the player to move in any direction they are looking including down. Players who cannot sprint, i.e. are too hungry to sprint, cannot swim. Crouching underwater also allows the player to descend at a faster rate.
While swimming, players can go through one block gaps similar to when using an elytra.
Item and Experience
Items and experience orbs now float to the surface of water rather than sink, this makes dying underwater easier to deal with since all of the player's items will be waiting at the surface. This also allows for easy vertical item transportation.
Bubble Columns
For more detailed information see Bubble Columns.
Magma and soul sand now make bubble columns when placed underwater. Magma will naturally generate in underwater ruins and where underwater ravines meet lava, while soul sand does not currently generate naturally in oceans. Players are able to breath while in bubble columns.
Magma bubble columns will pull things down to the bottom, this includes items, players, mobs, and boats. Soul sand bubble columns will push all entities, including players, to the surface at a very fast rate.
Breath
The breath meter no longer instantly refills when entering air from underwater, this means it is no longer possible to instantly refill the air meter with a torch while underwater.
Vision
Water has been given unique colors depending on the biome they are in.
Water is also now clearer, and the longer the player is underwater the clearer it becomes.



















































































