Old Growth Taiga

Not to be confused with Taiga or Snowy Taiga.

Old growth taigas are forested biomes covered with tall spruce trees. There are two variants in the biome family.

Description

As the name implies, an old growth forest includes trees that have attained a great age, and therefore height. These biomes generate at very high humidity values, similar to dark forest biome, and are often surrounded by groves, taigas and dark forests. Due to their high humidity values, old growth taigas are almost guaranteed to have lush caves generate beneath them. The two variants are often separated by rivers.

Spruce or pine grows all over the landscape, and most of them are the large 2×2 trees that grow significantly taller than regular trees. Much of the grass blocks are replaced by large swaths of podzol and coarse dirt. Additionally, rocks made of mossy cobblestone frequently generate on the ground and dead bushes generate alongside the sweet berry bushes‌, ferns, large ferns and tall grass on the ground. Mushrooms are more common than most of overworld biomes. Trail ruins may generate here. Wolves, foxes and rabbits‌ may spawn here. As the climate here is cold, rainfall changes to snowfall above layer 200±8, though in the old growth spruce taiga variant, snowfall forms at layer 160±8.

An old growth spruce taiga.

There are overall more trees in old growth taigas compared to normal taigas, leading to increased foliage density. This makes wood more abundant, though as a large portion of it grows as part of tall 2×2 spruce trees, it may be more difficult to obtain. Old growth taigas are slightly more difficult for survival than regular taigas for this reason, though aren't so bad once acclimated and strategies are used to clear the tall trees; they may offer more unique views compared to regular taigas as well.

Variants

Old Growth Pine Taiga

Old Growth Pine Taiga
Structures and Features	Forest rocks Trail ruins
Blocks	Grass Block Podzol Coarse Dirt Mossy Cobblestone Spruce Log Spruce Leaves Fern Large Fern Dead Bush Mushrooms Sweet Berry Bush‌
Climate
Temperature	0.3
Downfall	0.8
Precipitation	Yes
Colors
Grass color	#86B87F
Foliage color	#68A55F
Water color	#3F76E4‌  #2D6D77‌

The standard biome variant, old growth pine taiga features both large 2x2 and normal-sized spruce trees, with the tall trees being mostly arrow shaped with few leaves at the top. Snowfall starts at layer Y=200±8 in this biome.

The following mobs are naturally spawned here：

In Java Edition

Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	100⁄540	4
Skeleton	100⁄540	4
Slime	100⁄540	4
Spider	100⁄540	4
Zombie	100⁄540	4
Zombie Villager	25⁄540	1
Enderman	10⁄540	1–4
Witch	5⁄540	1
Ambient category
Bat	1	8
Creature category
Sheep	12⁄60	4
Chicken	10⁄60	4
Pig	10⁄60	4
Cow	8⁄60	4
Fox	8⁄60	2–4
Wolf	8⁄60	4
Rabbit	4⁄60	2–3
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6

In Bedrock Edition

Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	100⁄495	1
Slime	100⁄495	1
Spider	100⁄495	1
Zombie	95⁄495	2–4
Skeleton	80⁄495	1–2
Enderman	10⁄495	1–2
Witch	5⁄495	1
Zombie Villager	5⁄495	2–4
Creature category
Wolf	13⁄71	4
Sheep	12⁄71	2–3
Chicken	10⁄71	2–4
Glow Squid	10⁄71	2–4
Pig	10⁄71	1–3
Cow	8⁄71	2–3
Fox	8⁄71	2–4
Ambient category
Bat	1	2

Old Growth Spruce Taiga

Old Growth Spruce Taiga
Structures and Features	Forest rocks Trail ruins
Blocks	Grass Block Podzol Coarse Dirt Mossy Cobblestone Spruce Log Spruce Leaves Fern Large Fern Dead Bush Sweet Berry Bush‌ Mushrooms
Climate
Temperature	0.25
Downfall	0.8
Precipitation	Yes
Colors
Grass color	#86B783
Foliage color	#68A464
Water color	#3F76E4‌  #2D6D77‌

The old growth spruce taiga variant resembles the old growth pine taiga at first glance, with the main difference being the shape of the giant trees. The giant trees in old growth spruce taigas have leaves surrounding much more of the tree trunk, the larger amounts of leaves increase the chances of saplings dropping when these trees are cut down, leading to easier sustainability. This variant is also slightly colder than the regular variant, which means that snowfall starts at layer Y=160±8 instead of layer Y=200±8.

The following mobs are naturally spawned here：

In Java Edition

Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	100⁄515	4
Skeleton	100⁄515	4
Slime	100⁄515	4
Spider	100⁄515	4
Zombie	95⁄515	4
Enderman	10⁄515	1–4
Witch	5⁄515	1
Zombie Villager	5⁄515	1
Ambient category
Bat	1	8
Creature category
Sheep	12⁄60	4
Chicken	10⁄60	4
Pig	10⁄60	4
Cow	8⁄60	4
Fox	8⁄60	2–4
Wolf	8⁄60	4
Rabbit	4⁄60	2–3
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid	1	4–6

In Bedrock Edition

Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Creeper	100⁄495	1
Slime	100⁄495	1
Spider	100⁄495	1
Zombie	95⁄495	2–4
Skeleton	80⁄495	1–2
Enderman	10⁄495	1–2
Witch	5⁄495	1
Zombie Villager	5⁄495	2–4
Creature category
Sheep	12⁄66	2–3
Chicken	10⁄66	2–4
Glow Squid	10⁄66	2–4
Pig	10⁄66	1–3
Cow	8⁄66	2–3
Fox	8⁄66	2–4
Wolf	8⁄66	4
Ambient category
Bat	1	2

Sounds

Music

These music tracks play while the player is in the Old Growth Taigas

Filename in Minecraft	Gameplay	Soundtrack Title	Soundtrack	Track preview	Weight
piano1.ogg	The Overworld	"Dry Hands"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 12		3
piano2.ogg	The Overworld	"Wet Hands"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 13		3
piano3.ogg	The Overworld	"Mice on Venus"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 11		3
hal1.ogg	The Overworld	"Subwoofer Lullaby"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 3		3
hal2.ogg	The Overworld	"Living Mice"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 5		3
hal3.ogg	The Overworld	"Haggstrom"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 7		3
hal4.ogg	The Overworld	"Danny"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 21		3
calm1.ogg	The Overworld	"Minecraft"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 8		3
calm2.ogg	The Overworld	"Clark"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 14		3
calm3.ogg	The Overworld	"Sweden"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 18		3
nuance1.ogg	The Overworld	"Key"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 1		3
nuance2.ogg	The Overworld	"Oxygène"	Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 9		3
left_to_bloom.ogg	Lush Caves, Meadow, and the Overworld	"Left to Bloom"	Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 4		3
one_more_day.ogg	Lush Caves, Meadow, Snowy Slopes, Frozen Peaks, and the Overworld	"One More Day"	Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 6		3
comforting_memories.ogg	Grove and the Overworld	"Comforting Memories"	Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 9		3
floating_dream.ogg	Lush Caves, Jagged Peaks, and the Overworld	"Floating Dream"	Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 8		3
aerie.ogg	Lush Caves, Forest, Dark Forest, Birch Forest, Jungle, Swamp, Old Growth Taiga	"Aerie"	Minecraft: The Wild Update (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 2		1
firebugs.ogg	Lush Caves, Forest, Dark Forest, Birch Forest, Jungle, Swamp, Old Growth Taiga	"Firebugs"	Minecraft: The Wild Update (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 1		1
labyrinthine.ogg	Lush Caves, Forest, Dark Forest, Birch Forest, Jungle, Swamp, Old Growth Taiga	"Labyrinthine"	Minecraft: The Wild Update (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 3		1

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Translation key
Old Growth Pine Taiga	old_growth_pine_taiga	biome.minecraft.old_growth_pine_taiga
Old Growth Spruce Taiga	old_growth_spruce_taiga	biome.minecraft.old_growth_spruce_taiga

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	mega_taiga	32
[No displayed name]	redwood_taiga_mutated	160

History

Java Edition
1.7.2		August 7, 2013			Jens tweeted the first image of a mega taiga, unofficially dubbed the redwood forest. The name was changed following 1.7's release.
		13w36a			Mega taiga biome and variants added, along with many other biomes.
1.13		18w16a			Renamed Redwood Taiga Hills M to Mutated Redwood Taiga Hills.
		18w19a			Renamed Mega Taiga to Giant Tree Taiga.
					Renamed Mega Taiga Hills to Giant Tree Taiga Hills.
					Renamed Mega Spruce Taiga to Giant Spruce Taiga.
					Renamed Mutated Redwood Taiga Hills to Giant Spruce Taiga Hills.
		pre5			Changed the ID redwood_taiga to giant_tree_taiga.
					Changed the ID redwood_taiga_hills to giant_tree_taiga_hills.
					Changed the ID mutated_redwood_taiga to giant_spruce_taiga.
					Changed the ID mutated_redwood_taiga_hills to giant_spruce_taiga_hills.
1.15		pre2			Foxes and berry bushes can now spawn in Giant Tree Taigas.
1.18		Experimental Snapshot 1			Giant Tree Taiga hills and Giant Spruce Taiga hills no longer generate naturally.
		experimental snapshot 6			Giant Tree Taigas and their variants are no longer considered cold biomes in terms of biome placement.
		21w40a			"Giant Tree Taiga" has been renamed to "Old Growth Pine Taiga".
					"Giant Spruce Taiga" has been renamed to to "Old Growth Spruce Taiga".
					The ID giant_tree_taiga has been changed to old_growth_pine_taiga.
					The ID giant_spruce_taiga has been changed to old_growth_spruce_taiga.
					The giant tree taiga hills and giant spruce taiga hills biomes have been removed.
1.20		23w12a			Added trail ruins, which can generate in both types of old growth taigas.
		23w17a			"A Familiar Room" can now be played in both types of old growth taigas.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0		build 1			Added mega taiga and variants, along with many other biomes.
					A block named "grassless dirt" generates in place of the current coarse dirt.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0		beta 1.2.0.2			Added coarse dirt, which can generate in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.1			Added illager patrols, which can spawn in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.
1.13.0		beta 1.13.0.1			Added foxes, which can spawn in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.
1.16.0		beta 1.15.0.51			Wolves can now spawn in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.
Legacy Console Edition
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3	1.0.1	Added mega taiga and variants, along with many other biomes.
		1.91			Added illager patrols, which can spawn in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added mega taiga and variants, along with many other biomes.
1.5.25					Added coarse dirt, which can generate in Old Growth Tree Taiga biomes.

Trivia

• The name “Old Growth Pine Taiga” may be misleading and is inaccurate as there are no pine trees in the game and they have spruce trees; there are currently no plans to add pines to the game. This is similar to Flint and Steel, as there is a lack of steel in the game and it is crafted with Iron. In real life, Iron can’t be used as a fire striker, so they had to use steel so it makes more sense.

Gallery

• 
  The first image released of the Old Growth Tree Taiga.
• 
  Side-by-side comparison of an Old Growth Tree Taiga (left) with an Old Growth Spruce Taiga (right).
• 
  A sunset in an Old Growth Tree Taiga.
• 
  Another sunset in an Old Growth Spruce Taiga.
• 
  A close view.
• 
  In Bedrock Edition.
• 
  Old Growth Spruce Taiga.
• 
  Old Growth Pine Taiga.
• 
  A bay in an old growth taiga.
• 
  A river in an old growth taiga.
• 
  An old growth taiga on an island.
• 
  A lake in an old growth taiga.

See also

• Taiga
• Snowy Taiga
• Grove

References

Biomes 

View at: Template:Biomes/content [edit]