When Will The New Minecraft Update Come

Minecraft i.18 update: Everything new in Caves & Cliffs office 2

Minecraft Caves & Cliffs part 2 concept art of Steve using a pickaxe to mine amethysts in a lush cave while Alex explores above.

(Image credit: Mojang)

The Minecraft ane.18 update is finally here. Caves & Cliffs part two brings the residuum of the changes that Mojang originally planned when announcing the major update back in 2020. Equally you might expect, there are new mountain and cave-based biomes forth with new blocks and items. Version 1.17 already added many of the mobs and plants that inhabit the new biomes, but now they'll all naturally generate in their proper homes.

As of this yr'due south Minecraft Live show, we have unfortunately found out that the big, scary Wardens and their Deep Night biome have been delayed from this version. They're now coming in the 1.19 Wild Update, which Mojang has announced will be coming in 2022.

With update i.18 now out, hither's everything you should know about what Minecraft Caves & Cliffs role 2 has brought to the game.

When is the Minecraft 1.eighteen release time?

Minecraft ane.eighteen launched on November 30, 2021. With Caves and Cliffs office ii now out, y'all should come across version ane.xviii recommended as the latest version in your Minecraft Launcher.

E'er remember to back upwards your sometime save files earlier loading them into the newest version of the game. With the new changes to globe generation, Mojang say that new chunks generated in worlds you bring forward to 1.eighteen should improve blend with the existing terrain in your relieve file. So long to big flat chunk borders in old worlds!

How to update

How to update Minecraft Bedrock Edition on PC

If you lot've been playing Minecraft on PC for a while, it'due south likely you lot've got the Java Edition, which should update automatically through the launcher. Bedrock Edition should also automatically update, but on the off-chance information technology doesn't, here'southward what you need to do using either the Xbox App or the Microsoft Store.

Xbox App
Look for the 'My Collection' tile in the elevation left corner of the app, simply beneath the Xbox logo. Click on this, then click the 'Manage Installs' button in the pinnacle right. Requite information technology a few seconds to populate and you should see Minecraft in the list. Click on the update pointer, let it install, and you're gear up to play.

Microsoft Store
Locate the 'Library' tile nearly the lesser of the bill of fare on the left. Click on this to see any updates that are available for your apps—Minecraft should exist there. Click on update, permit information technology finish, and you lot should be skillful to become.

New biomes

Minecraft one.18: New and updated cave biomes

Caves, in general, have gotten a complete overhaul, giving them more room to generate and fit in with the new private biomes. Many caves will incorporate aquifers or bodies of h2o independent of sea level, and deepslate will replace stone from Y=0 to Y=-7. Additionally, three new types of noise caves take been introduced:

Cheese caves: Huge caves containing aquifers and ore.
Spaghetti caves: These are long and sparse and may have pocket-sized aquifers.
Noodle caves: Like to Spaghetti caves merely much smaller.

Lush Caves

Caves aren't new to Minecraft, but they're unremarkably fraught with danger, especially if you stumble on an quondam mine. The Lush Caves biome changes all that. While there are likely still dangers to look out for, this new biome gives the underground earth of Minecraft a much more welcoming experience, calculation an abundance of plant life to an otherwise sterile environment.

Lush Caves are where yous're most likely to find Minecraft axolotls—currently simply found in secret h2o sources—and cave vines, glow berries, and drip leaves should also grow in abundance here. Yous'll be able to spot the location of Lush Caves past the Azalea trees that abound above them in the overworld terrain.

Dripstone Cave

The second new biome is total of pointed dripstone and dripstone blocks. These will grade stalagmites and stalactites to requite some variance to the usual blocky terrain. Pointed dripstone creates the spikey interior of these caves. It acts much like vines, breaking completely if i section is destroyed.

You should too exist aware of the potential dangers that this environment can have—falling into a pit of stalagmites will hurt.

Mountain sub-biomes

Caves aren't the only things that have gotten a makeover in the Minecraft one.18 update—information technology is called 'Caves & Cliffs' after all. There are six new 'sub-biomes' introduced to the mountainous regions:

Mountain Meadow: Low mount regions. Various flowers and sweet berry bushes can be found here.
Mountain Grove: This expanse is the get-go snow-covered mountainous surface area. Y'all should see plenty of rabbits and spruce trees here.
Snowy Slopes: Higher still, Snowy Slopes are home to goats, snowfall, and ice.
Lofty Peaks: These snowfall-covered peaks will only generate if the mountain is high enough and the surrounding biomes are warm.
Snow Capped Peaks: This biome volition only generate if the surrounding biomes are likewise cold for Lofty Peaks. You tin can observe snow blocks and packed ice here.
Stony Peaks: This biome is a version of lofty/snowcapped peaks that features stone and gravel instead of snow and water ice, and is used to avoid temperature clashes such as a snowcapped peak in the center of a jungle.

Other blocks and items

Blocks and items coming in Minecraft 1.xviii

The first half of the Caves & Cliffs update came with lots of new blocks and items, only update i.18 is much more focused on those big biome and earth generation changes. On the block and items side, Ore Veins are the headline new change.

Ore veins

Iron and copper ore veins are serpent-like ore formations that should yield a lot of valuable ore when found. At Y=0 and in a higher place, ore veins comprise copper ore and granite. Below Y=0, the ore vein volition give you iron ore and tuff.

More than Lena Raine music

More of Lena Raine's music is coming to Minecraft. Five new songs associated with new biomes are being added to survival manner. A music disc chosen "otherside" is can now be establish in strongholds and dungeons.

Minecraft i.18 Seed Parity

Minecraft Life 2021 screenshot - an example of a Java world and Bedrock world generated with the same seed. Both showing a snowy biome with a frozen lake that look nearly identical. — (Prototype credit: Mojang)

During the Minecraft Live 2021 show, Mojang announced another large detail for Minecraft 1.xviii. As of the second one-half of Caves & Cliffs, Minecraft'southward two main versions—Java and Bedrock—will share almost identical earth seeds.

Minecraft world seeds allow y'all to create a specific world by entering a number in the new world menu when creating it. Whatsoever relieve file started by using a particular world seed volition be identical to any other using the same seed. That only works if you're using the aforementioned version of Minecraft though. You can see on our list of best Minecraft seeds that Coffee and Bedrock currently have different world seeds.

For version one.18, Java and Bedrock versions of Minecraft accept near identical worlds generated by the same seed. Mojang says of complete seed parity that "Nosotros're not 100% there yet, simply close. Information technology'due south very like. Details will exist different." You can encounter just how close your Coffee and Bedrock worlds will be in one of the examples upward in that location that Mojang shared. Can you spot the differences?

Warden (Delayed)

A Warden in a cave in the Minecraft 1.18 update — (Epitome credit: Mojang)

The Warden mob has been delayed

The Warden was originally appear every bit part of the Caves & Cliffs update, planned to come up in the 1.18 version. Every bit of this twelvemonth's Minecraft live, Mojang announced that the Warden and the Deep Dark biome it hails from are both being pushed dorsum to the 1.19 Wild Update.

Equally they are found so deep underground, Wardens are blind, responding to vibrations and movement instead of calorie-free. If you lot get near one, the area will dim, regardless of whatsoever light source used. You'll know if one is aware of your presence as the 'horns' on its head will glow and rattle.

They're pretty scary, having tons of health and dealing massive harm. They're large, likewise, continuing taller than an Atomic number 26 Golem. They'll also hunt after yous if you don't crouch to sneak past them. Luckily they can be tricked by throwing objects like eggs or snowballs.

Sarah'due south primeval gaming memories involve playing Jet Set Willy on the ZX Spectrum at a friend's house. These days, and when not writing guides, most of her spare time goes into MMOs—though she'due south quite partial to JRPGs besides. She has spent much of the terminal decade playing the likes of Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, Terminal Fantasy 14, and Earth of Warcraft. Sarah has been writing about games for several years and, before joining PC Gamer, freelanced for the likes of TechRadar, GamingBible, and Stone Paper Shotgun. Ane of her fondest hopes is to one 24-hour interval play through the catastrophe of Final Fantasy Ten without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.