As everyone who is somewhat in touch with gaming culture or playing video games know, Minecraft has been one of the most constantly popular games of the past decade, especially whenever some form of entertainment was needed.
The game was developed by Swedish game developer Markus Persson through Mojang Studios and it has always been this sandbox world where you can do almost anything to survive and create anything your heart desires (mostly).
Naturally, it has received countless updates since its release, and can also be played with shaders and resource packs.
Shaders are computer programs that tamper with the graphics of a game to shade in 3D scenes to your liking. Since Minecraft is such a modifiable platform, you can easily download any shader you prefer and use it in the game to make your water more realistic and the sunsets spectacular.
As for resource packs, they contain custom models, sounds, and textures to change the things you see in the game. This means you can even have a hot pink pickaxe if you really wanted to, but let’s get into what we’re all here for the new Minecraft updates.
Before we dive into the newest update, let’s look at what led up to it. Update 1.17 was the first part of these upcoming hyped updates. Both 1.17 and 1.18 are the Cave and Cliff updates, segmented into two parts.
The first part wasn’t as exciting as the second, rightfully so, since it was more of a base creator for the second. In 1.17, Mojang released three new mobs, which we will discuss shortly, and 91 new blocks and items.
Goats were a part of the new mobs, appearing in cliffed areas with the ability to jump really high and headbutt you, sending you flying off the side of the mountains you find them on. Another addition is you can also obtain their milk, just like with cows.
If you look hard enough, you can also find screaming goats, a special type of goat. The concept is similar to the pandas having various personalities.
Goats also sometimes drop a goat horn when ramming into a block, which can be used as the horn you usually come to hear during raids. We are yet to be sure of the consequences blowing the horn may bring, so stay tuned for new information.
Axolotls were also a new mob that was added, found in or near Lush Caves. These little creatures are not only cute but also useful in combat. When deploying while exploring underwater caves, they attack malicious mobs with you. You can collect these creatures in buckets, to deploy later.
There are many new blocks with different uses, including copper ore, dripstone, pointed dripstone blocks, amethyst geodes, glow lichens, powdered snow, deepslate, moss, glowberries, azalea trees and saplings, and dripleaf plants.
All these additions lead up to new adventures and skills you will have to acquire.
We now also have candles in Minecraft, which is a nice decorative addition to the game, which you can also put on cakes (and then maybe sing “Happy Birthday”) and spyglasses for extreme zooming on distances.
As for update 1.18, this is the second part of this massive Cave and Cliff biome update. We now have a dangerous new mob boss named The Warden and wireless Redstone use for the first time in the game, among many other thighs of course.
The first thing we should talk about is Noise Caves. These caves generate underground and can be found in two varieties: cheese and spaghetti. These terms are used to describe the shape of said caves. Some caves also contain aquifers, referring to flooded caves housing many different ores to mine.
Lush Caves are another big thing. These caves look enchanting with their systems filled with vines, fruit, and flowers hanging from the ceilings. To find these types of caves you must look for Azalea Trees lurking on the surface in all their flowery glory. Mine down, and you will find this sanctuary.
It is worth mentioning these Azalea Plants turn dirt into Rooted Dirt, so you can find harvestable hanging roots beneath them. Pink flowers named Spore Blossoms drop particles into caves, though their effects are yet to be known.
You can also find vines growing Glow Berries in some caves, providing natural light if not eaten. Another new plant is the Dripleaf Plant, which can be stood on until its leaf folds down and lets you fall. These plants are only found in clay pools and can be only planted on submerged blocks.
There are also Dripstone caves and Deep Dark biomes to explore, full of dripstones.
The new y-axis block limit has also been increased to 255 blocks.
The Warden exists in the Deep Dark biome and has one aim: to make you scream in fear. These creatures are hostile and blind, but don’t let that fool you. They sense vibrations, sounds, and footsteps coming from you, attacking you. Their presence even darkens your screen briefly.
Beware of Shriekers, these new blocks scream when you’re near them, alerting the Warden. You can use snowballs to distract them with sound. If it chases you, the center light glows, and it will give you a lot of damage, ignoring armor.
As for the 1.19 “Wild” update, the release date hasn’t been announced yet. Mojang being a company with Gen Z in mind will probably be announcing it soon though, probably in 2024. You can check lensa.com for more information about this one.
This update will focus on new wildlife mobs, including frogs, tadpoles, and the Warden. They will also be adding new blocks like mud and mud brick blocks, mangrove trees, and mangrove wood and bush blocks.
Sculk sensor blocks and Skulk catalysts will also be added, which can be used to detect movement to then send Redstone signals out to alert you.
Boats with chests will also be added to everyone’s avail, so we can finally store our items in our boats as well.
Overall, many new fun things are in store for Minecraft players, even with the Warden’s release being postponed to 2024’s 1.19 update, so be sure to explore these new updates yourselves, learn new skills, and create new designs.
