It’s been a few months since we got the Minecraft Nether Update and we’ve already got something new to look forward to! Update 1.17, excitingly named Caves And Cliffs, was unveiled at Minecraft Live 2020 and is expected for release in the Summer of 2021. Of course, this is still a little far-off and we’re hoping to get to see more of what the update has in store over the next few months – still, for now, Minecraft Live gave us a pretty interesting first look.
Let’s unpack what we already know about the Caves And Cliffs update!
Cliffs
We’ll start from the top – literally! While this update definitely does more to change the way that caves look and work in the game, cliffs have been given a little makeover, too.
At Minecraft Live, we got a look at some much taller, more expansive cliffs than we’ve been used to seeing. While it hasn’t been confirmed by developers just yet, it looks like the height of the Minecraft OneBlock world could be increased with this new update, allowing for much more exploration and the opportunity for new discoveries whilst playing.
For now, this is just speculation, but the things that have been confirmed are also pretty exciting. With this new update, the biggest gamechanger on the cliffs is the introduction of a new mob – mountain goats! It looks like mountain goats will live exclusively within the mountains biome and, from what we saw at Minecraft Live, they’re not quite as friendly as they look. Goats will be able to jump high into the air and, if they take a disliking to another mob or a player, knock them off the mountains or, at the very least, cause some damage to your health.
Still, it’s an interesting new feature for the mountains biome, and we can’t wait to find out what else mountain goats can do.
Caves
Caves have definitely seen the most changes with this upcoming update than any other area of the world.
First of all, we’ll see a few new kinds of cave. The first of these is Lush Caves, vast underground ecosystems including a few totally new features.
It looks like Lush Caves will have quite a bit of water running through them, as well as being covered with plants, including hanging glow berries, spore blossoms and drip leaves. The latter of these looks to be the most interesting since, during Minecraft Live, we got a look at how drip leaves could be used as platforms for players to reach greater heights. You’ve got to be quick, though – it looks like each leaf on the plant will only hold up a couple of seconds before letting the player fall. Still, a pretty useful new feature!
The most exciting part? Lush Caves will have a new mob of their very own – axolotls! Axolotls will spawn exclusively in Lush Caves and can be tamed by the player when captured in a bucket. After that, you can set them free during a marine adventure so that they can help defend you from hostile mobs, like your very own axolotl army. Pretty cool, right?
We’ve also heard that Lush Caves will be helpfully marked out by an azealia tree on the surface, so you’ll always know when there’s a one in the area. We don’t know whether Lush Caves will exist in all biomes yet, but it’s clear they’re a gamechanger.
Maybe the most interesting new cave we’ll be seeing is The Deep Dark. The Deep Dark looks like a pretty expansive new cave area with plenty to explore. The only issue? Well, as the name suggests, players will be left in the dark. You can light your way with a torch but it looks like that’ll only go so far… especially when The Warden shows up!
The Warden is a pretty scary new hostile mob being introduced with this update, and they’re huge – in fact, The Warden will be able to deal the most damage in a single hit than any other mob in the game, so you’re going to need to learn how to fend him off fast! One interesting thing that we do know is, since this is The Deep Dark, The Warden can’t actually see, meaning that players will be able to distract them by using sound until they can get away – this was shown at Minecraft Live by showing players throwing snowballs in different directions as a distraction. We’re not sure just yet if anything drops if you do manage to kill The Warden. At Minecraft Live, we only saw players losing to him…
Our first look at The Deep Dark also introduced a couple new blocks to the game, including candles and amethyst geodes. It looks like amethyst geodes sprout amethyst crystals, which can be harvested and used to craft new items – so far, we’ve already seen they can be used to craft telescopes.
Overworld
This might be the Caves And Cliffs update, but that doesn’t mean the Overworld has gone without any cool changes! In fact, this update adds a couple new features that we’re already excited about for our Minecraft Survival Server.
First of all, copper ore! Copper ore can be used to craft copper blocks, which look great when they’re used for buildings – they even oxidise over time, changing colour from their burnt orange to a cool blue. You can also use copper to craft lightning rods which, excitingly, can be placed on top of your house and will stop it taking any damage from lightning during a storm.
There’s also new areas for archaeological excavation. Players will be able to use a brush to excavate blocks in these areas to see if there’s anything hidden inside them, with some even containing diamond blocks! Unfortunately, as we saw in the first look at this update, these objects only make it out of that excavation half the time – can’t have it all, can we?
Have you seen the popular Minecraft Manhunt Server? We are working on our own minigame version for OneBlock MC, with inspiration from the popular Dream YouTube Series. Will you be playing?
So, with a long few months ahead of us waiting for the new update, that’s what we can see from our first look! We don’t know about you, but we’re already excited and we can’t wait to see what the developers send our way while we’re waiting – going off what we already know, it’s going to be pretty great.