Archaeology, waterfall caverns, and axolotls are coming to Minecraft next Summer
The new Caves and Cliffs update will let you be a blocky Indiana Jones.
Mojang has announced a new Minecraft update that will be giving the sandbox's gloomy caverns a bunch of new features. The Caves and Cliffs update was announced during this year's Minecraft Live, a yearly event where Mojang reveals what it has been working on throughout the year.
Exploring caves in Minecraft can be both treacherous and a little dreary, but the Caves and Cliffs update adds a whole lot of new life to those damp caverns. Mojang has yet to set a specific date, but it says that the cave glow up will be releasing sometime next summer in 2021. There's a lot of fun stuff in this update, so here's a break down of what to get excited about:
Better cave generation
Mojang says that there will be much more variety in how caves are generated, so instead of a dreary open hollow, expect plenty of narrow tunnels, huge caverns, cave lakes, and even waterfall caverns. If you've ever wanted to raft down a huge underground waterfall into a dark abyss, this update will now let you do just that.
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Archaeology system
This one sounds like a lot of fun. The new update will include an archaeology system where players can find artefacts in buried ruins. There's even a new way of mining where you use a brush item to carefully dig out the artefact and try not to damage it.
New Blocks
First up is the Sculk Sensor block that reacts to movement by letting out a redstone signal, giving players more ways to create intricate contraptions. There's also stalactite and stalagmite blocks that make up the inner rocks of the caves, and a new copper ore that can be used to craft a lightning rod block. Mojang also hints that if players are lucky enough to find a bunch of crystal geodes that they can craft a telescope, which is pretty cool.
New Mobs
A bunch of new mobs ae coming, and Mojang's revealed that two of them: the Warden and the Axolotl. The Wardens are hostile mobs that react based on movement rather than sight, which is giving me all sorts of horror movie flashbacks. Thankfully, the second mob is much nicer. The Axolotl is a creature that resides in pools of water and can help you out in battle. Much like real-life, it's super cute and friendly.
Cliffs update
The list of new features for cliffs in Minecraft is much smaller, with Mojang summing up that it will include more spectacular mountain generation, snow traps, and cheeky mountain goats.
Other news from Minecraft Live was Mojang's Minecraft: Education Edition's introduction of its new Equality and Inclusion lesson category that includes a map that takes students through historic civil rights movements. Minecraft Dungeons will also be getting cross-play, a free game update called Apocalypse plus, and a new Howling Peaks DLC.