Caves & Cliffs
{
"title": "Caves & Cliffs",
"images": [
"Java Edition 1.17.jpg",
"Bedrock Edition 1.17.0.jpg",
"Caves&Cliffs2Java.jpg",
"Caves&Cliffs2Bedrock.jpg"
],
"rows": [
{
"field": "June 8, 2021 <small>(Part I)</small><br>November 30, 2021 <small>(Part II)</small>",
"label": "Release date"
},
{
"field": "(link to Java Edition 1.17 article, displayed as Java Edition 1.17) <small>(Part I)</small><br>(link to Bedrock Edition 1.17.0 article, displayed as Bedrock Edition 1.17.0) <small>(Part I)</small><br>(link to Java Edition 1.18 article, displayed as Java Edition 1.18) <small>(Part II)</small><br>(link to Bedrock Edition 1.18.0 article, displayed as Bedrock Edition 1.18.0) <small>(Part II)</small>",
"label": "Version(s)"
},
{
"field": "\n*Underground Update",
"label": "Preliminary<br>name(s)"
}
],
"invimages": [],
"footer": "<div style=\"display:inline-block\">\n<div style=\"display:inline-block;padding:0 .4em\"><span style=\"margin-right:-0.35em\">◄</span>◄ [[Nether Update]]</div>\n\n</div><div style=\"display:inline-block\">\n\n<div style=\"display:inline-block;padding:0 .4em\">[[The Wild Update]] <span style=\"margin-right:-0.35em\">►</span>►</div>\n</div>"
}
👁 Image Caves & Cliffs logo.
👁 Image There are guides for this update!
Caves & Cliffs , also known as the Cave Update ,[ 2] Java Bedrock Java Edition 1.17 and Bedrock Edition 1.17.0 on June 8, 2021,[ 3] [ 4] blocks and mobs . The second part was released as Java Edition 1.18 and Bedrock Edition 1.18.0 [ 5] [ 6] Overworld generation, including new caves and mountains .
Caves & Cliffs was announced in Minecraft Live 2020 ,[ 7] Mojang Studios announced that the update would be split into two portions due to the amount and complexity of content, as well as team health.[ 8] Minecraft Live 2021 that the Deep Dark portion, as well as certain items, of the Caves & Cliffs update would be delayed until The Wild Update to improve quality.
On Java Edition 20w45a , which was released on November 4, 2020. The first pre-release for Caves & Cliffs: Part I was released on May 27, 2021, and the first release candidate on June 4, 2021. Part II started development with 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1 , which was released on July 13, 2021, followed by the first pre-release on November 11, 2021, and the first release candidate on November 25, 2021.
On Bedrock Edition beta 1.16.200.52 , which was released on October 28, 2020. Most of the Part I features were behind experimental gameplay toggle until the Part I release and were not included in the full 1.16.200 , 1.16.210 , and 1.16.220 release.[ 9] [ 10] beta 1.17.30.23 , which was released on August 25, 2021. In 1.17.10 , released on July 13, 2021, non-beta users were able to test out most of early Part II features behind experimental gameplay.[ 11]
Both Java and Bedrock editions received Caves & Cliffs: Part I on June 8, 2021,[ 3] [ 6]
Additionally, features from Caves & Cliffs: Part I, were released for Minecraft Education 1.17.30 on November 2, 2021. Part II features were released in 1.18.32 on August 9, 2022.
For China Edition
Amethyst family of blocks:
Azalea family of blocks:
👁 Image Calcite
👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image Candle
👁 Image 👁 Image Cave vines
Copper block set:
Deepslate block set:
Dripleaf
Plants with big leaves that generate in lush caves .
👁 Image Small dripleaf Can only be place underwater in certain blocks.
Can be place on land on clay or moss block.
Using bone meal turns it to a big dripleaf. 👁 Image Big dripleaf Can be used as a temporary platform.
The longer a player, mob, or entity stands on it, the leaf droops down and drops them before returning to its untilted state.
If powered , they don't droop down. 👁 Image Dripstone block
👁 Image Glow lichen
A naturally occurring light source found rarely in caves, growing on any face of a block.
Obtained with shears , otherwise breaks.
Up to 6 can be put on the same block space, merging into one block. 👁 Image Moss block
👁 Image Powder snow
Found in groves and snowy slopes .
Can also be farmed using a cauldron when snowing.
Causes players and mobs to fall through and move at a slow speed.
Raw metal blocks:
👁 Image Smooth basalt
👁 Image Spore blossom
Found in lush caves .
Produces green particles from above. 👁 Image Tinted glass
Crafted using a glass block surrounded by four amethyst shards .
Allows the ability to see through the block but blocks out light from within. 👁 Image Tuff
Found in blobs sizes underground from y-levels of -63 to 0.
Can also be found in iron ore veins. 👁 Invicon Amethyst Shard.png: Sprite image for Amethyst Shard in Minecraft Amethyst shard
👁 Invicon Bucket of Axolotl.png: Sprite image for Bucket of Axolotl in Minecraft Bucket of axolotl
Obtained by using a water bucket on an axolotl .
Can be used to transport the axolotl to a new location. 👁 Invicon Copper Ingot.png: Sprite image for Copper Ingot in Minecraft Copper ingot
👁 Invicon Glow Berries.png: Sprite image for Glow Berries in Minecraft Glow berries
Grows on cave vines found natrually in lush caves .
Restores 2 (👁 🍗 hunger and gives 0.4 hunger saturation. 👁 Invicon Glow Ink Sac.png: Sprite image for Glow Ink Sac in Minecraft Glow ink sac
👁 Invicon Music Disc Otherside.png: Sprite image for Music Disc Otherside in Minecraft "Otherside" music disc
👁 Invicon Powder Snow Bucket.png: Sprite image for Powder Snow Bucket in Minecraft Powder snow bucket
Obtained from using a bucket on powder snow or a cauldron that is filled with powder snow.
Used to place powder snow, which does not have an item form. 👁 Invicon Raw Iron.png: Sprite image for Raw Iron in Minecraft 👁 Invicon Raw Gold.png: Sprite image for Raw Gold in Minecraft 👁 Invicon Raw Copper.png: Sprite image for Raw Copper in Minecraft Raw metal
Obtained from mining their respective ores
Smelts into its corresponding ingots . Spawn eggs :
👁 Invicon Spyglass.png: Sprite image for Spyglass in Minecraft 👁 Image Spyglass
Crafted using a amethyst shard on top of two copper ingots.
Used to zoom in from afar. 👁 Image Axolotl
👁 Image Glow squid
A variant of the squid that spawns in dark, underwater areas.
They appear to glow, but does not produce any light.
Drops glow ink sacs when killed. 👁 Image Goat
A neutral mob that spawns in mountain biomes .
Can jump 10 blocks tall.
It takes less fall damaged unlike some mobs.
Avoids powder snow .
Will try to ram into a stationary entity, including the player.
If successful, the entity takes 1HP 👁 💔 HP 👁 ❤️ 👁 💔
Having a rare screaming variant.
Tend to be more aggressive than normal goats.
Can come in both a normal variant and a rare screaming variant.
Can be bred with wheat .
👁 Image 👁 Invicon Glow Item Frame.png: Sprite image for Glow Item Frame in Minecraft 👁 Image Glow item frame
Crafted using an glow ink sac and item frame .
Acts similarly to standard item frames, but items and maps are visible in the dark. Major overhaul of terrain and cave generation, with a new expanded world height from top to bottom.
Biomes can now be generated in 3D, with different biomes depending now on y-level.
Caves are now composed of two layers depending on depth.
A stone layer, found in y-levels above 0.
A deepslate layer, found in y-levels below 8.
Aquifers , or bodies of water, generate deep underground, independent of sea level at Y=63.Caves now come in three noise generations: "cheese", "spaghetti", and "noodle".
Cheese caves are large sprawling caves with stone pillars from top to bottom, and allows for elytra flight.
Spaghetti caves are long, thin caves with smaller aquifers.
Noodle caves are thinner, and smaller compared to spaghetti caves.
Upgrading worlds before this update now blend chunk boundaries from old chunks to new chunks seemlessly.
The bedrock layer for older worlds is converted to deepslate. Cave biomes:
👁 Image Lush caves Found underground in areas with high humidity, such as jungles .
Axolotls and tropical fishes can only be found here.Generates with azalea , moss block , moss carpet , grass , tall grass , vines , water , clay , small and big dripleaf , spore blossoms , and glow berries . Mountain biomes:
👁 Image Amethyst geode
👁 Image Azalea tree
👁 Image Dripstone
Generates as cluster of dripstone blocks or with pointed dripstone. 👁 Image Ore vein
👁 Image Underwater magma
Generates on underground bodies of water. Items
Blackstone , gilded blackstone , polished blackstone bricks , and cracked polished blackstone bricks as well as stair, slab and wall variants
Slightly changed the texture. Block of lapis lazuli
Renamed from "Lapis Lazuli Block" to "Block of Lapis Lazuli". 👁 Image Cake
Have a variation called "Cake with Candle".
Can be created by using a candle on an uneaten cake.
The candle on the cake comes in 17 colors, depending on the color of the candle used to create it.
The candle pops off when any of the cake is eaten. 👁 Image 👁 Image Cauldron
Can now be filled with lava (previous exclusive to Bedrock Edition Lava-filled cauldrons can damage players and mobs inside of them, and give off a redstone comparator signal of strength 3.
Powder snow cauldrons are formed when cauldrons are under the sky during snowfall .
Can also be filled with powder snow by using a powder snow bucket on it.
Cauldrons can also filled water or lava when a pointed dripstone had the liquid on top. 👁 Image Dirt path
Dispenser
👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image Ores
Now received texture changes in their ore shape to better made them distinct for colorblind players.
Diamond ore kept the classic shape with only some minor tweaks with colorization.
Iron ore and gold ore no longer drops itself when mined with a non-Silk Touch pickaxe; instead giving their raw mineral form.
This permits both blocks to be affected with Fortune for the first time for increased drops. 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image 👁 Image Signs
Changed textures to better match with the new plank texture.
Can now be tinted with glow ink sacs to make the text glow.
Glowing signs do not affect the light level, but appear as if the text itself is illuminated.
Regular ink sacs can be used to remove the glowing effect. Change several item textures for consistency:
Leather armor
Prevents the player or mob from freezing in the powder snow .
Wearing leather boots prevent them from sinking.
Can also use to "swim" in the powder snow. The light level spawn rate of monsters had been decreased to 0.
Drowned
Skeleton
Now converts into strays on a powder snow instead of froze to death. 👁 Image Siamese cat
Shulker
If a shulker is hit by another shulker's projectile, it now has a chance of spawning a new shulker. Shulkers are more likely to spawn new shulkers when there are fewer shulkers nearby. 👁 Image Spectral arrow [Java Edition only
Change texture to better match its item form. Painting
Change the back texture to match the new plank textures. 👁 Image Ore distribution changes. Changed ore generation of all ores making them have a spread value like lapis lazuli ore . Some still retain a linear generation alongside a spread generation.
Coal ore attempts to generate twice: once, evenly between an altitude of Y=136 and Y=256; and as a spread, peaking at an altitude of Y=96 and generating between an altitude of Y=0 and Y=192.Copper ore generates between Y=-16 and Y=112, generating the most at Y=48 and like all other ores, uses spread. It peaks at Y=48. Bigger blobs of copper ore generate in dripstone caves.Iron ore attempts to generate three times: once as a spread peaking at an altitude of Y=256, generating above Y=80; another as a spread peaking at Y=16 and generating with a minimum height of Y=-24 and a maximum height of Y=57, and a smaller one spreading evenly between the altitudes of Y=-64 and Y=-32.Gold ore generates between the altitudes of Y=-64 and Y=32, peaking at Y=-16. Also, extra gold generates below Y=-48. The extra gold that generates in the badlands biome was increased, with a top height limit from Y=79 to Y=256, and increased number of blobs.Lapis lazuli ore attempts to generate twice: once, as a spread between the altitudes of Y=32 and Y=-32, peaking at an altitude of 0; and evenly between the altitudes of Y=64 and Y=-64, generating buried like ancient debris .Redstone ore attempts to generate twice: once, evenly between an altitude of Y=15 and Y=-64; and as a spread, peaking at an altitude of -64 and generating below an altitude of Y=-32.Diamond ore now generate as a spread, generating below Y=16 and peaking at depths near Y=-64.Emerald ore generates above Y=-16 as a spread, peaking at Y=256 and decreasing in quantity as the altitude decreases.
The size and positioning of diorite, andesite, granite, gravel and dirt has been tweaked - there are larger blobs of these blocks but they're fewer and further apart.
Diorite, andesite and granite generate less commonly above Y=60. Some biomes have been renamed:
Old name
New name
Tall Birch Forest
Old Growth Birch Forest
Giant Tree Taiga
Old Growth Pine Taiga
Giant Spruce Taiga
Old Growth Spruce Taiga
Snowy Tundra
Snowy Plains
Jungle Edge
Sparse Jungle
Stone Shore
Stony Shore
Mountains
Windswept Hills
Wooded Mountains
Windswept Forest
Gravelly Mountains
Windswept Gravelly Hills
Shattered Savanna
Windswept Savanna
Wooded Badlands Plateau
Wooded Badlands
Since the terrain height is no longer controlled by biomes, most of the height variant sub-biomes, along with previously unused biome variants have been removed from the game and had their code merged into the main biome: As a result of this change:
All deserts are now eligible for village and desert pyramid generation.
All taigas are now eligible for village and pillager outpost generation.
All swamps are now eligible for swamp hut generation.
All snowy taigas are now eligible for igloo generation.
Worlds made in previous versions that generated these biomes convert them into their default variants. 👁 Image Badlands
Now can generate in mountain peaks.
Red sand generates a bit higher.
Red sandstone now generates naturally once again. 👁 Image Beach
Now are generally wider.
In some places there is a chance where no beaches generate at all, to provide some variation 👁 Image Stony shore
Now generate with strips of gravel.
Can generate alongside any biome instead of just windswept hills. 👁 Image Fossil
👁 Image Spring
👁 Image Swamp oak
Now able to generate in slightly deeper water than before. 👁 Image Mineshaft
Now generate with oak logs as pillars, and oak fences with chains as a means for support. 👁 Image Village
Now slightly more spread out.
Now generate in meadows . 1.17
1.17.1 made changes to some game mechanics and fixes bugs.1.18
1.17
1.17.1 was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch to fix a bug in which players weren't able to connect to any server.1.17.2 was released to fix bugs related to world generation.1.17.10 added candles , brought additional parity with Java Edition 1.18.0 , and fixed bugs.1.17.11 was released to fix some critical bugs.1.17.30 was released to bring additional parity with Java Edition 1.17.32 was released to fix some critical bugs after the release of 1.17.30.1.17.33 was released exclusively on Fire tablets to fix a bug in which players weren't able to launch the game.1.17.34 was released to fix a bug in which owned content did not appear in the inventory after redeeming a retail code.1.17.40 was released to fix bugs and add more features behind the experimental toggle.1.17.41 was released to fix some critical bugs after the release of 1.17.40.1.18
1.18.1 and 1.18.2 were released to fix some critical bugs after the release of 1.18.0.1.18.10 was released to bring more parity with Java Edition 1.18.11 was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch to fix bugs.1.18.12 was released to fix bugs.1.18.30 was released to add new Create New World UI, more parity with Java Edition 1.18.31 was released to add the Spectator mode experimental toggle and fix bugs.1.18.32 was released exclusively on Android, Fire OS, and Nintendo Switch to improve game performance.1.18.33 was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch to fix bugs.Shortly after Part II, a tie-in world was released on the Marketplace . The release involves exploring the ruins of a destroyed village, helping various characters rebuild the town using new features from the update. Throughout the world are guest appearances from YouTubers such as Logdotzip and BigB , using the same character designs featured in the YouTube Creators Skin Pack . The map went on to be promoted itself, with a special animation detailing its backstory.
Coinciding with the release of Part I was a trilogy of short stories published on Minecraft.net . Written by Sofia Dankis , the trilogy touches on various features introduced in the update, including goats , axolotls , and lush caves .
A trailer for Part I was released on June 8, 2021.
A trailer for Part II was released on November 30, 2021.
Minecraft Caves & Cliffs Update: Part II - Official Trailer (view on YouTube )
Videos made by slicedlime :
What's New in Minecraft 1.17 - The Caves and Cliffs Update Part I? (view on YouTube )
Technical News in Minecraft Java Edition 1.17 - The Caves & Cliffs Update Part I (view on YouTube )
What's New in Minecraft 1.18 - The Caves & Cliffs Update Part II? (view on YouTube )
Where Are The Diamonds? Ore Distribution in Minecraft 1.18 - The Caves & Cliffs Update (view on YouTube )
Texture Updates in Minecraft 1.18 - The Caves & Cliffs Update (view on YouTube )
Caves, Cliffs & Other Updates: How We Make Minecraft - Episode 5 (view on YouTube )
“
Go underwater to team up with the axolotl and meet the glow squid. Tread carefully on higher ground because the goats might ram you!
„
“
Explore bigger mountains, caves, and biomes along with an increased world height and updated terrain generation in the Caves & Cliffs Update.
„
Mojang Studios employees explored real caves to research for the update. This helped give inspiration and ideas for the update, including for the noodle caves (previously called mesh caves).[ 12] [ 13] The art style of the concept art for Caves & Cliffs was inspired by the concept art of the Adventure Time Diamonds and Lemons Minecraft [ 15]
Archaeology , bundles , the deep dark biome, sculk blocks, the warden , and goat horns were originally planned to be added in this update, but were delayed to a later version when the update was split. Sculk, the deep dark, the warden, and goat horns were added in The Wild Update , archaeology was added in the Trails & Tales update, and bundles were added in the Bundles of Bravery drop.[ 16]
Caves & Cliffs release logo
Caves & Cliffs: Part I artwork
Caves & Cliffs: Part I artwork without logo
Caves & Cliffs: Part II artwork
Caves & Cliffs: Part II artwork without logo
The reveal of the Caves & Cliffs: Part II artwork
The logo used at
Minecraft Live 2020 , which uses the former "Minecraft" logo, also used in promotional images for Caves & Cliffs: Part II (see above)
A view of the lush caves
Big dripleaves
A player boating inside of a spaghetti cave, showcasing a subterranean water feature.
A path of glow lichen in a cave
A large underground lake in a cheese cave
One of the only pictures of a mesh cave
In an image from a developer, a likely prototype for
calcite strips can be seen as well as tuff strips that never ended up being implemented
The full screenshot that the previous image was cropped from with a prominent floating village
A view of the dripstone caves
Multiple goats, showcasing jump height
Inside of an amethyst geode
A copper roof house with weathered copper
An axolotl army attacking an elder guardian
A leaked screenshot showing "waterlogged-rail" in the title
Several Caves & Cliffs features around a cozy cabin
Lush caves and its vegetation
Lush caves
Lush caves at night
Dripstone caves and pointed dripstone
Lake caves
Flooded caves
Axolotl and the warden
"Cutie in a Bucket" - concept art of axolotl
School of axolotls
"Scale of Cuteness". Concept art of the axolotl, goat, and the warden
Concept art of underground crystals, which was later reiterated into the amethyst geode
Concept art of a crystal cave, which was later reiterated into the amethyst geode
Revised cave generation
Changes to ore distribution and introduction of
ore veins
Changes to world height from Y=-64 up to Y=320
3D biome distribution
Biomes now adapting to any type of terrain generations
World blending between old and new chunks
Mob spawning changes
↑ https://youtu.be/2cxUNoWNy50?t=2049 ↑ "I've been at Mojang for a year now. This year has been absolutely bizarre, but I couldn't be happier to be working on the game of my dreams. – @kingbdogz on X (formerly Twitter), January 7, 2021↑ a b "Caves & Cliffs: Part I Out Today on Bedrock" by Matt Gartzke – Minecraft.net , June 8, 2021.↑ "Grab your nearest calendar and start circling with a vengeance: Caves & Cliffs: Part I arrives June 8th on both Java and Bedrock!" – @Minecraft (Minecraft) on X (formerly Twitter), May 31, 2021↑ "Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs Update FAQ" . ↑ a b "Caves & Cliffs Update Part II is coming" by Sofia Dankis – Minecraft.net , November 17, 2021.↑ "Minecraft Live: The Recap" – Minecraft.net , October 3, 2020.↑ "A Caves & Cliffs Announcement" – Minecraft on YouTube, April 14, 2021↑ "My understanding is that Experimental Features only exist in Beta releases." – @MattGartzke on X (formerly Twitter), December 2, 2020↑ "Goats are still in the latest beta, they just can't be accessed from a full version, only betas." – @MattGartzke on X (formerly Twitter), December 2, 2020↑ "New world generation in Bedrock available for testing" – Minecraft.net , July 13, 2021.↑ "Yes, and yes. Was hoping to do a larger field trip to different countries with interesting caves, but covid got in the way so we had stay more local." – @henrikkniberg on X (formerly Twitter), October 23, 2020↑ "Mesh caves were inspired by this field trip." – @henrikkniberg on X (formerly Twitter), October 21, 2020↑ "I used to travel a lot in the past though (before becoming aware of climate change), and I like visiting caves, so I dug up memories from fascinating cave visits in Spain, South Africa, New Zealand, and British Virgin Isles and some other places." – @henrikkniberg on X (formerly Twitter), October 23, 2020↑ "Definitely one of my biggest inspirations! My favorite show + favorite game - it shaped a lot how I approached concepts for Minecraft artstyle" – @cookiecat_9 on X (formerly Twitter), October 4, 2020↑ "A Caves & Cliffs Announcement" – Minecraft on YouTube, April 14, 2021
Named updates
Multi-edition
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Minecraft : Java Edition
* indicates a reupload † indicates a lost version‡ indicates a version with a variant
Minecraft
Segments
Bookends
Panels
Short films
Cinematics
Recurring
Participants
Characters
Caricatures
Hosts
Guests
Studios
Releases
Media
Updates
DLC
Technical
_JE1_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE2_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE2_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE3.png){kind=link}
_JE3.png){kind=link}
_JE2.png){kind=link}
_JE2.png){kind=link}
_JE2.png){kind=link}
_(E)_JE3.png){kind=link}
_JE2.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
_JE2.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
_JE1_BE1.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
.png){kind=link}
_JE4_BE3.png){kind=link}
_JE4_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE4_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE5_BE3.png){kind=link}
_JE4_BE2.png){kind=link}
_JE4_BE2.png){kind=link}
_Artwork.jpg){kind=link}
