As one of the popular sandbox games, Minecraft updates are always expected by its players. Some of the most awaited updates is the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update part 2 on Minecraft 1.18.

Aside from cave changes that’s been long awaited by Minecraft players, in Minecraft 1.18 there will be some significant changes as well in the mountains as new biomes. And according to Minecraft official website, this version also contains compliance updates for South Korean players.

In this article, we are going to list all of the updates and new features in this Minecraft Java Edition 1.18, which some Minecraft players may not be aware of.

Minecraft Java Edition 1.18

This major update to Minecraft Java Edition was released around a year ago on 30^th November 2021. But 4 months prior to its official release, there’s 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1 (known as 1_18_experimental-snapshot-1 in the launcher) released on 13^th July 2021. This is the first experimental snapshot for Java Edition 1.18 which introduces new terrain generation and enables features from the preview data pack.

In total, there are 7 experimental snapshots and 8 Pre-releases before this edition was finally officially released.

In Minecraft Java Edition 1.18, there is a lot of improvement and reparation on the Overworld generation such as larger caves, taller mountains, new mountain biomes, new cave biomes, and flooded caves.

All Updates in Minecraft Java Edition 1.18

According to Minecraft’s official website and Minecraft Wikia, there are some updates in this edition:

1. Users running Minecraft in a 32-bit environment will receive a warning in the main menu about the upcoming end of 32-bit environment support.

2. For players located in South Korea, there are gameplay timers and notices to help remind players to take occasional breaks from gameplay. This feature is in compliance with gaming laws in this country.

3. Ender’s chests are no longer gift-wrapped around Christmas.

4. Caves have been extensively renovated and extended to y=-64. Additionally, they are produced in two layers with various stone bases, depending on the depth. Now, the subsurface generates rich cave biomes and dripstone caverns.

5. Mountains now come in 6 sub-biomes:

• Meadow: A grassy elevated biome that looks like flowery and colder plains, with an aqua grass color and dark blue watercolor.

• Grove: Reminiscent of a snowy taiga with a surface of snow blocks and powder snow, instead of grass blocks.

• Snowy Slopes: Generates on the slopes of a mountain when next to plains and snowy tundra. They are always covered in snow, snow block, and powder snow.

• Jagged Peaks: One of three biomes covered in snow, snow blocks, and stone that generate in the mountain peaks. This sub-biome tends to generate in sharp and jagged peaks in areas with snowy, cold, and temperate biomes.

• Frozen Peaks: The other biomes that are also active at mountain tops. The difference between this frozen peak and Jagged Peaks is that instead of being made of stone, this frozen peak is made of ice and is packed ice. In regions with snowy, cold, and temperate biomes, tends to produce smoother and less craggy peaks.

• Stony Peaks: One of three biomes that generate in the mountain peaks. As its name, it is covered in stone, gravel, and strips of calcite. Tends to generate in any peak surrounded by warm biomes such as jungles and savannas, to avoid temperature clashes.

6. There are 4 new advancements in Minecraft 1.18:

• Caves & Cliffs

Fall from the top to the bottom of the Overworld.

• Feels like home

Ride a strider on lava for 50 blocks in the Overworld.

• Sound of Music

Play music with a jukebox in a meadow biome.

• Star Trader

Trade with a villager at the build height limit.

New Features in Minecraft Java Edition 1.18

1. New Heights for Ore Generations

The world generation in Minecraft Java Edition 1.18 gets higher and deeper since its heights are being increased both upwards and downwards. As a result, there is no doubt that the ore distribution has changed.

Below are the updated ore generation heights:

• Coal ores: can be found anywhere between y=0 to y=256. You can find it either on top of small hills or inside the mountains. But the sweet spot for this ore is at y=96 since you can find them mostly at this height.

• Redstone ores: you need to dig deeper to find Redstone, as the most common place to find this ore is at y=-64.

• Gold ores: even though this ore can be found between levels y=-64 to y=32, gold ores are most common at y=-16. But still, their quantities are very small. Large quantities of gold ores can be found in the Badlands biome between y=32 and y=256.

• Emerald ores: previously, Emerald was one of the rarest ores in Minecraft, since it’s useful for trading with Minecraft villagers. But in this Minecraft 1.18 update, you can find it quite easily at y=232, especially in Minecraft 1.18.1 mountain biome seeds. Even though this ore is generated between y=-16 to y=256, it is better to stay on the upper ground since its generation decreases if you dig deeper.

• Iron ores: iron ore can be found at a height as low as y=-32 and goes as high as y=256. Though as one of the most common ores that can be found at any y level, it is better to find it in the mountains instead of underground where you can find the most amount of it. This ores generation maximizes at y=16 and y=232. You can also find iron ore veins between y=-8 and y=-56.

• Lapis Lazuli: This rarest ore in all of Minecraft biomes can be found between y=-64 to y=64 but is most common at y=0.

• Copper ores: It is reasonable that even though this mineral may be found in different world heights, people are still trying to figure out what to do with it since it is a recently added component of the Caves and Cliffs upgrade. This ore is rather widespread and is readily available in the mountains between y=-16 and y=112. If you’re interested in farming this ore, y=48 is the best level to find it, and the dripstone caves biome has a higher spawn rate for it.

• Diamond ores: if you want to find this most popular ore, you need to work a little bit harder and dig deeper since, in Minecraft 1.18, the diamond ore only generates below y=16 world height. And to get the most quantity of this ore, make sure you are at y=-64.

2. Spawner Changes

There’s a CustomSpawnRules tag being added in Minecraft 1.18 and you can set custom BlockLightLimit values for spawners using this tag. The value set will indicate the highest block light at which mobs will be spawned through the spawners. 

Spawner changes will also make sure that caves are safer than before because monsters will only spawn in complete and total darkness.

3. Seed Parity

In order to construct worlds in Minecraft, you must employ a special numerical system known as seeds. Furthermore, it is well known that this number behaved differently in the Java and Bedrock editions.

However if as a Minecraft player you use a seed value below 4,294,967,296, there’s good news for you. Because finally in this 1.18 release, seed parity between Minecraft Bedrock and Minecraft Java Edition is added by this game’s developer at Mojang studio.

Last but not least, please bear in mind that even though the world generated between these 2 editions will be so similar and quite challenging to spot the difference, it is still not completely identical.

4. Light Emitted from Enchanting Tables

For enchanting any items in the Minecraft game, naturally, the enchanting tables are necessary. Up until Minecraft 1.18 is released, these enchanting tables can only emit light in the Bedrock edition.

But currently, with Minecraft 1.18, they will be able to emit light in the Java edition as well. And of course, The light emitting will only happen on level seven.

5. Warden that Can’t be Killed

In Minecraft 1.18, developers discouraged players from killing the new blind mob called warden by making it unkillable and no rewards for players who are able to do so.

You can still get some benefits if you’re able to find special loot chests while exploring the deep dark cave biome.

Conclusion

Looking at all of the updates and new features of Minecraft Java Edition 1.18, it can be said that this edition titled “Caves & Cliffs Part II” focus was to fix a few bugs and issues here and there and made sure that caves are relatively safer than before to be explored.

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