Minecraft Java Edition 1.19 release date and additions

Minecraft's long-awaited version 1.19 update, coined "The Wild Update," will be released on June 7, 2022.

After its announcement at Minecraft LIVE 2021 in October last year, players are less than a week away from plenty of new in-game additions.

The Wild Update is slated to be released on the same day for Minecraft: Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, and Pocket Edition.

As far as content inclusions go, these versions will be receiving the same treatment. However, there may be small changes here and there that cater to players of specific versions while solving a host of bugs where appropriate.

All the same, there's a ton of content coming in version 1.19, and it doesn't hurt to take a look at the most notable examples.

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Content highlights of Minecraft's The Wild Update

1) Mangrove Swamps and Frogs

A frog rests on a swamp lily pad (Image via Mojang)

Swamp biomes in Minecraft have needed some improvements for quite some time. Fortunately, Mojang has included a new swamp variant, as well as a new mob that is sure to frequent them.

Players can now explore new mangrove swamp biomes complete with new mangrove trees to harvest and re-plant using mangrove propagules, which operate similar to saplings. Mangrove propagules can survive when planted in water, and mangrove trees can grow out of the water, thanks to their root systems.

There are also mud blocks to consider, which is a new building block with some extensive uses. Minecraft players can harvest mud blocks directly from mangrove swamp biomes or create them by using water bottles on dirt blocks.

Mud blocks can then be used as a building material right away or crafted into packed mud. Players can form the packed mud blocks into mud bricks.

Mud bricks can be used as a building or decorative block or be crafted further into slabs, stairs, and walls, much like other brick blocks.

Minecraft 1.19 will also see the addition of frogs and tadpoles. Frogs can spawn in various biomes and will have different colorations depending on the temperature of the biome they grow up in.

Frogs are capable of eating small slimes and creating slimeballs (which can be used to breed frogs) as well as devouring small magma cubes to create froglights. This new light-producing block comes in different colors depending on the color of the frog that produced it.

Tadpoles are the infant form of frogs in The Wild Update. They are born from frogspawn blocks, which are laid by adult frogs.

Tadpoles must survive within water and will panic and run back to it if they end up on dry land. These little critters will also flee in a panic at the first sight of an axolotl, likely due to these Minecraft mobs being hostile to all forms of aquatic life.

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2) The Allay

Multiple Allays roaming the Overworld (Image via Mojang)

Winner of Minecraft LIVE's 2021 Mob Vote event, the Allay will make its full debut in The Wild Update. This friendly little mob can be found captured in woodland mansions and pillager outposts. They will also assist players who free them.

By giving an Allay a block or item, the creature will roam currently-loaded chunks searching for loose items dropped on the ground that match the block they were given.

Allays can carry up to a stack of a single item or block. However, one thing can disrupt an Allay's collection tasks in Minecraft: note blocks.

When a nearby Allay hears a note block activate, it will drop its carried items and investigate the source of the sound.

It's unclear why this is the case, but Mojang has confirmed that this behavior was intentional. Perhaps the sound of music simply distracts the floating blue creatures.

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3) New Items and Utility Blocks

Boats with chests are the newest transport/storage combo block (Image via Phoenix SC/Youtube)

In addition to the primary updates in Minecraft 1.19, many blocks and items that provide players with miscellaneous benefits will be added. Among these are boats with chests, music disc 5, echo shards and the recovery compass. Goat horns are also making a return after some time in flux during Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs update.

Boats with chests operate similarly to minecarts with chests. Minecraft players can ride their boat on the water and keep materials and items stored in the accompanying chest. Granted, this chest is only a single chest block, so it doesn't have a ton of room, but it's certainly better than keeping everything in a player's inventory.

Echo shards are a new Minecraft loot item that can only be found in the deep dark biome's ancient cities. When eight echo shards are combined with a compass, players can create a recovery compass, which will point to the location where they last died.

Ancient city loot chests also contain disc fragments, which are exceptionally rare. With nine fragments combined, players can create The Wild Update's new music disc titled "5."

Goat horns will be returning to Minecraft in version 1.19 after being continuously fiddled with in the Caves & Cliffs update. These items can be found in pillager outposts. They can also be dropped by goats when they ram coal ore, copper ore, emerald ore, iron ore, logs, packed ice or stone blocks.

Goat horns now come in eight different variants that play different sounds when the player uses them. Once they've struck the correct blocks with a ram, goats and screaming goats will drop a random horn type.

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4) The Deep Dark, Ancient Cities, and The Warden

The Warden is a looming danger in the deep dark (Image via Mojang)

Likely the most-anticipated Minecraft version 1.19 addition, the deep dark biome will finally arrive. After being delayed during the Caves & Cliffs update, players can now enjoy the full scope of the game's newest subterranean domain.

The deep dark is found below Y=0 and is covered in new sculk blocks. These animated blocks have multiple variants, including those that can sense player movements (sculk sensors) and even shriek when disturbed (sculk shriekers). This new biome also contains ancient cities, which contain items that players can't find anywhere else.

Minecraft players should tread lightly, however, as disturbing sculk shriekers too often will lead to the appearance of the Warden. This boss-like mob features the highest health total of any mob in the game, and it can instantly kill unprotected players in one hit.

The Warden can also utilize a sonic ranged attack with considerable reach. Fortunately, players have an advantage over the Warden due to its blindness. It must resort to its senses of touch, smell and hearing to find its targets, making it easy to distract.

Furthermore, as an undead mob, the Warden is susceptible to splash potions and arrows of healing. It may not be the most economical strategy, but players will need all the help they can get in order to come out on top.

With The Wild Update releasing in just a few days, players should now have plenty to look forward to.

A little extra knowledge of the game's mobs, features, and mechanics should allow players to prioritize what they do first in their 1.19 world.