5 best highlights from Minecraft 1.20 update as 1.21 Tricky Trials draws near

Minecraft 1.20 is beginning to give way to the 1.21 Tricky Trials update, but the additions that the 1.20 Trails & Tales update will continue to be seen and enjoyed for many years to come. While it's easy to get excited about what Tricky Trials will inevitably bring, it is also worthwhile to appreciate the contributions of the 1.20 update.

With Tricky Trials predicted to debut in early June 2024, now isn't a bad time to examine the highlights and best features that Minecraft 1.20 has offered players. Though these additions might be overshadowed when Tricky Trials arrived, they deserve praise where appropriate.

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Five highlights of Minecraft 1.20 before Tricky Trials' release date

1) The Arrival of Archeology

Archeology arrived in Minecraft 1.20 after a significant wait (Image via Mojang)

Archeology gameplay was initially slated for the Minecraft 1.17-1.18 Caves & Cliffs update but was ultimately not implemented. This left players wondering if it would ever be introduced, especially after archeology continued to be a no-show in the 1.19 Wild Update. However, fans finally got their long-awaited archeology feature when Trails & Tales hit the scene.

While archeology could still use plenty of additions and improvements, Mojang has laid a solid groundwork for the future, and hopefully more archeology content is forthcoming.

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2) Cherry Grove Biomes

Cherry groves made their way to vanilla Minecraft 1.20 after being in mods for years (Image via Mojang)

Cherry grove got its start in the Minecraft modding community thanks to countless different biome mods dating back over a decade. Fans requested Mojang to implement the groves in vanilla but began to wonder if this would ever actually happen. However, Mojang came through in the 1.20 update and introduced them as a biome, complete with cherry wood and pink petals.

Despite not having any unique mobs or generated structures, cherry groves have proven to be quite popular, with cherry tree wood being regularly used for its pink-hued color palette.

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3) Bamboo Becomes a Building Block

Bamboo got even more useful in Minecraft 1.20 (Image via Mojang)

Bamboo certainly had its uses before Minecraft 1.20 by way of being a fuel source or being crafted into scaffolding. Trails & Tales introduced bamboo as a wood block complete with different block variations as well as doors, pressure plates, trapdoors, fences, signs, buttons, and more.

While bamboo is far from the most popular block type for building, a solid bamboo farm allows players to craft the accompanying wood blocks as much as they'd like. Bamboo has some great aesthetic and functional uses for base building.

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4) Camels Add More Multiplayer Transport

The 1.20 update's camels allow two players to venture across deserts in style (Image via Mojang)

While players had been traveling together in multiplayer even before the 1.20 update, it did make the process easier with the introduction of camel mobs in desert villages. Once tamed and saddled, up to two players can ride a camel together. The camel's height keeps them relatively safe from the reach of a wide array of different melee-capable hostile mobs.

Add in the fact that the camel can dash to move quickly for a brief period, and this humped mob has expanded the utility of multiplayer transport beyond things like minecart trains.

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5) Armor Trims Add Even More Player Customization

Armor trims gave Minecraft 1.20 players even more ways to show off their style (Image via Mojang)

More customization in Mojang's sandbox game is always a win for the player base, and the 1.20 update introduced a great new customization option with the addition of smithing templates. The majority of smithing templates carried armor trim patterns allowing players to customize their armor with a variety of designs and colors.

Since each trim pattern could be independently placed on different pieces of armor, fans could mix and match different armor trims to fine-tune their look to best suit their tastes.