6 best changes coming to Minecraft's first 2025 game drop

In 2025, Mojang has been releasing several new snapshots for Minecraft's upcoming game drop. In these snapshots, they have introduced loads of new features like falling leaves, leaf litter, wildflowers, and two new pig variants. Along with that, they have also brought several changes to existing features.

Here is a list of some of the best changes coming to Minecraft's upcoming game drop.

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List of 6 great changes coming to Minecraft's upcoming game drop

1) Crouching sprint speed bug returning

Crouching speed bug has been reverted in Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

In 2024, Mojang fixed a movement bug that allowed players to move faster when they went from sprinting to crouch walking. This bug was so old and established that it was considered a movement technique rather than a bug. Hence, when it was removed in snapshot 24w44a, many players protested against it. Mojang eventually reverted the bug fix, bringing back the movement technique to Minecraft.

It was even officially released in 1.21.4 The Garden Awakens. Players will now be able to use this technique in various custom game modes like parkour runs, bedwars, etc.

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2) Larger and more common Pale Garden

Pale Garden will now be much larger in size and more common (Image via Mojang Studios)

When Minecraft 1.21.4 The Garden Awakens drop was released, many players quickly noticed how difficult the new Pale Garden biome was to find. Even after traveling for hours, players were only able to find a small Pale Garden with one or two pale oak trees.

This was addressed in snapshot 25w02a. Mojang mentioned that the Pale Garden biome will be a lot larger and more common in the upcoming game drop in 2025.

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3) Lodestone's new crafting recipe

Lodestone will soon be craftable using iron ingots instead of netherite ingots (Image via Mojang Studios)

A lodestone is a block that, when connected to a compass, will show its location through the device. This helps players find certain locations a lot more easily. The block can be placed in a particular place, and the connected compass can show where that location is.

As of now, the lodestone can only be crafted using eight chiseled stone bricks and one netherite ingot, an extremely expensive and rare item. In the snapshot 25w02a, Mojang finally decided to make lodestone's crafting recipe a lot easier. They replaced the use of netherite ingot with iron ingot. Hence, a lodestone will soon be much easier to craft in the upcoming game drop.

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4) Creaking can be prevented from despawning

Creaking can be nametagged and prevented from despawning (Image via Mojang Studios)

In The Garden Awakens Drop, Mojang added the new Creaking mob that spawned through its creaking heart block in the Pale Garden biome. This mob only spawns at night and automatically despawns when the sun comes up.

Previously, there was no way to keep the Creaking from despawning in Minecraft. In snapshot 25w02a, Mojang changed that by allowing players to put a name tag on the Creaking to prevent it from despawning during daytime.

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5) Farm animals spawn in Badlands

Pigs and other farm animals will soon spawn in Badlands (Image via Mojang Studios)

Badlands was previously considered a desolate biome that had nothing but dead bushes and open mineshafts filled with hostile mobs. This was recently changed by Mojang in snapshot 25w02a as well. The developers decided that farm animals should be able to spawn in the Badlands biome from now on.

With this change, they also added a new warm pig variant in all Badlands biome variants.

Note: As of now, farm animals are generated in Badlands in snapshots. This bug has been reported to Mojang by several players and the developers will soon rectify it before the game drop's release.

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6) Saddles retain custom name after being removed from pigs and striders

Saddles will not lose their names after being taken off from a pig or strider (Image via Mojang Studios)

Previously, when players placed a saddle with a custom name on a strider or pig and then removed it, the saddle's custom name used to vanish. Since naming saddles cost enchantment points, it was quite a frustrating bug for players.

This bug was fixed by Mojang in snapshot 25w02a and will not occur in the upcoming game drop.

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