How to download Minecraft 1.18 Snapshot 21w42a for Java Edition

Last week at Minecraft Live 2021, Mojang announced the next major game update, The Wild Update. With the 1.19 reveal, Mojang reconfirmed they will release the Caves and Cliffs Part 2 update soon.

As deep dark caves shifted to The Wild Update, Minecraft 1.18 is pretty much ready for full release. Developers are somewhat satisfied with the current world generation and are now making some final tweaks to it.

Today, Mojang has officially released a new musical snapshot. Minecraft 21w42a features some new music composed by Lena Raine and Kumi Tanioka. This article is a guide on how to download the latest snapshot.

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Minecraft 1.18 snapshot 21w42a: How to download

By downloading Minecraft 1.18 snapshots, players can enjoy the upcoming world generation features such as mountain biomes, cave biomes, noise caves, and so on. In each snapshot, developers add new features and make further improvements to the 1.18 features.

Unlike Bedrock betas, downloading snapshots doesn't require players to be a tester. All Java players can download snapshots for free. By downloading snapshots, players can get a hands-on experience of the features of the next Minecraft update.

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Steps to download the latest Minecraft snapshot

Players can follow these steps to download and install Minecraft 1.18 snapshot 21w42a:

1. Open Minecraft Launcher. Players who don't have the launcher installed right now can get it from the official website.
2. Click on the "Installations" button and switch to the Installations tab.
3. Under VERSIONS, players can find the Snapshot option. Please enable it.
4. Make a new installation.
5. Enter a name for the new installation and elect snapshot 21w42a.
6. Create a new profile.
7. Switch over to the Play tab and select the newly created profile.
8. Click on the PLAY button to download and install snapshot 21w42a.

After installation, the Minecraft launcher will automatically launch the new snapshot. Players can move their older worlds to the latest snapshot but are advised to make backups before playing them.

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Key features and changes in Minecraft Snapshot 21w42a

• New music for the Overworld.
• A new music disc titled "Otherside" added. It can be rarely found in stronghold corridor chests and even more rarely in dungeons chests.
• Lava springs will also generate in snowy and mountain terrain.
• Water springs are made slightly less common and now generate higher than Y 192.
• Gold ores generate much higher in badlands.

Along with these, there were also some bug fixes and technical changes in snapshot 21w42a.