How to download new Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Snapshot 21w08a

Very few could have predicted that Minecraft, a somewhat rudimentary survival game from the late 2000s, would become the biggest game of the modern era.

The game has evolved way past its original scope and into something that is wholly different and beyond what anyone could have predicted.

One of the things that keeps players coming back to Minecraft is the way developers are constantly tweaking the game and adding new stuff. As a result, Minecraft players never tire of the procedurally-generated world as they would find new content and things to do very often.

Snapshots for Minecraft are essentially testing versions of future updates planned for the game that players can download and play before the update arrives. This is so that players can enjoy new content, and the devs can gather feedback in order to create a more polished update in the future.

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Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Snapshot 21w08a

To download and enable Snapshots in Minecraft Java Edition, simply follow the steps below:

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher.
2. Select the "Installations" tab.
3. Toggle "Enable Snapshots."

Here are some of the changes and tweaks introduced in the Snapshot 21w08a:

Changes in 21W08A

• Tweaked cave sizes further
• Canyon and cave carvers now apply below y=0
• Cracks can now be found carved into the ground
• Grimstone has been changed into Deepslate
• Added Deepslate ores
• The distribution of ores has been further tweaked
• Andesite no longer generates under y=0
• Tuff now sometimes generates under y=0
• The Tuff layer of amethyst geodes has been replaced with now a new type of stone called Smooth Basalt
• Smooth Basalt is now obtained from smelting Basalt
• Another round of tweaking has been done to the new textures of ores and Blackstone
• Emerald and Lapis Lazuli ore textures have had some touch-ups
• Mineshafts now once again generate in the open air in caves
• Particles now appear in the air around spore blossoms
• Slime Blocks and Honey Blocks have been moved to the Redstone tab of the creative inventory

Image via Minecraft

Deepslate

• Grimstone is now called Deepslate
• Deepslate now has a top texture, and a new block called Cobbled Deepslate drops from Deepslate
• The cobbled variant is the same but without the top texture and is used to craft all Deepslate variants instead
• Deepslate now has a unique set of sounds! Very crunchy indeed

Deepslate Ores

• Added Deepslate versions of Iron, Gold, Lapis, Redstone, and Diamond ores that generate wherever those ores replace Deepslate
• Twice as tough to mine as normal ores

To read the complete list of changes and tweaks, head over to the official Minecraft website.