Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update: Changes to caves, new blocks, mobs, and more revealed

The upcoming Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update is perhaps the biggest fans will ever see.

It will revamp caves and mountains in-game, which Mojang neglected over Minecraft's long history. The 1.17 update focuses on improving these in-game experiences and adding new content to the game.

The Caves and Cliffs update will be released in mid-2021, and fans are excited about the changed cave and mountain generation. There are also new mobs, blocks, and gameplay changes.

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Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update: Recapping the changes

Changes to caves and mountains

Caves and mountains will see prominent changes (Image via Minecraft)

In this update, caves are getting bigger and deeper. There are many new cave biomes: dripstone caves, lush caves, deep dark caves, and mesh caves. Mojang is also adding two new types of cave formations: cheese and spaghetti.

Along with caves, mountains are growing bigger too. The Caves and Cliffs update adds five new mountain biomes:

• Mountain Meadow: The lowest layer of mountain
• Mountain Grove: Comes above the mountain meadow
• Snowy Slopes: Third layer of mountain
• Lofty Peaks: The second-highest layer of mountain
• Snow Capped Peaks: The highest layer of a mountain covered with snow

Snow-capped peaks can generate up to a height of 256 blocks.

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New blocks

A lot of new block will come out that can be used by players (Image via Minecraft)

The Caves and Cliffs update is adding tons of new blocks and items to the game. Most are common in terms of rarity and are farmable, and players are excited to use these blocks a lot in Minecraft.

Copper ore

• New mineral in Minecraft
• Generates above y level 0
• On smelting, it gives copper ingots
• Used to craft lightning rods, copper blocks, and more.

Pointed dripstone and dripstone blocks

• Mostly found in dripstone cave biomes
• Pointed dripstones can fall on mobs/player and cause damage
• Inspired by stalactites and stalagmites

Lush Cave blocks

• Players can find azalea and moss blocks inside lush caves.
• Cave vines and glow berries are found in lush caves.
• At the bottom of lush caves, there are aquifers with dripleaf.
• Players can also find rooted dirt and spore blossoms in lush caves.

Deepslate blocks

• Found below Y level 0
• Deepslate replace stone under Y level 0
• Players can discover Deepslate variants of ore
• Like stones, Deepslate blocks can be turned into stairs, slabs, bricks, polished variants, and more.

Amethyst ores in the new Minecraft update (Image via Minecraft)

Amethyst blocks and Budding Amethyst

• Found inside amethyst geodes
• Makes sparkling sound
• Players can get amethyst shards to craft spyglass and tinted glass

Sculk Sensors

• A new Redstone component that can detect vibrations
• Found in deep dark caves
• Produces Redstone signal upon detecting vibrations
• Walking, opening doors, placing blocks, and many other actions create vibrations

Other new blocks and items

• Calcite: found near Amethyst geodes
• Powdered snow: can be picked with a bucket
• Tuff: occasionally generates below Y level 0
• Bundles: similar to shulker boxes but smaller and craftable
• Glow Ink sac: make glow signs and glow item frames
• Goat horn: produces raid horn sound

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New mobs

(Image via Minecraft official site)

The Caves and Cliffs update is bringing four new mobs to Minecraft

• Glow Squids
• Axolotls
• Goats
• Warden

Axolotls and glow squids spawn in water. Goats are habitants of new snowy mountains, whereas the Warden spawns inside deep dark caves.

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Ore generation and world height limit changes

An explanation of the world height change in the new Minecraft update (Image via Minecraft Wiki)

To accommodate new caves and mountains, Mojang has increased the world height limit, which is now 384 blocks. The new height level is 320, and the depth level is -64. The previous world height was 256 blocks and started from Y level 0.

Due to new caves and mountains, ore generation has been tweaked in Minecraft 1.17. Players can find different ores below y level 0. They can check out the image to compare ore generation changes once the Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update is out.

Readers can stay up to date with Minecraft Caves and Cliffs updates here.