Minecraft 1.18 vs Minecraft 1.17 update: What are the main differences?

With the Minecraft 1.18 update, which was released on November 30, 2021, the huge Caves and Cliffs update saga came to an end. When players first heard about it in late 2020, they were eager to play the game's biggest update yet, but developer Mojang had to split Caves and Cliffs into two parts.

Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update Part 1 was released on June 8, 2021. It felt like a gradual step in the direction of the full update, with new blocks and mobs getting introduced.

Then came the Minecraft 1.18 Caves and Cliffs update Part 2 on November 30, 2021 - a major chunk of the full update. It brought with it loads of changes and additions such as world generation, new biomes, and lighting changes.

---

Blocks, mobs and world generation main differentiating factors in Minecraft 1.17 and Minecraft 1.18 updates

Now that both parts of the Caves and Cliffs update have been released, let's look back at some of the major differences between the two.

Blocks in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update

Blocks in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update (Image via Minecraft)

With Caves and Cliffs being the biggest update, there were loads of new blocks added, and nearly all of them were part of the Minecraft 1.17 update, like Amethyst blocks, Deepslate, Deepslate ore blocks, Azalea blocks, Copper blocks, Dripstone blocks and many more. The 1.17 update also made slight changes to the existing blocks.

The Minecraft 1.18 update didn't add any new blocks, but with the new cave biomes and bedrock layer shifting down, the generation of new blocks increased significantly.

---

Mobs in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update

Mobs in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update (Image via Minecraft)

The Minecraft 1.17 update brought two brand new mobs: Goats, Axolotls and Glow Squids. The new mobs were heavily featured in the official trailer of the update.

Whereas in the Minecraft 1.18 update, no new mobs were added. There were a few changes regarding mobs like Axolotls only spawning in Lush Caves biome and hostile mobs unable to spawn above light level 0.

---

World generation in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update

World Generation in Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update (Image via Mojang)

The change in world generation was Mojang's major focus for this update. With the Minecraft 1.17 update, the game introduced a new structure called Amethyst Geodes, with Amethyst blocks, shards, Smooth Basalt, and Calcite blocks. Part 1 of the update also introduced hints of Lush Caves and Dripstone Caves biomes, with rare small patches of the biome in the world.

The main change in the world generation came with the Minecraft 1.18 update. There was a complete overhaul of the world generation, including the introduction of a higher build limit, the bedrock layer shifting 64 levels down, eight new biomes, ore distribution change, and ore veins. This completely changed how the game looked.