Minecraft Spring to Life: 5 things you might have missed in the update

It has been over half a month since the release of the Minecraft Spring to Life update. This game drop didn't add any extremely useful items like bundles from the Bundles of Bravery drop or a brand-new biome like Pale Garden from The Garden Awakens drop. But what it brought was a breath of new life to many Overworld biomes that had started to become dull from the lack of new features.

Minecraft Spring to Life added new types for pigs, chickens, and cows, adding more variety to Overworld biomes. Apart from these new mob variants, Mojang added various blocks, such as wildflowers, firefly bushes, dry grass, and more to enhance the ambiance of the Overworld. This update introduced several small additions and changes, and some of them can be quite easy to miss.

In this article, we have shared a few new features you may have missed in the Minecraft Spring to Life game drop.

Note: Some aspects of this article reflect the personal and subjective opinions of the writer.

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Minecraft Spring to Life game drop: 5 easy-to-miss features

1) Sheep spawning changes

Sheep in Cherry Groves (Image via Mojang Studios)

The addition of new pig, chicken, and cow variants overshadowed the changes Mojang made to sheep spawning mechanics. While many fans hoped for new sheep variants in the Spring to Life game drop, it did not happen, as Minecraft already has varieties of sheep based on color.

In the Overworld, players can find sheep with six different wool colors: brown, gray, light gray, black, white, and pink. With the release of the Spring to Life game drop, the rarity of a sheep now depends on which biome you are in. Pink remains the rarest sheep color across all biomes, while white is common in temperate biomes, black in cold biomes, and brown in warm biomes.

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2) Mooshrooms got a makeover along with cows

Spot anything different? (Image via Mojang Studios)

In the Spring to Life game drop, cows not only got two new variants but also received a slight model upgrade after a long time. Cow noses now extrude from their faces, giving their models a more 3D look, similar to most other Minecraft mobs. This model upgrade was already available in the Bedrock Edition but has now been made available in the Java Edition as well.

Aside from cows, their close relatives, mooshrooms, also got the visual upgrade in the Spring to Life drop. Mooshroom Islands are among the rarest biomes you can find in Minecraft. When you visit the biome next time in your playthrough, be sure to check out the new look of mooshrooms.

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3) Camels now spawn naturally in deserts

A chill camel in the desert (Image via Mojang Studios)

Before the Spring to Life game drop, deserts were one of the most boring biomes in Minecraft. Players usually visited this biome only when in need of a large number of sand blocks or while looking for desert temples or villages. Before Spring to Life, players had to search for desert villages to obtain a camel.

Now, you can find camels spawning just like any other mob in deserts. You will usually find a single camel relaxing in desert biomes. While you are looking for a camel, you can also pick up some dry grass blocks to make the camel feel at home if you decide to tame it.

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4) Lodestone recipe changes

Lodestones are easy to craft now (Image via Mojang Studios)

Lodestones had a ridiculous crafting recipe for the utility they provided. Previously, you needed a netherite ingot to make a lodestone in Minecraft. Because of this high cost, many players avoided crafting lodestone blocks.

Thanks to the Spring to Life game drop, the lodestone has become more accessible, as you can now craft it using iron ingot and chiseled stone blocks. With this change, you can craft as many lodestones as you want and even consider using its unique pattern in your builds.

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5) Beacon beams visible up to max render distance

Beacons got a QoL fix (Image via Mojang Studios)

Many players expected the beacon beam to be visible from all places in the Minecraft world. Unfortunately, that was not the case until the Spring to Life game drop. With version 1.21.5 in Java Edition, players can now see beacons up to their current render distance. Previously, this was limited to 16 chunks, even if you played at 32 chunks. This feature will help players return to their bases more easily if they get lost in Minecraft.

Unfortunately, this new change for beacons is exclusive to the Java Edition for now. In the case of Bedrock Edition, the beam is still only visible up to 64 blocks. Hopefully, Mojang will add the higher render distance to Bedrock Edition in the future.