Why Minecraft 1.19 update is called The Wild Update

Minecraft 1.18 served as the biggest and most ambitious update in the history of Minecraft. It added a plethora of new and improved features, mostly focused on the world and terrain generation within the game. New biomes were added to both mountains and caves, both of which also received a revamp.

Other changes include a total overhaul of the game’s ore generation and distribution systems, a buff to copper blocks, and a new music disc. However, it left out a few previously announced features, which will be coming to the game in the Minecraft 1.19 update, aptly titled “The Wild.”

Back when Minecraft 1.17 was introduced as the Caves and Cliffs update at Minecraft Live 2020, Mojang announced a long list of features that would come with it. While most of the features made it to Minecraft 1.17 and its successor, Minecraft 1.18, a few features were left out by Mojang and classified as postponed, while others were confirmed to be delayed till Minecraft 1.19.

It was eventually revealed that the next update would be called Minecraft 1.19: The Wild update and would be released sometime in 2022. Certain elements of the new update will be leftover features from Minecraft 1.18, while others were exclusively designed for Minecraft 1.19.

---

Why is Minecraft 1.19 named The Wild?

Minecraft 1.19 is set to introduce a ton of new mobs and biomes to the game, in addition to a new type of tree. It focuses heavily on bringing atmospheric changes to the game, most of which include new “wild” animal mobs like Fireflies, Frogs and the Allay as well as a new variant of the Swamp biome, known as a Mangrove Swamp.

Mangrove Swamps contain the new Mangrove trees, which are the only trees that can grow in this biome variant. Additionally, they bring about a nice change to the older version of the Swamp biome and generate with mud, another new feature to the game. Frogs are also set to inhabit this biome, spawning in groups of 1 to 4, in addition to the first 2D mobs in the game, Fireflies.

---

Features carried over from the Caves and Cliffs Part 1 and 2 updates

1) The Deep Dark

Sculk, a telltale sign of the Deep Dark Biome (Image via Mojang)

This rare biome is located at the deepest levels of Minecraft’s world, and can therefore only be found within the deepslate layer. There is a higher chance of it generating beneath a mountainous area. The only mob to naturally spawn here is the Warden. New structures called Ancient Cities also generate within this biome.

---

2) Sculk and Sculk-related blocks

A Sculk block (Image via Minecraft)

Sculk generates in Minecraft 1.19, within the Deep Dark Biome. Sculk-related blocks include Sculk Catalysts, Sculk Shriekers, and Sculk Veins.

---

3) The Warden

The Warden in Minecraft (Image via Minecraft)

A terrifying mob that is designed to have players evade it and not fight it, the Warden is only found in the Deep Dark biome and uses echolocation to navigate through the darkness as it is blind.

---

Minecraft 1.19 is set to be an important update for the game, as it brings a ton of new features and makes changes to the game's wildlife and plant life. Additionally, the features carried over from Minecraft 1.18 have now been improved and upgraded, having been worked on since before the Caves and Cliffs update was released.