Minecraft: Java Edition "1.17" Update

This page documents an update currently being worked on.

Therefore, not all official feature names or items are mentioned.

For a guide about all content currently released in this update, see Java Edition guides/Caves & Cliffs.

Contents1.17, the first release of the Caves & Cliffs update, is an upcoming major update to Java Edition set to release in mid-2021. It was first announced during Minecraft Live 2020 on October 3, 2020.

Additions

Blocks

Amethyst Bud 

• Grows from budding amethyst, which is found in amethyst geodes.
• Starts out small, but grows into medium after a while, large after even more time and eventually becomes an amethyst cluster.
• Unlike crops, each growth stage is a separate block instead of a block state.
• Drops only when mined with a Silk Touch pickaxe.

Amethyst Cluster 

• The final, mature stage of the amethyst bud, which grows from budding amethyst in amethyst geodes.
• Drops amethyst shards if broken, in an amount affected by Fortune, but can also be picked up with Silk Touch.
• Emits a light level of 5.

Azalea  

• Has variants with either no blossoms or pink blossoms.
• Bush-like blocks which can be planted on dirt and grass blocks.
• Both azaleas can grow from moss blocks when bone meal is used on them.

Azalea Leaves  

• Has variants with either no blossoms or pink blossoms.
• Yield azalea and sticks on decay.

Block of Amethyst 

• A block found in amethyst geodes.
• Unlike the Budding Amethyst, the Block of Amethyst can be obtained when mined.
• Can also be crafted with 4 amethyst shards.

Block of Copper 

• Can be crafted with 4 copper ingots, and can also be crafted back into 4 copper ingots.
• Oxidizes and changes texture to a turquoise-green over time.
• Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create a Waxed Block of Copper.
• Can be crafted into cut copper.

Budding Amethyst 

• Generates amethyst buds/clusters on any side that is exposed either to air or a water source block.
• Cannot be obtained when mined, even with Silk Touch, and does not drop anything.
• Breaks immediately if pushed by a piston or sticky piston.
  • Cannot be pulled by sticky pistons.
• Generates in amethyst geodes.

Calcite 

• An off-white stone that generates in geodes, between tuff and amethyst.

Candle 

• Crafted with honeycomb and string.
• Comes with 16 dyed types and a yellowish non-dyed type.
• Can be lit by any item that produces fire.
• Up to 4 can be placed in a single block, similar to sea pickles, for a maximum light level of 12.
  • Only candles of the same color can be placed on the same block.
• Only one can be placed on an uneaten cake and lit.
  • If any of the cake is consumed, the candle pops off.
• Can be placed underwater, but cannot be lit.

Cave Vines  

• A natural light source, with a light level of 10 or 14 (depending on whether it's head or body).
• Drop glow berries.
  • Growth can be sped up using bone meal.
  • Berries can be harvested by interacting with the vine.
• Grow from glow berries when placed on the underside of a block.
• Unlike regular vines, they cannot be climbed.

Copper Ore 

• Generates randomly underground in small veins, but this has been confirmed to be a placeholder.
• Has the same rarity as iron.
• Generating starts at the same minimum level(s) as iron.
• Can be smelted into a copper ingot.

Cut Copper 

• Can be made into stair and slab variants.
• Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
• Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create Waxed Cut Copper.

Cut Copper Slab 

• Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
• Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create a Waxed Cut Copper Slab.

Cut Copper Stairs 

• Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
• Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create Waxed Cut Copper Stairs.

Dripleaf  

• Allows an entity to stay on it for 1.5 seconds (30 ticks), before the entity will fall through it.
  • The tilt happens in 3 stages: Unstable, Partial, and Full. These can be seen in the F3 debug menu.
    • All the stages are solid except the Full stage, which is when the player falls through.
    • When nobody is standing on it, it is set to None stage.
  • The tilt can also be triggered by hitting the plant with a projectile.
  • The tilt can be prevented by powering it with redstone, but hitting it with a projectile still tilts.
• Comes in two sizes: Small and Big. Small can be applied bone meal to grow into Big.
  • Small dripleaf can only be obtained with shears (otherwise breaks), and can only be planted on clay, or underwater on clay and dirt blocks.
  • Big dripleaf can be obtained with any tool or by hand, and can be planted on grass and dirt blocks.

Dripstone Block 

• A decoration block.
• Appears to be made of the same materials as stalactites and stalagmites but as a full cube.
• Only generates in the Dripstone caves biome which is currently only available through single biome, caves, or floating islands world types.
• Can be crafted from 4 pointed dripstone.

Glow Item Frame 

• Placeable entities which appear to glow.
• Do not affect the light level, only appearing as if lit up themselves.
• Items placed inside also glow.
• Crafted using an item frame and a glow ink sac.
• Includes application to maps.

Glow Lichen 

• A naturally occurring light source found rarely in caves, growing on any face of a block.
• Has a light level of 7.
• Obtained with shears, otherwise breaks.
• Does not spread naturally, although bone meal can be used to spread it horizontally (or vertically if on the side of a block).
  • It spreads to adjacent spaces, up to 4.
• Can be waterlogged.
• Unlike vines, it does not pop off when underwater, and is not climbable.
• Up to 6 can be put on the same block space, merging into one block.

Hanging Roots 

• Decorative blocks that can only be placed on the underside of a block.
• Obtained with shears, otherwise breaks.

Lightning Rod 

• Can be crafted with 3 copper ingots.
• Lightning strikes within a 32-block radius get redirected to the lightning rod.
• Gives off a redstone signal with a strength of 15 if hit by lightning.
• Can be activated directly by throwing a trident with Channeling at it during a thunderstorm, though this does not produce a redstone signal.

Moss Block 

• An opaque block with a grass-like texture on all sides.
• Can be bonemealed to grow grass, tall grass, moss carpets and both types of azaleas on it and in its vicinity.
• Can be bonemealed to grow over (expand) across stone surfaces, but not grass surfaces.
• Breaks when pushed by a piston.

Moss Carpet 

• Same texture as the moss block, but one pixel thick.
• Crafted with moss blocks.

Pointed Dripstone 

• Can be either placed on a ceiling to create a stalactite, or on top of a block to create a stalagmite.
  • Can be combined to form longer stalactites and stalagmites.
• Thrown tridents break pointed dripstone. Will also break when pushed directly or with a block by a piston.
• Stalagmites break if not attached to something below
• Stalagmites hurt entities which fall on top of them more than normal fall damage.
  • Damage is relative to height: For example, jumping on a stalagmite deals 2 of damage, and falling from 3 blocks deals 8 of damage.
• Stalactites can fall or break if unsupported, and break apart on impact, hurting entities they fall on.
  • Damage is relative to height: For example, one falling from 2 blocks deals 2 of damage, and one falling from 3 blocks deal 4 of damage.
  • They drip water or lava into cauldrons if a source block is placed above the stalactite, and gradually fill the cauldron. Water drips even without any water above the block (lava in the Nether), but does not fill the cauldron.

Powder Snow 

• A variant of snow, Entities that walk over it will sink into it.
• Leather boots can be worn to prevent entities from sinking into powder snow blocks.
  • Players can still crouch to descend with leather boots. Wearing leather boots also allows powder snow to be "climbed", like water or scaffolding.
• When inside a powder snow block, a frosty vignette appears around the player's screen and any entity inside starts freezing and taking damage after a short time.
  • Wearing any piece of leather armor will stop the freeze effect.
• Can be collected and placed with a bucket. 

Rooted Dirt 

• Decorative blocks.
• A dirt-like block with roots on its texture.
• Similar to coarse dirt, neither mycelium nor grass spread to it.

Sculk Sensor 

• A redstone component that detects vibrations.
• Currently, it does not generate naturally, only available from the Creative inventory or commands such as /give, but natural generation is planned for future versions.
• Senses vibrations such as block placement, footsteps, and projectiles, and emits a redstone signal.
•  Emits particles when it senses a vibration nearby.
• A comparator connected to it will emit different signal strengths based on what caused the signal.
• Does not detect ambient weather such as rain.
• Wool blocks between the sensor and the cause of the sound prevent the sensor from detecting the sound.

Spore Blossom 

• Can only be placed on the underside of a block.
• Sends green particles downward when opened.

Tinted Glass 

• A black variant of glass that is transparent to players, but does not let light through.
• Can be crafted with 4 amethyst shards and a glass block.
  • Stained glass cannot be used to craft tinted glass.
• Drops itself if mined without Silk Touch or even by hand, unlike glass.

Tuff 

• A grayish stone that composes the outer layer of amethyst geodes.
• Texture may be subject to change.

Items

Amethyst Shard 

• Obtained from breaking amethyst clusters.
• The amount dropped can be increased with the Fortune enchantment.
• Can be used to craft tinted glass, blocks of amethyst and a spyglass.

Bucket of Axolotl 

• Obtained by using a water bucket on an axolotl, similar to fish.
• Can be used to carry around and empty out axolotls, also similarly to fish.

Bundle  

• Crafted with 2 string and 6 rabbit hide.
• Used to store other items (except shulker boxes) inside of it.
• Can only hold a stack of items, but is able to hold different types of items inside of it.
  • Items with smaller stacks, such as ender pearls, take up more room in a bundle, and non-stackable items take up the whole bundle.
• The bundle's contents can be opened by pressing use while holding it, throwing out its entire content into the world. When destroyed as an entity, it drops the items it currently has as well.
  • Right-clicking a bundle in the inventory empties one item from the bundle.
• The player receives a tutorial when first having a bundle in the inventory.
• Even though bundles are not stackable, bundles can be nested.
  • Can hold up to 16 bundles.
  • Only empty bundles can be placed in other bundles without using commands.
• Has a GUI when hovering over it.
  • Shows contained items in its GUI's inventory slots when hovering over it, as well as fullness as a number.
• Note: Bundles can hold any amount of any item if added using commands.

Copper Ingot 

• Obtained by smelting copper ore.
• Used to craft copper blocks, lightning rods and spyglasses.

Glow Berries 

• Can be eaten, restoring 2 ().
• Grow on cave vines.

Glow Ink Sac 

• Dropped by glow squids when killed.
• Can be used to craft glow item frames.
• Can be used to make text glow on signs.

Powder Snow Bucket 

• Obtained by using a bucket on powder snow.
• Can be used to place a powder snow block wherever it is used, or can be used to fill cauldrons with powder snow.

Spawn eggs 

• Added Axolotl spawn eggs.
• Added Glow Squid spawn eggs.

Spyglass 

• Crafted with 2 copper ingots and an amethyst shard.
• When used, it zooms in on wherever the player is looking, but limits their view to a square.
  • The scope texture is a glass square with a copper border.
  • The overlay that limits the view can be removed with a resource pack or by pressing F1.
• There is a unique animation for using the spyglass, which is visible in third person perspective or by another player.

Mobs

Axolotl

• Do not spawn naturally yet, must be spawned in with a spawn egg.
• The first amphibian added to Minecraft.
  • Will dry out and start taking damage after 5 minutes of being out of water.
• Can be caught using a water bucket, like fish.
• Can be bred using tropical fish or buckets of tropical fish.
• Come in five different colors (leucistic, yellow, brown, white, and purple/pink, and a rare blue Axolotl).^[2]
  • Blue axolotls are very rare, with a ¹⁄₁₂₀₀ chance of spawning.
• Plays dead when damaged, receiving Regeneration I.
  • This regeneration ability is likely based on how real axolotls can regrow lost limbs.
• Attacks drowned, guardians, squids, glow squids and fish, damage not yet official.
  • Are always hostile to fish and squid, and hostile to drowned and guardians only when "tempted" by a player holding tropical fish.

Glow Squid

• Originates from the mob of the same name in Minecraft Earth.
• Underwater mob that behaves like a regular squid.
• Does not naturally spawn yet.
• Is attacked by axolotls without provocation.
• Drops glow ink sacs when killed.
• Does not affect the light level, only appearing as if lit up itself. Glows in the same way that magma cube cores, vexes, blazes and the eyes of spiders, drowned, and endermen do.
• Stops glowing for a short time and swims away fast after taking damage.

World generation

Caves

• Added new noise caves, which come in two types: "cheese" and "spaghetti" caves.
• Added flooded aquifer caves.
• The old "carver" cave generation still generates, combining with the new caves.

Cheese caves

• Often form caverns of various sizes.
• Utilize noise generators for generation.
• Can form cave entrances when they intersect with land.

Spaghetti caves

• Long, narrow caves.
• Utilize noise generators for generation.
• Can form cave entrances when they intersect with land.

Aquifers

• Used to generate bodies of water in new caves.
• Currently only used below Y=31, meaning any noise caves between Y=31 and Y=63 are flooded with water. This will be fixed in a later snapshot.
• Magma blocks may generate at the bottom of these new water bodies, creating downward bubble columns.
• Replaces the old underwater cave carvers/canyons.
• Fish spawn in aquifers if it is under an ocean or river.

Amethyst Geodes 

• A new feature found uncommonly underground (can rarely appear exposed to the surface close to sea level).
• Contains blocks of amethyst and budding amethyst blocks, which are encased in a shell of calcite and tuff.
  • Also generates with a small air pocket nearby which may open into the geode.
• Generally generates at or below sea level (y = 63).
• Most commonly generates at lower levels (y = 0 to y = 40)
• Overrides standard caves and ravines, but is overridden by abandoned mineshafts.
• Currently has a high generation rate, presumably for testing purposes which was also done with ruined portals before.

Dripstone Caves 

• A new underground biome, consisting of a massive cave biome containing vast quantities of stalactites and stalagmites.
• Made up of primarily dripstone blocks and stone, with large clusters of dripstone blocks hanging from the ceiling, pointed dripstone on the floor and ceiling and many pools of water.
• Does not yet generate naturally in normal worlds, and can only be generated using buffet worlds with "Dripstone Caves" selected as the source biome or using custom world. Natural generation is planned for future versions.

Command format

/item

• Modifies the inventory of a block or entity.
  • This command has three forms:
    • /item <target> replace <item stack> [<count>] – same as old /replaceitem
    • /item <target> modify <modifier> – modifies item (without copying).
    • /item <target> copy <source> [<modifier>] – copies item for source to target(s), optionally applying modifier
  • Possible sources and targets: entity <selector> <slot> or block <x> <y> <z> <slot>
  • For example, /item block ~ ~ ~ container.0 copy entity @s enderchest.0 will copy first item from player's enderchest to first slot of container player is currently standing on.

Item modifiers

• Reuse functions syntax of a loot table to describe item modification in /item command.
• The function part of loot tables can now be defined as separate data pack resource in item_modifiers directory.
  • Such files can contain a single function (i.e single JSON object) or an array of functions.

Gamerules

• freezeDamage
  • Whether entities take damage from freezing inside of powder snow.
• playersSleepingPercentage
  • Controls what percentage of players must sleep to skip the night.
  • When set to 0 or a negative value, a single player is sufficient to skip the night, and night is skipped immediately without the falling asleep transition.
  • When set over 100, the night cannot be skipped.
  • Set to 100 by default.

Gameplay

Death messages

• Added 6 new death messages:
  • "<player> froze to death".
  • "<player> was frozen to death by <entity>".
  • "<player> was skewered by a falling stalactite"
  • "<player> was skewered by a falling stalactite whilst fighting <entity>"
  • "<player> was impaled on a stalagmite"
  • "<player> was impaled on a stalagmite whilst fighting <entity>".

Loot tables

• New condition: value_check
  • Checks range of value.
  • Parameters:
    • value – see "New value providers" section (currently combination of random generators and score)
    • range – min/max range
• New functions:
  • set_enchantments
    • Modifies enchantments on item.
    • Parameters:
      • enchantments – map of enchantment id to level value (can be score or random number)
      • add – if true, change will be relative to current level. If false, level will be replaced with current value (default behavior)
  • set_banner_pattern
    • Sets tags needed for banner patterns. Parameters:
      • patterns - list of pattern objects:
        • pattern - name of pattern (square_bottom_left, bricks, etc.)
        • color - name of color (light_gray, etc.)
      • append - if true, new elements will be appended to existing ones instead of replacing
• New value providers: score
  • Returns scaled scoreboard value.
  • Parameters:
    • score – scoreboard name
    • target – same as target in score predicate
    • scale – scaling factor (float)

General[edit]

Particles

• Added 7 new particle types: dust_color_transition, falling_spore_blossom, glow, glow_squid_ink, snowflake, spore_blossom_air and vibration.

Tags

• Added the axolotl_always_hostiles entity type tag.
  • Contains tropical fish, pufferfish, salmon, cod, squid and glow squid.
  • Axolotls are always hostile towards entities in this tag.
• Added the axolotl_tempted_hostiles entity type tag.
  • Contains drowned and guardians.
  • Axolotls are hostile towards entities in this tag if they have been tempted.
• Added the axolotl_tempt_items item tag.
  • Contains the tropical fish item and bucket of tropical fish.
  • Items in this tag can be used to tempt axolotls.
• Added the azalea_log_replaceable block tag.
  • Contains the #flowers block tag, the #leaves block tag, grass, ferns, sweet berry bushes, and small dripleaf plants.
• Added the candle_cakes block tag.
  • Contains all 17 types of candle cake.
  • If the player puts a candle on a cake, and keeps clicking the candle on the cake, the candle will be duplicated.
  • Blocks in this tag are considered candle cakes and can be lit, if they have the lit block states set to false.
• Added the candles block and item tags.
  • Contains all 17 types of candles.
  • Blocks in this tag are considered candles and can be lit, if they have the lit and waterlogged block states and both are false.
  • Cakes use this tag to determine if a candle item can be placed on it or not.
• Added the cauldrons block tag.
  • Contains cauldrons, water cauldrons, lava cauldrons and powder snow cauldrons.
  • This tag is used in certain pathfinding processes.
• Added the cave_vines block tag.
  • Contains the cave vines body block and cave vines head block.
• Added the crystal_sound_blocks block tag.
  • Contains amethyst blocks and budding amethyst.
  • Blocks in this tag play the "amethyst block chime" sound repeatedly for a short amount of time after being stepped on, gradually decreasing in volume.
• Added the dripstone_replaceable_blocks block tag.
  • Contains the base_stone_overworld block tag and dirt.
  • Used in dripstone generation to determine what dripstone can replace and what pointed dripstone can generate on.
• Added the fox_food item tag.
  • Contains sweet berries and glow berries.
• Added the freeze_immune_wearables item tag.
  • Contains leather boots, leather pants, leather tunic, and leather cap.
  • Having an item in this tag in an armor slot prevents players from freezing.
• Added new game_events tag type.
• Added the ignored_by_piglin_babies item tag.
  • Contains leather.
  • Baby piglins do not attempt to pick up items in this tag. Adult piglins are unaffected. Baby piglins still follow the other rules adult piglins follow.
    • If an item is in this tag while simultaneously being recognized as a wanted item by piglins, this tag takes precedence.
• Added the ignore_vibrations_sneaking game event tag.
  • Contains the step, swim, falling, and shooting projectile events.
  • Game events in this tag will be ignored by sculk sensors if the source entity is sneaking.
• Added the inside_step_sound_block block tag.
  • Contains snow and powder snow.
  • Blocks in this tag will create snow stepping noises while the player walks in them.
• Added the lush_plants_replaceable block tag.
  • Contains the #base_stone_overworld block tag, the #cave_vines block tag, dirt, gravel, sand, moss block, the #flowers block tag, grass, tall grass, moss carpet, small driplead, big dripleaf, big dripleaf stem, and vines.
• Added the occludes_vibration_signals block and item tag.
  • Contains the wool block and item tag.
  • Blocks in this tag will prevent sculk sensors from hearing vibrations if the block is between the sculk sensor and the vibration.
  • As thrown entities, items in this tag do not trigger vibrations.
• Added the piglin_food item tag.
  • Contains raw and cooked porkchop.
  • Piglins can eat items in this tag.
    • Eating refers to the piglin seeking out and picking up an item without appearing in its inventory, thus vanishing.
• Added the powder_snow_walkable_mobs entity tag.
  • Contains foxes, rabbits, endermites, and silverfish.
  • Entities in this tag can walk on top of powder snow.
• Added the vibrations game event tag.
  • Contains every game event.
  • Game events in this tag will trigger sculk sensors.

Textures

• Added a block texture named root_vines_head.png.
  • This texture is unused in-game.

Changes

Blocks

Banners

• The unused "base" pattern has been renamed to the "field" pattern and given proper translation strings (its ID is still "base").

Cakes

• Have a variation called "Candle Cake".
  • Can be created by using a candle on an uneaten cake.
  • The candle on the cake comes with 17 colors, depending on the color of the candle used to create it.
  • The candle will pop off when any of the cake is eaten.

Cauldrons

• Can now be filled with lava and powder snow.
  • Lava filled cauldrons can damage players and mobs inside of them, and give off a redstone comparator signal of strength 1.
  • Powder snow cauldrons are formed when cauldrons are under the sky during snowfall.
  • Can also be filled with powder snow by using a powder snow bucket on it.
• Have been split into normal, water, lava, and powdered snow cauldrons.

Composter

• Some items are now compostable:
  • 30% chance: non-flowering azalea leaves, glow berries, moss carpet, small dripleaf, hanging roots.
  • 50% chance: flowering azalea leaves.
  • 65% chance: spore blossoms, non-flowering azalea, moss blocks, big dripleaf.
  • 85% chance: flowering azalea.

Dispenser

• Can now place powder snow using a powder snow bucket.
  • Also can remove it using a bucket.

Grass Path

• Renamed to "Dirt Path", as per Bedrock Edition.
  • The block ID has also been changed to dirt_path.
• Can now be made with dirt, coarse dirt, mycelium, and podzol by using a shovel.

Lapis lazuli block

• Renamed to "Block of Lapis Lazuli".

Pistons

• Particles now appear if a block is broken by a piston.
  • Sounds, however, do not play.^[3]
• Breaks Budding Amethyst if pushed/pulled with a piston/sticky piston.

Rails

• Are now able to be waterlogged.
• No longer break when contacted by water.

Signs

• Can now be tinted with glow ink sacs to make the text glow.
  • Glowing signs do not affect the light level, only appearing as if the text itself is illuminated.
  • A new lit block state had been added to indicate whether the sign text is lit up.
  • Regular ink sacs can be used to remove the glowing effect.
  • Now has sounds for being dyed.

Stonecutter

• Can be used to craft the different copper block variants.

Structure block

• Default mode of structure blocks is now "Load". "Data" is now hidden by default.
• "Data" can be accessed by clicking the mode button while holding the Alt key.

Water

• Flowing water no longer breaks rails.

Items

Clock

• The texture has been changed from  to .

Compass and Lodestone Compass

• The texture has been changed from  to .

Firework Rockets

• Simple firework rockets with one gunpowder can now be crafted using the recipe book.

Pufferfish

• The strength of the poison effect has been decreased from IV to II.^[4]

Shulker boxes

• They now drop their items when destroyed as entities.

Mobs

Drowned

• Now have a chance of dropping a copper ingot instead of a gold ingot.

Foxes

• Eat glow berries.

Shulkers

• If a shulker is hit by another shulker's projectile, it now has a chance of spawning a new shulker. Shulkers are more likely to spawn new shulkers when there are fewer shulkers nearby.

Skeletons

• Begin the process of turning into strays when they are inside powder snow after 30 seconds (600 game ticks) and finally turn into strays after 45 seconds (900 game ticks).

Wandering Traders

• May now sell Small Dripleaf.

Non-mob entities

Experience Orbs

• Will now sometimes merge when in large quantities, to improve performance.
  • Merging will not affect the amount of experience gathered from collecting the merged orbs.
• No longer follow dead players.

Minecarts

• Can now move in water, but move considerably slower than they do on land.

World generation

Biomes

• Biome-specific sky colors now blend more smoothly.

Chunks

• The Overworld now has a total height of 384 blocks.
  • The world has been extended 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, which means it's now possible to build from layer -64 to layer 319 in the Overworld.
  • Ore placement below Y=0 is temporary, and underground lava does not generate properly yet.^[5]

Mineshafts

• Mineshaft pieces no longer generate if they were fully floating in the air.
• Corridors now generate with (bark) wood pillars for support if needed.
• Cobwebs no longer generate floating without an adjacent block.

Command format

/replaceitem

• Removed /replaceitem command.
• Replaced with /item ... replace.

Gameplay

Absorption effect

• The yellow absorption hearts will now stay yellow if the player has the Poison or Wither effects, instead of appearing empty.

Advancements

• Glow berries are now required for A Balanced Diet.

Loot tables

• Loot tables can now access scoreboard values by UUID.
• Loot table values inside random number generators can now be nested.
• Changed condition: score
  • entity parameter has now been replaced with target. It can either contain value from old entity field (like this) or be an score holder name in form {"name": "..."}.
• Changed function: set_damage
  • This function now has add parameter. If true, change will be relative to current damage. If false, damage will be replaced with current value (default behavior)
• Changed function: set_count
  • This function now has add parameter. If true, change will be relative to current item count. If false, item count will be replaced with current value (default behavior)
• Changed function: copy_nbt
  • source parameter can now be set to {"storage": <namespaced id>}, to access command storage.

NBT data

• All projectile entity data now has a field called HasBeenShot.
  • If this field is false, during the next tick the projectile will fire a projectile shot game event, causing any nearby sculk sensors to react.

Recipe Book

• Some recipe-unlocking advancements had criteria names changed.
• The chiseled nether bricks recipe is now unlocked by having a nether brick slab instead of a nether bricks block.
• The chiseled polished blackstone crafting recipe is now unlocked by having a polished blackstone slab, instead of polished blackstone.

Snowfall

• During snowfall, cauldrons under the sky now slowly fills with powder snow.

Subtitles

• Changed Shulker bullet explodes to Shulker Bullet explodes.
• Changed Shulker bullet breaks to Shulker Bullet breaks.

General

Block Models

• Made the vine's block model much simpler.

Custom dimensions

• Added height and min_y variables to dimension types, allowing for the height limit to be increased in custom worlds settings.

Data and Resource Packs

• Changed the pack_version number in pack.mcmeta from 6 to 7.
• Changed the resource pack version number from 6 to 7, as the following have been changed:
  • Drowned texture mirroring has changed.^[6]
  • Slots for the game mode selector are now 26 pixels instead of 25.
• Data pack version is also changed to 7.

Dedicated servers

• A dedicated server can enforce custom resource packs by setting require-resource-pack in server.properties. When this option is used, players will be prompted for a response and will be disconnected if they decline the required pack.

Entity storage

• Entities have been extracted from main (terrain) chunks and are now stored in separate entities directory (similar to POI storage). Those new files are still region files with NBT.

Languages

• Removed the Gothic, Kabyle, Maori, Mohawk, Nuk, Ojibwe, and Talossan languages as their translations were incomplete.

Libraries

• The game now uses javabridge 1.1.23 instead of 1.0.22.

Menu screen

• Buttons tied to a set of values can now be scrolled through.
• Clicking ⇧ Shift on a menu button changes it to the previous value.
• The debug mode can now only be accessed by holding Alt instead of ⇧ Shift while clicking on the world type button.

Obfuscation map

• Changed the license included in the obfuscation map.

Resource packs

• Improved performance when using many overrides on an item model.
• toasts.png GUI texture has a new icon for the bundle tutorial.

Servers

• Removed the max-build-height server setting.
• Changed the error message for failing to connect to the authentication servers. Now says they are "not reachable" instead of "down for maintenance".

Tags

• Added azalea leaves and azalea leaves flowers to the leaves block and item tags.

Translation strings

• The "World Type" string no longer contains a colon (":"). The colon is still visible in-game, however.
• Changed "Use VSync" to "VSync".
• Removed the unused string for enabling VBOs, "Use VBOs".
• Added strings, "Mode", "Type", "Triggering", and "Track output". These are read out by the narrator for buttons in the command block UI.

World Selection

• Added unique warnings for downgrading a world.

Planned additions

Please note that the names of many features are currently placeholders. They may be marked with ^{[unofficial name]}.

Blocks

 Clay Pot

• Uses the texture of clay.
• Ceramic Shards can be incorporated into an unfired pot.
• Can be fired by lighting fire under the pot.
• Pot can fit up to 8 Ceramic Shards.

 Painted Clay Pot

• Uses the texture of terracotta.
• Created by firing a clay pot.
• Upon firing, any placed Ceramic Shards become permanently incorporated on to the clay pot.

 Sculk Block

• Generates in the mysterious new cave biome, referred to as the "deep dark" temporarily.
• Has an animated texture.
• May be used in redstone as seen in this video when they talk about the sculk sensor.

 Sculk Trap^{[unofficial name]}

This image shows the sculk blocks in redstone, implying that the other sculk blocks also have redstone uses.

• Generates in the deep dark biome.
• Has a different top texture than the Sculk Block and Sculk Chute.
• May be used in redstone as seen in this video when they talk about the sculk sensor.

 Sculk Chute^{[unofficial name]}

• Generates in the deep dark caves.
• Made of sculk and a bone-like material.
• May be used in redstone as seen in this video when they talk about the sculk sensor.
• Glows but does not emit light, similar to the Glow Squid or the Glow Item Frame.

 Sculk Growth

• Generates in the deep dark cave biome.
• Generates in a layer on top of blocks, similar to snow.
• Some have parts that are transparent, allowing the player to see the block it is on top of.
• May be used in redstone as seen in this video when they talk about the sculk sensor.

 Darkstone^{[unofficial name]}

• Can be found around the deep dark cave biome walls.
• Can be found in large chunks.

Processing rubble^{[unofficial name]}

• A technical block associated with archaeology.
• At least comes in dirt and gravel variants.
• Created upon using a brush on what appears to be normal dirt or gravel.
• Has 16 layers.

Items

 Brush

• Used to sweep debris away from archaeological items.
• Sweeps debris off archaeological items one layer at a time. If interrupted, the block it was being used on simply disappears, and does not yield custom block heights.
• Also comes in a blue-green variant: 

      Ceramic Shards

• Obtained with a brush at archeological sites.
• Come in different colors and different designs, each depicting a different picture, such as an ender dragon, a cow, Alex, a skeleton, a tree and a vindicator.
• Can be placed/customized on clay pots.
• Currently using placeholder art, according to Jasper Boerstra.

Spawn Eggs

•  The Warden spawn egg is visually confirmed but not yet implemented.

Mobs

 Warden

A picture of the Warden and Iron Golem standing side by side

• Spawns in the new deep dark biome.
• The first fully blind mob (bats, despite relying almost exclusively on echolocation, still have basic eyesight).
• When sensing movement, it moves toward the source of the movement.
  • It follows and attacks players, mobs, and other entities that make vibrations.^{[note 1]}
    • It does not attack other Wardens.
  • When attacked, it path finds toward the player.
  • Seems to follow the same rules as the sculk sensor when detecting noise.
    • When it detects a vibration, the growths on its head rattle and light up, similar to the sculk sensor.
  • If any projectile (e.g. egg, snowball, arrow) lands near the Warden, the mob inspects the location where the projectile landed, due to the projectile creating movement and noise. This feature can be used in order to cause a distraction.
  • Does not detect players that are sneaking.
  • Can detect players that are invisible.
  • When aggravated for long enough, the warden follows the player continuously, regardless of any other distractions.
• Incredibly strong, doing 30 × 15 damage, bringing players wearing full netherite armor from full health to 7 health points.
• A mob designed to be extremely difficult, and fled from.
• Has a way to counter the strategy of building up 3 blocks to avoid attacks.
• At least as fast as the player's walking speed.
• Seems to have knockback resistance.
• The warden's chest has a glowing core that appears to brighten and dim in tandem with the ambient lighting of the deep dark cave biome.
  • The core creates a low throbbing sound as it pulses. The sound and animation seem to speed up rapidly when the warden notices a player.
• Is about 3.5 blocks tall, making it one of the tallest mobs in the game, exceeding the iron golem and enderman in height and width (the same).^{[note 2][more information needed]}

World generation

Deep dark biome

• New biome at the "deepest depths of the world".
• Wardens can spawn here.
• May contain candles.
• Contains sculk blocks and sculk sensors.
• Contains a new Darkstone.^{[unofficial name]}

Lush caves

• Generate below azalea trees.
• Can be reached by following azalea roots underground.
• Contains tall grass, glow berries, dripleaf plants, spore blossoms, moss blocks, moss carpets, clay blocks, hanging roots, and azalea variants.
• Can spawn axolotls.

Mesh caves

• Seems to be possibly a large tunnel-like cave generation.
• Not much is known about this cave variation yet, but it was confirmed on Twitter by Henrik Kniberg.^[15]

• Possibly contain "catacomb" style branching cave sections.

General

• More extreme and smooth terrain.
• Likely change to the generation of alternate stone types, to make them appear in larger but less numerous deposits.
  • Possibly seen in a screenshot tweeted by Henrik Kniberg, in which diorite appears to generate in a long and flat horizontal strip, rather than a small unevenly shaped patch.

Gameplay

Archaeology

• The player can find items and blocks in gravel and dirt inside the dig site structure by using the brush.
• Possible items shown in the preview footage include:
  • Ceramic shards of varying color that depict different images.
  • Diamond blocks and emerald blocks are probably not a part of this list and serve as a placeholder for something else.^{[citation needed]}

Dimming of light^{[unofficial name]}

• While in the deep dark cave biome, the ambient lighting occasionally dims temporarily, limiting the player's visibility. This serves as a warning that the warden is nearby.

Planned changes

World generation

Mountains

The preview of updated mountain generation given during Minecraft Live 2020.

• Height dependent generation.
• Revamped, featuring some new small spruce trees on the slopes and ice or packed ice above the peaks.
• Contain goats, snow blocks, and powder snow.

Mineral veins

• To be revamped, possibly to balance the generation of copper. This may also be to adjust ores generating due to the new world depth.
• Some stone appears a little different and when that stone is mined, more of the ore should be found behind it.

Other Stones

• Diorite or calcite and what appears to be tuff spawn in layers of stone in straight lines instead of splotches.

An example of how the other stones may generate

Unconfirmed features

Structures

Underground Cabin^{[unofficial name]}

• Seen in the Deep Dark biome during the Minecraft Live 2020 stream.
• Consists of a chamber with a cobblestone floor and stripped log support beams, containing 3 barrels, a blast furnace, and a large chest, with cobwebs and candles in and around it.
• May possibly not be a generated structure, but instead a construction built for the purpose of the Warden showcase.

Trivia

• This is the first Java Edition update to add a new ore to the overworld since emerald ore was added in 1.3.1 (12w21a) in 2012.
  • Similarly, this is also the first Java Edition update to add a real-world metal into the game since Classic 0.0.14a in 2009, which brought both iron and gold.
• This is the first Java Edition update to increase the building height since Java Edition 1.2.1.

Fixes

137 issues fixed

From released versions before 1.17

• MC-2490 – TNT animation ends at 80 ticks, ignores fuse length changes.
• MC-3615 – Lava and water are completely transparent at certain height levels.
• MC-18880 – The Absorption effect has no texture for poison/wither hearts (appears empty instead).
• MC-46650 – When flying through blocks in spectator mode in F5, the camera zooms in and out a lot.
• MC-53518 – Endermen don't attack endermites spawned using spawn eggs or /summon.
• MC-80468 – Inconsistency between block names.
• MC-89880 – Spawner with weight 0 crashes the game.
• MC-91522 – Shulker rendering position desync and generates ghost shulker when destroying shulker-ridden boat or minecart.
• MC-92349 – Players cannot tempt animals with food while other players are closer to the animal.
• MC-92867 – Setting JSON text value to null throws exceptions and crashes.
• MC-96114 – Shulker can lift up mobs.
• MC-96322 – Shulkers are unable to attack from boat.
• MC-98219 – Experience orbs follow dead players.
• MC-99098 – Shulker open and close hitbox is not updated, when they ride boat, minecart or mobs.
• MC-99259 – The wither health bar doesn't go up during spawn.
• MC-103430 – Vines breaking too slow (enchanted shears).
• MC-105344 – Shulkers in boats and minecarts do not sit up if previousely attached to blocks sideways.
• MC-108469 – Chunk-wise entity lists often don't get updated correctly (entities disappear).
• MC-108717 – Shulkers cannot be pushed back.
• MC-110903 – Cannot remove horse saddle using /replaceitem.
• MC-111196 – Using a monster spawner to spawn shulkers spawns white shulkers.
• MC-112147 – Lava burning items or XP orbs sound muted when "Friendly Creatures" slider is turned off.
• MC-113177 – Shulkers cannot be pushed inside non-solid blocks.
• MC-119051 – Random transparent line in shulker box GUI texture.
• MC-121897 – Gaps in an animation's used frames throws ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException.
• MC-127201 – /replaceitem makes quite an obnoxious sound, which is not heard by the person whose items are being replaced.
• MC-127692 – Experience build up in furnace when using a hopper which can cause severe lag.
• MC-130098 – Debug world spawns player at y=2 instead at y=70 where all the blocks are.
• MC-130449 – Cartographer villager freezes or crashes the game when unlocking explorer maps.
• MC-130584 – When a structure loads, water sources in the structure spread into waterloggable blocks.
• MC-131564 – Models that have locked uv in blockstates ignore texture rotation.
• MC-133691 – Blocks cannot be placed normally on a full cauldron.
• MC-135552 – Dead entities are saved to chunk.
• MC-136497 – XP orbs causing severe lag.
• MC-139265 – Shulkers do not teleport correctly when going through a portal.
• MC-141034 – taiga_fisher_cottage_1 is filled with water.
• MC-142711 – Baby turtles take damage when pushed against ceiling.
• MC-143821 – Using empty map in Creative mode can create additional map with ID 0.
• MC-147729 – Crafting via the recipe book can delete items if picking up items while crafting.
• MC-148432 – Sound spam while in water and lava at the same time.
• MC-149495 – Pufferfish triggers tripwire without colliding with it upon reloading the game.
• MC-149799 – When a crossbow is loaded and in the offhand, you do not see it anymore if you carry an item in the main hand.
• MC-151270 – Teleporting an entity from another dimension can cause UUID duplication in entity sections.
• MC-152265 – Starting server outputs "unable to resolve BlockEntity for ItemStack" errors.
• MC-153254 – Baby zombies/piglins take damage when pushed against ceiling by bubble columns.
• MC-156109 – Turtles do not follow players in Creative mode holding seagrass.
• MC-160994 – Blocks broken by pistons do not display breaking particles.
• MC-161334 – Shulker boxes cannot be opened if next to a shulker mob.
• MC-162910 – Additional map is created when using an empty map in Creative in a newly created world.
• MC-163673 – Baby husks, piglins, zombies, zombie villagers, and zombified piglins take damage when jumping into a space with a solid block above it.
• MC-165846 – Pufferfish can take suffocation damage when bloating.
• MC-168398 – Guardian beam is darker.
• MC-168900 – Shulkers teleport with original dimension coordinates after passing through portals.
• MC-169900 – Incorrect jigsaw setting in snowy_small_house_8.
• MC-169945 – Skeletons do not burn in minecarts while being exposed to daylight.
• MC-170653 – Fireworks fired from a dispenser get stuck in the air when removing the block they crashed into.
• MC-171852 – Putting item in a spectator's hand plays sound "Gear equips" for other players.
• MC-172466 – Entities misaligning when growing up.
• MC-173745 – Lower part of end gateway block beam renders incorrectly.
• MC-174685 – Drowned arm texture is reversed by the model.
• MC-174876 – Shulker spawn egg spawns shulker inside soul sand, snow layers, farmland, grass path and honey block.
• MC-175959 – One door is open in taiga_shepherds_house_1.
• MC-176614 – Swimming and doing certain actions make the player look very odd/does not have animations for swimming + doing certain actions.
• MC-176615 – It is possible to destroy netherite items with lava by putting them inside a container.
• MC-177622 – One log in taiga_butcher_shop_1 seems to be misrotated - causing the side roof to look asymmetrical.
• MC-177624 – Entrance in snowy_medium_house_2 is asymmetrical.
• MC-181889 – Equipping sound plays when mobs picking up non-armor items.
• MC-182954 – "block.minecraft.banner.base.<color>" displays raw translation string (is untranslated).
• MC-183067 – Shulkers can push marker armour stands.
• MC-183771 – Gamemode switcher icons in the F3+F4 menu are not centered.
• MC-183884 – Shulkers are afraid of being next to another shulker.
• MC-183917 – Min and max are both required in entity_scores condition.
• MC-185357 – Removing a plant from a flower pot still plays generic armor equipping sound/shows Gear equips in subtitles.
• MC-185359 – Using a bucket in Survival mode still plays generic armor equipping sound/shows Gear equips in subtitles.
• MC-185360 – Milking a mooshroom for stew still plays armor equip sound/shows Gear equips subtitle.
• MC-185605 – Kelp generates on top of magma blocks.
• MC-186172 – Shulkers open into blocks when unable to teleport.
• MC-186879 – Standing in fire and water spams the extinguish sound.
• MC-188044 – Using a banner on a filled cauldron plays hand animation.
• MC-188448 – Food pops off of campfire when extinguished.
• MC-189482 – LAN World screen buttons are selected in the wrong order when using Tab ↹.
• MC-189565 – Some entities do not render inside of spawners and producing error log spam in console, potentially causing lag.
• MC-189885 – New byte previousGamemode is read incorrectly.
• MC-190454 – Desync when a player rides a horse riding another mob, and that mob dies.
• MC-190677 – Shulkers are not aligned to the grid for a split second after being spawned in.
• MC-190896 – Lag when opening a shipwreck chest containing buried treasure map.
• MC-191714 – Player is dismounted when standing on farmland while riding a horse/boat while the farmland turns to dirt, causing a desync.
• MC-192594 – plains_stable_1 misplaced blocks.
• MC-192629 – plains_stable_2 misplaced blocks.
• MC-192876 – Misplaced trapdoor on taiga_decoration_6.
• MC-192879 – Wall incorrectly placed on certain taiga houses.
• MC-192930 – Zombies picking up items play the gear equipping sound and subtitle.
• MC-193071 – Eating food items that return empty containers still play gear equipping sound.
• MC-193386 – Shulkers spawned attached to the groud attaches themselves to a wall after another shulker is spawned.
• MC-194089 – Shulkers at some Y positions refuse to get a Peek value.
• MC-194685 – Collecting water from cauldrons with glass bottles in Creative mode is still inconsistent.
• MC-194686 – Collecting water from cauldrons with buckets in Creative mode is still inconsistent.
• MC-195125 – plains_animal_pen_1 misplaced block.
• MC-195126 – plains_animal_pen_3 misplaced blocks.
• MC-195351 – Comparator in compare mode can schedule unneeded tileticks.
• MC-195461 – The upper part of potted cactus/bamboo texture is not visible if there is a half block above it.
• MC-195827 – datapackFailure.title line in en_us.json file has double spaces between the translation string and the equivalent text.
• MC-196425 – "Off" is not completely capitalized for the Distortion Effects and FOV Effects sliders, which is inconsistent with other sliders.
• MC-196542 – Small cleanup for skylight propagation code.
• MC-196638 – Placing an armor stand logs warning "Trying to add entity with duplicated UUID".
• MC-197009 – Referencing empty item tag in recipe can crash client.
• MC-197140 – Jack o'lantern does not come after carved pumpkin in Creative inventory.
• MC-197179 – Baby piglins that pick up leather do not despawn, cluttering the Nether with unnecessary baby piglins.
• MC-197276 – Pufferfish gives Poison IV instead of II.
• MC-197524 – Border chunks do not enforce neighbors to be loaded, causing light updates to get stuck.
• MC-198129 – ReplaceBlobsFeature changed from 1.16.1 to 1.16.2, affecting Basalt Delta generation.
• MC-198414 – If the angle in /spawnpoint is set to ±infinity, and the player dies, it will kick the player, and upon rejoin will crash the game.
• MC-198432 – Pufferfish phases through blocks after reloading world.
• MC-198514 – Creating a Superflat world with nothing but air crashes the game.
• MC-198535 – time_check predicate condition requires both min and max value.
• MC-198725 – Crash when clicking "Presets" after setting the Superflat preset with a non-existent biome.
• MC-198807 – Making piglins and piglin brutes angry at certain entities (like dropped items) crashes the game.
• MC-198864 – World border does not render below y0 / above y255.
• MC-199356 – chatDelay in options.txt has a space between the colon and the value.
• MC-199988 – When accessing a UI of a structure block from /setblock the texture changes from data to save.
• MC-200195 – Boats do not try dismounting the player on land.
• MC-200696 – Clock's texture does not match the new gold color pallete.
• MC-200906 – Pufferfish hitbox incorrect when reloading world.
• MC-201840 – Optional function tags sometimes don't run even when the tag exists.
• MC-202202 – Servers are unable to prevent a player from dismounting a vehicle, causing a desync.
• MC-202246 – Drowned navigation causes memory leak/performance degredation.
• MC-203373 – Shulker bullet subtitles are not capitalized correctly.
• MC-203397 – Ceiling vines rotate when other vines are placed in the same block space.
• MC-205477 – Occasional desync when trying to enter/exit a boat while the server is lagging.
• MC-205735 – Baby cows can suffocate on stairs.
• MC-207125 – Loaded crossbow in offhand does not show breaking block hand animation.
• MC-207405 – Nether stars can be blown up while being inside of a bundle/shulker box.
• MC-208082 – Game stalls when any message is displayed in chat while playing with an expired session.
• MC-209361 – Game crashes upon instantly click-replacing the block underneath a bamboo sapling with another bamboo.
• MC-209625 – Baby llamas suffocate when below a solid block while standing on top of a carpet.
• MC-210791 – Dropping an item on a shulker launches the item off.
• MC-212291 – Client can dismount vehicles independently from the server, causing a de-sync.

Notes

1. ↑ The warden does not attack other entities but it does follow the vibrations that they make. (For example it follows a snowball but it breaks upon impact to a block rendering it non-attackable by the Warden.
2. ↑ Height of the Warden is based from the image found on twitter.

References

↑ "Minecraft Live 2020 @ 2:10:28"– Minecraft on YouTube, October 3, 2020
↑ "Minecraft Live: The Recap" – Minecraft.net, October 3, 2020
↑ MC-203550
↑ MC-197276
↑ "We added noise caves, changed world height, and added aquifers (local water levels). Summarized in this pic. Note that the underground biomes don't generate quite yet. Try it, give us feedback!" – @henrikkniberg
↑ MC-174685
↑ "While not related, Sculk name was inspired by Jeb's process with naming the Shulkers - he liked the word "Lurker", but changed it around a bit to feel new. Sculk is one letter changed of Skulk, meaning "keep out of sight, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive"" – @kingbdogz
↑ "That is actually a bone-like material, not End Stone :)" - @kingbdogz
↑ "Note: Everything in the archeology vid was placeholder art" – @JasperBoerstra
↑ "Feeling kinda short myself..." – @kingbdogz
↑ "Wardens will still be able to detect entities that are invisible :)" – @kingbdogz
↑ "I'd actually consider it something entirely new. The Warden is a force of nature, not a boss. When a tornado is barreling toward you, you don't try to kill it - you run away! The Warden is exactly the same." – @kingbdogz
↑ "It absolutely has some tricks up its sleeves to counter that particular strategy :)" – @kingbdogz
↑ "Looking kinda short there, Iron Golem." – @kingbdogz
↑ "Mesh caves. You'll see it later." – @henrikkniberg
↑ "Lol been prototyping that today actually! Thx for the pic though very useful." – @henrikkniberg
↑ "Sometimes weird things happen when messing around with world generation. The villagers up there look mighty confused :) #devbloopers" – @henrikkniberg
↑ "The mechanical purpose is to warn you that the Warden is nearby. You should get ready if you start to see pure darkness like that..." – @kingbdogz
↑ https://youtu.be/DWZIfsaIgtE?t=2536

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