Part 2 of the Minecraft update Caves & Cliffs is available as a snapshot. We tell you how to install and play the pre-release version.
Fans have been waiting for the Caves & Cliffs update for Minecraft since it was announced many months ago, which developer Mojang is releasing in two separate patches. The first part with update 1.17 was released in June, and now the second and final step will soon follow.
What’s in Caves & Cliffs Part 2
As can be read in the official blog entryof the developers, the second part of the big update now contains the most exciting new features of Caves & Cliffs. This goes so far that the world of Minecraft definitely looks different afterwards.
New mountain biomes: High, snow-covered peaks and slopes, small forests on the edge and more. The mountains get a major overhaul and from now on look more naturally placed in the world. In addition, the maximum height of the game world will be adjusted (maximum 320 blocks).
New cave generation: Caves will be more extensive and varied. They offer more narrow passages, underground lakes, meander through the world underground or arise inside a mountain and form a kind of stalactite cave. The maximum depth of the game world is now at level -64 (previously: 0).
Natural Terrain Variation: Variations in terrain and elevation can now occur independently of biomes. For example, forests or deserts can form on a hill without a special biome.
New ore distribution: The important minerals of the Minecraft world will be completely redistributed. The developers show exactly how this will be done in a preliminary graphic. However, this is not yet final, which means that there could still be changes.
New monster rule: Enemies in Minecraft now only spawn in absolute darkness. Previously, monsters could also appear in dimly lit regions, but that’s over now.
New features in Snapshot 2
Mojang meanwhile released a second experimental snapshot that makes a few changes. This primarily concerns the generation of the world.
New biomes: In the first snapshot, the Ice Spikes and Eroded Badlands were still missing. Both biomes have now been added to the world pool and can appear.
Fewer Microbiomes: The number of smaller biomes within a biome has been reduced. At the same time, the individual biomes have been enlarged and are said to be less fragmented. The swamp biome should now also be generated correctly.
More and less beach: Beach areas are now significantly larger. In turn, there are now also areas where there is simply no beach at all.
Bigger Mountains: The mountain ranges in Minecraft can now grow really high. Up to 260 blocks in height are possible. However, the huge mountains are still supposed to be very rare.
Cave Adjustment: The entrances to huge cave networks are slightly smaller and the chance of them reaching the ground has been reduced. In addition, underground biomes have been adjusted so that they are less likely to conflict with other biomes.
More Enemies on Spawners: The spawners for Zombies, Skeletons, Spiders and Cave Spiders will now spawn more enemies up to a light level of 11. This should lead to a greater challenge.
New world needed: Those who created a world with the first snapshot will need to generate a fresh world again for version 2. Older worlds will result in an error message
.
Install Snapshot in Java Edition
In order to try out the early development version of Update 1.18, you need the current snapshot. Unlike usual, this snapshot cannot simply be installed via the launcher. Follow these steps to be able to test the developer version. 1:
1. download the 1.18 snapshot from the developer page. 2.
Press the Win+R keys and enter %appdata%\.minecraft in the address bar and click “Ok”. 3.
Change to the “Versions” folder and unpack the downloaded snapshot there. 4.
Start the Minecraft launcher and click on “Installations”, then tick the “Modified” box. 5.
Press “New installation” and think of a name of your choice. 6.
6. at “Version” look for “pending 1.18_experimental-snapshot-2.zip” in the list (if you don’t see the version, restart the launcher once).
Then click on “Create” and start the version you have just created.
The developers also provide a graphical version of the installation steps in English. Please note, however, that you must generate a new world with the snapshot. Only with a later update will worlds from Minecraft version 1.17 also be compatible.
Enable update in Bedrock edition
In the Bedrock version of Minecraft, you can also try out the second part of Caves & Cliffs in advance. The installation is much simpler:
1. start the Bedrock version of Minecraft and create a new world or revert to an existing world. 2.
Under the game settings you will find the tab “Experiments”. 3.
3. activate “Caves and Cliffs” here and confirm at the window that you want to use the experimental changes.
If you activate the changes for an existing world, the game will automatically create a copy of your world for you with the new features. This way your original world will not be damaged or made unplayable.
When will Minecraft 1.18 be released?
By the way, there is no release date for the final version of Minecraft 1.18 and thus the second part of Caves & Cliffs. Many of the changes are profound and need a lot of testing time accordingly, which is why the developers are already starting with the very experimental versions.
The first regular snapshot for update 1.18 is expected to be released in September. Whether there will be additional changes then remains to be seen.
