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These new changes brought on by Minecraft’s 1.18 update are sure to not only give existing users a reason to create yet another new world but cultivate fresh players seeking new and exciting adventures as well.
World Height and Depth Increase
Minecraft has had a consistent vertical world size of 255 blocks for a very long time, with the bottom-most block being the Y-0 coordinate. With the new 1.18 update, which brings with it all-new cave and mountain generation, the total vertical world size has been expanded by 128 blocks.
The world ceiling now sits at 319 blocks while the lowest block of bedrock is at -64. This is undoubtedly necessary in order to make the cave systems and mountains as impressive as they are in 1.18.
Noise Caves
One of the standout additions of 1.18 is the massive overhaul to cave generation, dubbed ‘Noise Caves’ (named for their use of noise generators). Caves no longer generate like they used to, players who’ve got a love for spelunking are instead treated to huge caverns, claustrophobic tunnels, new underground biomes and so much more.
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There are several new cave types:
Cheese Caves are characterized by their large pillars. Noodle Caves are thin tunnels. Spaghetti Caves are similar to Noddle Caves but much larger.
Aquifers, another new addition, will create underground lakes within these cave types and even flood them. They also contain more ore than normal, so players ought to be on the lookout when near an Aquifer.
Better Biome Placement
The Overworld has received a massive overhaul to its biome generation. Among these, the existing biome transition is made to be much more seamless and logical. In previous versions of Minecraft, biome transitions had a tendency to be a bit extreme and illogical at times. For example, a Desert biome could make a rather abrupt change into a Frozen Ocean.
With 1.18, this type of thing is made far less likely. Warm biomes tend to spawn near each other more reliably while the same can be said for colder biomes. This should hopefully prevent the aforementioned abruptness in biome changes.
New Underground Biomes
Some of the coolest additions in 1.18 are the new cave biomes that generate underground. These new biomes are Lush Caves and Dripstone Caves. Lush Caves are caverns covered in vegetation (some of which serve as a light source). In these biomes, it’s possible for Tropical Fish and Axolotls to spawn in some of the more flooded areas.
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Dripstone Caves, on the other hand, are characterized by the prevalence of Pointed Dripstone stalactites and stalagmites, both of which grow from clusters of Dripstone Blocks if there is a water source above them.
Deepslate
One of the new features of cave generation is Deepslate. Deepslate is a darker, more difficult-to-break stone-type block that generates deep underground at around Y-8 to Y-0, after which Stone blocks are entirely replaced with Deepslate.
Breaking this block (which takes twice the amount of time it does to break Stone) will yield Cobbled Deepslate, which be smelted, crafted, and be used on a stone cutter to create a variety of other block types. It is very similar to Cobble Stone in this regard.
Surface Biome Overhaul
Mountains have received a massive upgrade in the new update. There are now six new sub-biomes associated with mountains:
Meadows generate towards the base of a mountain and feature lots of grass and flowers. Groves spawn on the sides of snowy hills and mountains. Snowy Slopes, a biome that generates mountain slopes covered in barren snow blocks and powdered snow. Jagged Peaks are jagged-looking stone and snow mountain peaks. Frozen Peaks are peaks covered in packed ice and various snow blocks. Stony Peaks, a biome that’s comprised of stone, gravel, and calcite.
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All of these new world generation features give Minecraft’s worlds a much more awe-inspiring and impressive look and feel.
New Ore Veins
Ore veins are rare but potentially very rewarding groups of ore that can be found both in caves underground. Ore Veins are not small by any means, in fact, they take on a similar shape to spaghetti caves, having a winding tunnel-like appearance except it’s comprised of ore and other specific blocks associated with them.
For example, Copper ore veins are mostly Granite with Copper sprinkled in. Iron Ore veins, on the other hand, are typically found in and around large concentrations of Tuff. Both normal Iron and Copper ore, as well as raw Iron and Copper blocks, can be found in a typical ore vein.
Upgrading Old Worlds
When it comes to starting new Minecraft worlds, it’s understandable that some players might be hesitant since it normally means starting over from scratch. The problem then becomes that these players miss out on all the features added in new updates. Fortunately, 1.18 allows the player to upgrade their existing worlds with the all-new cave generation and mountain overhauls.
The world depth and height are properly updated, and new biomes are able to generate without disrupting player-made structures. This is a great thing for players wary of having to start a new game because now they don’t have to!
Minecraft is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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