Biome
Mountains and peaks
Meadow, Grove, Snowy Slopes, Frozen Peaks and Jagged Peaks form high mountain ranges. Groves and Snowy Slopes can hide Powder Snow traps, and Goats spawn on the slopes and peaks.
Minecraft 1.18 “Caves & Cliffs: Part II”
Released on 30 November 2021, Minecraft Java Edition 1.18 Caves & Cliffs: Part II completes the cave update with a new world generation. The world is 64 blocks higher and 64 blocks deeper, with noise caves, aquifers, large ore veins and new biomes such as Lush Caves, Dripstone Caves, Meadow, Grove, Frozen Peaks and Jagged Peaks. It requires Java 17.
Released 30 Nov 2021 1 new blocks & items Resource pack format 8 Data version 2860
Key takeaways
- World height: build and generation limits grow by 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, to a total range of 384 blocks, with a new Bedrock floor at y -64.
- Caves: noise caves come in three shapes (cheese, spaghetti and noodle), and aquifers fill them with underground lakes that have their own water level; below y 0, some hold lava.
- New biomes: Lush Caves, Dripstone Caves, Meadow, Grove, Snowy Slopes, Frozen Peaks and Jagged Peaks. Terrain height now varies independently of biomes.
- Ores: each ore has its own height range, so no single level is best for all of them, and rare large veins mix Copper Ore with Granite and Iron Ore with Tuff.
- Performance: a new Simulation Distance setting stops updating entities, blocks and fluids beyond a chosen range, which allows a higher render distance with less CPU load.
Headline features
The changes you will notice first, with the pages that go deeper.
Biome
Lush Caves and Dripstone Caves
Lush Caves have Moss, Spore Blossoms, Dripleaf in Clay pools and Cave Vines with Glow Berries; an Azalea Tree on the surface marks one below. Dripstone Caves are full of Pointed Dripstone and extra Copper Ore.
Gameplay
Noise caves and aquifers
Cheese caves form large caverns, spaghetti caves long tunnels and noodle caves narrow passages. The old cave carvers and canyons still generate and combine with them.
Blocks
Ores and Deepslate
Diamond Ore becomes more common the deeper you go, and Deepslate gradually replaces Stone from y 8 downwards. Copper veins form between y 0 and 50, iron veins between y -60 and -8.
Official video
Published by Mojang on the official Minecraft YouTube channel.
Clicking loads the video from YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com).
Everything new in 1.18
compared with 1.17.1 · from the game files1Blocks & items
6Biomes
New entities
Other blocks & items × 1
What changed
MobsMonsters now only spawn where block light is 0, and monster spawn limits are per player instead of per dimension.
GameplaySleeping while it rains stops the rain, and Vindicators, Pillagers and Evokers no longer attack baby Villagers.
MusicNew music by Lena Raine and Kumi Tanioka, and a new music disc by Lena Raine, Otherside, found rarely in Stronghold corridor chests and Dungeon chests.
GraphicsClouds move up from height 128 to 192, chunks load in a cylinder around the player, and the default brightness is now 50.
AccessibilityNew options to stop the sky from flashing during thunderstorms, plus Toggle Sprint and Toggle Sneak in the Controls settings.
Serversserver.jar bundles individual libraries, server resource packs can reach 250 MB, and hide-online-players hides the player list from status requests.
TechnicalData pack and resource pack formats are both 8. Worlds last saved before 1.2 must first be converted in an older version.
Mods & loaders for 1.18
Mods must be rebuilt for each version. Counts from the files published on Modrinth and CurseForge, in our catalog.
Popular mods Sodium · AvailableJust Enough Items (JEI) · AvailableFabric API · AvailableLithium · AvailableIris Shaders · AvailableOptiFine · Available
208 mods in our catalog have a 1.18 file → 190 texture packs and 46 maps in our catalog support 1.18.
How to play 1.18
- 01
Open the Minecraft Launcher and select Minecraft: Java Edition.
- 02
Go to Installations, create a new installation and choose version 1.18.
- 03
Back up your worlds before opening them in a new version.
From first snapshot to release
8 snapshots, 8 pre-releases and 4 release candidates over 76 days.
- 21w37a15 Sept 2021
- 21w41a13 Oct 2021
- 21w44a03 Nov 2021
- 1.18-pre111 Nov 2021
- 1.18-rc125 Nov 2021
- 1.1830 Nov 2021
Minecraft 1.18 FAQ
When was Minecraft 1.18 released?
On 30 November 2021, for Java Edition. It is the second part of Caves & Cliffs, after 1.17 (8 June 2021). The 1.18.1 fix followed on 10 December 2021.
Which Java version does Minecraft 1.18 need?
Java 17. With a default setup, the Minecraft Launcher downloads it automatically; custom Java setups and third-party launchers need Java 17 or later.
Can I keep playing my 1.17 world in 1.18?
Yes. New terrain blends with old chunks, and in old chunks with Bedrock at y 0 the space below is filled with new generation, down to a new Bedrock layer at y -64. Worlds last saved before 1.2 must first be converted (Mojang recommends 1.6.4).
Do 1.17 data packs, resource packs and mods work in 1.18?
Not without an update: the data pack and resource pack formats are now 8. Mods also need a build for 1.18.