Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IUP chapter.

The next new update is upon us and it’s starting to get exciting! Minecraft’s update 1.17 will be working towards bigger cliffs and better caves [hence the name]. After its debut at Minecraft Live 2020, there have been major advancements into what might become of Minecraft. While creator Mojang, has not released an official release date for the update it will most likely reach our consoles by this summer. Some of the most noteworthy features of the new update include Amethyst, Copper, Bundles, Glow Squids, Goats, and Dripstone. Other planned features include the Warden and several new types of caves. 

Two of our new blocks to be added include Amethyst and Copper. Amethyst can be found in geodes and can be used as a new light source. This can also be used to craft some of the new items in the update. The Copper ore and ingots are more useful compared to the Amethyst which can be used for copper blocks to build with and also make lightning rods and spy glasses. Copper will also oxidize over time much like it does in real life and changes into a blue/green color. 

Bundles are one of the things I am most excited about. Much like the shulker boxes you can get from the end cities, bundles are giving us more inventory space when walking around our world that can be made out of rabbit hide and string. This will be a great way to carry your valuables before you beat the Ender Dragon. 

2 new Mobs that will be added are Glow Squids and the Warden. While there are others that Mojang will be adding with the update, these felt notable. The Glow Squid is a mob that was voted on by the players in a Mob vote between it, the Moobloom from Minecraft Earth, and the Iceologer from the Minecraft Dungeons. The Glow Squid will spawn in the deep ocean biome and drop glow ink sacs. The Warden on the other hand is a much more hostile mob and could also be considered a boss mob. Since it kills you with one hit unless you’re wearing Diamond or Netherite armor, this mob is not meant to be fought. The Warden is blind and only maneuvers the map by sound, so there is a way to sneak past it. The player can use snowballs to direct the Warden away from the player so they can escape. Luckily these can only be found in deep caves. 

While there are many other things Mojang is bringing into the new caves and cliffs update, I didn’t want to spoil it, if you want to find more information on the new update there are countless review videos on Youtube, the Minecraft Wiki page, and more. We will see in summer how the new update will perform, Happy Mining!

 

Brooke is an English education major at IUP and plans to graduate in spring 2022. Alongside Her Campus, she has also performed with the IUP Dance Theater and is part of the Kappa Delta Pi honors society and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).