How to download Minecraft 1.18 release candidate 2 and 3

Minecraft 1.18 update, called Caves and Cliffs Part 2, is on track to release on Tuesday, November 30. After this update, the Overworld will change forever and beyond any player's imagination.

As the release date approaches, developers have been busy making final tweaks and bug fixes in the Minecraft 1.18 update. After eight pre-releases, Caves and Cliffs Part 2 has now entered its release candidate phase.

Developers usually announce release candidates before a major update launch to fix any critical bugs left unchecked in the pre-release. Mojang issued release candidate 2 and 3 on the same day to fix a couple of issues.

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Release candidate 2 and 3 for Minecraft 1.18 update and their bug fixes

Players can download the release candidate versions to experience the Minecraft 1.18 update before its official release. Mojang will launch the latest release candidate as the official update once all critical bugs are fixed.

Release candidates are available for download on the official Minecraft launcher. Follow these steps to download the latest release candidate for Minecraft 1.18 update:

1. Open Minecraft launcher.
2. The launcher will show the Play tab after opening. Switch to the Installation tab.
3. Enable snapshots under VERSIONS. It is required for downloading development versions.
4. Create a new profile.
5. While creating a new profile, select 1.18 release candidate 3. Players interested in checking differences can also choose older 1.18 release candidates.
6. Once the profile is created, switch back to the Play tab.
7. Select the newly created profile and launch the game. The launcher will download all the required files and install the 1.18 release candidate.

If no further bugs are found, 1.18 release candidate 3 will be launched as Minecraft 1.18 update for Java Edition. Here are the changelogs for release candidate 2 and 3:

Bug fixed in Minecraft 1.18 release candidate 2

• Large lava lakes were not generating below Y -54 as large caves couldn't generate at that height level. It has now been fixed.

Bug fixed in Minecraft 1.18 release candidate 3

• A bug where items inside blocks were deleted after dying was fixed.

Both release candidate 2 and 3 came out on Friday. As the next two days are the weekend, developers probably won't release another release candidate immediately.

If a new bug is found, players can expect another release candidate on Monday, November 29. Since the Minecraft 1.18 update is on November 30, minor bugs, if any, will be fixed in the 1.18.1 update.