How to download Minecraft 1.18 Snapshot 21w41a for Java Edition

Minecraft Live 2021 is happening this Saturday, but that doesn't stop developers from working on snapshots. Mojang will unveil the 1.19 update and conduct a mob vote to decide the next mob and make it a part of Minecraft.

While coming up with ideas for the Minecraft 1.19 update, developers are also busy with the Caves & Cliffs Part 2 update. The Minecraft 1.18 update will be released towards the end of this year, just two months from now.

Except for the Warden and its home, deep dark caves, the world generation is pretty much ready. Developers are making tweaks in every snapshot to improve the new world generation. Minecraft snapshot 21w41a has brought many texture updates and tweaks to the world generation.

Download Minecraft 1.18 Snapshot 21w41a to experience new terrain generations and bug fixes

Minecraft 1.18 Snapshot 21w41a uses a new random number generator to create the Overworld. Players will find a new terrain generation in the Overworld. This change can be noticed by using a seed in older 1.18 snapshots as well as the latest one.

The new snapshot has fixed many texture bugs related to campfires, item frames, door items and so on. Developers have also made changes to the generation of amethyst geodes, badlands mineshafts, snowy slopes and more.

Players can download the latest snapshot 21w41a to experience new changes. Here are the steps to download the latest 1.18 snapshot.

Steps to download Minecraft snapshot 21w41a

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Open Minecraft launcher. If the launcher is not installed, players can get it from here.
After the launcher opens, go to the "Installations" tab.
Enable Snapshot under VERSIONS.
Create a new installation.
While creating a new installation, select the latest snapshot 21w41a and create a new profile.
Go to the Play tab and select the newly installed profile.
Click on PLAY to download the files for snapshot 21w41a. After downloading, the launcher will launch the snapshot.

Players can move their older worlds to this snapshot, but it is not recommended as snapshots can be unstable. However, if players want to move their world to a 1.18 snapshot, they are advised to backup the world. Therefore, in case anything goes wrong, players can use backup files to restore the world.

Major changes, fixes and features in the latest snapshot

Nether generation is fixed.
Minecraft 1.18 now has 2^64 seeds. Previously, it had 2^48 seeds.
No more glitchy chunk rendering.
Mineshafts in badlands generate a lot higher to match the new terrain height level.
Amethyst geodes will now only generate up to Y level 30.
There is a new cubemap featuring Minecraft 1.18 update world generation.

There were many other bug fixes apart from these, which players can experience upon downloading the latest snapshot.