List of gameplay changes confirmed for Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update

Fans are getting excited about the upcoming Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update.

After an impressive nether update, Mojang is bringing the Caves and Cliffs update to Minecraft in summer 2021. For a long time, caves and mountains received little to no change. Players have been asking for a caves and mountain revamp for a long time.

This update focuses on caves and mountains while bringing many new features to the game. Minecraft is on its way to bring diversity to its underground world. The Caves and Cliffs update introduces many new caves and mountain biomes.

Many new blocks and items are going to be added in the upcoming update, and some notable gameplay changes have taken place in the Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update.

Minecraft Caves and Cliffs: Confirmed Gameplay Changes

Vibrations

Opening door activates sculk sensor(Image via Minecraft)

Vibrations are a new game feature added to Minecraft in Caves and Cliffs update. Placing blocks, opening doors, pressing buttons, and many other actions creates a vibration. These vibrations can be detected using a sculk sensor. Warden also uses these vibrations to locate players and other mobs in Minecraft.

World Height limit changed

Mojang has changed the world height limit to 384 blocks in the Caves and Cliffs update. Before this update, the world height limit was 256 blocks. In the overworld, the minimum height level was Y -64, while the maximum height was 320.

This change was made to accommodate new caves and mountains in Minecraft. Caves can now generate deep below to height level -59, while mountains are generating up to 256 height in Minecraft 1.17.

Ore Distribution

Minecraft's ore generation has been massively tweaked in this update. Due to new caves and mountains, ores are now easy to find through exploration. Most of the ores can now generate below Y 0 and at a higher frequency.

Ore textures have also been changed for color blind people. New textures make it easy for them to distinguish between different ore blocks. There are also new deepslate ores found below height level zero.

Archaeology

Archaeology is a new feature coming to Minecraft in the caves and cliffs update. A new tool called "Brush" has been added to explore archaeological dig sites. Using a brush, players can uncover hidden treasures inside dirt and gravel blocks found at excavation sites.

A complete list of treasure loot is yet to be announced. Dig sites were announced at the Minecraft live event. Fans are expecting this feature to be added in future snapshots.