Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update: Height limit change

The Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update has so many attributes it's hard to keep up, and one of the most game-changing additions has almost flown by under the radar.

Minecraft's height limit has been changed a few times before, moving from a 128 block limit to 256 blocks back in 2012, and the developers are finally making another change. Minecraft will now have a height limit of 320 blocks with the upcoming update.

The game's developers, Mojang — after years of players begging for this addition — have finally implemented a new and improved height limit to the game, and here's why.

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In what Snapshot did Minecraft's height limit change?

All ores now have regular and deepslate versions (Image via Henrik Kniberg, Twitter)

Minecraft's height limit is finally being increased, and players can see this addition right now by using any Minecraft 1.17 Snapshot, starting with 21w06a.

This additional space in the world gives players so many more opportunities than before, as every build can be a lot taller and larger. This also means that the underground cave systems can be incredibly deep and still hidden underneath the grassy hills above. Some of these caves seem to stem over fifty blocks tall, and are still undetectable from above.

Some other additions occurring with this upcoming Minecraft update are the new skins/textures of ores. All ores now have a regular and deepslate version to account for the new block, which covers the expansive lower parts of the world.

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What is the new height limit, and how have these new air blocks been added?

The additional blocks have been placed at either end of the world — to the top and the bottom (Image via ScrollDrop)

Minecraft's height limit has finally been expanded from 256 blocks to a whopping 320 blocks, and players will find it interesting how the developers have done this.

When Mojang introduced the idea of a new and improved height limit, it didn't want to merely tack these extra blocks onto the top of the world and leave ample empty space above the land. Instead, the devs made an interesting and wonderful decision to split the 128 additional blocks being added. They placed them at either end of the world — to the top and the bottom.

This has made it so that the regular height for land (around the 60-70 block mark, usually, unless a player spawns in an unusual location) will remain the usual spawning Y coordinate, while making plenty of space underground for the new cave systems being implemented in this update.