Minecraft Caves & Cliffs added better caves and mountains but it took away many unique terrain generation

The Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update was one of the largest installments since it changed the game's entire terrain generation. The default world type used to have simplistic mountains and caves. After the update, however, the mountains were a lot taller, and the caves became much deeper and larger as well. While some of these changes were welcome, several unique terrain generation features went missing after the update.

Here is how the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update changed terrain generation, but also removed some unique terrain features.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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What Minecraft Caves & Cliffs added and removed in terms of terrain generation

Caves & Cliffs amplified caves and mountains (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Mojang Studios)

The Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update was released on November 21, 2021. Prior to this, Mojang already announced that they would be bringing major terrain generation changes to the game to spice up the age-old sandbox world generator.

With the update, the devs decided to deepen the caves by 64 Y levels, and also generate taller mountains and cliffs. They added six new mountain sub-biomes like Meadow, Grove, Snowy Slopes, Jagged Peaks, Frozen Peaks, and Stony Peaks. These generated hundreds of blocks above sea level.

Because of these changes, even a regular world looked somewhat like an amplified one, which was a special but discontinued world type.

Terrain features that no longer generate

While these new terrain generation features were great, some unique generations like these are now missing from the game:

Long flat areas

Large flat areas are no longer present (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Mojang Studios)

Before the Caves & Cliffs update, a Minecraft world had large, relatively flattish areas. Of course, the Plains biome was the flattest region, but other biomes like Forest, Dark Oak Forest, and even Savannah were on flat terrain. This made it easier for players to plan a large base or other structures. The extra step of terraforming a flat area was not necessary.

Today, even a Plains biome like the one shown above has several layers of blocks, making it quite uneven and difficult to work with. Irregular terrain also makes exploration a bit tedious, especially if players are on foot.

Clearings in forests

Several forests had clearings (Image via Reddit/Just-Guarantee7808)

Before the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update, Forests and Dark Oak Forests had occasional clearings in between them, which made them much realistic and also gave players a break from constant trees.

If players enter a large Forest now, they will continue to see the biome continue for hundreds of blocks without any clearing. These clearings were not only felt realistic, but they also became a great place for players to create a unique base surrounded by forest.

Archipelagos

Archipelagos, in simple terms, are a group of small islands in an ocean that are close to each other but are not connected. Some of these islands will look like they were once connected, but they broke off due to tectonic plate movements over thousands of years.

These were used to generate before the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update. When it was discovered that they no longer generate, many players were extremely upset.

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About the author

Akshat has been a Minecraft writer at Sportskeeda for almost three years. He has loved gaming since childhood, and the fact that Need For Speed Most Wanted is still installed on his PC is proof that the flame burns strong even today. This love for the racing franchise spilled over to F1 fandom, leading him to cover the sport as well for the company.

Akshat's articles have accrued over 19 million views so far at Sportskeeda. He prefers both solo and multiplayer titles and is a huge admirer of popular gamers Shroud and Philza. Akshat places huge emphasis on accurate, relevant, and ethical content, and does thorough research using social media, videos, and a multitude of websites before writing an article.

Akshat's other hobbies include cars, mechanical keyboards, psychology, and philosophy. He would recommend indie and Slice of Life games to a gaming skeptic because of their ease of play, compelling storyline, and message.

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Edited by Akshat Kabra