How to download the new Minecraft snapshot 22w12a

The latest snapshot for Minecraft Java Edition has just been released. Version 22w12a has been made available to the public and has introduced a lot of changes. This is a pretty big snapshot and it moves gamers closer to the release of the highly-anticipated 1.19 The Wild Update.

The snapshot is one of the biggest released yet as it finally introduces The Warden. The new boss has been delayed since the 1.17 update and is finally making its way into the game in a semi-official capacity.

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How to download the latest Minecraft snapshot, what features to expect

The Warden arrives (Image via Mojang)

The official Minecraft blog gave instructions on how to download the latest snapshot on Java Edition, saying:

"Snapshots are available for Minecraft: Java Edition. To install the snapshot, open up the Minecraft Launcher and enable snapshots in the "Installations" tab. Snapshots can corrupt your world, so please backup and/or run them in a different folder from your main worlds."

Once it's installed, players can finally face off with the Warden, which has been a long time coming. The announcement was rather humorous, despite the fact that the Warden is frighteningly terrifying.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah! It's Wal... wait that's not it. It's the warden! The spooky, unfriendly (maybe it just wants a hug?) mob is making its way into our latest snapshot."

Aside from that, there are a few other key changes found in this snapshot:

• Darkness mob effect was introduced.
• Added Sculk Shrieker functionality.
• The Warden is officially added.
• Boats with chests are now in-game.
• A new enchantment for leggings, Swift Sneak, was introduced.

The Sculk Shrieker was also updated by allowing it to "call" out to the Warden if it is triggered. This will be the main way for the Warden to figure out where players are since it is completely blind.

Darkness is a brand new status effect that will be applied when in the Deep Dark biome and near the Warden. This will affect the gamma as well as the overall brightness of the world. It will make things very difficult to see.

Finally, Swift Sneak is the first enchantment to be added to the game in quite some time. It will be exclusive to leggings and will be extremely useful in the Deep Dark biome.

While crouched and moving around, this enchantment increases speed so that players can crouch and move silently without sacrificing a lot of movement speed.

For more information and the official patch notes, readers can check out the official website.