Why should you avoid exploring the Nether before the Minecraft Chase the Skies game drop?

Mojang will be releasing the new Chase the Skies game drop for Minecraft in a few weeks. This update consists of many exciting new features, particularly the new happy ghast. This mob will allow you to fly around the world when a harness is placed on it. Since the game drop will release soon, there are some activities that you should not indulge in your survival world until then.

One particular activity to avoid before the Chase the Skies update is exploring the Nether. Here's why.

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Reasons why you should avoid exploring the Nether before the Minecraft Chase the Skies update

Dried ghast will not generate in already loaded Soul Sand Valley biomes before the update (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Mojang Studios)

In 2021, Mojang explained that with every update, the existing worlds will never be affected, since already-loaded chunks will not have any new features in them. This means that you need to travel further to discover new chunks where the new features will be generated.

Every update that Mojang has made follows this mechanic of not adding new features to existing chunks. The new biomes, creatures, blocks, and items won't be present in locations that you have already explored — in other words, chunks you have already loaded.

Players essentially need to load fresh chunks in their old worlds after every update if they wish to discover new features. The same applies to the Minecraft Chase the Skies update.

Dried ghast is a new block that will be found near fossils that generate in Soul Sand Valleys in the Nether.

If you find several Soul Sand Valley biomes in your world before the update, you will have a tough time finding even more of these biomes after the update, simply to get the dried ghast block. The previously found Soul Sand Valleys will not generate the new block from which you can get the new happy ghast's source block.

Hence, if you are aiming to find a naturally generated dried ghast block, it is advised not to explore too much of the Nether in the coming days. You can patiently wait for the update to drop.

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Dried ghast block can also be crafted

Dried ghast can be crafted using eight ghast tears and one soul sand block. (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Mojang Studios)

Of course, it is worth mentioning that if you do want to explore the Nether, you can freely do so since Mojang also made dried ghast blocks craftable.

To craft a dried ghast, you will need eight ghast tears and one soul sand block. If you are not too keen on finding the new block naturally, you can simply find a Soul Sand Valley, farm ghast tears and soul sand blocks, and then make the dried ghast yourself once the update releases.

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