The latest version of Minecraft, 1.19's The Wild Update, was released on June 7 across all platforms. The game's first major update since the release of Caves & Cliffs, The Wild Update follows in version 1.18's footsteps by improving existing biomes as well as adding new ones. Along with this comes more items, mobs, and structures for players to explore. Even dedicated Minecraft players should be able to find something exciting to engage with in The Wild Update. However, not all of Minecraft 1.19's content is equally easy to stumble across. For example, players will have an easier time finding frogs than the warden.
First announced during Minecraft Live 2021, The Wild Update was primarily aimed at overhauling Minecraft's swamps to add more diversity to the game's overworld biomes. Early visualizations of The Wild Update showed off fireflies and mangrove trees, creating a brand-new atmosphere for players to enjoy. Minecraft's birch forests were also set to be upgraded with the introduction of shelf fungi and fallen logs. However, various parts of Minecraft 1.19 were dropped before the update was officially released. Fireflies were scrapped to keep from endangering real frogs, and the upgraded birch forest biome has yet to be seen outside concept art.
Minecraft 1.19 also aimed to fix a few problems from Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs update. The deep dark biome and its fearsome hostile mob, the warden, were first announced as part of Minecraft 1.18 but ultimately excluded due to development difficulties. Fortunately, both were finally added to Minecraft as part of The Wild Update. Other missing Caves & Cliffs features - including archaeology and bundles - have yet to appear. Perhaps that will change in future updates, but for the time being, Minecraft 1.19 still gives players plenty of content to hunt for.
What Minecraft 1.19's New Swamp Biome Looks Like
The overhauled swamp biome is arguably the central feature of Minecraft 1.19. Mangrove swamps are a new swamp variant found in warmer biome clusters, usually near rare Minecraft biomes like jungles or occasionally the more-common deserts. Sporting teal water, layers of mud blocks, and tropical fish, the most notable feature of Minecraft's improved swamps are the mangrove trees. These trees sport a previously-unseen wood variant and an impressive root system, both of which can be used in unique ways while building. Mangrove saplings also stand out visually, growing in propagules from the tree's foliage. Moss carpet, an item introduced in Minecraft Caves & Cliffs' lush caves, also grows atop the mangrove roots. Even without the inclusion of fireflies, mangrove swamps are an enjoyable visual experience and a worthwhile reason to get back into Minecraft again.
Where To Find Minecraft 1.19's Deep Dark Biome
Mangrove swamps aren't the only new biome to keep an eye out for in Minecraft's The Wild Update, though. Initially introduced during Minecraft Live 2020 and intended to be part of the Caves & Cliffs update, the deep dark was only just brought into Minecraft 1.19 after extensive delays. Located in the deepest part of the world, the deep dark contains various structures, mobs, and blocks that make it a worthwhile venture to go hunting for. Ancient cities are perhaps the most notable part of the deep dark, containing chests full of valuable loot, including music disks, echo shards, and books carrying Minecraft's newly-added Swift Sneak enchantment. However, the deep dark's most compelling factor is its distinct visual appearance. Though it may be challenging to find without simply digging straight down, it's an exciting stop to make on any mining venture. It also adds more functionality to Minecraft's increased world depth, added as part of Caves & Cliffs.
The deep dark biome is almost entirely covered in sculk blooks, a material exclusively found there. Sculk blocks are unique in that they activate any nearby sculk sensors and shriekers, both of which lead to the eventual waking of the warden if players aren't careful. Interactive blocks like shriekers and Minecraft 1.19's sculk sensors, which detect vibrations from nearby events and send redstone signals, can be used by Minecraft redstone experts in exciting new ways. Even purely aesthetic blocks like sculk veins, which function similarly to glow lichen, can be used to make unique build designs. It will be interesting to see what the Minecraft community manages to create with all of Minecraft 1.19's blocks.
Every New Mob In Minecraft's The Wild Update
The Warden, when summoned, is one of the most difficult hostile mobs to defeat in Minecraft. Capable of performing melee and ranged attacks, it deals the most significant non-explosive damage of any mob in Minecraft and has 500 health points. Though the Warden enemy in Minecraft is entirely blind, it can utilize a sense of smell and hearing to identify the location of moving enemies, making sneaking all the more critical when players traverse the deep dark biome. A few players have compared Minecraft's newest update to a horror game because of the warden's unique spawn mechanics and impressive ability to track players down in complete darkness.
Fortunately, Minecraft's The Wild Update also adds non-hostile mobs as well. Frogs have been one of the most highly-demanded mobs among Minecraft fans, and Minecraft 1.19 finally sees them added to the game proper. They come in three color variants and drop items such as Minecraft's new light source the froglight block when they manage to eat certain mobs such as magma cubes. Tadpoles have also been added alongside the inclusion of frogs, as have allays, the winner of Minecraft's most recent community mob vote. The allay will follow players around and locate dropped items for them. They also interact with note blocks, giving them a unique function among Minecraft mobs. Hopefully, Minecraft players will see more helpful creatures in the future to help add variety to the gameplay experience.
Finding New Items In Minecraft's The Wild Update
Alongside all the blocks found in swamps and the deep dark, there are plenty of other items for players to collect and utilize in crafting. Among them are a couple of tools like Minecraft's new useful item the recovery compass and goat horns, the latter of which helps add further functionality to the goat mob first introduced in Caves & Cliffs Part 1. Another music disc has also been added with the release of Minecraft 1.19. Players will have to delve into the deep dark biome's ancient cities to find and make quite a few of these items. There's more incentive to explore than ever before as of Minecraft 1.19, between searching for new biomes, collecting rare items, or just befriending all the mobs in the game.