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    Guides
    Kristina Horner
    Written By
    Kristina Horner
    Published
    11/29/21

    Caves & Cliffs Part II: Prep Guide

    Caves & Cliffs Part II is coming on November 30, and you might be finding yourself feeling totally unprepared, with questions such as: “How do I stay safe while traversing underground?”, “What equipment do I need for cliff exploration?”, or “I’ve already explored so much of my Overworld, so how do I travel very far distances?”

    Thankfully, we’ve put together a bit of a round-up of tips and tricks for facing the unknowns head-on. These were written both by Minecraft staff and a few members of our community. By the time you’re done reading this article, you should be ready to face anything the new update throws your way! 

    First up, we have this excellent cave exploration guide written by F1RECRACKR: 

    You are about to set out to do some exploring in the huge cave system you just uncovered.  Quick, check your pockets.  Do you have doors*, a bucket of water, and a bucket of lava?  As a seasoned caver, I highly recommend adding them to your picks, food, and torches. I promise you won’t regret it!

    *Note the door trick only works on Java. Bedrock players, do not attempt this trick at home!

    Minecraft avatar in water with a door

    Doors may seem unnecessary, but there are times that they can literally save your life.  For example, you decide to swim down to see if there is more cave under that water. Suddenly you see that you are almost out of air!  Now is the time to plop down one of those doors. Not only will it let you breathe, but it will also guide you back to where you came from! 

    Minecraft avatar with three doors between it and some creepers

    Once you reach the other side of the water, your doors can be useful for blocking the sightlines of hostile mobs. Plop them down, and take a few minutes to gear up, eat, or gather courage.

    Water flooding a cave in Minecraft

    Water is not just for making crops grow, it can also save you wear and tear on your picks as well as time climbing up and down.  When faced with an area that offers no way down, you can just plop down a water source and either jump into the puddle it makes below, or glide down in the water stream, using your bow to shoot enemies on the way down. Water can also push a group of mobs away if they start ganging up on you. This gives you time to either flee or take them out one by one!

    You stumble upon a dark cave that seems to endlessly go down and loop around. You can hear mobs down below waiting to attack you. Does this make you turn and run? No way! Just put down a lava source and watch the cave light up. 

    As an added bonus, it may also take care of some of those new “friends” as it winds its way downhill. This will save you the time, effort, and weapon durability of having to take care of them yourself!

    WildWestDan has some knowledge to drop on clever ways to explore your existing Realm, rather than restarting:

    On our server, when we started our map with the 1.16 release, we collectively decided that we didn't want to reset it again. So when 1.17 was approaching, we built King's Cross Station in the Nether using a combination of pictures and Google Maps images! We put in our only command block on the server and have it teleport anyone who is nearby to the new 1.17 terrain! 

    A large train station exterior in Minecraft

    We were originally calling it Platform 9 & 3/4, but when the Caves & Cliffs update was split into two parts, we created Platform 9 & 1/4 to instantly teleport to the new 1.17 area and we're saving Platform 9 & 3/4 to for the 1.18 release! It's a little less vanilla than the rest of the server, but we would rather keep the builds and materials that we've been collecting, rather than reset again! 

    EnderHusband gives us another approach on the train solution for exploration:

    Our Realm's spawn train has been following us everywhere we've gone, it is our smallest build on the server, but it is one that is always the centerpiece to our towns, a mark of wherever home is, but home is moving. 

    The upcoming Caves & Cliffs: Part II Update brings to us an entire new world, but why make a new world when you can adventure without a reset? Track is being laid, and we have made preparations to bring the train far into unexplored territory upon release day! Then, all the land around the train that has not been explored will generate new caves and cliffs. Instead of a reset, we're bringing the new world to us! All aboard to new horizons!

    A large train built in Minecraft

    Here are some helpful tips from WildGoat on Java plug-ins:

    Whenever an update comes out for Minecraft, the ever-present question is "when will the plugins be ready to go”? It's very important to think about the security of the community's builds, the integrity of the files and reducing bugs and lag. Many community members aren’t aware of how much is going on behind the scenes and want updates to happen the same day. I would LOVE to have that done, but as a server owner, there are so many factors to keep in mind!

    • First is deciding if we will be starting brand new or just upgrading the current map to the latest version. It might be helpful to know that there are a few ways to include the new version without a complete restart of the server. 

    • One way that is done on my server FNACraft.fun is by having a resource world. This resource world is refreshed often, so that everyone can enjoy gathering unlimited material in the new version.  

    • Another way is to push out the world borders. Our map is made to expand with new versions so unloaded chunks outside the borders can render in the new items brought on with a new Minecraft version. 

    • There are times, of course, that an entire restart of the map is what is needed – and may be the best route to moving into a new version. But having a brand-new world to build on and explore with friends is always a lot of fun! 

    The hard part is waiting on those plugins. It's important that they’re ready and secure as possible, so patience is key. 
     
    And finally, the development team at Mojang Studios also has a few words of wisdom for navigating your new surroundings:  
     
    There is a variety of new terrain to explore in 1.18, with wonderful environments both above and below the surface of the world. But with that comes new dangers and risks players will need to prepare for, so here are a few basic survival tips to help you on your journey!

    A sapling growing in Minecraft

    • There is a lot of variation in the world now, so if you don’t like what you see then just keep exploring!

    • Stock up on plenty of coal and food before going deep underground because once you are down there, coal is very hard to come by. 

    • Saplings can be extremely useful on longer cave expeditions. Plant a tree in a big cave and you get a source of both wood and charcoal. As an added bonus, the tree can help you keep track of the caverns you’ve already explored. 

    • For mountain expeditions, be sure to pack a pair of leather boots to avoid sinking into any powder snow you come across. 

    • Underground lakes can be surprisingly useful too! If you bring a boat when exploring the new caves, you can use a nearby lake to quickly escape mobs. And if you dive down into the lake then you may just find more exposed diamonds and other ores. 

    • Lost in the deep underground with no coal or torches? Mobs will only spawn in complete darkness in 1.18, so even though redstone torches are dimmer than normal torches, they do still provide some light and protection to help keep mobs at bay. 

    • Aquifers (underground lakes) tend to create waterfalls, which can be very useful for travelling upwards or downwards instead of climbing. 

    • Useless tip: you can attack mobs in a stylish way by throwing a trident at pointed dripstone stalactites, making them fall on the mob. Your odds of hitting a mob that way are very slim, but it's worth a shot...or twenty!

    Leather boots next to a goat in the snow

    Is your realm, server or world ready for the new update? Hopefully this article has been helpful so you can dive right in and experience the new content!

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