Minecraft will receive an influx of new underwater content this week, and more slated to arrive in the near future, as we continue down the road to Update 1.13 (or the Update Aquatic if you’re a Steve Zissou fan). Additions include seagrass, kelp blocks and an equippable trident. But Minecraft’s new turtles will probably absorb the most attention from the community.
It’s always exciting when Mojang adds new content to Minecraft. The sandbox game is very mod-friendly and the community has added plenty to it over the years. Still, millions of gamers prefer “vanilla” Minecraft. Now, they finally have more reason to spend time exploring large bodies of water than the ocean monuments added in 2014. Longtime Minecraft developer Nathan “Dinnerbone” Adams says more aquatic content is on the way in upcoming snapshots. Mojang still hasn’t determined the final slate.
Snapshot 18w07a also introduces the Phantom, formerly known as the Monster of the Night Skies. The flying, manta-like creature will spawn at high altitudes and prey on players who go “many days” without sleeping. Phantoms currently drop leather, which suggests they aren’t meant to be especially tough to fight. However, Mojang says that reward could change in the future, presumably in response to feedback from the Minecraft community.
Here are the complete patch notes for Minecraft snapshot 18w07a:
Sea grass
Generates in all oceans, but this is temporary
Also exists as tall sea grass
Kelp blocks
Kelp doesn't generate in deep oceans, but this is temporary
Kelp can be smelted to get dry kelp
Edible for half a hunger bar - can be consumed much faster than regular food
Fuel source
Craftable into dried kelp blocks
Grows upwards into multiple blocks tall plant
Stripped logs
Strip logs by using an axe on them
Stripped logs act like regular logs
Squids now shoot ink particles when attacked
Added stairs and slabs for all 3 kinds of prismarine
Maybe: Underwater stone brick structures
Turtles
Only spawn on warm beaches, but this is temporary
They lay eggs on their home beach throughout various biomes for baby turtles to hatch from
Baby turtles will scamper down to the water
Can be picked up using silk touch
Cracking texture in 3 stages
Up to 4 eggs per turtle egg block
Hatch during the night
Can be trampled, will be trampled intentionally by zombies
Zombies will also attack baby turtles
Turtle shells wearable as helmets
Constantly give 10 seconds of water breathing effect (while not underwater)
Crafted from turtle shell pieces
Also used for brewing
"Turtles are known for their strength, not their speed"
Drop sea grass
Maybe: Cavern-like structures with wooden walkways
Contains oak bark blocks
Maybe: Features that affect combat
Maybe: Shields disable when used frequently
Swimming animation
"Sprint underwater!"
Maybe: Warm, cold and frozen ocean biomes
Different kind of terrain
Ice bergs
Bubble columns
Underwater magma blocks will produce bubbles
Items and other entities fall down into bubbles
Items float on the surface otherwise
Shakes and sinks boats
Underwater ravines/deep sea vents
Hearsay: allow breathing
Doesn't generate anywhere currently
Trident
Throwable and melee weapon
Works under water and when raining
Enchantments
"Loyalty" makes tridents come back to the thrower
"Riptide" pushes the player forward when thrown while swimming
"Impaling": "very useful against creatures of the sea"
"Channeling"
Player model animation for throwing
Currently unobtainable in survival, that will change
Super overpowered, to be balanced later
UI icon is not yet implemented
Water rendering
Slabs, fences, tall grass, etc share a block space with water
Not fully designed yet
Implemented using minecraft:hacked_water block tag
Maybe: Multiple variants of shipwrecks
Loot inside
A new mob, one of four options voted on at Minecon 2017
"The Phantom" - old names: "The Monster of the Night Skies", name not final, titled mob B for the Minecon vote
Manta-ray-like flying monster
Spawns at high altitudes
Attracted to insomnia: seeks out players who haven't slept for many days, swoops down in groups and bites
Hearsay: only attacks players high above sea level
Maybe: Dying resets time awake statistic
"Bad things happen to those who don't sleep... they start to hallucinate, and see what's really there."
Spawns in the overworld and the end
Drops leather, but this may change
Fixed some bugs
Fixed the big tree generator handling tree height variable incorrectly
Fixed being unable to insert charcoal into furnaces
Fixed the "Balloon oak" tree variant generating upside down
Fixed furnace recipes working in crafting interfaces and interfering with crafting recipes
Fixed a random crash in snow biomes: java.lang.NullPointerException: Exception ticking world
Fixed horses, rabbits, parrot, llamas and sheep generating in their default color/variant only
Fixed chorus plant generation being broken
Fixed the game crashing when pressing "show craftable" in the furnace recipe book
Fixed large oak trees not generating with the new generator
Fixed the debug world not generating
Fixed the world generator not being fully cleaned before making new world
Minecraft is available on pretty much anything that plays video games, from PS3 and Xbox 360 to iOS, Android and the Switch. Snapshot 18w07a is available via the Minecraft launcher.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Minecraft news in 2018 and however long Mojang supports Minecraft in the years ahead.
