Java Edition guides/Caves & Cliffs

Caves & Cliffs

Edition	Java Edition
Official name	Caves and Cliffs
Released versions	1.17
◄ Nether Update

This guide is a simplified overview of all changes in the Caves and Cliffs update (Java Edition 1.17.x releases), which assumes at least some familiarity with the Nether Update (Java Edition 1.16.x releases).

Mobs

New

Name	Image	Habitat	Drops	Note
Axolotl		TBA	TBA

Changed

Name	Image	Changed
Shulker		If a shulker is hit by another shulker's projectile, it now has a chance of spawning a new shulker.

Blocks

New

Name	Image	Obtaining	Tool Required	Uses
Amethyst Cluster		Grows on top of Budding Amethyst Blocks. Fully Grown Amethyst Clusters drop Amethyst Shards.	Pickaxe (Iron or better)	Used for gathering amethyst shards.
Block of Amethyst		Generates inside of Amethyst Geodes.	Pickaxe (Iron or better)	Used for decoration.
Budding Amethyst		Generates inside of Amethyst Geodes. Cannot be obtained.	Pickaxe (drops nothing)	Used to grow Amethyst Clusters.
Calcite		Generates in the middle layer of Amethyst Geodes.	Pickaxe	Used for decoration.
Tuff		Generates on the outer layer of Amethyst Geodes.	Pickaxe	Used for decoration.
Copper Ore		Found in the Overworld from Y=4 to Y=63.	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used to smelt into a copper ingot.
Copper Block		Ingredients Crafting recipe Copper Ingot	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used for decoration. Advances to the next stage of Weathering every 50-82 In game days. Can crafted together with Honeycomb to become waxed, which will stop it from weathering.
Cut Copper		Ingredients Crafting recipe Copper Block 4	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used for decoration. Advances to the next stage of Weathering every 50-82 In game days. Can crafted together with Honeycomb to become waxed, which will stop it from weathering.
Cut Copper Stairs		Ingredients Crafting recipe Cut Copper 4	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used for decoration. Advances to the next stage of Weathering every 50-82 In game days. Can crafted together with Honeycomb to become waxed, which will stop it from weathering.
Cut Copper Slab		Ingredients Crafting recipe Cut Copper 4	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used for decoration. Advances to the next stage of Weathering every 50-82 In game days. Can crafted together with Honeycomb to become waxed, which will stop it from weathering.
Lightning Rod		Ingredients Crafting recipe Copper Ingot	Pickaxe (Stone or better)	Used to absorb/attract lightning, possibly to avoid fires or for use in farms.
Tinted Glass		Ingredients Crafting recipe Amethyst Shard + Glass 2	Any	Glass that doesn't allow light to pass through.
Candle		Ingredients Crafting recipe String + Honeycomb	Any	Can be used as a light source but it needs to be lit with flint and steel. Can be placed in groups of four Can be placed on top of a cake to make a candle cake.
Powder Snow		Can be placed using a Powder Snow Bucket.	Shovel	Mobs and players will sink into it and take freezing damage.
Dripstone Block		Generates in dripstone cave biomes.	Pickaxe	Is a Decorative Block
Pointed Dripstone		Generates in dripstone cave biomes.	Any	Pointed Dripstone Stalagmites deal damage to any entity that falls or jumps on top of it. Pointed Dripstone Stalactites fall when the block above it is broken, dealing damage to any entity it hits. Pointed Dripstone Stalactites drip water, or lava if a lava is above the Stalactite. These drips will slowly fill up cauldrons with either water or lava. Pointed Dripstone can be broken with Tridents.
Sculk Sensor		TBA	Hoe	Detects vibrations made from nearby entites or blocks and emits a redstone signal. Can only detect certain things, such as entites walking or flapping or blocks being placed or broken. Will not detect vibrations made behind a block of wool.

Changed

Name	Image	Changed
Cake		Can now have candles placed on them.
Cauldron		Can now be filled with lava and powder snow.
Dirt Path		Can now be created from dirt, coarse dirt, podzol and mycelium. Renamed from Grass Path
All Rails		Can now be waterlogged.

Items

New

Name	Image	Obtaining	Uses
Amethyst Shard		Obtained by breaking fully grown Amethyst Clusters.	Can be used to create Spyglasses and Tinted Glass. Four Amethyst Shards can create an Amethyst Block
Bundle		Ingredients Crafting recipe String + Rabbit Hide	Can be used to carry a stack's worth of items in one slot of the player's inventory.
Copper Ingot		Ingredients Smelting recipe Copper Ore + Any fuel 0.7	Can be used to create Copper Blocks, Lightning Rods Can also be used to create the Spyglass.
Spyglass		Ingredients Crafting recipe Amethyst Shard + Copper Ingot	When used it zooms in, which allows the user to see long distances.
Powder Snow Bucket		Obtained by using a bucket on a snow cauldron.	Can be used to place Powder Snow.
Bucket of Axolotl		Obtained by using a bucket on an Axolotl.	Can be used to spawn an Axolotl.
Spawn Eggs for all new mobs		Obtained from the creative inventory.	Can be used to spawn the corresponding mob.

Changed

Name	Image	Changed
Clock		Has been given a new Texture.
Compass		Has been given a new Texture.

Structures

New

Name	Image	Generates	Chests	Mobs	Description
Amethyst Geode		Underground	No	No	A round chamber consisting of an amethyst and budding amethyst inner wall, a tuff outer wall, and a layer of calcite in between.
Dripstone Cluster		Dripstone Caves	No	No	A large vertical cluster of dripstone blocks.

Biomes

New

Name	Image	Description	Structures
Dripstone caves		Does not generate in normal worlds, it is only available in buffet worlds with "Single Biome" and "Dripstone caves" enabled. Contains lots of dripstone blocks and pointed dripstone on the floor and ceiling. There are large columns made of dripstone blocks extending from the ceiling to the floor of the cave. Also contains many pools of water.	Amethyst geodes Dungeons Mineshafts Strongholds