The big Minecraft patch 1.16 is finally here. We reveal what’s inside the thick “Nether Update” and why it’s worth a look.
It’s been nearly half a year since Minecraft received its last major patch. But the wait was worth it, as the massive patch 1.16 “Nether Update” goes live today. We’ll tell you what’s in the new Minecraft update and why the game with the blocks is worth a look for every fan again.
What’s in patch 1.16? As the name suggests, the “Nether Update” mainly focuses on the Nether. This is the part of the game world that can only be reached through a Nether portal. Here, you’ll find mainly lava, plenty of hostile creatures, and the popular resource glowstone, which can be used to build lamps. From now on, the Nether has even more to offer, as there are 4 new biomes:
- Basalt Delta
- Crimson Forest
- Soul Sand Valley
- Warped Forest
Each of these biomes has its own features. For example, you will find Magma Cubes especially often in the Basalt Delta, which like to drop magma cream and are therefore suitable for fire resistance potions. In the Crimson Forest, you can find most of the Nether’s inhabitants – including the Piglins and the Hoglins.
What are Piglins? Piglins are basically the “zombie pigmen” before they became zombies. They are a rather hostile race, but are neutral towards players when the player wears golden armor. In general, they are very fond of gold – anyone trying to steal their gold supplies will be ruthlessly attacked. However, if you offer them gold for trading, they even have some new enchantments on offer.
Netherite improves diamond tools: For many players, the highlight is that diamonds will no longer be the best resource. All diamond tools (including weapons and armor) can now be upgraded with Netherite. This increases their durability and, in the case of tools, their effectiveness as well. You can therefore mine resources even faster!
However, Netherite is quite rare and can only be obtained from ancient debris. These are quite few and far between in the Nether, but with a bit of luck, the Piglins might have some on offer as well.
More highlights: In terms of gameplay as well as block types, there is a wealth of new features. Here are the main new additions:
- You can now set a respawn point in the Nether. If you die, you will no longer return to your bed in the overworld.
- From now on, you can set waypoints all over the world and align your compass accordingly. Writing down coordinates is no longer necessary.
- Basalt, new mushroom types, quartz bricks, and other blocks can now be used for building and crafting.
- Striders are a new type of creature that can travel through lava without damage. You can tame them and have a fire-resistant mount.
What else is in the patch? Aside from the major additions, there are also many small improvements. The spawn rate of many creatures has been improved, so for example, squids spawn more often. Villagers cured from the zombie plague are now always friendly to you and therefore offer a discount out of gratitude.
What to keep in mind: In order for the new features (especially in the Nether) to come into play, you either need to create a new game world or venture into unknown areas of the Nether. Areas of the game world that have already been uncovered will not be retroactively enriched with the new biomes. Only “new chunks” have a chance of containing the new content such as Netherite or Piglin villages.
Creating a new game world can therefore be worthwhile to experience all the features of the patch.
Patch 1.16 for Minecraft is therefore packed with new features and is likely to lead some groups of players back to work on large building projects for several days, or at least to make the Nether unsafe.
Which feature from patch 1.16 in Minecraft are you most looking forward to? What will you build first?
