Minecraft: Java Edition officially releases 1.17.1 patch update for 'Caves and Cliffs Update'

What you need to know

• Minecraft is a game that never stops growing, with Mojang Studios releasing constant updates and patches.
• Today, Minecraft: Java Edition officially releases the 1.17.1 patch update for the 'Caves and Cliffs Update.'
• The update includes tons of bug fixes, and several changes for things like axolotl and goat breeding, loot drops, and more.
• 1.17.1 is now available for Minecraft: Java Edition and 1.17 'Caves and Cliffs Update' Part One.

Minecraft is the game that never stops moving, as Mojang Studios constantly seeks to one-up itself with new content and patch updates for their gargantuan creative survival game. Today, Mojang Studios officially releases the 1.17.1 patch update for Minecraft: Java Edition, which includes a decent number of bug fixes and general improvements for the recently released 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Update Part One.

This is all part of Mojang's continued efforts to improve the first half of the Caves and Cliffs Update, with 1.18 Part Two expected later this year.

The 1.17.1 patch update for Minecraft: Java Edition isn't going to add any significant new features to the game, but it does include plenty of bug fixes and a number of changes related to axolotl, goats, hostile mobs, powder snow, and more. Hopefully, this update sets the stage for Minecraft's next big phase: 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update Part Two. Mojang Studios should begin fervent testing on that update at some point in the next few weeks or months.

Minecraft is certainly one of the best PC games you can play, and our list of best Minecraft merch, toys, and gifts includes something for every Minecraft fan. That doesn't mean there isn't room to improve, however, as our own Brendan Lowry just explored why Minecraft needs to update its Survival Mode.

The full changelog for Minecraft: Java Edition 1.17.1 includes:

Changes

• Blue axolotls can now only be obtained through breeding
• Non-screaming goats now have a rare chance to produce a screaming goat when bred
• Status effects on goats now also apply when the goat is jumping or ramming
• Raised the drop rate for copper ingots from Drowned to 11% + 2% per level of looting
• Powder snow now fills cauldrons two times faster than before (still pretty slowly, though!)
• Zombies, Zombie Villagers, Husks and Drowned will no longer pick up glow ink sacs

Technical updates

• Deaths of named mobs are now logged
• In case of DNS-based redirection, the client will send the hostname actually used to connect (this restores the pre-1.17 behavior)

Fixed bugs

• "Sun, moon, and / or clouds are not showing if render distance is below 4"
• "Enchantments are saved as shorts, but are loaded as and function with integer values"
• Turkish lira sign ₺ appears as □ in the game
• Duplicate text mapping for U + 00B7
• U + 1FEC is wrong in Minecraft's font
• Pistons and dispensers can be used to create ghost blocks using powder snow
• Ghost items can be created using /item (server doesn't update client inventory correctly)
• Calcite is too quiet compared to other blocks
• Creative mode obtained Bucket of Axolotl / Tropical Fish only spawns one kind axolotl / tropical fish
• Captured axolotl constantly tries to leave water
• Loaded chunks sometimes don't render until the player moves their head slightly
• Strength and weakness potions / custom attack damage attributes does not change damage from goats
• Light tickets are released too early
• Hanging Roots appear large when an item entity
• Logs can be replaced with stone near lava pools
• Goat's long jump is not affected by the jump boost effect
• Goats do not use the damage of held items when ramming entities
• Emerald ore generates too often
• Withers are now affected by potion effects
• World gen datapacks will likely crash or softlock the game
• Lag when placing heads of non-existent players when on servers
• root_system feature config's codec uses a wrong field
• Overworld Fossils always generate at bedrock level
• End portal texture appears stretched after world conversion
• Small dripleaf is consumed without being placed when used on tall seagrass
• Group for lapis lazuli ore smelting and blasting recipes is misspelled
• Client crash when trying to create / edit realm immediately after deleting previous one
• Ender pearls despawn when player logs out of a server
• Thrown ender pearls disappear upon entering the exit end portal
• java.lang.NullPointerException when random_selector default feature isn't found
• "Very long loading pause while booting the game (Failed to add PDH Counter, caused by oshi)"
• Attempting to walk through flowing water constantly switches the player from swimming into normal mode
• "Chunks not loading on a server / Cannot invoke cmq.a(int, int, int) because ☃ is null"
• "Specifying the server parameter when starting the game, causes the game to crash"
• Axolotls despawning though named and on leashes
• Piglins can no longer hear players breaking protected blocks through walls
• Diamond ore distribution changed between 1.16.5 and 1.17
• Piglins and piglin brutes no longer call other piglins after attacking one of them behind walls
• Blue axolotls can spawn naturally
• You can steal the item a villager is holding for trade by killing it
• Wandering Trader obtained tropical fish are only white kob
• "death.attack.dryout and death.attack.dryout.player display raw translation strings (are untranslated)"