Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 21w20a includes more changes from 'Caves and Cliffs Update' and many bug fixes

Minecraft Caves and Cliffs Update Image (Image credit: Mojang Studios)

What you need to know

Mojang Studios is hard at work developing the next major update for Minecraft, the 'Caves and Cliffs Update.'
Part of making this happening is testing features and changes with the community through betas and snapshots.
The latest Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot, 21w20a, includes a handful of additional changes and lots of bug fixes.
Players can jump into the new snapshot right now on PC to provide feedback on how the update is coming along.

The long march to the Caves and Cliffs Update for Minecraft continues inexorably forward with the arrival of Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 21w20a. The latest snapshot, which is now available for Minecraft players on PC, includes even more changes and a ton of bug fixes for the next major release of Minecraft, and continues to divide features for the two separate releases for the Caves and Cliffs Update. This follow's last week's test, Snapshot 21w19a, and isn't going to be the most exciting for players.

Highlights of today's snapshot include further attempts to make crystal geodes feel more scarce and minor changes to things like rooted dirt, axolotl, and llamas. There are also a hefty number of bug fixes to make the whole ordeal feel smoother and a new datapack for those who want to be on the forefront of Caves and Cliffs Update development.

Mojang Studios' commitment to involving the community when updating Minecraft is part of the reason Minecraft is absolutely one of the best PC games around. Share your love for Minecraft and all the work that has gone into it with something from our list of best Minecraft merch, toys, and gifts.

The full changelog for Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 21w20a includes:

Changes

Actually made Geodes rarer this time
GUI narration now includes position and usage of hovered or focused element
Tilling Rooted Dirt with a Hoe will now convert it into Dirt, and pop out a Hanging Roots item
Axolotls will now only play dead when in water
Llamas no longer spit at players in peaceful mode

Caves and Cliffs Update preview

Download the new datapack

Technical changes

Added a new NBT tag for entities - HasVisualFire – which will cause any entity with this flag to visually appear on fire, even if they are not actually on fire

Bug fixes

Grass / Flowers / Snow are placed incorrectly in newly created chunks
Barrier Blocks are not shown when "Show Invisible Blocks" is selected in Save Structure Blocks
Crash when loading world: java.util.ConcurrentModificationException when using Java 11 or above
Piglins, piglin brutes, hoglins, zoglins and axolotls can attack their own teammates
Catching a fish in a bucket on creative mode doesn't give player new bucket
Name color for Minecart with Command Block is incorrect
Name color for Structure Void is incorrect
Crash when leaving out processors in a template pool: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: bound must be positive
Amethyst Geodes cause floating water / lava to generate when intersecting water / lava caves / pools
Amethyst geodes can overwrite bedrock
Lava Cauldron emits redstone signal strength 1 instead of 3
Dirt paths are no longer compatible with the programmer art resource pack
Rideable mobs are not affected by powder snow's freezing effect while being ridden
Freezing hearts aren't displayed properly in Programmer Art resource pack
Amethyst geodes can generate in a stronghold and can potentially destroy the end portal frames
minecraft:location_check predicate floating point imprecision
Parrots sitting on shoulders do not freeze in powder snow
Amethyst blocks are transparent / don't conduct Redstone
Potion particles are showing when looking through spyglass
Pointed dripstones cause extreme durability damage to helmets
Mobs and particles sometimes don't fully render behind stained or tinted glass
Trying to modify the world height of a world after it's already been generated gives a null pointer exception
Axolotls get stuck and spin constantly on top of lily pads
Axolotls have a swimming animation (move their body up- and downwards) when on land
Axolotls do not avoid lava when pathfinding
Axolotls sometimes twitch rapidly when adjusting their rotation
Axolotl movement glitch on stairs
Breeding axolotl with a bucket of tropical gives back a bucket instead of a water bucket
Collecting an axolotl with a water bucket in creative mode replaces the original bucket
Axolotls sometimes use walking animation when in shallow water
Axolotls frequently get stuck inside of waterlogged blocks
Axolotls play dead even when they take damage without being attacked by an entity
Axolotls attempt to pathfind towards unreachable water, then start spinning, eventually drying out and dying
Pointed Dripstone can be broken with tridents in spawn protection
Only one glow lichen drops when using shears on multiple in a single block space
Shulkers can rotate their heads up and down
Fire extinguishing sound doesn't play when mobs are extinguished with rain/water
Mob can't properly or difficult walk on big dripleaf, when the big dripleaf is 4 blocks or more from the ground
Top half of a small dripleaf can turn into a ghost block when placing it in water while the water is being removed
Amethyst Geodes can overlap with dungeons
netherrack_replace_blobs with water as target crashes the game
Comma splices in two source strings (EN_US)
Foxes spawned inside of powder snow sleeps
The big dripleaf texture is not vertically centered
Campfires and TNT can be lit by players using arrows shot from flame bows in spawn protection
F3 + L isn't sorted alphabetically in the debug screen
The Mojang loading screen upon start up flashes black
Sweet berries and glow berries sound events are named extremely differently
Parity Issue: Rooted dirt won't turn into the dirt and drop roots item after tilling with hoe in Java
Name color for knowledge book is incorrect
Fossils can generate through bedrock
Name color for light is incorrect
Strays do not spawn in powder snow
Light blocks are not shown within structure block bounds with Show Invisible Blocks on
Powder Snow can be broken by players on fire in spawn protection
Collecting an axolotl in a bucket and then placing it resets its kill cooldown
Light item displays the wrong level number
Splash water bottles doesn't extinguish candle cakes
Axolotl can be bred with just tropical fish items, not just bucket ones
Chorus flowers can be broken with projectiles in spawn protection
You can decrease the level of a water or powder snow cauldron, through the use of an entity on fire in spawn protection
minecraft.used:minecraft.potion doesn't increase when filling a partially filled cauldron with a water bottle
Powder snow can create ghost blocks in creative mode
Powder snow doesn't melt into water in cauldrons
Superflat presets no longer generate with decorations
Upgrading from 1.12.2 and below will cause items to lose enchantments
Dying in a nether portal softlocks the player on the "You Died!" menu
cave_vines_plant isn't in #bee_growables
Geodes have not been made "significantly rarer"
Cannot resolve SRV records: unknown host