Minecraft's first Caves & Cliffs snapshot adds copper, amethyst, and lots more

Minecraft has another big update planned for next summer, but you don't need to wait nearly that long to try out the Caves & Cliffs update. As Mojang do with Minecraft, a "snapshot" build has been released today containing some of the features and new blocks planned for next year. You can load up the Java Edition of the game and swap over if you'd like to try your hand at building with copper or take a peep through a spyglass.

I went ahead and loaded up the snapshot, as you can see up top there, to toss about a few of the new blocks. I threw down some new cut cupper building blocks, the fancier version of a plain copper block. It comes in fresh copper color but will oxidize over time, turning green. You can also spot amethyst blocks, amethyst crystals, candles, a cauldron of lava, and the spyglass in my hand. The llama isn't new, but she was living on this nice patch of grass before I slapped together my little exhibition.

You can catch the full list of Caves & Cliffs additions in the new snapshot in Mojang's post. It also adds bundles for items, lightning rods, and tinted glass. There's actually quite a bit of detail on those copper blocks as well. Mojang say that it will take 50-82 in-game days for a copper block to transition to a more weathered state. Clearly I've done it in creative mode up there to illustrate though. You can also apparently use honeycomb to created "waxed" copper blocks, which will remain in their current state of oxidization without changing. Golly it's like a whole simulation, innit?

Alas, axolotls do not appear in this snapshot. You'll be waiting a bit longer to meet them. Same with the giant, scary wardens which Mojang think you shouldn't fight. However, goats and powdered snow have shown up in a demo for the Bedrock Version of Minecraft. It's a much smaller teaser than the Java snapshot but hey, goats!

If you want to try out the copper and all for yourself, load up your Minecraft Launcher and set up a new version on the installations tab. Tick the "snapshots" box and hit play on Snapshot 20w45a.