What you need to know
- Recently, Mojang Studios hosted a new Minecraft Live show and unveiled the next two Minecraft content updates.
- "Bundles of Bravery" is coming soon and is a more minor release, but the more interesting update is coming later this year.
- The Pale Garden is a creepy new biome that's home to The Creaking, dangerous tree-like mobs that will strike only when you're not looking.
- It's the perfect update for the spooky season, so it's great that you don't have to wait for the full release — the first Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot for the update is here.
It has only been a few days since Mojang Studios revealed the next two Minecraft content updates, or "Game Drops," during the latest Minecraft Live show. There was definitely a theme for the new updates, with the second (and more major release) debuting an eerie new biome home to one of the most terrifying mobs ever added to Minecraft: The Creaking. You don't have to wait months — or even weeks — to play with the creepy new features, either.
Mojang Studios has announced that the first Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot for The Pale Garden biome and its tree-like inhabitants is now available for interested players to dive in and play, and Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on other platforms is coming in the near future. Here's what you need to know about the snapshot and what this upcoming Game Drop will bring to Minecraft later this year.
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Everyone can get killed by The Creaking later this year, but you can do it early
During Minecraft Live 2024, Mojang Studios announced the "Bundles of Bravery" Game Drop coming to all Minecraft players in the coming weeks — but that update only includes Hardcore Mode for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (it was already in the Java Edition) and the new portable and customizable bundles. The more interesting update is a few months out, and it doesn't quite have a name yet.
However, Minecraft: Java Edition Snapshot 24w40a is already here (with a full changelog on Minecraft.net) with the new features available for any interested player to test early. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Previews and betas on Windows PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Android, and iOS will get the same features soon, but those players will have to wait a little longer. So, what does this terrifying new Game Drop include?
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The Pale Garden. The headlining feature for this upcoming update is The Pale Garden, a brand-new forest biome that looks entirely different from any other biome we've seen before.
- The Pale Garden is eerily quiet and almost entirely devoid of color, and is very dense with trees and foliage that reduce visibility
- The Pale Garden also has unique atmospheric sounds that grow steadily worse as night falls
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The Creaking. The Pale Garden is only home to one native mob, The Creaking. This hostile entity is one of Minecraft's only truly asymmetrical mobs and also features some unique mechanics.
- The Creaking only spawns at night, and camouflages with The Pale Garden
- This mob is entirely immune to damage, making it a dangerous foe
- The Creaking only moves when players aren't looking at it, similar to the infamous "Weeping Angel"
- Players wearing a pumpkin head can look at The Creaking without it stopping, though
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The Creaking Heart. The only way to defeat a Creaking is to track down its connected Creaking Heart and destroy it.
- The Creaking Heart becomes active at night when it's surrounded by Pale Oak logs and spawns at least one Creaking mob to defend it
- The Creaking Heart has its own ambient sounds to help players track it down, and hitting a connected Creaking will result in particle effects leading to the Creaking Heart's general area
- Once players destroy a Creaking Heart, all connected Creaking mobs instantly die
- Players can use a Silk Touch pickaxe on The Creaking Hearts to pick it up and place it somewhere else
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Pale Oak set. The Pale Garden is comprised almost entirely of Pale Oak trees and Pale Moss, resulting in a variety of new crafting materials and blocks.
- Pale Oak logs can be used to craft stripped logs, planks, doors, fences, fence gates, signs, hanging signs, slabs, stairs, trapdoors, buttons, pressure plates, boats, and boats with chest
- Pale Moss blocks spawn naturally in The Pale Garden, and when placed as Pale Moss Carpet can spread to adjacent blocks
- Pale Hanging Moss grows from the foliage of Pale Oak trees, and has its own unique set of ambient sounds
You can go download the 24w40a snapshot in the Minecraft Launcher on Windows PC starting today and check out all of these new features. Honestly, I'm hoping that Mojang Studios gives us more reason to visit The Pale Garden in the first place, especially at night, as right now there doesn't seem to be any incentive. Perhaps we'll see unique rewards and treasures that you can only find in The Pale Garden, and right now Mojang is just focused on the foundational features.
Either way, this quick turnaround is great to see, and will hopefully help Mojang flesh out these features before they're fully released as part of the "Winter Drop" for Minecraft on all platforms later this year.
