I have really been enjoying playing the recent Minecraft update, called the Nether Update.
There are a lot of new things that came about in the Nether Update, such as new blocks, tools, mobs, and more. Here are some tips to help you navigate the update.
Blocks
There have been many blocks added in the Nether Update, which go with the new biomes that were added, which will be explained later in this article. Some blocks are new blocks that were added that are not part of a biome, which I will explain here. Target blocks are a new redstone block, that you use alongside other redstone items. You shoot the target block with arrows, and the closer you are to the bullseye, the stronger the redstone signal the block gives.
Crying obsidian is a block that was originally in Minecraft when it was way back in beta. It was removed and stayed gone for a long time, until the Nether update occurred. Crying obsidian glows, unlike its normal obsidian counterpart. Crying obsidian looks a lot different than it did back in the beta days, but its purpose was revamped. Crying obsidian was planned to be used as a way to respawn, and it was used for that same purpose, just a little differently. Crying obsidian alongside with some glowstone can be used to make a respawn anchor, an item that allows you to temporarily set your spawn in the Nether. However if it’s used in any other dimension, it will explode, so be careful to only use it in the Nether. Crying obsidian takes four glowstone to charge fully, and therefore allows you to respawn four times in the Nether, unless you recharge it. In survival mode, crying obsidian can only be mined with a diamond or netherite pickaxe, so be careful about that. Crying obsidian can’t be used to make a nether portal. However, it can be used to decorate around a nether portal to make it look cool.
Quartz bricks are now in the game, and new nether brick variants were added as well.
Ores
There are new ores in the Nether. Specifically one new ore, and a couple new ways to get gold ore. The new ore is netherite, and you get it by finding ancient debris, and mining it with a pickaxe (diamond is suggested, unless you already have a netherite pickaxe). You have to smelt the ancient debris to get netherite scrap, which is then crafted into netherite ore, by combining 3 netherite scrap and 3 gold ingots in a crafting table. Making netherite tools and armor is a little bit different than making most tools and armor. To make netherite tools you need a smithing table. Once you have a smithing table, you have to combine the diamond tool or armor piece of your choice with a netherite ingot and you will get the netherite variant of the item. The netherite items keep all the enchantments that the diamond items had before upgrading them to netherite. Netherite blocks can be used for powering a beacon. However, since netherite is tricky to get I’d suggest using something else for those beacons. Netherite can also be used to make a lodestone, which can be connected to a compass so if you get lost you can find your way back to wherever the lodestone was placed.
The new ways to get gold in ore form are nether gold ore (which drops golden nuggets when mined), and gilded blackstone (which can drop said block, or golden nuggets when mined).
Tools and Armor
There are new netherite tools and armor, which I already explained how to make. Netherite is actually stronger than diamond, especially since netherite can’t be burned by lava.
Biomes
There were a few new biomes added to the nether with this update. Crimsom and warped forests, soul sand valleys, and basalt deltas.
Forests
Warped and crimson forests are where you can get new types of wood in the nether (crimson and warped stem blocks, which are made into planks, and a lot of other items such as doors, buttons, and signs to name a few). Crimson and warped stems come from what seem to be nether trees, but they are actually overgrown mushrooms. The crimson and warped planks are actually not flammable (meaning they can’t be burned) like most other wood planks. Makes sense, since the crimson and warped planks come from the nether. Crimson and warped nylium is like the grass of the nether. Shroomlights are a new light source found within the forest biomes. Weeping and twisting vines are new vines that generate in the forest biomes. Said vines can be climbed up and down, like regular vines. There are warped wart blocks along with the already existing nether wart blocks that are like the leaves of the giant mushroom ‘trees’ in the forest biomes. Nether sprouts, crimson roots and warped roots are new vegetation seen in the forest biomes.
Soul Sand Valleys
Soul sand valleys are areas with a lot of soul sand and soul soil, and also have what appear to be fossils of sorts.
Basalt Deltas
Basalt deltas are a new biome, with new blocks, mainly basalt and blackstone. Basalt and blackstone can be both crafted into numerous different variants, but blackstone can be a cobblestone substitute, for crafting tools, and other things. Large basalt pillars generate in this biome.
Bastion Remnant
There is a new structure in the Nether update, called a bastion remnant. They are like castles, and piglins often roam the bastion remnants. Many different rooms can be in a bastion remnant, varied hoglin stables, treasure rooms, housing rooms, and bridges can be part of the structure. Be careful when roaming bastion remnants, since piglins can and will attack you if they see you are stealing their treasure.
Ruined Portals
Ruined portals are broken nether portals that spawn both in the overworld and nether. You can repair them with obsidian and they can then be used. Loot chests can sometimes spawn in the area of the ruined portals.
Ambience
There are a lot of new ambient sounds added in this update, and some of them may be hard to get used to at first.
Mobs
There were a total of 5 new mobs added in the Nether update, and one of the new mobs replaced an old mob. The new mobs are the piglin, hoglin, strider, zombified piglin, and zoglin. The piglin, hoglin and strider are all mobs that exist within the nether. The piglin is a mob that when given gold, will give you items in return. In a way piglins are like villagers of the Nether. However, piglins can be aggressive when you aren’t wearing golden armor, or if you try to mine gold or open a chest near one of them. Hoglins are creatures that spawn in crimson forests, and can be bred with crimson fungi. Piglins and hoglins are strong when attacking, so be sure to have armor before going into the nether. If you try to bring a piglin or hoglin to the overworld by making it go through a nether portal or to the end by making it go through an end portal, they will turn into zombies. Specifically a piglin turns into a zombified piglin. The zombified piglin replaces the zombie pigman, a mob that used to exist. The hoglin turns into a zoglin. The other new mob is the strider, which is a creature that you can ride over lava. However when they go away from lava they get cold. Striders can be bred with warped fungi. You ride a strider in a similar manner to a pig. You put a saddle on it, then make an item called warped fungus on a stick to get the strider to go where you want it to go while riding. With normal pigs you need a carrot on a stick, in a similar manner. Some say striders look weird, but I think they are kind of cute.
Fire
There’s actually a new type of fire, it’s called soul fire. If you light soul sand or soul soil with a flint and steel or any other method, the fire is a blue color instead of orange. You can make soul fire items, such as torches, lanterns, and campfires. Light soul sand or soul soil to scare piglins, since they don’t like soul fire. It scares them.
Fun fact: Blue fire actually exists, and it comes about when sulfur is burnt. I wonder if soul fire was based off of sulfur fire.
Enchantment
A new enchantment was added, called soul speed. It allows you to walk faster on soul sand and soul soil, and you can only get the enchantment by bartering with piglins. However, your boots durability will go down quicker, when soul speed is active (when you are walking over soul sand or soul soil) with the enchantment on your boots.
Banner Pattern
There is a new banner pattern, a snout pattern. It’s a piglin snout. You can get the snout pattern from chests in bastion remnants.
Music
There’s also a new music disc, called pigstep. Pigstep was created by a different music artist, Lena Raine, instead of C418. Lena Raine helped create all of the new music within the Nether update. However, C418’s music is still in the game.
Chains
Chains have been added. They are mainly for decoration, and go well with the soul lanterns, in my opinion.
That’s the scoop on the Minecraft Nether update. Enjoy playing, and I will ‘see’ you soon in our virtual art world.