Confirmed Features of the Minecraft Winter Drop Update

Minecraft’s Winter Drop was initially revealed without an official title during the Live 2024 presentation, introducing a wealth of new content. Players can now experience many features through the recent Java Edition snapshots. But what confirmed elements will be part of this Minecraft game drop?

Several exciting features are set to debut in this Winter Drop, with more potentially added by Mojang over the coming days and weeks. Let’s explore the confirmed elements showcased in the snapshots so far.

Confirmed Features in Minecraft’s Winter Drop

The Pale Garden Biome

The Pale Garden is Minecraft's latest biome, and a creepy one at that (Image via Mojang) — The Pale Garden is Minecraft’s latest biome, and a creepy one at that (Image via Mojang)

The new Pale Garden biome, characterized by its eerie atmosphere and a grey sky, is located in the Overworld. It features pale oak trees and multiple forms of pale moss, including hanging, carpet, and blocks. This biome uniquely hosts the creaking heart blocks, which allows the creaking mob to spawn in its natural state without relocation.

Standard hostile mobs can also appear in this biome during low light levels, alongside ambient creatures like bats.

New Pale Oak Blocks

The introduction of the Pale Garden biome and its pale oak trees has led to a variety of new blocks available for harvesting and crafting. The following pale oak blocks are now included:

Pale oak logs
Stripped pale oak logs
Pale oak wood
Stripped pale oak wood
Pale oak planks
Pale oak stairs
Pale oak slabs
Pale oak signs (standing and hanging)
Pale oak buttons
Pale oak pressure plates
Pale oak doors
Pale oak fences
Pale oak fence gates
Pale oak trapdoors
Pale oak saplings
Pale oak leaves
Pale moss (hanging, carpet, and block)
Pale oak boats
Pale oak boats with chests

The Creaking and Creaking Hearts

The creaking is a new and particularly creepy Minecraft mob (Image via Mojang)

The Pale Garden biome can produce blocks called creaking hearts. When positioned between pale oak logs and aligned correctly, the creaking heart triggers the appearance of the creaking mob at night.

As per Minecraft Live 2024, the creaking acts as an extension of the creaking heart block, resembling a puppet. Although the creaking can sustain damage, it possesses high resistance and cannot be defeated by conventional means. The only way to eliminate a creaking is to break the creaking heart that spawned it, which releases spores indicating the heart’s location.

Additionally, the creaking heart can be collected with a Silk Touch-enchanted tool and relocated in Minecraft. If placed correctly between pale oak logs, it can spawn creakings even in other biomes.

Moreover, a spawn egg allows for the creation of the creaking without needing a creaking heart, although this item can only be accessed in Creative Mode or through commands. Spawned creakings may despawn during the day as they are not linked to a creaking heart.

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