Minecraft 1.13 – UPDATE AQUATIC is here!

Finally, the long-awaited update is here, after a record of 10 pre-releases, nearly a year of development and over a year of waiting since 1.12! Minecraft version 1.13, known as the Aquatic Update, is here, available for Minecraft: Java Edition as of the release day, 18th July! Time for me to get back into survival, and get out my fishing rod, buckets and the mighty trident. As they say, gotta go with the tide!

Update Aquatic

After 10 pre-releases and 42 snapshots, it’s one big update; Considering that it was originally supposed to be spread over 2 versions – 1.13 being Technically Updated, and 1.14 being the Update Aquatic (both names pretty self-explanatory!)

But of course, in the end, we got one ginormous chunk of an update: the version 1.13 as we know it! Which merges the updates, adding a bit of technicalities and plenty of ocean features to Minecraft! So what had exactly changed? And what additions were put in place? Let’s do a quick overview – There are too many features to say them all, but for more info, you can check minecraft.net or the Official Minecraft wiki!

Overview of new features

• Minecraft’s seabed was at last livened up with many (colourful!) additions! Including many types of fish, dolphins, coral and seaweed. Underwater ravines and caves, as well as underwater ruins and shipwrecks with treasure. Turtles now inhabit the beaches!
• Water physics got an upgrade, with water now being able to flow through half-solid blocks. For example, trapdoors, slabs, fences… even glass pane and stairs! I’m just a bit worried about the mob grinders of older Minecraft versions that use water as their main component. I’ll have to experiment on that!

• The world as we know it had a few changes too, hopefully for the better! Multiple ocean biomes were added, like warm, lukewarm and frozen oceans! The End was divided into new biomes too. New structures include icebergs, as well as the previously mentioned shipwrecks and underwater ruins, caves and ravines. Sounds like a new milestone for keen miners and explorers! You’ll be rewarded with bubble-producing magma blocks which are now found in ravines. And don’t forget those treasure chests, corals and more!
• The Trident was added. You can use it as a melee or throwable ranged weapon, and you can also enchanted with some new enhancements.
• You can now mark maps with… well, markers! Done by holding a map and right clicking a banner in the place where you want the marker.

Meet the new mob additions

• The Phantom, or Monster of the Night Sky, is finally here! It’s the first proper flying mob in Minecraft – at least in the Overworld, as I don’t know about the Ender Dragon! And will attack players who haven’t slept for days, so you better watch your back if that’s you.
• And hold up! Before you go off to explore, take caution (apart from the obvious danger of drowning). Hostile mobs will now sink and drown if in water for too long – but this isn’t as good as it seems. Because prepare yourself for the Drowned! These are made when a zombie drowns, or spawn naturally; and will continue the zombie’s mission underwater, making life more miserable in the perfect underwater world.

Other additions of the Update Aquatic include new potions, effects and (trident) enchantments. New varieties of wood, including the now craftable all sided wood block, stripped wood, and variants of all types of woods for pressure plates, trapdoors and buttons.

Prismite stairs and slabs, some texture changes, new items and mob drops. A new “Buffet” world type, allowing for worlds with a unique biome (more info is said to come soon). You can also eat the new fish types raw or cooked. Did you know that you can put fish in buckets as well..? Might make fishing easier for once!

Thanks for reading; I hope you learned something! The Update Aquatic is really one update to remember. And not just for its size or number of pre-releases, but obviously it’s features. The seabed changes will be a big part of Minecraft for versions to come, and these little things like a new mob or biome will have a lasting effect, hopefully all for the better!

As always, share your thoughts in the comments. Did I miss or mistype something? Or maybe you recently drowned in a lake (in Minecraft of course)? I won’t be the one to judge! For more information on the update and links to more useful stuff, check the official page for the update. https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/aquatic

Cover image: from official announcement https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/update-aquatic-out-java