On April 13, 2021, an update with no official name was released as Java Edition 1.17 and Bedrock Edition 1.17.0. Although it has no official name, it is widely known by the community as Nether Update Part II. The update added some additional features to the Nether, as well as changes to mountain biomes.
Additions[]
Blocks[]
Allow, deny, and border blocks
- Added to Java Edition.
- Functions similarly to their Bedrock Edition counterparts.
Brimstone
- Generates in bastion remnants.
- Can generate in chests in bastion remnants.
- Can be crafted with a dry sponge surrounded by 8 blackstone.
- Soaks up lava up to 5 blocks away from itself, similar to sponge
- When used, turns into pumice.
- Crafted using honeycomb and string.
- Has undyed and 16 dyed types.
- Can be lit with any item that can create fire.
- Up to 4 candles of the same color can be placed on a block, similar to sea pickles.
- One candle produces a light level of 3, and increases by 3 for every additional candle, up to 12 for four candles on a block.
Custom Spawnpoint
- Cannot be crafted in vanilla Minecraft.
- Cannot be found in the creative inventory, and only available with commands such as /give and /setblock.
- Has a texture identical to that of the structure block's inventory model, but can be customized independently.
- Has a hardness similar to obsidian, and drops itself.
- Emits a light level of 9.
- In Java Edition, can be used to set your spawn point in custom dimensions. Explodes when used in vanilla dimensions, similar to beds and respawn anchors.
- Had many different appearances and names during development.
- Generates above y=100 in mountains biomes.
- Visually similar to snow, but most entities (with the exception of foxes, goats, and rabbits) fall through it.
- Leather boots can be worn to prevent entities from falling through it.
- After a short amount of time in deep snow, most entities start taking damage and eventually die.
- Damage can be prevented by wearing leather armor.
- Strays, polar bears, snow golems, and the wither do not take freezing damage.
- Skeletons convert into strays when in deep snow for too long.
- Crafting 2 snow blocks in a vertical arrangement gives 2 deep snow.
- When broken with a shovel, drops 5-9 snowballs.
Hardened obsidian
- The only indestructible block obtainable in survival Minecraft.
- Crafted from 4 obsidian blocks in a square arrangement.
- When first placed, takes 1 second to break with a diamond pickaxe, and drops 4 obsidian blocks.
- After 2 minutes, it emits smoke particles and the sound of a fire extinguishing.
- When that happens, the texture changes and the block becomes indestructible.
- When placed in creative mode, becomes indestructible in survival immediately.
- Has a blast resistance of 4,800,000, the highest out of all blocks. Changed to 3,600,000 (same as most indestructible blocks) in 1.17.1.
- Behaves like bedrock and other indestructable blocks in many ways.
- Can be used to create nether portals.
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- Has slab, stairs, and wall versions
- Has a polished variant, which has slab and stairs versions
Mistflower bush
- Generates in warped forests and mistflower meadows in the Nether.
- Drops 0-3 mistflower seeds when broken without shears.
- Repels hoglins, similar to warped fungi.
- Can be created with bonemeal on warped nylium.
Nightspores
- Dark-colored fungi that generate on the underside of terrain features in crimson forests.
- Can be placed on ceilings.
- Can spread to nearby blocks with bonemeal.
- Emit black "spore" particles below them in their vicinity.
- Can be crafted into black dye.
Netherite stairs
- Re-added netherite stairs.
- Can only be obtained with /setblock (it has no inventory form) or by loading a world from 20w14infinite which contains them.
- Drops a block of netherite when broken. When broken with Silk Touch, drops nothing and displays a message in the action bar.
- The message displayed when broken with Silk Touch is "There are no netherite stairs in Minecraft."
- Functionally the same as in 20w14infinite.
- Exclusive to Java Edition.
- In 1.17.1, are a block state of obsidian stairs, and the block state is removed in 1.17.2.
Obsidian slabs, stairs, and walls
- Added obsidian slabs, stairs, and walls.
- Crafted like other slabs, stairs, and walls, but with obsidian blocks.
- Can be made with a stonecutter.
- Has the same blast resistance and takes the same amount of time to break as obsidian.
Pumice
- Obtained when brimstone soaks up lava.
- Floats on lava, similar to netherite
- Used only for decoration.
- Has stairs, slab, wall, polished, polished stairs, and polished slab forms, but currently they are unused and exclusive to Java.
Quartz brick slabs and stairs
- Added quartz brick slabs and stairs.
- Crafted like other slabs and stairs, but with quartz bricks.
Salt Ore
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- When mined with any pickaxe, drops 1-3 salt
Block of Salt
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- Crafted from 4 salt.
- Can be crafted into 4 salt.
Sandstone Bricks
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- Has a slab and stair version.
- Has red sandstone variants.
Items[]
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- Crafted from 1 milk and 1 salt.
- When eaten, restores 5 hunger.
- Obtained by milking a goat with a bucket.
- When drank, removes all status effects and restores 2 hunger points
- Wandering traders may drink it instead of regular milk when in mountain biomes.
Goat cheese
- Currently unused and exclusive to Java.
- Crafted from 1 goat milk and 1 salt.
- When eaten, restores 6 hunger.
Mistflower
- A new food item, resembling a blue flower.
- Restores 4 hunger points when eaten.
- Has 4 growth stages.
- Drops 1 mistflower seed, unless fully grown, in which case they drop 1-3 mistflower seeds and 1 mistflower.
- Has a 65% chance to raise the composter level by 1.
- Can be obtained by bartering.
Mistflower seeds
- Can be planted on warped nylium and grow mistflower plants.
- Can generate in chests in bastion remnants.
- Has a 30% chance to raise the composter level by 1.
- Can be obtained by bartering.
Potions
- The potion of decay is now in both editions, and can now be obtained by brewing wither powder with an awkward potion.
- The potion of luck is now in both editions, and can now be obtained by brewing mistflower seeds with an awkward potion.
Salt
- Added to Java Edition, but currently unused.
- Has a significantly different texture from Bedrock and Education editions.
- Can be crafted into salt blocks, cheese, and goat cheese.
Spawn eggs
- Added goat spawn eggs.
- Added firebird spawn eggs.
Spectral arrow
- Added to Bedrock Edition.
- Behaves similarly to those in Java Edition.
- Now made with a fletching table rather than a crafting table.
Wither powder
- 0-1 is dropped by wither skeletons.
- 2-5 is dropped by the wither.
- 2 wither powder can be crafted from a wither rose.
- When being held in the main hand, offhand, or any armor slot, the player takes 1 damage every 2 seconds.
- Can be brewed into a potion of decay.
Mobs[]
Firebirds
- Nether equivalent of bats.
- Have 6 health.
- Spawn anywhere in the Nether.
- Usually seen flying in the air, occasionally sits on a block
- Comes in 6 distinct patterns, corresponding to the Nether biomes.
- Each biome can only spawn one pattern of firebirds.
- Are a passive ambient mob.
- Drop 0-1 feathers when killed.
- Unlike bats, they do not take damage from fire.
- Have 10 health.
- Spawn in mountain biomes and their variants (except mountain edge) above y=100.
- Can jump up to 10 blocks high.
- Take 10 less fall damage than other mobs.
- Are a neutral mob; they do not attack unless provoked.
- Attacks entities by charging and ramming into them; can knock them back a significant distance.
- Drop 1-3 raw mutton (or cooked mutton if killed while on fire).
- Can be bred with wheat.
- Can be milked with a bucket for goat milk.
World generation[]
Biomes
- Mistflower meadow
- A biome in the Nether that generates warped and crimson nylium. Warped and crimson roots, nether sprouts, and mistflower bushes may spawn here, but fungi and huge fungi do not. The fog is similar to that of the nether wastes or crimson forest.
- Piglins, hoglins, endermen, and striders may spawn here.
- Nether fortresses cannot generate here, similarly to crimson and warped forests.
Structures
- Salt licks
- Patches where the ground is replaced with salt blocks. Can only generate on sand and red sand in desert and badlands biomes, and their variants.
- Currently do not generate and are exclusive to Java.
Command format[]
Gamerules
- Gamerules are now in lowercase with underscores instead of camelCase, e.g. do_daylight_cycle instead of doDaylightCycle
- Gamerule disableElytraMovementCheck has been renamed to disable_elytra_speed_check and added to Bedrock Edition.
- Added gamerules disable_raids, do_patrol_spawning, do_trader_spawning, forgive_dead_players, max_entity_cramming, and universal_anger to Bedrock Edition.
- forgive_offline_players: Controls whether neutral mobs stop being angry if the target player logs out or switches dimension. Available in both editions.
Gameplay[]
Advancements (Java Edition)
- Added new advancements
- "Hardest Thing Ever" - Place a block of hardened obsidian and wait for it to become indestructible (located in the Nether tab)
- "The Snow is Snowier" - Spend 1 minute in deep snow while wearing leather armor. (located in the Adventure tab)
- "Whatever Floats your Goat" - Ride a boat with a goat inside. (located in the Adventure tab)
Death messages
- Added 3 new death messages:
- "[player] froze to death"
- "[player] was frozen to death by [entity]"
- "[player] had death in their hands"
Recipe book
- Added recipe book unlocks for fletching tables.
Sounds
- New sounds for goats have been added.
- New sounds for firebirds have been added.
- New sounds for walking through deep snow have been added.
Status effects
- Added Glowing, Luck, and Bad Luck effects to Bedrock Edition.
- Act similarly and can be obtained in similar ways to their Java Edition counterparts.
General[]
Languages
- Added Amharic language. (Java Edition)
- Added Bengali language. (Java Edition)
- Added Gujarati language. (Java Edition)
- Added Marathi language. (Java Edition)
- Added Punjabi language. (Java Edition)
- Added Tibetan language. (Java Edition)
- Font now supports combining characters.
Music
- Added a new track composed by Lena Raine: "Viridescence"
- Plays in warped forests and mistflower meadows.
Particles
- Added the mistflower, mistflower_seed, nightspore, snowflake, and snow_tread particles.
Splash
- Added new splashes
- "Dancing coffins!"
- "There are no netherite stairs"
- "Don't mine at night!"
- "Pro tip: Jump"
- "Now with 124 voices!"
Tags (Java Edition only)
- Added block and item tag #candles:
- Contains all 17 types of candles.
- Added block and item tag #concrete:
- Contains the 16 colors of concrete.
- Added block and item tag #concrete_powder:
- Contains the 16 colors of concrete powder.
- Added entity tag #deep_snow_walkable:
- Contains foxes, goats, and rabbits.
- Entities in this tag can walk on deep snow.
- Added item tag #deep_snow_walkable_wearables:
- Contains leather boots.
- Wearing an item in this tag allows entities to walk on deep snow.
- Added block and item tag #dirt:
- Contains dirt, coarse dirt, grass blocks, mycelium, and podzol.
- Added item tag #edible:
- Contains all food items.
- Controls what items can be eaten. The amount of hunger an item restores is hard-coded and cannot be changed without mods.
- Added entity tag #freeze_immune:
- Contains strays, polar bears, snow golems, and the wither.
- Entities in this tag do not take freeze damage from deep snow.
- Added item tag #freeze_immune_wearables:
- Contains leather cap, leather tunic, leather pants, leather boots, and leather horse armor.
- Wearing an item in this tag prevents entities from taking freeze damage.
- Added block and item tag #glass_panes:
- Contains glass panes and stained glass panes.
- The block tag is used in #transparent.
- Added block and item tag #glazed_terracotta:
- Contains the 16 colors of glazed terracotta.
- Added block tag #meltable:
- Contains snow layers and ice.
- Used to control which blocks light sources can melt.
- Added block and item tag #nether_portal_materials:
- Contains obsidian and hardened obsidian.
- Controls what blocks can be used to make nether portals.
- Added block and item tag #snow:
- Contains snow, snow blocks, and deep snow. The item tag also contain snowballs.
- Added block and item tag #terracotta:
- Contains terracotta and its 16 colored variants.
- Added block tag #transparent:
- Contains all transparent blocks.
- Causes blocks to behave as transparent blocks.
Changes[]
Blocks[]
Blackstone
- Can now be used to craft dispensers, droppers, levers, observers, and pistons.
Campfires
- Can no longer be crafted with crimson or warped stems.
Composter
- Now allows for mistflowers, mistflower seeds, and nightspores to be composted.
Dyes
- Black dye can no longer be made from wither roses.
- Instead, it can now be made from nightspores.
Fletching table
- Can now be used to make tipped arrows and spectral arrows using a new interface.
- Can hold up to 8 arrows and either a lingering potion or glowstone dust.
- Tipped arrows can be made using a lingering potion with the desired effect.
- Spectral arrows can be made using glowstone dust.
- The process of creating a tipped or spectral arrow takes 5 seconds.
Packed Ice and Blue Ice
- Now produces water when broken without Silk Touch.
Lava
- Lava source blocks can now be created with flowing lava, similar to water, in the Nether.
Netherrack
- Now obtainable via bartering, in stacks of 16-32 with a weight of 40.
Polished Blackstone Bricks
- The word "polished" has been removed from their name. Also applies to its variants.
Rails
- All types of rails can now be waterlogged.
- Can no longer be destroyed by flowing water.
Items[]
Lava bucket
- Can now be obtained via bartering, in stacks of 1 with a weight of 20.
Netherite Hoe
- In Java Edition, can now be obtained via bartering, in stacks of 1 with a weight of 1.
Raw porkchop
- Can now be obtained via bartering, in stacks of 2-8 with a weight of 20.
Cooked porkchop
- Can now be obtained via bartering, in stacks of 2-8 with a weight of 10.
String
- Reduced barter amount from 3-9 to 1-5.
Tipped arrows
- Can no longer be made with a crafting table.
- Now made with a fletching table.
Totem of undying
- Now grants the player 40 seconds of Resistance III when used.
Mobs[]
Creepers
- Now drop music discs if killed directly by a wither skeleton.
- Now drop music discs if killed by a stray's melee attack.
Sheep
- No longer spawn above y=100 in mountains biomes (except mountain edge) and their variants.
- Sheared sheep above y=100 now shiver and take damage when snowing.
Skeletons
- Now convert into strays after staying in deep snow for too long.
Zoglins
- Now despawn on peaceful difficulty.
World generation[]
Biomes
- Mountains Edge now naturally generates again, at the edges of mountain biomes.
- Mountains Edge now generates instead of Wooded Mountains or Gravelly Mountains+ between desert and snowy biomes.
- Biomes in the Nether are now divided into two types, with biomes of the same type placed closer together.
- The first type contains nether wastes, soul sand valleys, and basalt deltas.
- The second type contains crimson forests, warped forests, and mistflower meadows.
Nether fortresses
- Nether bricks in nether fortresses can now be replaced by red, cracked, and chiseled nether bricks, or blackstone bricks and their variants.
- Slightly modified the designs of some parts of nether fortresses.
- Added some new parts to nether fortresses.
Terrain
- Changed terrain noise generator for the mountains biome and its variants, as well as the shattered savanna.
- These biomes now have taller mountains.
Gameplay[]
Advancements
- Breeding goats can now award "The Parrots and the Bats" advancement, and is required for the "Two By Two" advancement.
- Eating mistflowers is now required for the "A Balanced Diet" advancement.
Main menu
- Added main menu panoramas containing mistflower meadow and basalt deltas biomes.
- All 1.16 menu panoramas are kept in 1.17.
Subtitles
- Added to Bedrock Edition, where they appear near the top right corner of the screen
- Changed "Flint and Steel click" to "Flint and Steel clicks"
General[]
Tags (Java Edition only)
- Added hardened obsidian, allow, deny, and border blocks to the #dragon_immune and #wither_immune block tags.
- Added custom spawnpoints to the #dragon_immune block tags.
- The #guarded_by_piglins tag now affects the opening of containers.
- Blocks in the #ice tag now produce water when broken without Silk Touch, and if also in #meltable, now melt into water at a block light level of 11 or more (compare with the default of melting into air at a block light level of 12 or more).
- Renamed the #impermeable block tag to #glass. It is now also an item tag.
- The #glass tag is now used in #transparent.
- Gold nuggets and powered rails are now in #piglin_loved.
- Bells, light weighted pressure plates, and powered rails are now in the #guarded_by_piglins block tag.
- Villagers no longer pathfind to beds not in the #beds tag.
Trivia[]
- 1.17 is the first update since 1.3 to have no official name. However, it has been widely nicknamed by the community as "Nether Update Part II".
- This is the first update to keep version-specific menu panoramas from previous versions since they were introduced in 1.13.
- Java Edition 1.17 has several unused features intended for the Cave Update. Mojang has stated that these features were added early because they "just had some free time to make them right now, and [they] can't be sure about how much time [they] will have [for 1.18], so [they] decided to make them early to save some time later."
- These features may also exist in Bedrock Edition 1.17.0 but are unobtainable there without third-party software, but this claim has not been confirmed.
Preceded by: | Minecraft 1.17: Nether Update Part II | Followed by: |