GAMING NEWS

Hello ladies and gents this is the viking telling you that today we are talking about

THE BEDROCK NETHER UPDATE BETA IS HERE!
Get it on Xbox One, Windows 10, and Android!

It’s time to turn the heat up (seriously, I’m freezing!). Luckily for me, I can now work up a sweat, as the Nether Update Beta is finally here! If you own an Xbox One, a Windows 10 PC, or an Android device, you can get it, too! Isn’t that lava-ly? Sorry...

What newness awaits in the Nether? You could just dive in and see for yourself, or you could read this short list of highlights that we’ve made. No pressure, but we made this for you.

Mining for gold? Be careful, because the Piglins are watching! These half-pig, half-who-knows-what beasts may attack on sight or barter with you – depending on whether you impress them. Think of them as the popular kids of the Nether, but with swords instead of iPhones.

Did you hear that? No, it’s not a Zombified Piglin, it’s my stomach. Forgetting to pack your lunch in the Nether can be a fatal mistake, but that’s about to change – as long as you’re tough enough to take on a Hoglin. As cruel fate has it, these creatures are both highly aggressive and the main source of food in the Nether. Not only do their tusks look intimidating, but they can also push you around quite a bit. It may sound relatively harmless, but remember: you’re most likely surrounded by lava.

Want a change in scenery? No need to leave the Nether, because now you can explore the Soulsand Valleys, and the Crimson and Warped Forests. Each of these biomes comes with new blocks, plants, fungi, and items that you can discover and experiment with to your heart’s desire.

Need an upgrade to survive in this significantly more hostile environment? Check out Netherite – the newest and toughest material in Minecraft. You’re gonna lava it! Again, sorry. Deck yourself in Netherite armor, grab a matching sword, and you’ll be A-okay. Maybe.

HOW TO JOIN

As always, keep in mind that beta releases are work in progress and can be unstable, so you won’t have access to Realms or be able to join non-beta players while using this version. Also, any worlds played while in the beta cannot be opened in previous versions of the game – so please make copies of worlds to prevent losing them. You can find detailed instructions on how to join here.

If you encounter a bug, we would really appreciate it if you reported it using our official Issue Tracker. Found something that works but can be improved? Your feedback is essential to making Minecraft the best game it can be – so please share your thoughts here.

WARPED FOREST 

• Warped Forests can now be found in the Nether! 
• Warped nylium carpets the cave floor with all kinds of strange new vegetation 
• Huge warped fungi make up the "trees" of this forest, with Shroomlights lighting up the forest floor 
• A dark blue fog covers the forest! 
• Warped spores swirl through the air 
• Endermen wander these forests
• The warped forests are strange, but also the least hostile place in the Nether 

CRIMSON FOREST 

• Crimson forests can now be found in the Nether! 
• Crimson nylium carpets the cave floor with all kinds of strange new vegetation 
• Huge crimson fungi make up the "trees" of this forest, with Shroomlights lighting up the forest floor 
• Weeping vines grow from the cave ceilings and huge fungi canopies
• Hoglins, Piglins, and Zombified Piglins wander these forests 
• Crimson spores swirl through the air 

SOULSAND VALLEY 

• Soulsand valleys can now be found in the Nether! 
• An open space made mostly of soul sand and soul soil 
• Basalt pillars span from floor to ceiling 
• Ash falls through the air 
• A light blue glow envelopes the valley 
• Beware of skeletons here 

BLOCKS 

Many new block types have been added!

• Two new non-flammable wood-like materials – crimson stems and warped stems 
• Basalt blocks – you can find them as pillars but they can be placed in any direction 
• New ground surface blocks: crimson nylium and warped nylium 
• New vegetation: nether sprouts, crimson roots, and warped roots 
• Two types of fungi: crimson and warped – try using bone meal to grow them! 
• Warped wart blocks 
• Weeping vines that grow from the bottom of a block downwards! 
• Weeping vines are now climbable!
• A new natural light source: Shroomlights 
• Added soul soil. Whenever fire burns on soul soil, it burns with a blue flame! 
• Soul soil can be used to craft soul torches – and those can be crafted into soul lanterns! 
• The Wither can now be summoned using soul soil as base 
• Using bone meal on Netherrack can now spread nylium 
• Warped and crimson roots and fungi can be placed into pots 

TARGET BLOCK (EXPERIMENTAL) 

• Because let's face it: your aim could use some practice.
• The closer you hit to the center, the larger the redstone signal! 
• You will need one hay block and four redstone for this recipe 
• Added to experimental gameplay until it acts consistently over all platforms 

MOBS 

PIGLINS

• Piglins are an aggressive civilization that lives in the Nether 
• They mostly hang around in the crimson forest, but you might find some in the nether wastes too 
• They think of players as target practice and will attack on sight 
• However, if you dress appropriately they will see you as a respectable figure, or tolerable at least 
• Piglins are suspicious of strangers and if they see you opening a chest, or mining a block of gold, they will assume that you're stealing and will treat you accordingly 
• Piglins LOVE gold and get very distracted by gold items 
• Gold ingots are currency to Piglins and you can throw ingots at them or right-click them with an ingot to barter for various goods 
• Piglins sometimes get hungry and hunt Hoglins for food. Or they try at least. The results... vary
• Piglins prefer to hunt and fight in groups, and when a fight is happening everyone wants in 
• Piglins that somehow end up in the Overworld become zombified fairly quickly 
• Piglins are creeped out by soul fire and Zombified Piglins, and will stay clear whenever possible 
• Wither skeletons are a historic enemy and Piglins will attack on sight 
• Baby Piglins are not as dangerous

HOGLINS 

• Hoglins are big aggressive beasts that live in crimson forests in the Nether 
• They attack players on sight, so be careful, they can easily knock you off a ledge! 
• Hoglins drop pork, but not willingly 
• You can breed Hoglins by feeding them crimson fungi, but do so at your own risk 
• Hoglins get hunted by Piglins sometimes, but they don't go down without a fight! 
• Despite this, Hoglins and Piglins aren't enemies – they are more like an ecosystem 
• Baby Hoglins like to pretend they are tough – but don't worry, they are more like angry puppies with no teeth 
• Want to keep Hoglins off your back? Pro tip: Hoglins hate the smell of warped fungi! 

ZOMBIFIED PIGLINS 

• Zombie Pigmen are now known as Zombified Piglins, and they now have ears... well, at least one ear 

NETHERITE 

• A new high level material found in the Nether. Use it to upgrade your diamond gear! 

NETHERITE EFFECTS 

• Netherite items float in lava, so you don't lose all your gear after that unplanned lava bath
• Netherite items have higher enchantment value than diamond (but not as high as gold)
• Netherite tools work faster and last longer than diamond 
• Netherite weapons do more damage than diamond
• Netherite armor has higher toughness and durability than diamond
• Netherite armor gives you knockback resistance, so you barely get knocked back at all when hit by arrows and such
• Netherite blocks can be used as the base of a beacon and Netherite ingots can be used as the fuel for a beacon. Weird flex but ok

And it looks cool!

HOW TO MAKE NETHERITE 
Mine ancient debris in the lower depths of the Nether. At your own risk. No insurance coverage for that!

Combine 4 Netherite scrap with 4 gold ingots in a crafting table (for now) to make a Netherite ingot

Refine it into Netherite scrap in a furnace or blast furnace

I hope you liked this psot and as always have a chilled day from the viking.