Cave tours are a great pastime in Minecraft and a source for all sorts of important resources. But besides iron, diamonds, and a lot of stone, you’ll also discover some unique biomes underground! On one hand, you’ll find densely vegetated, lush caves where you can also find rare animals. On the other hand, you can discover impressive dripstone caves, which are quite dangerous. Today we’ll take a closer look at the two underground biomes, where to find them, and what you can do with them.
Lush Caves: Find Axolotls and Natural Treasures
Lush caves are one of the most beautiful biomes you can find in Minecraft. They mostly consist of clay blocks forming various terraces, where you can find small ponds. As their name suggests, lush caves are densely vegetated. Besides grasses, you’ll also find many unique blocks like moss, vines, drip leaves, spore blossoms, and glow berries.
How to find lush caves: Lush caves can be identified from the surface as they are marked by an azalea tree. These trees have pink blossoms. If you dig down, you’ll almost always find a lush cave underneath. You can also search for openings nearby. Azalea trees and their corresponding lush caves are only generated in humid and warm biomes. These include jungles, bamboo jungles, giant tree taigas, dark forests, or wooded badlands. So keep an eye out for these biomes and the corresponding azalea trees!
Unique features of lush caves:
- Tropical fish predominantly spawn in the water pools.
- The only place where you can find Axolotls.
- Glow squids also spawn in larger ponds.
- Lots of moss!
- One of the best sources for abundant clay.
- Large and small drip leaves.
- Spore blossoms growing on the ceiling.
- Glow berries that you can use as both a food and light source.
Breeding and Using Axolotls
The adorable Axolotls are probably why you want to visit this biome. These aquatic animals can only be found in lush caves and make a great pet that you can bring back to your base. They are not only cute but also help you in battles!
Axolotls come in five colors: pink, brown, yellow, cyan, and blue. The rare blue Axolotls cannot be found in the wild, and you must breed them. They have only a 1 in 1200 (0.083%) chance of appearing, making them one of the rarest items you can possess in Minecraft! Their coloration is also a little Easter egg referencing the Pokémon Mudkip from the third generation. You can breed Axolotls by capturing two with a bucket, placing them in a water pool, and then feeding them with tropical fish from another bucket. Be sure to keep them in water because they will die on land after just five minutes.
There are practical reasons (besides the obvious cuteness!) to have many Axolotls. In water, they attack almost everything that crosses their path. You can build an automatic fish farm by sectioning off part of a river or ocean where many fish spawn. Axolotls also attack drowned mobs and guardians and can even heal themselves! They play dead for a few seconds and then attack again. And the more Axolotls you have, the faster they can regenerate as a group. They can also heal you if you help them in battle. All in all, Axolotls are extremely useful … and cute!
Dripstone Caves: Using Copper and Traps
Now let’s take a look at the other cave area you can find in Minecraft. These are dripstone caves, which also exist in real life and are just as impressively rendered in Minecraft. They are usually huge caves with stalactites and stalagmites, making navigation difficult and potentially harmful!
How to find dripstone caves: The generation of dripstone caves is related to the “continentality” of your world. The farther land is from an ocean, the more likely a dripstone cave will occur. The overlying biome does not matter.
Unique features of dripstone caves:
- A large number of dripstone blocks that have formed into huge pillars and make a great decorative block.
- Plenty of pointed dripstone that you can use for various farms.
- Large copper deposits!
- Glow squids also spawn in the underwater pools here.
- Mineshafts can be wonderfully found here and sometimes generate directly through a dripstone cave.
- Watch out for drowned zombies.
Applications of Dripstones
Dripstone itself can be used for many different things when mined with a pickaxe. You can even multiply and grow them by placing them on top of a dripstone block with water above. This gives you practically unlimited dripstones. Water then drips from the dripstones below, forming larger stalactites and stalagmites.
Another possible application is an automatic lava farm. The principle is similar, but you need to attach a dripstone to any block with a full lava source above it. Below, place your cauldron, which will slowly collect the dripping lava. Later, you can scoop up the lava with a bucket.
You can also make clay with dripstones! We’ve already covered this in detail in an article (Automatic Clay Farm in Minecraft: Guide for Clay, Bricks, and Pottery) . The mechanic is similar, but this time water is drained from mud blocks through dripstones below.
In the end, you can also use dripstone for traps, as the sharp ends inflict damage. This applies to both falling stalactites and ground-growing stalagmites. You can use both in various monster traps and create really cool designs!
Conclusion
The new caves in Minecraft generate exciting biomes that offer you all sorts of unique items. In lush caves, you’ll find not only beautiful natural blocks but also adorable Axolotls that you can use in underwater battles. There’s even an extremely rare color that you can only obtain through breeding! In contrast, dripstone caves are perfect for various farms, such as renewable lava or transforming mud into clay. You can rent your own Minecraft server from us and embark on an adventure with your friends to discover these underground biomes.
