Minecraft 1.21, the Tricky Trials update, is out now

Minecraft 1.21 - Two players stand together in a copper Trial Chamber looking at a Trial Spawner block
(Image credit: Mojang Studios)

Just as it did the last few years, June's bringing more to Minecraft in the form of the Tricky Trials update. Released today, Minecraft 1.21 combines the features doled out in recent preview snapshots, adding new blocks, new bad guys, and new bludgeoning implements.

Trial Chambers are the main thrust of the update. They're a new, procedurally generated underground structure you might find in your subterranean expeditions, filled with traps, enemies, and—if you survive—rewards. In addition to new blocks and decorations, Trial Chambers feature the Trial Spawner block: a new variant of mob spawner, which generates a specific number of enemies on a cooldown. Kill all the enemies, and the Trial Spawner will generate some loot as a reward.

Trial Chambers are also where you'll find 1.21's new enemies. The Breeze is like the windy cousin of the Nether's Blaze enemy, shooting explosive wind projectiles. Joining the Minecraft rogues gallery alongside them are the Bogged, a new variant of skeletons equipped with poison arrows, because I didn't already have enough lethal hazards flying out at me from darkened tunnels. The Bogged will also spawn in swamp and mangrove swamp biomes.

The 1.21 addition with the most potential, in my opinion, is the Crafter. It's a redstone-powered, automated crafting table, which can be fed ingredients by hand or from hoppers. My hope is that its inclusion means I'll soon be seeing Satisfactory-tier factory automation from Minecraft's most brilliant minds.

Rounding out the new update is the mace, a new weapon that can do a falling smash attack for extra damage and knockback, and new wolf variants that can now spawn in biomes you couldn't find wolves previously.

For the full rundown on the update's new features, check out our Minecraft 1.21 guide, which we've been compiling throughout the new version's development and preview releases. Otherwise, go with my blessing as you venture out to fill your wolf collection. 

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Minecraft update: What's new?
Minecraft seeds: Fresh new worlds
Minecraft texture packs: Pixelated
Minecraft skins: New looks
Minecraft mods:  Beyond vanilla

News Writer

Lincoln has been writing about games for 11 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.

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