A new Minecraft update has just brought some extra peril to the Ice Caves biome. Mojang’s fourth game drop of the year has now been in testing for a couple of weeks, and the latest Java snapshot and Bedrock preview builds have just arrived, introducing the particularly fragile Brittle Ice block. Alongside that, the new patch notes for the sandbox game include some additional balance changes to the Freezing status effect, and also make Jukeboxes more useful than ever.
Introduced with Minecraft update 26.4 snapshot 4, Brittle Ice is another unique block type that can be found in the new Ice Caves biome. At a glance, you might confuse it for Frosted Ice, but the two work rather differently, with Brittle Ice breaking as players or mobs stand on top of it, with the sole exception of the new Frostbite Zombie. Each stage of cracking takes 1.2 seconds, and after the third it will break completely. This also happens when standing no more than a quarter-block above it, so you can hide a potential trap with carpets, cushions, or a couple of snow layers to catch someone off guard.
Stepping off a Brittle Ice block will stop the cracking process, but the block cannot repair itself over time. Additionally, when one breaks, it will cause any adjacent Brittle Ice blocks to crack one stage further than their current status. Unlike Frosted Ice, however, Brittle Ice does not melt when near light sources, and it won’t leave water behind when it breaks. You can collect it using a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch, and it’ll generate if flowing water passes a Blue Ice block, so it’s easy to set up a quick farm.
Alongside this comes the addition of Jukebox playlists, a feature I’m surprised we’ve never had before now that it’s here. By placing a Chest on top of a Jukebox and filling it with Music Discs, it’ll play them in the order they’re laid out. When one track finishes, it’ll be automatically swapped out for the next one. Should you manually eject a disc, it’ll move onto another in similar fashion. There’s no manual skip button for now, but players are already inventing clever ways to build one using minecarts.
The patch notes also include a few other minor tweaks and balance changes. Zombies, Drowned, and Husks are now all immune to the Freezing status effect and will not take any damage from it. Drowned who find themselves among Powdered Snow will now turn into a regular Zombie, before then transforming into a Frostbite. Furthermore, Frosted Ice blocks will now cause a vibration event when they change state due to melting.
Minecraft update 26.4 Java snapshot 4 and Bedrock preview 26.70.20 are now live. You can access them by selecting the appropriate game version via the Minecraft launcher. I’m already looking forward to what people can do with these new additions, particularly when it comes to introducing fresh threats to adventure maps.
