Minecraft: Bedrock Edition 1.17.20.22 beta changes how monsters spawn in darkness
A new Minecraft: Bedrock Edition beta brings some big changes to hostile mobs.
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What you need to know
Any time you thinkMinecraftcouldn’t possibly become more hectic with new updates and planned changes, Mojang Studios surprises you. Arriving shortly after theofficial release of update 1.17.10, Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is grabbingBeta 1.17.20.22with a host of new bug fixes, changes, and an exciting alteration to Minecraft. If you’ve ever been annoying by a creeper or other monster spawning in your home despite your plethora of lights, this beta is for you.
Aside from the usual fixes and improvements expected of a Minecraft: Bedrock Edition beta, 1.17.20.22 includesonemajor change stashed underneath the “Experimental features” toggle. No, you won’t find any newCaves and Cliffs Updatefeatures from 1.18 Part Two, whichshould release later this year. Instead, Mojang Studios has made a fundamental change to the way monsters spawn in the world — something that has remained mostly untouched since Minecraft’s inception.
Now, hostile mobs willonlyspawn in places of complete darkness. This doesn’t apply to light coming from the sky, but does affect all block lights. That means only blocks that aren’t being touched by candles, torches, redstone lanterns, or any other form of light can spawn a baddie. This is useful for lighting the more varied and larger caves present in 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update Part Two, but is also extremely useful for player builds that benefit from slightly more sparse lighting.
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The full changelog for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.20.22 includes:
Experimental features
Features & bug fixes
Stability & performance
Blocks
Gameplay
Graphical
Mobs
User interface
Technical updates
GameTest framework
Commands
Items
Mobs
Spawning
Available everywhere you play.
Minecraft is an inarguable and complete success. It has sold copies in the hundreds of millions, has a huge following of dedicated players, and lets you unlock your every creative desire. It’s also available on every platform imaginable, including Xbox, Windows 10, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS. Play with anyone and play anywhere.
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
