Dripstone Caves

Dripstone Caves

Dripstone Caves.png: Infobox image for Dripstone Caves the biome in Minecraft

Dripstone Caves Vibrant Visuals.png: Infobox image for Dripstone Caves the biome in Minecraft

Structures

Mineshaft
Stronghold
Trial Chambers

Features

Dripstone Cluster
Amethyst Geode
Monster Room

Blocks

Dripstone Block
Pointed Dripstone
Water
Copper Ore

Climate

Temperature

0.8‌[Java Edition only]
0.2‌[Bedrock Edition only][1]

Downfall

0.4‌[Java Edition only]
0.0‌[Bedrock Edition only]

Precipitation

Yes

Colors

Grass color


 #91BD59
[JE only]

 #8DB58A
[BE only]

Foliage color


 #77AB2F
[JE only]

 #70A26C
[BE only]

Water color


 #3F76E4
[JE only]

 #44AFF5
[BE only]

Dripstone caves are cave biomes found in inland areas, filled with clusters and pillars of pointed dripstone and dripstone blocks.

Description

A dripstone cluster.

Dripstone caves generate underground at any altitude beneath areas with high continentalness values (≥ 0.8), which means they are usually found far inland, and are essentially never found under ocean biomes or bordering a coast. While dark forests, old growth taigas, bamboo jungles, wooded badlands, and taigas at temperatures of -0.450 and below are almost guaranteed to have lush caves under them, dripstone caves may generate under them instead of lush caves when they're far inland.

A dripstone cave looks similar to a regular cave, but dripstone blocks and pointed dripstone both hanging as stalactites and growing from the ground as stalagmites generate throughout the biome, with small water wells of 1×1 blocks also commonly generated all over the biome. Large dripstone clusters structures occasionally generate inside ravines. This biome also generates larger copper ore blobs compared to other biomes. In Java Edition, drowned are able to spawn in aquifers, unlike in other biomes. Mineshafts, amethyst geodes, monster rooms, trial chambers and glow lichen can be found in dripstone caves like normal, and strongholds also rarely generate.

When exposed to the surface, the surface is made entirely out of stone with occasional patches of dripstone.

Mobs

The following mobs naturally spawn here:

In Java Edition
MobSpawn weightGroup size
Monster category
Creeper1006104
Skeleton1006104
Slime[note 1]1006104
Spider1006104
Drowned[note 2]956101
Zombie956104
Enderman106101–4
Witch56101
Zombie Villager56101
Underground water creature category
Glow Squid14–6
Ambient category
Bat18
  1. Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.
  2. In Mounts of Mayhem[upcoming], adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.
In Bedrock Edition
MobSpawn weightGroup size
Monster category
Creeper1001
Drowned[note 1]1002–4
Slime[note 2]1001
Spider1001
Zombie952–4
Skeleton801–2
Enderman101–2
Witch51
Zombie Villager52–4
Creature category
Glow Squid12–4
  1. In Mounts of Mayhem[upcoming], adult drowned wielding a trident have a 50% chance of spawning mounted on a zombie nautilus.
  2. Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.

Sounds

Music

These music tracks play while the player is in the dripstone caves.

Filename
in Minecraft
Gameplay Soundtrack title Soundtrack Track preview Weight
hal1.ogg The Overworld "Subwoofer Lullaby" Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 3 1
hal4.ogg The Overworld "Danny" Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 21 1
nuance1.ogg The Overworld "Key" Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 1 1
nuance2.ogg The Overworld "Oxygène" Minecraft - Volume Alpha No. 9 1
wending.ogg Dripstone Caves, grove, jagged peaks, and stony peaks "Wending" Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 4 2
infinite_amethyst.ogg Dripstone Caves, and grove "Infinite Amethyst" Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 5 1
an_ordinary_day.ogg Dripstone Caves, and snowy slopes "An Ordinary Day" Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 10 1
deeper.ogg Deep Dark, Dripstone Caves, and Main menu "Deeper" Minecraft: Tricky Trials (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 7 1
eld_unknown.ogg Dripstone Caves, Grove, Jagged Peaks, Stony Peaks, and Main menu "Eld Unknown" Minecraft: Tricky Trials (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 8 2
endless.ogg Dripstone Caves, Grove, Jagged Peaks, Stony Peaks, and Main menu "Endless" Minecraft: Tricky Trials (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 9 2
pokopoko.ogg Dripstone Caves, Grove, Jagged Peaks, Snowy Slopes, and Main menu "pokopoko" Minecraft: Tricky Trials (Original Game Soundtrack) No. 5 2

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierTranslation key
BiomeSprite dripstone-caves.png: Sprite image for dripstone-caves in Minecraft Dripstone Cavesdripstone_cavesbiome.minecraft.dripstone_caves

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID
BiomeSprite dripstone-caves.png: Sprite image for dripstone-caves in Minecraft [No displayed name]dripstone_caves188

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
Adventuring TimeDiscover 17 biomes.Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world.40Silver

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
Adventuring TimeDiscover every biome The advancement is only for Overworld biomes. Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.

History

October 3, 2020The dripstone caves biome is shown at Minecraft Live 2020.
Java Edition
1.1720w49aAdded the dripstone caves.
21w03adripstone_caves display name is now "Dripstone Caves" instead of "Dripstone caves".[2]
1.18Experimental Snapshot 1Dripstone caves now generate naturally.
experimental snapshot 4Larger blobs of copper ore now generate in dripstone caves.
experimental snapshot 5Dripstone caves now place stone instead of grass blocks when they leak out of cave entrances.
21w39aDrowned are now able to spawn in aquifers inside dripstone caves.
Zombies no longer spawn in dripstone caves.
21w40aZombies once again spawn in dripstone caves.
21w44aDripstone caves are now required for the "Adventuring Time" advancement.
Bedrock Edition
1.16.220
Experiment
Caves and Cliffs
beta 1.16.220.50Added the dripstone caves. They don't naturally generate yet and are only accessible through add-ons.
1.17.0
Experiment
Caves and Cliffs
beta 1.17.0.50Dripstone caves now generate throughout the Overworld.
1.17.30
Experiment
Caves and Cliffs
beta 1.17.20.22Dripstone caves can now generate below Y=0 to Y=-64.
1.17.40
Experiment
Caves and Cliffs
beta 1.17.40.21Dripstone caves now place stone instead of grass blocks when they leak out of cave entrances.
1.18.0beta 1.18.0.20Dripstone caves can now generate naturally by default, and no longer have to be enabled with the "Caves and Cliffs" experimental toggle.
Larger blobs of copper ore now generate in dripstone caves.

Data history

Java Edition
1.1821w37aPrior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 174.

Issues

Issues relating to "Dripstone Caves" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

  • The Sơn Đoòng cave in Vietnam was of particular inspiration when coming up with the features of dripstone caves.[3]

Gallery

Screenshots

In other media

See also

References

  1. MCPE-142225 — Dripstone Caves biome temperature is too cold
  2. MC-207250 — Dripstone caves biome name is not properly capitalized — resolved as "Fixed".
  3. "One of the sources of inspiration for the new Minecraft caves & the large dripstone was Hang Son Doong caves in Vietnam. Mind blowing place with 80 meter stalagmites and other craziness!"@henrikkniberg on X (formerly Twitter), February 12, 2021
  4. "Minecraft Caves & Cliffs Update: Part II - Official Trailer" – Minecraft on YouTube, November 30, 2021
  5. "A Tale of Two Friends | Trails & Tales" – Minecraft on YouTube, October 21, 2023

External links

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