Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.10.20 inches closer to final release of the 'Caves and Cliffs Update' first half

What you need to know

• Mojang Studios is working on the major 'Caves and Cliffs Update' for Minecraft, which is split into two parts.
• The first half is nearing completion for release later this summer, and is in the final stages of development with Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.10.20.
• This beta release includes lots of bug fixes and tweaks for features in the upcoming 'Caves and Cliffs Update' release.
• A Pre-Release Minecraft: Java Edition snapshot for the 'Caves and Cliffs Update' should arrive tomorrow.

If you actively participate in the development of Minecraft with Minecraft: Bedrock Edition betas and Minecraft: Java Edition snapshots, today is a pretty exciting day. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.10.20 is rolling out to Minecraft testers on Xbox, Windows 10, and Android platforms with a host of bug fixes, tweaks, and feature changes to look forward to. By itself, this is a pretty mundane release. However, this beta officially signifies that the hype-worthy Caves and Cliffs Update is entering its final stage of development for the first half releasing later this summer.

Strange version number aside (Mojang Studios has noted in the recent past not to pay as much attention to version numbers), Beta 1.17.10.20 indicates that we're only a few weeks or months away from seeing the fruits of Mojang Studios' labors, which will add up to 91 new blocks and items to Minecraft and a ton of other awesome changes in the two-part Caves and Cliffs Update. The larger second half, which will include more generational and world-focused changes, is slated to arrive later this year in the winter.

If you're looking for the Minecraft: Java Edition counterpart to this beta, it's not going to arrive today. An unexpected issue means PC players shouldn't expect the next snapshot until tomorrow at the earliest. However, it has been confirmed that this will be the first Pre-Release snapshot for the 'Caves and Cliffs Update,' once again indicating that we're nearing release.

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The full changelog for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.10.20 includes:

Features & bug fixes

Vanilla parity

• Thunderstorms now happen as often as on Minecraft: Java Edition

Axolotl

• Axolotls no longer move their tails while playing dead
• Feeding Axolotls with Bucket of Tropical Fish now returns Water Bucket instead of empty Bucket
• Axolotl's hitbox is now smaller to match the size of the mob
• Guardians and Elder Guardians now attack Axolotl on sight
• Drowned now attack Axolotls on sight

Azalea

• Azalea can now be bone-mealed when placed on Clay
• Using Pick Block on Azalea Leaves and Flowering Azalea Leaves now results in the correct blocks being picked

Copper ore

• Copper Ore is now placed after other overworld ores in the Creative inventory

Deepslate

• Deepslate is now placed after other stones in the Creative inventory

Glow item frame

• Glow Item Frame is now placed after regular Item Frame in the Creative inventory

Hanging roots

• Hanging Roots are now destroyed by water

Lightning rod

• Lightning Rod no longer breaks falling blocks that land on it

Rooted dirt

• Rooted Dirt texture is not randomly rotated, matching the behavior of the regular Dirt Block

Character creator

• Items can now be previewed in the Character Creator and equipped using the Equip button
• Added Equip button to Classic Skins and Capes tab

Commands

• /title clear now correctly clears the title and subtitle from the HUD

Dressing room

• Profile screen reload button is now localized

Gameplay

• Fixed split-screen players not able to rename items on Anvils

Graphical

• Projectiles such as Snowballs and Eggs no longer cast shadows

Items

• All dropped items now have a similar floating height
• Data-driven items now swing faster when not targeting blocks
• Firework Rockets obtained from /replaceitem command now have a flight duration
• Firework Stars obtained from /replaceitem command now have proper color values

Lush caves

• Small Dripleaf now only drops itself when broken with Shears

Skeleton

• Skeletons now turn into Strays after 20 seconds in Powder Snow, reduced from 45 seconds

Powder snow

• Burning mobs can no longer destroy Powder Snow when the Mob Griefing gamerule is disabled

User interface

• Hotbar item tooltip duration now scales with the length of the tooltip's text
• Added a new accessibility icon in the Settings menu

Technical updates

Gameplay

• Loot chests with Seed=0 now correctly randomize if placed on the same coordinates. Note that pickblocking a Vanilla loot chest before opening it will now result in identical loot in each copy unless you set the seed to 0 in the NBT

Data driven mobs

• The Ender Dragon rendering and animations are now fully data-driven
• The Ender Crystal rendering and animations are now fully data-driven

Graphics

• Graphics hardware that supports a maximum D3D11 feature level of 9_3 or below are no longer supported

Stability & performance

• Added better error handling for json parsing. Also added several new content errors for item parsing as well as for loot tables

Actors

• Incoming client-sync properties for newly seen types will properly register with client-side Actor Property Manager groups

Molang

• query.wing_flap_position now works with the Ender Dragon
• Added query.show_bottom - a query for determining whether or not the entity's bottom is rendered
• Added query.death_time - a query for determining the elapsed ticks since a mob started dying
• Added math.min_angle - a math expression for minimizing the angle magnitude (in degrees) into the range (-180, 180)

Experimental features

GameTest framework

• Updated the /clearall command to also clear tests outside of loaded areas
• Dimension
  • getEntitiesAtBlockLocation(location : BlockLocation) : Entity[] - Returns an array of all entities at the given block location
  • spawnEntity(identifier : String, location : BlockLocation) : Entity - Spawns an entity with the given identifier at the given block location
  • Removed function getName()
  • property id : String - Gets the entity's identifier
  • property nameTag : String - Gets or sets the entity's name tag
• Player
• property name : String - Gets the player's name
• method getPlayers() : Player[] - Returns all players in the server