Minecraft guide: How to find hoglins in the Nether Update
Tame the hoglins, if you can.
Minecraft is getting its first major update in a while, and it's revamping the Nether like never before. The Nether Update is adding new biomes, new blocks and items, and new mobs. One of those new mobs is clearly the most important addition to Minecraft in the Nether Update: the hoglins. Originally called piglin beasts, these aggressive animals are angry cousins of the pig, and are the only source of food in the Nether. They're violent, rowdy, and difficult to tame, but they're kinda cute so we can forgive that.
In this guide, we'll go over where you can find the elusive hoglins in the Nether Update.
How to find hoglins in the Nether Update
Find hoglins in Minecraft doesn't require a lot of thinking, but does need a bit of luck. They're only found in one place, and that's the crimson forest biome, one of the three new biomes being introduced in the Nether Update. The crimson forest is hard to miss, since it trades the dark, moody reds of mainland Nether for bright, violent splashes of crimson colors, and trades plumes of lava for matching vegetation known as crimson fungi. Hoglins can only spawn here, while piglins (the new humanoid mob being added in the update) and zombified piglins (the replacement for zombie pigmen) can also be found here.
Hoglins spawn in packs of between one and four, and can occasionally have baby hoglins in their midst as well. They will attack on sight, so be prepared to defend yourself if you're considering the hunt. Hoglins are the only hostile mob in Minecraft that can be bred, and one of the only ones that drop food for you to eat. This makes them very valuable in the Nether, but it also means that, like everything in the Nether, they're dangerous.
They should be common inside of crimson forests, so as long as you find a crimson forest there's a good chance you'll find a hoglin pack. Like other mobs, hoglins can also respawn over time, so the population should slowly return if you wipe them out for food. You can also use crimson fungi breed additional hoglins if you want to make sure you have a continuous supply of edible friends.
New edible friends
The hoglin is an interesting addition to Minecraft, to say the least, if only because it hits a couple of firsts: the first hostile mob that can be bred, the first hostile mob that provides a real source of food, and the first mob to do either in the Nether. And they're not hard to find, as long as you're lucky enough to have a crimson forest near your location. They may be a bit mean, and may try and kill you before you kill them, but I still see them as friends ... that happen to be edible.
Are you going to look for hoglins in the Nether Update? How excited are you?
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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.