Posted: 23 March 2022

WARNING: Opening your worlds in the beta can corrupt chunks!

UPDATE: This issue has been resolved in version 1.18.30.30/31.

We've identified an issue in the current Beta and Preview version that causes chunks to become corrupted below Y=0. We're working on releasing a new version to prevent this issue from occurring. To avoid corrupted chunks, please refrain from opening your worlds until an update has been released.

Information on the Minecraft Preview and Beta:

Preview Version: 1.18.30.29 | Beta Version: 1.18.30.28
While the version numbers between Preview and Beta are different, there is no difference in game content
These work-in-progress versions can be unstable and may not be representative of final version quality
Minecraft Preview is available on Xbox, Windows 10/11, and iOS devices. More information can be found at aka.ms/PreviewFAQ
The beta is available on Xbox, Windows 10/11, and Android (Google Play). To join or leave the beta, see aka.ms/JoinMCBeta for detailed instructions

Hey! Who turned off the light? And the sound? It’s very dark and very, very quiet in here. Uh-oh. That must mean…no. Already? Well, judging by the glowing sculk blocks around me, the Deep Dark biome has made it into this week’s Beta! Come on down if you dare, there are sculk blocks to study and stealthy sneaking to be snuck. You don’t have to be super careful this time around, since you will truly be alone down here. But prepare yourself, a warden will arrive eventually.

Here's a list of what is new in this week's Beta! As always please search and report any bugs you may find at bugs.mojang.com.

Experimental Features

Deep Dark

Dig into the depths far underground to uncover the darkest biome in Minecraft - the Deep Dark
- Dimly lit and eerie, the Deep Dark is sure to strike fear into the hearts of even the most brave player
- The surfaces of the Deep Dark are covered in Sculk
- The only mob that calls the Deep Dark home is the Warden
- Please note: The Warden hasn’t made its way into the game yet, but it’s getting ready for its big debut!

Axes

Vanilla Parity: Attacks with Axes towards a raised Shield will disable the Shield for 5 seconds

Boat with Chest

Function similarly to Minecart Chests, but in Boats instead, so you can take a journey on the water and carry your things with you
Crafted by combining a Chest with any Boat

Allay

Allay now has a delay for picking new items after delivering items (MCPE-152978)
Allay will now only pick up the exact same item it holds
Allays will now stay close to a Note Block that has been played near it
Allay are now immune to damage from its owner

Data-Driven Items

Added an optional "mob_amount" parameter to the Damage Event Response that specifies a unique damage amount when used by mobs

Copper Horn

We don’t have any additional changes planned for the Copper Horn, but we would love to hear more about what you think of this experimental feature, and how you might use it if it made it into the final update! Send us your feedback here: aka.ms/MCGoatsFeedback

Features and Bug Fixes

Mobile Controls

Fixed issue where sensitivity was too low in new touch control schemes (MCPE-152985)
Fixed a case where the "Highlight Always On" option was visible for the 'Touch' interaction mode (MCPE-152972)
Fixed issue where buttons for new mobile control schemes were too large and too high on some devices

Gameplay

Fixed underwater lava lakes not turned into Obsidian during world generation (MCPE-128022)
Healing no longer causes a mob to be immune to damage (MCPE-152957)
Fixed tick range check excluding chunks that were actually in range
Breaking a layer of snow placed in the same block as a flower no longer destroys the flower (MCPE-151512)

Hoglins

Baby Hoglins now attack players (MCPE-152577)

User Interface

Double tapping the crouch button will no longer toggle fly mode (MCPE-152973)
Fixed issue where sprint state was not resumed after hitting an obstacle when holding the Ctrl key (MCPE-152979)

Technical Updates

Actors

Added in check to prevent an actor that is a passenger from being ridden by the vehicle it is on preventing an infinite loop looking for the root vehicle (MCPE-133774)

Mobs

Rotation when riding a mob that has a locked rotation will no longer unexpectedly snap to one side when that mob is rotating

WebSocket

JSON format for events sent from websocket server and Code Builder APIs updated to hierarchical JSON format instead of flat format
Less useful properties removed with block and item IDs moved to newer name-based format instead of numerical format
Agent-based commands in websockets moved to new "action:agent" format, and all commands are now queued and include unique IDs to correlate responses
Any future breaking changes to websocket and Code Builder APIs will now result in the "protocolVersion" being incremented

Minecraft Beta & Preview - 1.18.30.28/29