Minecraft has one of the best and most documented game development processes of all time. And for more than a decade since its release, Minecraft players have been able to experience the game’s wonderful and mysterious blocky world. Throughout the years, there have been many versions of Minecraft that Mojang released, with each update better than the last.
Each of these updates created uniqueness that added new changes and new things for players to interact with and enjoy during their gameplay. While a few of these changes were not met well with criticism from players or were not as drastic of a change as the previous update, each version of Minecraft still contributed to the game that players know and love today. This article will show you the top 5 versions of Minecraft since it was first released, marking significant changes to the game itself.
The 5 Best Minecraft Versions of All Time
5. Minecraft 1.11 Update
One of the best updates in the game, the 1.11 Exploration Update, brought in lots of unique structures and exciting new mobs to discover.
This Minecraft update also added shulker boxes which has since been considered to be one of the game’s most beloved items because of their innate ability to become an extra space in a player’s inventory by allowing the players to carry the entire shulker box in their inventory without dropping any of the items inside. Hence, this update also gave the players more reason to hunt down the shulker mobs that spawn and protect the end cities solely for the shulker shells they drop, which players need to craft the shulker boxes.
However, the main appeal of this Minecraft update is the addition of the woodland mansion. The woodland mansion is considered one of the game’s largest structures to date. It is incredibly rare to find; players must explore to locate this mysterious mansion in the middle of the woods. And since the woodland mansion was added, Mojang also added illagers such as indicators and evokers that protect the mansion from the inside.
Other additions included in this Minecraft update are llamas, totems of undying, and the new woodland explorer map that can only be purchased from a cartographer villager. The woodland explorer map will be the sole key, aside from using cheats, for players to pinpoint the location of the nearest woodland mansion. For sure, this Minecraft 1.11 update lived up to its name, the exploration update.
4. Minecraft 1.5 Update
Back in 2013, this update was one of the biggest and most integral updates in Minecraft, as it was the update that introduced redstone to the game. Redstone adds incredible complexity and the ability for players who are experienced with it to create numerous and incredible automated farm and storage systems. This update also added almost all of the items and blocks that were able to make modern redstone possible. These items and blocks included activator rails, redstone blocks, droppers, weighted pressure plates, comparators, hoppers, and more. The update also included other items aside from redstone such as nether quartz along with the recipes for all of the quartz blocks, which made things easier for players looking to create builds in a more modern way.
3. Minecraft 1.14 Update
Widely known as the Village and Pillage Update, the Minecraft 1.14 update majorly overhauled many different mechanics in the game that became incredibly iconic. This major update completely revamped the game design associated with the villagers and villages in Minecraft. This was done by creating new designs for both villages and villagers depending on the specific biome they spawn in, allowing the villages to have a more unique and real look.
This update also added raids in villages, allowing totems of undying farmable for the first time. Aside from that, foxes were also added to the taiga biome and have been one of the game’s most adorable mobs so far. However, the major overhaul of the update was mainly focused on the villager trading system of the game. This completely changed trading for players and villagers, making this game mechanic all the more important for players in survival mode. This also made villager trading the best and easiest way to get some of the most powerful items available in Minecraft, such as enchanted armor and enchanted books.
2. Minecraft 1.17 Update
The Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Update was one of Minecraft’s most hyped updates. As one of the game’s biggest updates, the developers decided to release the entirety of the 1.17 update into three parts, namely Caves and Cliffs Parts One and Two, and The Wild Update. This major update promised to revamp the world generation entirely. Part One added things such as moss, copper, geodes, deep slates, and the adorable axolotl mob. Part One also added the new item spyglass to provide a use for both the amethyst and the copper blocks.
Part Two completely overhauled the world generation by adding substantial height to the world in positive and negative Y values. This included the generation and layout of caves beneath the surface, with three new biomes included in the update: dripstone caves, lush caves, and flooded caves. And the final part of the update is the Wild Update, which was released later than the first two. The best and final part of the update included the new deep dark cave biome, the ancient city structure, and the terrifying warden mob.
1. Minecraft 1.16 Update
The Nether Update is considered the most beloved update in the history of Minecraft. This update completely changed the Nether from being vast expanses of nothing but lava into a dimension brimming with potential for exploration and new challenges to face. The Nether Update added four new biomes in the Nether: the crimson forest, warped forest, basalt deltas, and the soul sand valley.
Along with these new biomes, the update also added the basion remnant structure and their piglin inhabitants, which players can barter gold for certain resources. This update also added the strongest resource players could use to craft weapons and armor, Netherite.
