It's that time again! Minecraft Snapshot 21W14A has arrived, bringing some small but significant changes to the way Iron, Gold, and Copper ore works (and the usual batch of bug fixes, too).
Minecraft has consistently been launching updates to its beta branches on both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Both of these versions are slowly testing out more and more content for the upcoming Caves & Cliffs update that's expected to arrive later this summer. Now, a new update is making a change to something that's been in Minecraft since 2009 — Iron ore.
What's New in Minecraft Snapshot 21W14A?
The biggest change coming in Minecraft Snapshot 21W14A is with three of the game's ores: Iron, Gold, and the newly introduced Copper. The days of getting an ore block with your pickaxe are now over.
As of this Snapshot, breaking either Iron, Gold, or Copper will give players a new associated "ore" item, similar to how Coal, Redstone, and Diamonds function. What this means is that players who might have enjoyed using Iron, Gold, or Copper ore blocks for building are now going to have to use a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch to get these blocks.
Naturally, this Snapshot also has some bug fixes. The ability to clean oxidized Copper that was introduced a few weeks ago will now properly work on fully oxidized Copper. Pillager spawning in outposts has been reduced a fair amount, and a bug with empty ocean monuments should also be fixed.
As always, you can read about all of the changes in the full Minecraft Snapshot 21W14A patch notes. You can check out this latest batch of Caves & Cliffs changes by buying Minecraft Java Edition via its official website.
What do you think of the changes to Iron, Gold, and Copper in the latest Snapshot? Have you enjoyed using Copper in your builds? Let us know in the comments below!