Minecraft 1.20 Trails & Tales update: All major features explained

Minecraft 1.20, also known as the Trails & Tales update, may not have been released quite yet, but it's only a matter of time. Thanks to the snapshots and previews that Mojang has been releasing in the lead-up to the update, players have had a chance to enjoy its new features. However, not every player may be in the loop when it comes to reading up on every new implementation.

The long-awaited release date of Minecraft 1.20 likely isn't far away, so some fans are doing all they can to learn about the major changes and additions being made in Trails & Tales. Fortunately, the new features aren't particularly complex and should broaden the enjoyment of the game substantially.

In the event that Minecraft fans have missed out on the major features of 1.20, it's not a bad time to review them.

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Breaking down the biggest features in Minecraft's 1.20 update

1) Archeology Arrives

After being delayed in Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs update, archeology is finally making its grand appearance in update 1.20.

By using a brush made from feathers, sticks, and copper ingots, players can brush new blocks known as suspicious sand and suspicious gravel. Doing so can reward them with many different items and blocks, including the new pottery "sherds" that can be assembled into decorated pots with different designs.

Additionally, players can collect sniffer eggs, allowing them to hatch the winner of the Minecraft Mob Vote in 2022.

Archeology blocks have been added to multiple in-game structures, including desert pyramids and ocean ruins. A new generated structure known as trail ruins has also been introduced. These locations are some of the best for conducting archeological digs in update 1.20.

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2) New Bamboo Wood Blocks

Bamboo certainly had its uses in Minecraft before 1.20, but the options for players were pretty limited. Trails & Tales will turn bamboo into its own wood type without the need for a tree.

Bamboo stalks can be combined into a bamboo block, which operates similarly to wood blocks. This block can be converted into planks or the bamboo mosaic block. These blocks can then be converted into slabs, stairs, doors, and more much like other traditional wood types.

Bamboo planks can even be formed into a new boat type known as the raft, which operates like normal boats but with a different appearance.

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3) Cherry Grove Biomes and Cherry Wood

The modding community had introduced cherry blossom groves to Minecraft for years, but Mojang is finally doing the same for the vanilla build of the game. These new grove biomes can be found adjacent to mountains and feature the pink-hued cherry trees that give them their namesake.

Like other wood types, these cherry trees can be made into planks and many of their building block variants. Their saplings can be planted to grow cherry trees outside of the grove.

Cherry groves also generate a new block known as pink petals, which can be grown and harvested to craft pink dye.

Much like bamboo wood, cherry wood planks can be made into buttons, pressure plates, doors, trapdoors, and boats as well as many other wooden block variants in the crafting menu.

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4) Smithing Table Rework and Smithing Templates

Before Minecraft 1.20, the smithing table didn't amount to much aside from being a profession block for villagers and giving players the ability to upgrade some of their gear.

However, Trails & Tales gives the smithing table extra functionality through the addition of smithing templates. These new items can be looted in generated structures. They allow fans to upgrade their gear to netherite quality while also providing several new armor trims, which are customizable patterns that can be applied to armor for visual flair.

Some Minecraft fans have decried the fact that smithing templates are now needed to upgrade tools, weapons, and armor into their netherite iterations. However, the good news is that smithing templates can be cloned so players won't have to spend inordinate amounts of time scouring structures for loot.

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5) The Sniffer and Ancient Plants

The sniffer was earmarked to appear in Minecraft 1.20 after it won 2022's Mob Vote contest, and the creature should fit in nicely with the world's most beloved sandbox game.

The sniffer is the first ancient mob introduced to the game and will only be accessible by hatching one via finding a sniffer egg using archeology. These eggs can be found in warm ocean ruins structures and brushed from suspicious sand blocks. They can be hatched by being placed on the ground. After hatching, a baby sniffer known as a snifflet will emerge.

Once a player has a fully grown sniffer in Minecraft, the creature can roam dirt and dirt-adjacent blocks and sniff around for ancient plants. After finding their scent, the sniffer will dig up ancient seeds for new plants such as the torchflower and the pitcher plant, which players can then cultivate in farmland blocks and grow into mature specimens.

Much like other mobs, sniffers can also be bred by using torchflower seeds, and they'll create a new sniffer egg upon breeding.

Sniffers are passive mobs in Minecraft 1.20 and won't attack players or other mobs when threatened, but players can heal them by feeding them torchflower seeds as well. All in all, these hulking creatures should make for a friendly and welcome addition to the game's expanding roster of mobs.

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6) Camels

Another Minecraft mob that many modders had implemented for years, camels are making their vanilla debut in the 1.20 update. These docile creatures are the latest form of mob-based transportation, and they can even carry two players on their backs, unlike horses, mules, and donkeys.

Camels can be found spawning in desert villages exclusively, and players will need to equip them with a saddle to ride them with full control.

Additionally, Minecraft camels can be healed and bred by being fed cactus blocks. After breeding, two adult camels will create a baby camel and incur the five-minute cooldown that most in-game mobs receive after breeding.

Cactus blocks can also be used to heal injured camels, which should be helpful for players who use these creatures to travel into potentially dangerous areas.