The main highlight of Minecraft Live 2024, and the focus of much speculation leading up to the event, is the new Pale Garden biome, which has already intrigued the community. As players begin to explore this spooky area, the overall theme and intended atmosphere of this forested region are becoming clear.
Along with its unique mob, the Pale Garden appears to be the Overworld surface biome designed to balance the terrifying depths of the Deep Dark found in caves below. Additionally, the reveal and experimental snapshot for this new biome provide a glimpse of what feels like concept art, with plenty of room for additions and modifications. For players eager to explore these woods carefully, here are 5 things to know about the Minecraft Pale Garden so far.
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1. Biome Ambiance
One of the more intriguing yet somewhat unclear aspects of the Pale Garden is its sound design, which emphasizes ambiance in Minecraft, reminiscent of the time when fireflies were still in the game. While most biomes are typically quiet aside from mob sounds and music, the Pale Garden is particularly silent, enhancing its eerie atmosphere.
In addition to the unusual quietness of the new biome, there appears to be a new way to incorporate ambient sounds. Certain blocks in the Pale Garden now produce specific sounds at night, such as the Creaking Heart, which adds an extra layer of eeriness. Beyond these current features, there’s great potential for introducing more ambient sounds, like leaves rustling or waves crashing, enhancing the overall atmosphere.
2. Pale Flora
For players looking to introduce new shades of gray to their builds or add a gothic touch to nature-themed designs, the Pale Garden features a selection of pale plants and a unique biome color. With new moss blocks and ghostly leaves available, there’s a distinct but limited variety to choose from.
True to its name, the Pale Garden features drastically desaturated versions of typically green blocks, including standard grass and even jungle trees, making it an excellent choice for spookier builds. In terms of unique blocks, the pale leaves are now white across all biomes, offering strong potential for winter-themed designs. Additionally, the hanging moss provides great texture for underground builds, with the advantage that this hanging plant does not grow by itself.
3. The Creaking Heart
Described by developers as a "living block," the Creaking Heart serves as the true monster in the Pale Garden, using the Creaking as mere puppets to haunt, harm, and stalk players, fitting perfectly into the Bundles of Bravery theme. It is surprisingly well-hidden from a Vanilla perspective, so players will likely need an axe to chop down trees and remove the Creaking. As of the first experimental snapshot, the Creaking Heart blocks are finite and do not appear when players grow pale oak trees.
The Creaking Heart, a living block, grants players the Monster Hunter and Monsters Hunted advancements, typically reserved for standard zombies and creepers. This unique block essentially functions as a mob, controlling the Creaking. By silk touching the heart and placing it between two upright logs, players can create their own Creaking spawner. When activated at night, a distinctive "awakening" sound plays. Additionally, attacking the Creaking mob produces a chilling "Creaking Heart screams" sound, further enhancing the eerie atmosphere of the garden.
4. New White Wood Blocks
For players focused on building, the Pale Garden introduces a brand-new wood type, adding white wood blocks to the game. While there are already various white blocks for design purposes, this new wood set provides builders with doors, fences, buttons, pressure plates, and more to work with.
Pale Oak provides a great deal of versatility for players, with the main requirement being to locate the Pale Garden biome. With saplings, leaves, stripped log variants, and standard plank blocks, there's a diverse selection of monochromatic blocks for builders to utilize effectively.
5. The Creaking
The latest addition to the Minecraft roster, the Creaking, is a hostile mob that can only be found in the Pale Garden and currently drops no items when defeated. Clearly inspired by Weeping Angel mechanics, this living tree monster isn’t a significant threat on its own, but it can quickly become a problem when encountered in larger groups.
The Creaking is essentially invulnerable compared to other recent hostile mobs like the Warden and the Breeze, and it can even trap the Warden in a loop of continuous attacks with no effect. Players can instantly destroy the Creaking once they locate the Creaking Heart that controls it, as currently, one Heart spawns and governs one Creaking. Until players find that Heart, they cannot harm the Creaking. While it doesn’t deal significant damage—only half a heart even against end-game armor—the real danger comes from overwhelming numbers. Its speed also means it can finish off players with low health after they've battled other mobs. Fortunately, as long as players keep the Creaking in their line of sight, it will remain unable to move.
>>> Read also: Minecraft Creaking Mob: Everything You Should Know