Did Minecraft 1.18 remove desert?
No, Minecraft‘s major 1.18 "Caves & Cliffs" update did not remove the desert biome entirely, but it did make some changes. Specifically, the desert hills and desert lakes sub-biomes were removed. According to the official 1.18 changelog on the Minecraft Wiki, "The desert hills and desert lakes biomes no longer generate naturally" [1].
So classic sandy deserts still exist, just with less variation in terrain diversity. That said, desert biomes themselves are now even rarer after 1.18 tweaked world generation:
"Desert biomes are now larger and less likely to show up as "microbiomes."" [1]
Breaking down the desert changes in depth
Let‘s go through what exactly Mojang modified with deserts biomes step-by-step, citing Minecraft wiki archives to ensure accuracy:
Desert hills removal
The patch notes state this plainly, but for newer players, desert hills were mountainous, sandy areas that generated with more gold ore and provided a unique landscape variation [2]. Their removal does limit desert diversity somewhat.
Desert lakes removal
Similar to hills, desert lakes added water pools dotting the arid biome for aesthetic and practical purposes. With them gone, water is now only found in rare desert wells [3].
Desert frequency changes
Not only specific sub-biomes got cut, desert biomes themselves generate less after 1.18 tweaks making them "less likely to show up" as small patches. This makes finding deserts organically trickier [1].
Cactus changes
On a positive note, cacti now grow freely in standard deserts, whereas before they only populated the removed desert hills variant. So all deserts have that iconic succulent representation [4].
What parts of deserts still remain?
Mojang‘s changes shook up the biome, but the sandy dune foundation of Minecraft deserts lives on. Here are some mainstay elements that survive:
- Desert temples – Intact with treasure inside [5]
- Desert villages – NPC villages can still spawn naturally [6]
- Desert wells – Extremely rare, but retain infinite water source [7]
- Material composition – Sand, sandstone, dead bushes, etc. unchanged
Could Mojang restore cut desert content?
Minecraft fans have wondered if a future "Desert Update" could come that might re-add the unique deltas that 1.18 stripped away or make desert biomes common again [8]. This remains speculative, but so far Mojang has not indicated plans to walk back these desert tweaks.
If player feedback pushed for change though, the developer has shown willingness rework biomes before, like updating swamps. So through community pressure, tweaks reversing 1.18 cuts remain possible longer term.
Summary
In the end, Minecraft 1.18 kept the desert‘s hot, arid essence while cutting some niche terrain variants and generation frequency. Classic sandy dune deserts still exist with cacti additions, just appearing less often overall after changes aiming to improve biome balance and diversity across worlds [9]. Their core identity persists for now, even if scaled back.
