After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

GamesSurvival & CraftingMinecraftAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Microsoft - Mojang)

New warm and cold pigs

There have been pigs in Minecraft for the last 15 years, but until now, they’ve all just been cut from the same cloth. The new warm pig can be found in hot biomes like the desert or the badlands, while the cold pig is covered in fluffy fur to keep them warm in sub-zero temperatures found in the snow biome.

If you do end up checking this update out early, then you can also report any bugs you encounter: “The Pig Positivity Score (which I’m pretty sure pigs themselves made up) has shot through the roof since this came into testing,” the official Minecraftblog post says. “But when you trek out to meet our new pigs, please report any oink-usual behavior to your nearest pig representative atbugs.mojang.com.”

I’m just so happy that we’re finally getting more variations for pigs. Last year, Mojangintroduced nine new dog types to vanilla Minecraft, which was a huge move for collectors like myself. But since then, I’ve been eagerly waiting for more mob variants. There are a couple of options for animals, like cows, which also have the Mooshroom andthe sadly deceased Moobloom, but otherwise, animals in Minecraft can get a little boring at times.

(Image credit: Microsoft - Mojang)

Cold Pigs walking around

There’s nothing wrong with this, but as someone who likes customising builds for the biome that I’m in, I’ve ended up using mods to give me more animal variations for every kind of climate.

My favourite mod right now is theMore Mob Variantspack, which adds more types of cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, dogs, and more. With this, I can have a French bulldog or a husky instead of a plain old wolf, collect tons of wooly, cookie, or umbra cows for my farm, or even keep amber, golden crested, and stormy chickens as pets.

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(Image credit: nyuppo)

Cow variants

This update also includes more than just the warm and cold pigs. There are also new ambient features in the forest biomes, such as wildflowers, falling leaves, and leaf litter on the ground, making a crunching sound when you walk over it.

“On your next expeditions into forests, dark forests, and wooded badlands, listen out for the crunch of leaves underfoot,” the blog post says. “Leaf litter makes a rustling sound when you walk through it and can be used to decorate other blocks. In meadows, birch forests, and old-growth birch forests, you will instead find wildflowers. These yellow and white flowers can be crafted into dye and have four growth stages that speed up with bonemeal. Place them at different angles to have your builds bloom in different patterns!”

Ambient features like these are one of the silent heroes in Minecraft. It’s what makes this game so peaceful and cosy (provided you’re not playing on hardcore), and it has always been one of my favourite elements of the game. So crunchy leaves are a huge win in my books.

Lastly, the loadstone’s recipe is changing, making it easier to build the beacon that’ll lead you back to your base, so you’ll never get lost foraging or exploring again. The new recipe just calls for an iron ingot and eight chiseled bricks.

(Image credit: Microsoft - Mojang)

Walking on fallen leaves

Last September,during Minecraft Live, Mojang announced that it would beapproaching updates differentlyfrom there on out. Instead of releasing new features as part of a massive update that would be announced during Minecraft Live, the decision was made to scrap these and release updates holistically throughout the year.

I was initially quite sad to hear this news as I’ve always seen Minecraft Live as a milestone of my gaming year, and I fondly remember the excitement and anticipation of waiting to see what the new theme would be—Caves and Cliffsis still my all-time favourite update. But since this news, we’ve received a wholenew biome, The Pale Garden, and a new mob, The Creaking, as well as this new update with the ambient pigs. So I’m actually starting to prefer the little and often method, if only because we’re getting fun little features to explore on a more regular basis.

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