Minecraft Wild Update snapshot 22w16a is music to our ears

New tunes added alongside a new music disk mechanic

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UPDATE: April 21, 2022 — We are expecting a 22w16c to drop soon as there appears to still be issues with the game crashing, directly related to the spawning of the Allay. This bug has already been reported, so don’t fill in a bug report if you are experiencing this error near a Pillager Outpost or Woodland Mansion.

Mojang Studios is ramping up the frequency of Minecraft’s Java Edition snapshots as we get ever closer to the full release of The Wild Update. This week, we get new music, an update to the Allay, and a brand-new Music Disk mechanic in snapshot 22w16a. Oh, and an almost immediate bug fix with 22w16b.

Minecraft snapshot 22w16b – a bug fix

If you are looking to play the most recent snapshot, do make sure you load into 22w16b. While the changes we’re discussing came in this week’s first snapshot, 22w16a, they are still present in the newer ww16b, which fixed a problem in which players were experiencing game crashes.

Minecraft 1.19 — The Wild Update snapshot 22w16a

New Deep Dark and Wild Update music

Four new tracks by Lena Raine have been added to the in-game soundtrack, as well as the Main Menu track rotation. Ancestry can play while you’re in the Deep Dark biome, while Firebugs, Aerie and Labyrinthine can all play as a player roams the Forest, Jungle, Lush Caves or Swamp biomes. Weirdly, Ancestry is actually on the Caves and Cliffs soundtrack, while the other three are all part of the Wild Update soundtrack, both of which are available to listen to on the likes of Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, Apple Music and more.

New Music Disk “5” and Music Disk Fragments

To complement the new additions to the soundtrack, a new in-game Music Disk has been added as well. “5” is not by Lena Raine, though – or C418, the composer of the first 12 Music Disks – but is by Samuel Aberg, Mojang Studios’ Sound Designer. 5 is similar to 11 and 13 in that it consists of ambient sounds rather than melodic music. The track starts with a flint and steel clicking, before fire crackles, and a bat flaps its wings in the distance. Some music does then come in, before stopping again and leading into a player’s footsteps and other, haunting sound effects from the Deep Dark.

5 also introduces us to the new Disk Fragment mechanic. For the first time, 5 cannot be found as a whole Music Disk, and is instead found in Ancient City Chests as Disk Fragments. Players must collect a total of nine Disk Fragments in order to craft the Music disk in a Crafting Table. According to the Minecraft wiki, this has led to one theory that perhaps the fragments are not all the same disk, resulting in the varying sound effects and brief, misplaced melody making up the disjointed final track.

Changes to the Allay

In the final major change to Minecraft snapshot 22w16a, new mob the Allay has received some major buffs.

Thankfully, the Allay’s health is now doubled from 10 to 20, so the adorable little creature has a better chance of survival out in the wild. The delay to its item throw has been reduced from 5 seconds to 3, so it will throw items out faster, while its item search range has increased from 9 to 32. Following “community feedback”, the Allay’s throw arc has changed, and blue mob’s speed has been altered. While just wandering, the Allay is now slower, but the mob now moves faster than in previous snapshots when collecting items or heading back to the player/a noteblock.

There are a few smaller changes and technical changes in the snapshot. Take a look at the full changelog at Minecraft.net to find out more. And if you aren’t sure how to play on a Java Edition snapshot, then we have a handy, step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

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