It’s been years since I’ve played Minecraft on a regular basis, but I’m still very happy when new features and creatures start to appear in the game. Without fail, it means that the always creative Minecraft players will come up with unexpected ways to use them. The latest Minecraft snapshot adds some parts to the upcoming Caves & Cliffs update, including the bright squid and their shiny ink.
Mojang’s update notes for snapshot 21w03A explain what is possible with the shiny new squid and their ink. They are meant to live in dark caves, but Mojang says they will not generate naturally in this snapshot. For now, you’ll need to create a creative world and use breeding eggs to spawn them.
Of course, I found a small, dark pond and slapped them all and they’re pretty. They even make a small, sweet sound as they float around.
The bright squid aren’t so bright in the new update either. Bright lichen was also added, a light source of the plant that can be found and harvested with scissors in caves.
If you kill a bright squid, they will throw out bags of shiny ink that can be used to make the text on the signs visible from afar. Looks like it can even be colored for extra flair. I’m already interested to see any bright posters come with the players.
As always, Mojang updates caves and cliffs by introducing new snapshot additions for players to try in advance. In other snapshots, so far, they have added blocks of copper and amethyst, as well as those axolotls that everyone is so excited about. Be careful, the axolotls will attack the bright squid, so make sure you don’t let them sit.
If you want to meet the squid yourself, you will want to upload the Minecraft launcher and choose the “last snapshot” in the installation tab. It should be labeled 21w03A.