Minecraft keeps adding new biomes to the game. Each new location is a rich place of new blocks, items, and mobs. Among them is the deep dark biome, which we will explore today.
Deep dark
This is a biome introduced far into the game’s lifespan. Its presence adds more layers to the underground exploration than previously present. Rather than crossing a few of the biomes found underground, deep dark now rewards us with a new area to explore once we dig deep enough.
A deep dark biome in Minecraft will take a lot of digging to find. If you are looking for one, it’s best to take a few pickaxes with you. The first thing to consider is your position. Often, it’s easier to find a deep dark biome if you start digging from the top of a mountain. Deep dark will only be findable once you get into negatives on the Y-axis. Deep dark can also lead to an ancient city.
Ancient city
An ancient city is a structure found in the deep dark biomes, which usually harbor chests with rather rare and unique items. This structure is made of long corridors with some rugs around the place.
Ancient cities spin off into smaller ruins on each side that you can further explore. In general, an ancient city is pretty elaborate and worth exploring. It also has Redstone circuitry you can harvest right under the frame at the city center. This can save you time crafting that same circuitry.
Sculk blocks
Unique blocks in the deep dark are the sculk blocks. These blocks are alien in appearance, and some of them have odd abilities. A standard sculk block is a dark block with glowing decorations on it. It doesn’t illuminate anything, as this glow is purely for aesthetical purposes.
Sculk catalyst is another sculk block, but this time with a twist. It will spend more sculk blocks through the death of a mob. If a mob that bears experience dies near it, the sculk catalyst will generate more sculks. This includes the following two sculk blocks, sensor and shrieker.
Sculk sensor does what it says, it sends a signal when it detects things nearby. This signal can be used to trigger redstones. A sculk sensor can also be avoided by placing wool over the area it detects and walking over it.
Sculk sensors will often alert sculk shriekers, unique blocks with a single purpose, making noise. Sculk shriekers will put the Darkness effect on players, impairing their abilities. Worse yet, they’ll summon the unique mob of deep dark, the warden.
Deep dark mobs
The only hostile mob found within the deep dark is the warden. This mob is an absolute threat to any player. They have a lot of health, more than any other mob in the game, a lot of damage, and a ranged attack that can ignore all forms of block or damage reduction.
The warden has but a single weakness. It is completely blind. Therefore, it relies on sound and smell to find players. It achieves this through sculk shrieker blocks which can emit a loud sound that alerts the warden. Initially, this alert will spawn the warden, while any successive triggers will warn the warden of the player’s location instead.