Minecraft Preview 26.60.29: Ice Caves and Frostbites Arrive
Minecraft Preview 26.60.29 brings the first look at the winter game drop with new Ice Cave biomes, hostile Frostbite mobs, and a chilling Freezing effect. The preview is now available for testing on Bedrock Edition, with feedback encouraged through the official channels.
The Ice Cave Biome
A brand new cave biome is generating beneath colder Overworld biomes. Ice Caves are built from Packed Ice and Calcite, creating a distinct visual theme compared to regular caves. Massive icicles hang from the ceiling and stand on the ground, while occasional snow patches dot the landscape. Ore veins still generate throughout the biome, embedded in pockets of Stone and Deepslate. Unlike normal caves, Glow Lichen doesn't spawn here, leaving Ice Crystals as the only natural light source. This gives these caves a unique atmospheric feel.
Strays and Frostbites spawn naturally in Ice Caves alongside standard cave mobs. The absence of Glow Lichen creates a deliberate environmental difference that plays into both aesthetics and survival gameplay.
The Frostbite Mob
Meet the Frostbite, a new zombie variant with cold-themed attacks. This mob switches between melee and ranged combat depending on distance and ammunition availability. Up close, Frostbites deal damage and apply the Freezing effect through their melee strikes. At range, they'll throw Ice Balls that deal impact damage and knockback.
The mob's behavior includes some unusual traits. It can stand on top of Powder Snow without sinking, and it's completely immune to freezing effects itself. If a Frostbite spends enough time underwater, it'll transform into a regular Zombie. Honestly, baby variants exist with dedicated animations for both melee and Ice Ball throws. Frostbites drop Rotten Flesh and Ice Balls when defeated. Existing Zombies and Husks will also transform into Frostbites when inside Powder Snow.
Freezing Effect and Ice Balls
The new Freezing effect is a hostile mob effect applied by Frostbite melee attacks. Players affected will shake, see their jump height reduced, and gradually take damage as the effect progresses. Affected players slowly become frozen as if standing in Powdered Snow for the effect's duration. Wearing Leather Armor won't prevent the effect from being applied or remove it once active, but it'll keep players from becoming frozen (similar to how Leather protects against Powder Snow).
Mobs with freezing vulnerabilities take extra damage while affected by Freezing, with a five times multiplier applied. Ice Balls are the projectile weapon of choice for Frostbites. They deal 4 damage on direct hits, scaling down based on velocity, and break on impact with blocks or entities. Players can now brew Lingering Potions, Splash Potions, and regular Potions of Freezing using Ice Balls. Arrows of Freezing can be crafted by dipping arrows into a cauldron filled with Potion of Freezing.
New Crystal Blocks
Two new crystal blocks add variety to Ice Caves. Ice Crystals are a light-emitting block similar to Amethyst Clusters. They generate naturally on top of Packed Ice and emit light in all directions.
A known issue: these blocks are currently smaller than intended. They break if their support block is removed and can be placed in any direction.
Icicles work as speleothem-like blocks, similar to Dripstone and Sulfur Spikes. They can grow up to 5 blocks long when pointing downward, but only in areas without nearby light sources and never in the Nether. When they fall, they damage anything in their path, with extra damage to entities that land on them. Icicles break when exposed to nearby light or while in the Nether (except for the base block).
Bug Fixes and Polish
This preview addresses numerous stability and gameplay issues. A duplication bug where players could duplicate items by holding one item and walking into a dropped stack of the same item while their inventory was full has been fixed.
Redstone dust rendering now works correctly when climbing block sides. Cushions in unloaded chunks no longer disappear when chunks reload. An issue where split Slimes would inherit their parent's properties has been corrected.
Graphical improvements include fixes to the End flash size in Fancy graphics mode, now matching Java Edition more closely. UI elements no longer appear in world preview images when using Vibrant Visuals on Nintendo Switch 2. Some invisible inventory items when using non-default Display Brightness and anti-aliasing settings have been fixed. Distance fog no longer appears overly bright when rendered in front of water.
The main menu has received a visual refresh with improved performance through a rebuilt UI system. An updated first-time accessibility setup is included, with more main menu updates rolling out gradually. Out-of-game Ore UI screens now load faster. Realms download and upload speeds have improved significantly, with upload improvements coming in the next week.
Getting Involved
Feedback on the new features is being collected at aka.ms/mc-gamedrop_winter26. Bug reports can be submitted to bugs.mojang.com. The preview is available now for Bedrock Edition players who want to test the experimental features before they reach the full release.
Lead writer at minecraft.how. Long-time Minecraft player running a small SMP server, testing every build, mod, and seed before writing about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is the Frostbite mob and where does it spawn?
How do I defend against the Freezing effect?
Are Ice Caves a permanent addition or just experimental?
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