Copper from the ‘Caves and Cliffs Update’ is in the latest Minecraft beta

Minecraft is rolling out the red carpet for its latest beta, which is heading out to all beta testers on Xbox, Windows 10, and Android today. Minecraft Beta 1.16.210.57 includes a handful of bug fixes and general improvements, and nothing particularly impressive on its own. However, this beta does add more features to the “Experimental Features” toggle that can be enabled in settings. That’s right, even more features from the upcoming Caves and Cliffs Update can be found in this beta with the addition of copper and lightning rods.

Copper is the newest ore in Minecraft, and its ore can now be found in Minecraft with the “Experimental Features” toggle turned on. Copper can be used for various building blocks and items and has a unique effect of oxidizing over time (it changes color from its infamous copper hue to green). Lightning rods can be crafted using copper, and attract nearby lightning, making them perfect for protecting your fragile wooden and wool builds.

If you’re interested, you can read our guide on how to join the betas for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.

The Caves and Cliffs Update should release in Summer 2021, giving players a wait. Minecrafters can spend that time instead looking at new additions to their collections or gifts for loved ones with some of the Best Minecraft Merch, Toys, and Gifts.

The full changelog for Minecraft Beta 1.16.210.57 includes:

Experimental features

Copper

• Added copper ore to world generation
• Added copper ingots, which can be obtained by smelting copper ore in a furnace
• Added copper blocks
• Copper blocks can be crafted from copper Ingots
• Copper, cut copper, cut copper stairs, and cut copper slabs exist in the game and can be accessed from the creative items inventory
• Cut copper blocks can be crafted from copper blocks
• Copper blocks, slabs, and stairs can now oxidize to various degrees
• Copper blocks have dedicated sounds when interacted with
• Copper blocks, stairs, and slabs that are not fully oxidized can be waxed either by using a honeycomb item on them, by using the crafting grid, or by using a dispenser loaded with honeycombs
• Drowned drop copper ingots instead of gold ingots

Lightning rod

• Added lightning rods!
• Lightning rods can be crafted using copper ingots in a crafting table
• The lightning rod now interacts with lightning strikes:
  • All lightning strikes that happen within a radius of 64 blocks from a lightning rod will strike the lightning rod
  • Throwing a channeling trident at a lightning rod during a thunderstorm will spawn a lightning strike in the rod
  • A lightning rod struck by lightning will emit a full redstone signal for 8 game ticks

Bug fixes

Accessibility

• Keyboard inputs can now adjust slider settings when the cursor is outside the UI frame
• Screen Reader now informs the player when the “Chat Settings” menu has been opened
• Fixed a bug where UI screen reader did not read the permission toggles’ titles on the Permissions Screen
• Screen Reader now reads Whisper and Announcement messages

Performance & stability

• Improved the smoothness of UI transition animations
• Improved performance for actors using TemptGoal

General

• Fixed an issue that preventing player interaction after using the /clone command on a double chest block
• Using the /clone command to clone a block of the same type is no longer treated as a failed operation
• Fixed players taking fall damage when opening Shulker Boxes
• Nether Brick now gives XP from being smelted
• All mobs that use a melee attack have had their ability to hit targets above and below them restored
• The target still must be within melee attack distance to be hit
• This only affects world versions greater than or equal to 1.16.210
• Redstone Dust is now displayed as “Redstone Dust” instead of “Redstone”

Graphical & user interface

• Tool and armor recipes now display the selected item background when selected in the recipe list
• Wireframe of a structure block in the Overworld will no longer render in Nether and The End
• Audio sliders will now always highlight when hovered over with a mouse
• Durability bar is now visible when holding items with decreased durability in a window
• Added more helpful Video Settings messages for ray tracing on supported and non-supported platforms

Structure block

• Structure blocks no longer auto-save the data when structure name text box is deselected
• The scoreboard data of an entity is no longer removed if the entity is being teleported to an unloaded area of the world
• Teleporting away from a structure animation to unload it no longer causes the game to crash

Commands, scripting, & add-ons

• A warning now appears when attempting to move a locked item in and from containers