(discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update
Minecraft fans who lived through the 1.17 and 1.18 development cycle remember the long wait for caves, mountains, and a proper End overhaul. The (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update was one creator's ambitious attempt to bring those promised features into the game early. Although development has stopped, the add-on remains a fascinating piece of modding history for players who want to explore what could have been.
What This Add-On Tried to Deliver
The project set out to recreate the Caves and Cliffs update alongside a fan-made End update. Over its many pre-release versions, it introduced a staggering amount of content pulled from Mojang's roadmap and Minecraft Dungeons. Key features included:
- Copper blocks, amethyst geodes, and waxed copper mechanics
- Sculk blocks, sculk veins, sculk sensors, and a working sculk catalyst
- The Warden with expanded abilities and a dedicated structure
- Goat horns, goats, axolotls, glow lichen, and dripstone
- Lush caves with dripleaf, cave vines, and glow berries
- Mountain biomes reaching heights near 195 to 200 blocks
- New End biomes with custom trees, plus an End ship variant
- Archeology vases, a brush, and excavation mechanics
- Enchantments like Swift Sneak, Destroyer, and Wither Immune
- Unique mobs such as the Mooblom, Iceologer, Watchling, and scorpions
Later versions also added the Waitomo caves, a water-filled biome inspired by real-world caves in New Zealand, complete with a new fungus and a hostile mob. The mod even included potions like Freezing, Paralysis, and Blindness, the last of which could be brewed using bat wings.
Supported Versions and Loaders
The (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update was built with MCreator and targeted Minecraft 1.16.5 through 1.17.1. It was distributed as a Forge mod, so you needed a compatible Forge installation to run it. The creator had planned to move the End-related content into a separate mod for version 1.19.4, but that project never materialized before development halted.
If you are hunting for download (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update files, you will find them on archived mod repositories and community mirrors. Keep in mind that the mod is no longer updated, so bugs from the final pre-release remain unfixed.
How to Install the Mod
Learning how to install this add-on is straightforward if you have modded Minecraft before. Follow these steps:
- Install the correct Forge version for Minecraft 1.16.5 or 1.17.1
- Locate your .minecraft folder and open the mods directory
- Place the downloaded .jar file into the mods folder
- Launch Minecraft using the Forge profile
- Create a new world to generate the custom biomes and structures
Because the mod adds new dimensions and world generation, always start a fresh save. Loading it into an existing world can cause chunk errors or missing blocks.
For players who prefer a smoother setup, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install option that handles Forge and mod placement automatically. Its add-on catalog also lists version compatibility notes, which is handy when you want to run the (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update without manually matching loaders. Automatic updates keep your other mods current, though this particular add-on will stay frozen at its final release.
Why It Was Discontinued
The developer was upfront about the reasons behind the shutdown. Studies and personal commitments took priority, and updating MCreator to support newer Minecraft versions became increasingly difficult. Version 0.7 caused severe performance problems, and version 0.8 was delayed after a tool update corrupted much of the project. By the time the final pre-release arrived, the creator had decided to split the End content into a future 1.19.4 mod, a plan that was ultimately abandoned.
Is It Still Worth Playing?
Absolutely, if you enjoy experimental content and do not mind rough edges. The (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update for Minecraft captures a specific moment in the community's imagination, when everyone was speculating about sculk, the Warden, and the End. Exploring the Waitomo caves, fighting the aggressive goat variant, or testing the corrupted netherite tools delivers an experience no official update ever provided.
Just temper your expectations. Some textures never loaded correctly, certain enchantments remained broken, and the Warden cities were left unfinished. Treat it as a time capsule rather than a polished expansion.
Final Thoughts
The (discontinued) Minecraft Mod: Cave and Cliffs and End Update stands as a tribute to what dedicated fans can build on their own. It is imperfect, unfinished, and occasionally buggy, but it is also creative, generous, and full of ideas that Mojang eventually implemented in different forms. If you want to see an alternate version of Minecraft's most anticipated update, this mod is worth a look before it fades further into obscurity.