A dark forest is a temperate forested biome. It is known for its thick, dense leaf canopies that block light sufficiently to allow hostile mobs to spawn during the daytime. It has two variants: the normal dark forest, and dark forest hills.
Contents
Description
Dark forests feature a much higher density in trees compared to other forest biomes, which often times block direct views of the sky entirely. Oak, dark oak, and (sometimes) birch trees generate in these biomes; the only place where dark oak trees naturally generate. Additionally, both types of huge mushrooms generate among the trees, though the red variants are more common. Like normal forests, lily of the valley, rose bushes, peonies and lilacs generate in this biome family along with the usual dandelions and poppies. Grass and leaves take on a dark but vibrant green color.
Lava lakes that generate in dark forests can cause locally destructive forest fires, due to the extreme density of flammable wood and leaves; the same goes for lightning strikes that hit the trees during thunderstorms, though the fires caused by the strikes are usually quickly put out by the rain.
Unique to dark forests are woodland mansions, enormous dungeon-like structures that rarely generate within the trees. Woodland mansions are home to the dangerous illager mobs and are one of the only places where said mobs spawn. Mansions contain various rooms and valuable loot for the player to plunder.
Although players are unlikely to run out of wood in dark forests, survival can still be more difficult compared to other forest biomes. The dense leaf canopy can diffuse skylight sufficiently for hostile mobs to spawn during the day in some spots. Additionally, hostile mobs can spawn atop huge mushrooms and suddenly fall near to the player. Woodland mansions are dangerous to explore without adequate preparation, due to their large size and the difficult Illager and other hostile mobs inside. The high density of trees can easily lead to players getting lost unless trails are marked using torches or other distinct markers. Using flint and steel in these biomes can help to clear out some trees due to their flammability.
In a given world, dark forests often have small patches of plains biomes cutting up through it, forming glades. Dark forests are usually found next to other various lush biomes.
Variants
There are two different dark forest variant biomes.
Dark forest
| Type |
Lush/Temperate |
|---|---|
| Rarity |
Common |
| Temperature |
0.7 |
| Structures | |
| Blocks |
Grass Block |
| Grass color |
|
| Foliage color |
|
| Water color |
Dark forest is the most common dark forest variant. The terrain can range from fairly even to hilly, with occasional lakes. This biome has a dense canopy of leaves that reduces the light sufficiently for hostile mobs to inhabit the forest during the daytime. Small patches of plains biomes can generate clearings within the forest. Woodland mansions also can generate here.
In Java Edition :
| Mob | Spawn chance | Group size |
|---|---|---|
| Passive category | ||
| Sheep | 12⁄40 | 4 |
| Pig | 10⁄40 | 4 |
| Chicken | 10⁄40 | 4 |
| Cow | 8⁄40 | 4 |
| Hostile category | ||
| Spider | 100⁄515 | 4 |
| Zombie | 95⁄515 | 4 |
| Zombie Villager | 5⁄515 | 1 |
| Skeleton | 100⁄515 | 4 |
| Creeper | 100⁄515 | 4 |
| Slime[note 1] | 100⁄515 | 4 |
| Enderman | 10⁄515 | 1–4 |
| Witch | 5⁄515 | 1 |
| Ambient category | ||
| Bat | 10⁄10 | 8 |
- ↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.
In Bedrock Edition :
| Mob | Spawn chance | Group size |
|---|---|---|
| Passive category | ||
| Sheep | 12⁄40 | 2–3 |
| Pig | 10⁄40 | 1–3 |
| Chicken | 10⁄40 | 2–4 |
| Cow | 8⁄40 | 2–3 |
| Hostile category | ||
| Spider | 100⁄495 | 1 |
| Zombie | 95⁄495 | 2–4 |
| Zombie Villager | 5⁄495 | 2–4 |
| Skeleton | 80⁄495 | 1–2 |
| Creeper | 100⁄495 | 1 |
| Slime[note 1] | 100⁄495 | 1 |
| Enderman | 10⁄495 | 1–2 |
| Witch | 5⁄495 | 1 |
| Ambient category | ||
| Bat | 10⁄10 | 2 |
- ↑ Spawn attempt succeeds only in slime chunks.
Dark forest hills
| Type |
Medium/Mild |
|---|---|
| Rarity |
Rare |
| Temperature |
0.7 |
| Structures | |
| Blocks |
Grass Block |
| Grass color |
|
| Foliage color |
|
| Water color |
Dark forest hills can break the leaf canopy, increasing visibility and decreasing the chance of daytime hostile mob spawning, though the hills are steep compared to other hill biomes. Hills generated near rivers can lead to cliffs, risking fall damage if players don't land in the water. Small plains-biome clearings do not generate within the dark forest hills variant. Woodland mansions may still generate here.
Dark forest hills use the same mob spawning chances as dark forests.
Data values
ID
| Name | Resource location | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Forest | dark_forest | biome.minecraft.dark_forest |
| Dark Forest Hills | dark_forest_hills | biome.minecraft.dark_forest_hills |
| Name | Resource location | Numeric ID |
|---|---|---|
| [No displayed name] | roofed_forest | 29 |
| [No displayed name] | roofed_forest_mutated | 157 |
History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7.2 | 13w36a | Roofed forest biome added, along with many other biomes. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w39a | Added woodland mansions, which can rarely generate in roofed forests. | |||
| 1.13 | 18w16a | Renamed Roofed Forest M to Mutated Roofed Forest. | |||
| 18w19a | Renamed Roofed Forest to Dark Forest. | ||||
| Renamed Mutated Roofed Forest to Dark Forest Hills | |||||
| pre5 | Changed the ID roofed_forest to dark_forest. | ||||
Changed the ID mutated_roofed_forest to dark_forest_hills. | |||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | Added lily of the valley that can generate in dark forests. | |||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.18 | Experimental Snapshot 1 | Dark forest hills no longer generate naturally. | |||
| 21w40a | The dark forest hills biome has been removed. | ||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.9.0 | build 1 | Added roofed forests, along with many other biomes. | |||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.1.0 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | Added woodland mansions, which generate in roofed forests. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.9.0 | beta 1.9.0.0 | Added lily of the valley that can generate in dark forests. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU54 | CU44 | 1.52 | Patch 24 | 1.0.4 | Added woodland mansions, which generate in roofed forests. |
Gallery
