Minecraft's biomes mirror reality. Because of this, they also reflect the distinct characteristics of the world, as well as embody their own unique Minecraft versions of those characteristics.
The Badlands of Minecraft is inspired by the canyons, rivers, and mesas of the American deserts in places like Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. They feature red sand, clay, and cacti, just like players could find in real life. The Badlands is one of the more unique biomes in Minecraft and changes the way players have to approach survival entirely.
Updated on December 8, 2021, by Anastasia Maillot: The 1.18 Minecraft update left many biomes in a different state than they were initially. World generation has been massively overhauled, with big changes to the height and depth of the world, as well as ore spawning.
The Badlands are no different in that regard. Some of its features were even removed in this update, which is why this list has been changed to reflect Mojang's current version of the Badlands biome.
11 Badlands Since 1.18
The Minecraft 1.18 update brought in a ton of changes to world generation, and the Badlands were affected by this just like most other biomes in the game. The main changes have been related to the world height having been increased.
Due to this increase, Badlands can now be even higher with its mountain peaks and tops. As such, red sand can be found at higher altitudes, and developers made sure that the red sandstone variation can be found naturally while exploring the biome. Mineshafts can also appear much higher thanks to the world height increase.
10 Terracotta
The Badlands is the best place to find terracotta in Minecraft. The material usually forms in large mounds on top of red sand. There are a variety of colors of terracotta found in the Badlands. These colors are specifically red, orange, yellow, white, light gray, and brown, among some others if players get lucky.
Players must mine these mounds with a pickaxe, as otherwise, nothing will drop. Terracotta has the same hardness as stone making it useful for certain builds. It can also be dyed the same 16 colors as wool to make for interesting color schemes and structures.
9 No Passive Mobs
The Badlands don't spawn any passive mobs. No cows, sheep, or chickens will spawn here so finding food can be difficult unless it's brought from elsewhere. On top of that, this means no villagers will make their homes in the Badlands, so it's kind of a long shot to try to solidify a base in one of these biomes since players will have to go to other areas for basic resources.
Trees, bushes, and grass also don't form in the Badlands very often so farming isn't a fun time either. There's a specific variation of the Badlands that has a good amount of trees, but it is very rare, so players shouldn't bet on finding it.
8 Mine Shafts
The most interesting feature of the Badlands is how often mine shafts are found in them. These mine shafts can be found more frequently than in other biomes, even peeking above the surface at times. This rare feature makes the Badlands worth exploring to find certain materials such as gold because the mine shafts are extensive and run just under the surface, making them easy to find and escape.
Another interesting thing about the mines in the Badlands is that the fences and supporting wood are made of dark oak, instead of the normal oak in other mines.
7 Rich In Gold
On top of having tons of mine shafts, the Badlands biomes also have an exceptionally high amount of gold. This is because of the higher rates gold spawns in these areas but also because of the upper limit at which it can appear. Normal biomes only allow gold to appear at Y=32, but in the Badlands, gold can be found at up to Y=255 since the 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update Part 2, which is way higher than normal. Thanks to 1.18, gold ore also generates in large quantities now.
Combining the high rates of spawning and the wide range it can be found in, gold is extremely abundant in the Badlands. Terracotta is another rarer material that spawns ridiculously often in the Badlands, so if players need either material, this is the best place to go to gather them.
6 Drought Prone
Not only do the Badlands have difficulty spawning passive mobs, but there's also just about no water to be found there. The Badlands is considered a dry biome, meaning that it will not see rain or thunderstorms under normal conditions. The exception to this rule is when a river runs through the biome, rain can come down over the region with the river.
Lastly, sometimes lakes will form in the Badlands, but they're extremely rare unless the biome is in one of its variations. What makes this extra annoying is that Badlands usually form next to deserts or savannas, so even if players want to set up a base nearby, it'll probably have to be multiple biomes away if they want water. That said, those lucky enough to find large bodies of water can expect to find warm oceans hugging the sides of Badlands biomes as of 1.18.
5 Plateau
This biome variant actually no longer appears in the game as of 1.18. The Badlands Plateau was overall pretty similar to the normal Badlands. The major difference is that it was harder to navigate. In the plateaus, steep rock faces appear that jump up 20-30 blocks above sea level. These faces are extremely steep and can be difficult to climb without placing blocks.
The high elevation of these plateaus also made them dangerous to navigate. Since mine shafts appear more often in Badlands, they could appear next to or in a plateau, creating a steep drop-off. Ravines also formed pretty often here, meaning it was important to take every step with care since fall damage is a big problem.
4 Wooded Badlands
The Wooded Badlands, previously known as the Wooded Badlands Plateau prior to the 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update Part 2, is a very rare variation of the Badlands. As its name says, players can find small groves of trees on top of these plateaus. Even though trees and grass can grow here, it still isn't recommended for producing crops because of the coarse dirt and high temperatures.
The grass and leaves all look dull, signifying how little water actually reaches them since it doesn't rain in the Badlands. If a tree does spawn here, it has limits on its size and is generally smaller than the ones found in most other biomes. To find these trees, players have to climb pretty high at Y=100 as of the latest 1.18 update to even start to see the trees spawn.
3 Eroded Badlands
This biome is modeled and stylized to look like the Bryce Canyon in Utah, USA. It features the iconic hoodoos that make the canyon so recognizable. In Minecraft, the hoodoos are formed by spires of red sand, terracotta, and stone material that rise from the ground up. They're pretty common appearing in about 40% of the Badlands in the game.
In the Bedrock Edition of the game, passive mobs can actually spawn in the Eroded Badlands since there's usually water nearby. Java Edition doesn't spawn many passive mobs here, which is an interesting contrast between the two. Overall, the Eroded Badlands is one of the more unique biomes of the game and is also a player's best bet for finding assorted terracotta.
2 Disco Mountains
In 2013 when the Badlands were first added, the creative director for Mojang Studios referred to them as "disco mountains." This was in reference to the assorted colors of the hoodoos that appear in the Eroded Badlands, and the mounds of terracotta in the normal variations. This biome went under many changes after its initial inclusion.
One of the biggest examples of this was the change where mine shafts could appear above the surface in mesas and Badlands. This change was implemented to make each biome a unique experience that encouraged players to explore and learn about the world around them. Disco mountains were a great place to start since they catch the eye and draw players in.
1 Challenge Seeds
Players have taken Minecraft to the next level by playing challenge runs on worlds specifically designed to give them trouble. One of these runs is attempting to beat Minecraft while staying only in the Badlands biome. Using certain seeds, players can control the world they spawn in, and this is what limits them from then on.
Badlands-only playthroughs are difficult because players won't be able to find animals to farm unless they get to a specific variation that allows for it. Finding diamonds also takes a bit longer than usual because getting to sea level means digging down further than normal. However, with the 1.18 update, these challenge playthroughs may seem some changes due to how ore spawns have been tweaked.
Lastly, farming is also a difficult task due to the lack of water and coarse dirt.
Minecraft was released on November 18, 2011, and is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and many other devices.