Nether Wastes

The Nether wastes or hell‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} is the most common biome found in the Nether.

Description

The Nether wastes is the most common Nether biome and makes up around 36% of the Nether by volume. Unlike other Nether biomes, which tend to generate in large patches, the Nether wastes more often generates in thinner strips, often separating two or more other biomes. In particular, a thin strip of Nether wastes always separates the crimson forest and the basalt deltas, or the warped forest and soul sand valley, pairs of biomes that can never border each other.

The Nether wastes is a barren biome composed of mostly netherrack. It has extensive lava seas with glowstone blobs hanging from the ceiling. Blobs of Nether quartz, Nether gold ore, and blackstone generate in the wastes (where ore is most visible) with the rarer ancient debris found unexposed within the terrain. Gravel and soul sand are found among its coastlines.

Most of the Nether's mobs can spawn here, including ghasts, zombified piglins, magma cubes, striders, piglins, and the occasional endermen. Nether fortresses, ruined portals and bastion remnants are present as well.

Mobs

The following mobs naturally spawn here:

In **Java Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Zombified Piglin^{[note 1]}	¹⁰⁰⁄₁₆₈	4
Ghast^{[note 2]}	⁵⁰⁄₁₆₈	4
Piglin	¹⁵⁄₁₆₈	4
Magma Cube	²⁄₁₆₈	4
Enderman	¹⁄₁₆₈	4
Creature category
Strider^{[note 3]}	1	2–4

↑ Has a 0.25% chance to spawn a chicken, forming a chicken jockey.
↑ Only 5% of spawn attempts succeed.
↑ Adult striders have a 3.3% chance to spawn being ridden by a zombified piglin holding a warped fungus on a stick.

In **Bedrock Edition**
Mob	Spawn weight	Group size
Monster category
Zombified Piglin	100	2–4
Ghast	40	1
Piglin	15	4
Magma Cube	10	1–4
Enderman	6	1
Creature category
Strider^{[note 1]}	1	2–4

↑ Adult striders have a 3.3% chance to spawn with a saddle. They are supposed to spawn with a zombified piglin with a warped fungus on a stick but they don’t due to MCPE-236161.

Sounds

Music

These music tracks play while the player is in the Nether wastes:

Title	Preview	Java Edition		Bedrock Edition
Title	Preview	Weight	Probability	Weight	Probability
Rubedo		6	60%	6	60%
Ballad of the Cats		1	10%	1	10%
Concrete Halls		1	10%	1	10%
Dead Voxel		1	10%	1	10%
Warmth		1	10%	1	10%

Ambience

Nether ambience plays while the player is in the Nether.


Name	Sound	Group
Nether Wastes Ambience		Loop
Nether Wastes Addition 1		Loop Additions
Nether Wastes Addition 2
Nether Wastes Addition 3
Nether Wastes Addition 4
Nether Wastes Addition 5
Nether Wastes Addition 6
Nether Wastes Addition 7
Nether Wastes Addition 8
Nether Wastes Dark 1
Nether Wastes Dark 2
Nether Wastes Ground 1
Nether Wastes Ground 2
Nether Wastes Ground 3
Nether Wastes Ground 4
Nether Wastes Mood 1		Mood
Nether Wastes Mood 2
Nether Wastes Mood 3
Nether Wastes Mood 4
Nether Wastes Mood 5

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Translation key
Nether Wastes	`nether_wastes`	`8`	`biome.minecraft.nether_wastes`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID
[No displayed name]	`hell`	`8`

Achievements


Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		Adventuring Time	Discover 17 biomes.	Visit any 17 biomes. Does not have to be in a single world.	40	Silver
		Hot tourist destination	Visit all Nether biomes	Note: Can be completed if the player visits the biomes in different worlds.	30	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Hot Tourist Destinations	Explore all Nether biomes	Visit all of the 5 following biomes: Basalt Deltas Crimson Forest Nether Wastes Soul Sand Valley Warped Forest The advancement is only for Nether biomes. Other biomes may also be visited, but are ignored for this advancement.

History

Java Edition

Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0	preview	Added hell as the Nether's only biome.
v1.2.0	preview	This biome is added along with the Nether itself as well as the ghasts, zombie pigmen, netherrack, soul sand, and glowstone that it contains.
Java Edition
1.0.0	Beta 1.9 Prerelease	Added Nether fortresses, which generate in the Nether, along with the blazes that spawn in them.
1.0.0	Beta 1.9 Prerelease	Added magma cubes, which spawn in the Nether.
1.9	15w31a	The Nether biome fog has been removed.
1.9	15w31c	The Nether biome fog has been re-added.
1.10	16w20a	Patches of magma blocks now generate in the Nether.
1.13	18w19a	The biome "Hell" has been renamed to "Nether".
1.14	19w14a	Soul sand and gravel now generate at lava sea level, instead of between y level 60 and 65.^[1]
1.16	20w06a	To distinguish it from other Nether biomes, the biome "Nether" has been renamed to "Nether Wastes".
	20w07a	Added piglins, which can spawn in Nether wastes.
	20w13a	Added striders, which can spawn in Nether wastes.
	20w19a	Patches of blackstone and gravel now generate in Nether wastes at level of lava ocean.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1	build 1	Added the Nether biome, known as "Hell".
Bedrock Edition
1.16.0	beta 1.16.0.51	The biome "Nether" has been renamed to "Nether Wastes".
	beta 1.16.0.51	Added piglins, which can spawn in the Nether wastes.
	beta 1.16.0.57	Added striders, which can spawn in lava seas of the Nether wastes.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added the Nether.
TU7							Added Nether fortresses, which generate in the Nether, along with the blazes that spawn in them.
TU7							Added magma cubes, which spawn in the Nether.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Patches of magma blocks now generate in the Nether.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added the Nether.

Data history

Java Edition
1.13	pre5	The biome ID `hell` has been changed to `nether`.
1.16	20w06a	The biome ID `nether` has been changed to `nether_wastes`.
1.18	21w37a	Prior to the removal of numerical biome IDs, this biome's numerical ID was 8.

Issues

Issues relating to "Nether biome" or "Nether Wastes" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

In Bedrock Edition, if the Nether wastes is used as the biome for Overworld generation, although the terrain is entirely netherrack, no ore is generated (including Nether quartz ore, Nether gold ore, ancient debris, etc.). Caverns and lakes (with red-colored water) still generate. The player is still able to place water in an Overworld Nether wastes biome, but trying to sleep in a bed still causes an explosion.

Gallery

Screenshots

A view of a Nether wastes cliff
Glowstone cluster in Nether wastes
Nether fortress in Nether wastes
Two ghasts in Nether wastes
Nether wastes terrain
Lava sea in Nether wastes
A Nether wastes single biome world as seen in the Overworld

Historical screenshots

A Nether wastes single biome world before 1.18, with Nether terrain but also water, stone, and a blue sky.
A screenshot of the Nether prior to 1.16.
A screenshot without fog in the Nether in 15w31a.
The hell biome with ray tracing. Note that there are no ray tracing effects because of the lack of daylight, but Nether fog is disabled.

In other media

A Nether Wastes as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons.
A Nether Wastes as it appears in Minecraft Legends.

References

↑ MC-152207 Resolved as "Works As Intended"

External links

"Around the Block: Nether Wastes" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, May 26, 2022.

[Zombified_Piglin-1] Has a 0.25% chance to spawn a chicken, forming a chicken jockey.

[Ghast-2] Only 5% of spawn attempts succeed.

[Strider-3] Adult striders have a 3.3% chance to spawn being ridden by a zombified piglin holding a warped fungus on a stick.

[Strider-4] Adult striders have a 3.3% chance to spawn with a saddle. They are supposed to spawn with a zombified piglin with a warped fungus on a stick but they don’t due to MCPE-236161.

[5] MC-152207 Resolved as "Works As Intended"