Does anyone know if 1.18 will be a new category or not? It will make overworld travel harder from what I've seen along with the 1.16.2+ disadvantages. The stronghold will also be deeper and digging straight down will be a lot more dangerous

no

JUST DOWNGRADE OMG

lets try not to shout anybody for the question
but this actualy seems to appear in a new thread every single time a new version subversion or snapshot appear lmao
they will decide if gets added or not
if the mechanism for getting it is not very diferent and the version just gives actual disadvantage, speedrunners will just play the version prior that is faster, and will not get a new category the most of the times
there are only new categories for big changes like 1.9 and 1.16

Unless it fundamentally changes the speedrun, it won’t be added as a separate category

I don't think it will be added because the categories now (pre-1.9, 1.9-1.15 and 1.16+) are all big changes in speedrunning like the nether update, end update and so on. and a lot of people will continue to run on 1.16.1 so in short no the 1.18 category probably won't be added

ok?

I think it really depends on whether it changes the fundamentals of a speedrun, if it doesn't then it's probably not going to be a new seperate category (That's what I think will happen) but If there are drastic changes that will make it different then who knows maybe it will have its own category at some point.

You are not allowed to use snapshots or release candidates or beta versions to speedrun the game

@SheepHelloSheepHello what when did mod decided to split 1.3 LOL and wdym making meta the trade in a version that got splitted 5 years ago, is alredy used trading in pre 1.9 speedruns
i think there are practicaly no runs in pre 1.4 lol

Is there any official statement on 1.18 yet? Will it be another category for it? I mean the whole world is different and it can be argued that Endermans in the Blue Nether Biom become the main source of pearls rather than trading.

welp so
not realy into the game rn, but given that "1.16+" has that name too, after more than 6 months with it
yea, after all that was said, im p sure they are not adding it for 1.18, it is just allowed in the newest one of 1.16+
it probably isnt as much of an extreme speedrun-changing as someone could thought after all? not sure, well i know the changes makes it definitely slower if so, so being slower in a later version, as for a speedrun concept people doesnt feel the need of adding it if it isnt faster than what they where alredy playing

for them to make a new category the update needs to majorly effect the way the player progresses through the game, 1.18 doesn't provide that so they won't make a new category for it.

"majorly affect the way the player progresses through the game"
Well, the terrain is harder to bypass, digging down is probably the best choice now. Ocean Revines don't exist anymore. Mapless works differently. I would say that all in all it is majorly different than 1.16.1 strats

Doesn’t make a difference

The reason why the current version splits exist is because a world record speedrun in each of these categories would look vastly different due to major changes in the strategies

Pre-1.9 wr: go to fortress for rods, build tower in desert for pearls, go to end and bed the dragon when it charges at you
1.9-1.15 wr: loot shipwrecks and monuments for emeralds and gold, trade with villager for pearls, go to fortress for rods, one-cycle dragon
1.16+ wr: go to bastion for pearls and obsidian, go to fortress for rods, build new portal with obsidian to get near stronghold, one-cycle dragon
A 1.18 wr would look very similar to a 1.16 wr, with the only real differences being there would be more reliance on luck due to the bartering rates, and possibly killing a couple piglin brutes in the bastion. This is why it really wouldn't add anything to make 1.18 a separate category, and why it makes more sense just to play 1.16.1 for 1.16+ runs

But this is not entirely true, while getting ender pearls from trades might be logical, it can be argued that due to the fact that endermans are the only hostile creature spawning in Warped Forests, the most efficient way to obtain enderpearls might be a combination of piglin trading and farming them

get a sub 13 in 1.18 then maybe

lol you cant relay on "get x time then" with a time that has been achieved by few people and with a lot of effort that get that run on, is not like it is going to get free

use an fsg seed
find a theoretical world record seed and use ur strats