Highlights
- In Minecraft, players must learn the importance of being prepared and cautious in order to survive, as the game can be unforgiving and dangerous.
- Following the golden rule of “never dig straight down” is crucial to avoiding hazards such as deep caverns, lava lakes, and dangerous biomes.
- Building a spawn point and a home base early on, and being cautious around heat and explosives, can help players protect their progress and avoid devastating losses. Always planning for a two-way trip is another essential rule, as leaving home without the necessary gear can guarantee death.
Minecraft is a game with a dual nature. On one hand, it’s a tool to express creativity, as well as experience a simplified yet fantastical take on the world and some of its materials. On the other hand, it’s also a procedurally-generated dungeon crawler, with real threats cropping up around every corner. Unless players are using Creative mode, Minecraft can be surprisingly unforgiving even in the most straightforward-seeming situations.
Because of that, players tend to learn some harsh but vital lessons early on. Crafting recipes are far from the only knowledge explorers will gain, and some of it will save their lives time and time again. The importance of gearing up, hunkering down, and always coming prepared can’t be overstated in every one of Minecraft‘s Survival mode difficulties, as even things like steep drops and fire can cause problems in the normally breezy Peaceful setting. Minecraft has many unspoken rules, but breaking some will come with a much more immediate punishment than others.
Never Dig Straight Down
The golden rule of Minecraft is simple: break blocks to build materials. However, the community quickly added a second golden Minecraft rule: never dig straight down. Safer mining is done through existing caves or smart, diagonal tunneling. Players hoping to quickly reach a new biome or vein of ore by digging beneath themselves risk falling into a tall cavern, lava lake, or a Deep Dark biome, which won’t always be mitigated by a bucket of water. Hitting bedrock is a mercy since the player can climb out with the blocks they mined, but the process of getting there should only be attempted if the player has already stored their valuables and set a spawn point.
Don’t Go Far Without A Spawn Point
Speaking of which, building a bed in the overworld and sleeping in it at the first possible opportunity is vital. This marks the spot of the player’s home base, which often develops into a fortified position where they can store their materials, excess equipment, and some personal projects as well. On the same note, beds should not be placed and used in the Nether and the End without sufficient preparations for the explosive reprisal that comes next.
Be Careful Around Heat and Explosives
Players will learn to mind Creepers in the same way, and do so quickly thanks to their point-blank explosions being devastating without armor. However, while fleeing a Creeper, players must still keep their wits about them lest they run into something even worse. Lava is one of the few blocks in Minecraft that will destroy any item it comes into contact with, including a dead player’s jettisoned inventory. Dying in a lava pool, which can naturally spawn in the open air, is a disastrous experience that could set players back hours of progress, so it must be avoided at all costs.
Always Plan For Two-Way Trips
It’s easy to prepare item storage, but venturing out to replenish that stockpile can prove tricky. Torches to ward off enemy mob spawns are vital, and smart placement can create breadcrumb trails out of the deepest caves. Food is a must, and can combine with spare beds to push out even farther. Investing in a compass or map can also come in clutch, as the vast and dense overworld, especially at sea, can become its own obstacle.
Finally, all of this preparation must be balanced out with leaving room for new resources, tracking equipment durability, and knowing when to turn back home. Losing a hard-earned inventory in a remote locale can be just as bad as falling in the nearest lava pit. Still, that’s the risk players take when they brave Minecraft‘s furthest reaches for fun and profit.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and legacy platforms.
