Be a Good Miner in Minecraft
Do you dream of diamond tools but you don't want to risk dying in lava or getting suffocated with gravel? Before you know it, you'll be on the path to becoming a master miner! Here's your starter guide to becoming a good (or even better) miner!
Steps
- Have many good quality pickaxes. There is no use in finding things like diamond and redstone and then mining them with a wooden pickaxe. You need an iron pickaxe to be able to mine those. Carry at least an iron pickaxe if you plan on mining very deep. If you are low on iron and do not have enough to make a plentiful supply of iron pickaxes, you can use a stone pickaxe to mine through the stone and the iron pickaxe to mine the ores you encounter.
- Carry a stack of torches. It can get really dark underground, and you need torches to illuminate them. To place torches, right-click the ground or wall. Make sure there isn't any water around or the torch will be washed away.
- You can increase your gamma if you find it difficult to see in caves. Mac: Go to Finder. Open, go at the top of the screen and Press Go-Press alt/option. Then press Library, Application Support, Minecraft. Put the Minecraft folder in your hotbar. Go to options and open with Text Edit. Go to options find gamma and increase to 1000.0
- Never dig straight down. If you dig straight down, you could fall into a pit of lava or a room filled with creepers, so always dig one in front of you, or in a staircase-like pattern downwards.
- Don't dig gravel and dirt with pickaxes. This will wear down your pickaxe twice as quickly. Just punch the dirt or gravel, or make shovels.
- Carry food and weapons. There are abandoned mine shafts and caves all throughout mining, and you'll most likely you'll find one while digging. You need to be prepared to fight your way out. If you plan to stay underground for a long time, you will need to carry a nice supply of food so that your hearts will stay replenished.
- Explore the many ways to mine. Exploring caves can be interesting and easy, but some say it's generally ineffective (others say it's great for obtaining ores); "quarrying" (digging a large hole straight down) yields plenty of cobblestone, but very few ores; "Branch Mining," however, is an effective alternative offering maximum ores for minimal pick usage. Simple branch mining is basically a series of parallel tunnels every three blocks (two between each tunnel) branching out of a perpendicular hallway.
- Know how to navigate. One of the best methods of navigating a cave or any place dark and winding is to put your torches on the right wall as you go deeper in. Once you finish, retrace your steps by following the torches on the left.
Tips
- Take some wood with you. You can use wood to build a crafting table, weapons, or tools if you are stuck.
- Bring a sapling and a seed for food and wood. They can be renewed underground.
- Bring a bucket of water so if you find lava you can turn it into obsidian or cobblestone so you can make a quick way to get by, or to make a nether portal.
- Don't dig straight down.
- Check the ceiling for drips; if there is a water/lava pool one block above you, the ceiling will drip blue/orange specks.
- Make sure to kill the creepers before they explode, but keep your distance!
- Dig a ring around any ore you find, as it can spawn diagonally!
- Bring several chests with you so that every once in a while you can leave all of your ores so that if you die and your items despawn, you at least did not lose everything.
- Never say never. You'll find something good someday.
- Mine any mob spawners you find so they cannot continue to spawn mobs, or surround it with torches so that it will stop spawning enemies. You can turn it into a farm in order to get experience and items that the mobs drop.
- Sometimes diamonds are easier to find than gold (mostly happens in places with snow).
- Listen for mob noises and/or water and lava noises. Most of the time the sounds indicate a cave system. Beware, it could be just a plain lava/water pool. Doing this will help you find caves for more ore findings.
- If you are staircase or branch mining, make a few bases with basic tools, weapons, food, and wood.
- Always bring an iron pickaxe with you because you might find diamonds.
- Make sure to bring cobblestone with you in case you find lava. Place them to make a path to the ore.
- Never make a wooden path across lava or you will get hot feet.
- Always go back if you are running low on food.
- If you want to dig straight down, you can stand in the middle of 2 blocks. Then mine them 1 on the right, then one on the left, this insures you won't land in lava as long as you watch.
Warnings
- Be careful when in caves. If you don't leave torches or a marker, you can get lost! You don't want that!
Things You'll Need
- Pickaxe (Iron or Diamond)
- Shovel
- Water
- Sword
- Dirt
- Spare tools
- Torches
- Food
- Ender Chest (Optional)
- Furnace (Optional)
- Crafting Table (Optional)
