12 Minecraft Exploration Tips and Tricks
I recently set out to explore my home island (which is more like a continent, it’s huge) on my singleplayer world. So I’ve been walking around for several days having a blast just trying to survive, find cool stuff, enjoying the scenery, etc. It’s really fun but there’s some stuff to keep in mind.
My Exploration Tips:
1. To make it more fun, come up with an objective. My objective is to walk around my whole island, for some of you that would be really short. So you could do something like trying to find certain items (pumpkins, etc.) or try to find every biome.
2. Always take a compass and some spare tools. You’re really going to need this. Some cooked pork or other food is good as well. I don’t like to carry much resources with me because you can always find that stuff as you go along.
My Basic Travel kit.
3. Mark cool stuff so you can find it again. If you find a huge cave system of or a floating island or something it totally sucks to leave and not be able to find it again. I like to leave cobblestone spires because they’re easy and fast to build, and they show up well in the surroundings. Stick a torch on top for more visibility.
A cobblestone spire as a marker.
4. Don’t die. Most of the time I’m not very cautious, but it can really suck if you’re really far from your spawn and you die. You’re not likely to find your stuff again. At night build a shelter and light it up for protection from mobs. Be careful in the early morning. Watch for creepers!
5. Map your world. This gives you a good idea of your progress and helps you put everything in perspective. I like Minetographer best for this.
6. If you’re in server it can be fun to find new lands before other people do. You can setup secret lairs and building projects that will be less likely to be found.
Bonus Guest Tips from LordTalos:
7. To find interesting stuff on the surface, look for large variations in ground height. Hilly areas tend to have a lot of caves, and naturally, ore.
8. Dig shelters into a horizontal hill face, instead of into the ground, because stuff will stand on top of your hole at night and fall on you if you open it up. [This is a great one that I hadn’t thought of]
9. Always carry a bucket in case you catch on fire somehow (especially underground). Always bring lots of arrows.
10. Always have at least a half a stack of dirt for making bridges, stairs, and walls. Quickly placed dirt is often the difference between life and death for me.
11. In densely forested areas, shadows from trees often keep undead enemies alive through the day, so climb on top of the trees instead, and travel that way. It’s quite safe if you’re good with jumping and the trees are thick.
12. Try to light up a cave as fast as you can because it’s likely stuff hasn’t spawned yet. You can often go through a large cave without meeting enemies if you move quickly.
LordTalos is a fellow Minecraft player and friend of mine. He has his own blog where he posts about Minecraft. His posts are great and fun to read. Check out his blog: Castles in the Sand.
Hope you guys enjoyed the post! If you have any tips or questions share them in the comments.
