Tutorials/Things not to do

Most tutorials are about what to do. This one is about what not to do.

Don't dig straight down
This one is obvious. If you mine the block you're standing on, you're quite likely to fall straight into a cave system and take potentially fatal (or extreme) falling damage, be killed by mobs, dig into lava and lose your inventory, or fall into a dungeon and be massacred. Notch has even added a splash text to this effect. It is always safer to mine in a staircase pattern, or simply to find an open-mouth cave on the surface.

A 2×1 hole straight down is still not great nor totally safe but it will reduce the problem significantly, since you won't have to stand on the block that you're removing. Another way if you want to dig straight down is mine 4 blocks in a square shape, stand on one and break the one next to it, hop onto that, and do the same for the next. Make sure you don't dig two down from the one you step onto, you have to be able to jump back up. This will take more resources, but will let you dig a hole down that you can return with. Note that in order to get back into your mine/hole, you need to descend a ladder, and in a large hole you are liable to miss said ladder, fall down the hole, and die from fall damage.

An even safer method is to dig a 3×1 hole, with a ladder down the middle. (multiple ladders may also work) It's worth (re-adding) some side blocks every 5 to 8 levels, in case you fall off the ladder (if necessary). If you manage to get buckets, you can also make some water at the bottom to protect you from fall damage. The wider hole gives you room for both those side blocks and torches, and means you always have someplace safe to stand when digging. Such a shaft is also a good start for shaft mining the area.


 * Note: If you happen to find a cave this way, it would be wise to go back to the surface and get better supplies if you don't have any with you, as the odds of coming across a dungeon are much higher than some would think.

Digging straight down can also lead to getting stuck in the hole you've dug -- but pillar jumping can help there.

A safe way to dig straight down is to get a stack of ladders and dig a pit 3 down (without standing on it!) then build ladders down one side of it. jump in, and hit shift. This will cause you to hold on to the ladder, where you can safely dig under you (if you're still holding shift). If it is still safe to drop down, do so, building more ladders. Repeat until you reach an ore or an obstacle, taking measures to collect ores or removing the obstacle, then continuing your pit. Your mining will be decreased from being on a ladder, but it's a small price to pay for your life.

Be careful not to dig straight down while mining ores! This is a video that illustrates that.

Don't dig straight up
This isn't quite so obvious. However, if you mine the block above you, all sorts of nasty things could fall onto you. Water, lava, or hostile mobs can kill you by drowning, burning, or attacking you to death. Gravel and sand can also suffocate you, although this has been slightly nerfed. Placing torches underneath where you dig up can prevent suffocation, but you may still drown or burn. Placing ladders, if you have any, will protect against everything but mobs (in a single-block-wide shaft, the ladder may slow the mobs down somewhat). Be extremely wary if you hear noises above you, as you may happen upon a dungeon. As of the 1.9 beta, if there is a fluid one block above you, you will observe a dripping effect (assuming particles are turned on); blue means water, red means lava and green drips mean there's a slime above you. If you see this, be very careful! Remember that you will not see a drip if you're digging up next to the edge of a lava or water lake, but the fluid may still pour out over you. Always have somewhere safe to retreat to.

Don't stand right in front of the block you are mining
This isn't quite so obvious either, But if you mine the blocks in front (while being very close to the block) all sorts of things could happen, You could walk into a ravine, or walk straight into a monster spawner, or even worse, have lava flow right onto you. Use the ambience to your advantage. If you hear a weird noise, lava, or water, proceed with caution.

Don't look at Endermen
If your crosshair touches any part of the upper body of an Enderman, it will attack you. If you want to hunt Endermen without fear of provoking them prematurely, wearing a pumpkin on your head will prevent them from becoming hostile when looking at them. While this is an effective way to approach an Enderman safely, the pumpkin will also make it more difficult to see other monsters and fight them, unless one uses third person to fight the Enderman, though this too has its disadvantages if one is not accustomed to it. If your armor is of high quality, such as enchanted iron or diamond armor, consider using a normal helmet instead of a pumpkin in order to fight more efficiently.


 * If you don't have a pumpkin or high quality armor with which to fight an Enderman, a simple strategy is to build a small roof of cobblestone (or another cheap building material) up to three blocks high, and taking refuge under it while fighting the Enderman. You can enter a space that is two blocks high, but an Enderman cannot, so hiding under the roof and striking it with a sword is an easy way to dispatch the enemy without taking damage, although other mobs such as zombies can still hurt you.  Alternatively, constructing a pillar four blocks high will produce roughly the same result, as an Enderman cannot attack you from that height.  Take care that a wandering skeleton or spider doesn't knock you off the pillar, though.

Don't try to kill Creepers without a bow
Creepers aren't quite like other monsters, as they explode when they get too close to you. This means that you should get a bow and kill them from a distance. If you are inexperienced or have not developed mob fighting skills or do not have a bow, do not attack them with a melee weapon unless there is no other choice or have a diamond sword-Be extremely careful, however. If you do, try critical sprint-hitting them to knock them back and do extra damage. The creeper should be knocked back a fair distance, enough for you to launch a second attack.

Or build a 5 block tall structure and attack them from there. If you do decide to do this, try to use a sword or tool so you can do more damage to them. If you are fighting close range with a creeper near an area of importance (your house, rare ores etc.), you should lure it away to a safe area before engaging it. If that fails, try hitting the Creeper, then back away. Do this until the Creeper dies. If your sword has Knockback enchanted then you will not have to move back. In relation, if the Creeper is in water, it will be knocked back further, hopefully enough to cancel the countdown.

Another method is to place obstacles in the path of the creeper, although this doesn't work in recent snapshots, which feature enhanced mob pathfinding (As of 12w05a, Creepers will find a way through obstacles, so unless you're 12w04a or lower obstacles may not work as intended). Building a pillar at least three blocks higher than the surrounding terrain beneath yourself and remaining on top of the pillar may prevent the creeper from getting close enough to you to detonate, although it may be best to pillar up a few extra blocks for safety. Be careful, though: one skeleton can quickly ruin your fun. Digging a hole at least two blocks deep in front of the creeper can trap it, but since the creeper's AI was improved, creepers will most likely just walk around the hole unless you put a sign in the top-most block, which will trick it into falling in.

The very simplest solution for encountering a creeper if you are ill-prepared is to simply run away. Creepers are slower than the player, even when the player isn't sprinting, making a getaway feasible. You may not have this option in caves or other tight spaces, but this tactic works well in wide-open spaces such as plains or deserts. Be careful, however, not to run into even more trouble, such as other mobs (especially other creepers), deep pits, or pools of lava.

If all else fails, try to get the creeper to explode as far away from you as possible. Ironically, this is the easiest to do on the "Hard" difficulty setting, since creepers can "count down" to detonation when they are further away from you than on other settings. It is even possible in some situations to persuade a creeper to explode without causing any damage to the player at all.

If you should ever face a creeper and you only have a wooden sword or axe, just hit it, step back out of the danger zone, and repeat until it is killed. The loot will come in handy for future encounters and, with practice, can even be done with bare fists, which means you can beat one even if you just entered a newly created world.

Don't try to kill zombies or Endermen with a bow
Until you build a mob farm or skeleton dungeon grinder, use your arrows sparingly. They are best saved for more dangerous mobs, such as skeletons, creepers (look above), and spiders. Zombies are easier to kill with a sword, and safer as well, because the high attack speed will keep them away from you. The exception is when the zombie is burning or their sword is enchanted with Fire Aspect, in which case, you will be set on fire when hit. This also applies to passive mobs. Endermen are completely immune to arrows, and you should avoid shooting them entirely. Alternatively, if you have a wolf or two, why bother wasting your sword's durability on the zombie? Just punch the zombie and the wolves will take care of the rest. Meanwhile you can get on with killing creepers and skeletons.

Don't venture outside on your first night
Unless you are an experienced player or are on Peaceful mode, venturing outside during the night is very dangerous. You will almost certainly be killed by mobs. Mushroom Islands are the most safe, as mobs do not spawn there (except Mooshrooms, which are harmless). However, they are very rare, so deserts and plains are the safest places to be outside at night, because you can see monsters coming from a distance. Forests and jungles can be extremely dangerous, because you can easily be cornered, or surprised by a creeper coming around a tree. It would be far better if you stayed inside your first night, or stay away from any thing that can possibly kill you or can get you hurt. However, some people enjoy fighting mobs with little supplies, as it provides a challenge.

Do not explore caves in Hardcore Mode without a ton of equipment
Monsters spawn anywhere it's dark enough. That includes outside at night (the moon doesn't help), and in caves anytime. If you do not have a bow and a bunch of arrows as well as a high-damage sword, don't mine. If you do it, it won't end well. Dig a quarry. You shouldn't be playing Hardcore if you can't fight mobs. Remember that it if you die once in Hardcore the world gets deleted, so there is absolutely no point to safe-keeping items far away from dangerous places because you won't be respawning to collect them if you die.

And don't even try Hardcore until you're familiar with the game mechanics by playing a few games on lower difficulties first.

Don't dig underwater
In survival mode, blocks take five times as long to break while the player is underwater. That's why there is a high risk of drowning while digging underwater, if you are not close to the surface. Placing signs, ladders, iron bars, glass panes, a door or fence on nearby blocks can be used to produce air pockets where you can catch a breath and recover your air supply. Also, placing a torch at head height will replenish your air supply, and the torch will break, and return to your inventory. Since all blocks displace a full block of water as long as there is something in the block space, placing a "partial" block (such as an iron bar or a sign) will create a full block air pocket. You can also create air pockets by digging out dirt or sand under an overhang (the block above must not be sand or gravel). You can also breathe under water with the aid of a bucket or a helmet enchanted with Respiration and (optional) Aqua Affinity.

Don't venture outside during thunderstorms
Thunderstorms are a particularly dangerous form of weather, as the sky darkens enough for monsters to spawn, even during the daytime. An unprepared player with few supplies can be killed quite easily if a thunderstorm begins and monsters start to spawn. While thunderstorms do not occur often, it is always a good idea to make sure you have enough supplies and weapons to survive should one happen. Additionally, a biome with extensive vegetation, such as a swamp or jungle, is at additional risk during a thunderstorm, as a bolt of lightning can set trees ablaze and destroy large areas of forest. These bolts are also lethal to the player if he is hit by one, so standing outside during a thunderstorm is always a risky prospect. And, if that wasn't bad enough, lightning bolts can transform pigs into Zombie Pigmen and creepers into Charged Creepers. Overall, thunderstorms are a dangerous situation.

Don't build a wall that spiders can climb over
A wall is an excellent means of defending a certain area, either as a way to keep monsters out or for a player to shoot enemies from afar without danger to himself. However, if a wall is designed incorrectly, spiders can easily scale the wall and make your wall far less effective. Spiders treat all vertical surfaces as ladders, allowing them to climb any wall with ease. However, they cannot pass through a block that is directly above them, so building an overhang on the outer side of a wall will deter spiders from climbing any further.

Don't goof around in the Nether
If you're in the Nether, come well-prepared with a bow, a few stacks of arrows, lightly enchanted iron armor, and iron or diamond sword, unless you're playing on Peaceful or Creative (you can only die in Creative by the /kill command or falling into the Void). However, unless you're on Hardcore, leave your really valuable equipment at home: an inventory-incinerating death in lava is far more likely in the Nether than it is in the Overworld.


 * Do not dig straight down — this is even more important in the Nether, where one-block thick overhangs above lava or high drops are the rule, rather than the exception. Be careful on gravel as well—you may dig one block and discover you were standing on a gravel outcrop over a chasm or worse, the lava sea at the base of the Nether.


 * Do not carry full stacks of diamonds or valuable diamond gear in the Nether, unless you've set up a secure nether base or are playing in hardcore mode. And even if you are, a diamond or Efficiency-enchanted pickaxe can be more trouble than it's worth, as it will blast through netherrack floors and walls entirely too fast.


 * Do not build structures out of anything weaker than iron doors (25). Ghasts can and will blow up and set fire to lesser materials.


 * Do not mine Glowstone unless it's near the ground without first constructing a cobblestone platform underneath it. Otherwise a Ghast might blow up the Glowstone and send you falling to your death.


 * Do not venture into the Nether without flint and steel. Ghast fireballs can deactivate portals, and you'll need to relight them or die if you want to get back to the Overworld. Ghasts' fireballs can also relight them, but this is dangerous. This is now slightly less dangerous as Fire Charges can be obtained in the Nether, although Wither Skeletons are still dangerous.


 * Do not plan on using a water bucket as your defense against death in a lava pool. Water, in any form except for hacked in water blocks, doesn't work in the Nether. Try to gain the necessary materials for Fire Resistance potions as soon as possible and use the potions as your defense instead.


 * Do not attack Zombie Pigmen without ample preparation for the consequences. Zombie Pigmen work as a team; attack one, and all the Zombie Pigmen in the area will become aggressive, similar to untamed wolves. They're harder-hitting (dealing as much as 6½ hearts or 13 points of damage on Hard mode) and faster than regular Zombies, so it's better to kill single, isolated Zombie Pigmen unless you're well-equipped and experienced enough to take on large groups. A building of sorts to retreat in is advisable at all times, preferabely with firing holes in the walls, even if you don't have a bow, you still can see through them. If you can't get away fast enough if you hit one, your best chance of survival is to hit them away with a sword with a knockback enchantment. Don't attempt to knock them into lava as a defense method, however, as all Nether mobs are immune to fire and lava.


 * Do not try to sleep in the Nether. If you right-click a bed in the Nether, it will explode and possibly kill you. If you are on an overhang, you could even fall into lava. If you die in the Nether (other than Hardcore mode), you will wake up in the Overworld. This can be a good thing, however — in single-player or with no other players near where you were, the Nether chunk will unload, and you'll have plenty of time to re-equip yourself and maybe even go back to retrieve your stuff.

Don't leave gaps in your shelter
The purpose of a shelter is to protect you from the outside world. Leaving any sort of opening in that shelter defeats the purpose of having one, as monsters will simply be able to walk right in and attack you. Make sure that your house or fort is secure from all monster attacks, and only has entrances that can be defended easily. If you wish to see what's going on outside of your shelter while standing within, always make windows out of glass or glass panes instead of just punching a hole in the wall. An uncovered hole will allow skeleton arrows to strike you from inside the house, and Creepers can see you from outside and explode next to the wall. Using glass will prevent monsters from attacking you in this manner.

In case you don't have access to sand (to create glass), wooden gates can also do the trick, as hostile mobs cannot see through them.

Don't be careless with the command
Don't do this, as you will suffer from effects like blindness, instant damage, poison, wither or something more terrible.


 * Exception: You can use the /effect command for getting positive effects.

Similarly, don't use the maximum number of health boost and absorption, the hearts block your view and you might fall into lava or you cannot see hidden mobs.
 * Exception: You will have lots of health.

Don't set off TNT from up close
TNT explosions are very deadly from close by, especially chains of explosives set up. Whenever possible, use redstone wiring and detonate from a distance to ensure safety. After the Beta 1.7 update, it is no longer possible to set off TNT by using your hand. If you decide to set off some TNT from a distance it is advised to use repeaters to give more time to get away from the explosion/explosions. This is recommended if you have a lot of redstone. Running is a good suggestion as well.



Going around a corner will put said corner between you and the blast, and for underground mining this is the easiest method if you haven't found any redstone yet.

Don't place TNT on a Redstone Block unless it's necessary
TNT can explode if placed on an Redstone Block since redstone blocks acts as a power source and can detonate upon placing it, exploding at you and at other blocks. Unless you're doing this for mining or if necessary, find cover so you won't get hurt from the blast.

Don't run around with a bucket of lava in your hand
Lava is one of the worst ways to die since you usually lose everything you were carrying. It is easy to accidentally right click laying the lava spring right in front of you leading to a horrible death. Even if it doesn't kill you, it may destroy whatever you were working on, or perhaps trash your lair. Do not keep lava in the hotbar unless you are immediately (or very shortly) going to use it, for exactly the same reason (perhaps unless you're playing PvP).

(Also never keep a bucket of lava in your hand when opening a door).

Don't forget to carry a bucket of water at all times
If you are going to carry anything with you at all times, it should be a bucket of water. A bucket of water is more useful and more vital than any other item you could ever carry. Leaving it in your inventory simply is not sufficient as in a life or death situation you don't have time to find it in your inventory. Always leave your bucket of water on the hot bar. Water buckets rarely come into use, but are instrumental as life-saving devices when they do. If a player falls into lava, placing water will extinguish the fire and allow them to climb out. Water can also create obsidian walkways over pools of lava. Water buckets provide a fast method of safely descending cliffs: players may place water, wait, then reclaim the water and fall into the disappearing waterfall. If falling near a wall, players may even save their lives by placing water on that wall and holding the jump key. Pick up your water after using it, so it can keep saving your life.

You can also use them to cross dangerous lava fields in deep caves - just place the water on a surface other than lava (such as stone) and then you can cross the lava field happily! Remember: you only need 1 bucket, just pick the water back up after. You can also use them to place above you to climb up walls. Don't underestimate water's ability to help you out of a tough situation.

You'll almost never need more than 2 or 3 buckets of water at any time -- one full of water, one empty to pick up springs, and perhaps a spare to take home some lava. Remember that a 2×2 "infinite water" pool works both ways -- you can bucket springs and empty the buckets into it.

Another use for a water bucket would be repelling Endermen. Endermen are hurt by water, and if they come into contact with it, they teleport away.

Don't start a sugarcane farm right outside or near your home
It's hard to identify a creeper hiding in sugarcane in the fraction of the second you have before he starts his timer, and by the time you've gotten your sword out, your house will have a hole in it. However, it is completely safe if you use double fences, light up your farm, close the gate(s), and remove any higher ground near the farm. However, if a creature is following you, you can walk into the middle of a 2-Block tall surgarcane. The creature will not be able to find you in the reeds, and will most likely walk away - but it may still walk into the plant.

Don't forget to bring at least one full stack of gravel or sand if you're mining deep
Lava is the biggest problem when mining. Find yourself trying to mine through a large lava pit? Mine up until you're above it, then sneak to the edge and keep dropping gravel or sand into the pit to fill it. No need to reorder your mine plotting or mess around with obsidian and no worry about accidentally tunneling into a hot spot.

Don't forget to isolate diamond ores before mining
If you see diamond ore, especially on the ground, mine away the blocks around it. If you see lava, take care to completely remove or replace it to ensure you won't come into danger while attempting to extract the diamond. The same principle can be applied to gold, redstone, obsidian, mossy cobblestone and to a lesser extent iron, coal, Lapis Lazuli, and emerald. Dirt, gravel, and stone should be gathered above ground, where it is safe, and lava should be collected from the Nether or from surface lava pools, as it is easier to use a bucket on source blocks in these places.

Don't break into the void
Don't try breaking in the void. Once you die, you can't get your stuff back. Don't try to fly into the void in Creative, because as of one of the updates, even in creative you can and WILL die after going below Y:-64.

Don't surround your bed with blocks
If there is not a free space next to your bed, you're gonna wake up standing on your bed. If there is only one block of free space over your bed, you're gonna wake up inside a block. When you are inside of the block, you will begin suffocating and losing your health. Redstone may kill you too. You can remove the block where you are, but must be quick. If you are too slow, you will die. After your death, you will respawn in your original spawn point. A notification comes up when you get there, reading "Your home bed was missing or obstructed". Sometimes when that happens, you could be in some random spot in your world. So, again, BE CAREFUL!

Don't attack more than one creeper at a time
Even if you have a diamond sword and can get in enough hits before the creeper blows, don't do it (unless you have enchanted diamond armor)! Especially in hard mode where you won't be able to get away fast enough to escape the blast. This isn't especially obvious, but if there's a creeper behind another creeper and you do this, you will very likely be blown up. If you have a (diamond) sword with knockback, it's safer to fight more monsters at one time. But still be (very) careful!

Although, it can be useful to use a creeper's explosion to kill other hostile mobs attacking you, including other creepers.

Never ever leave home without a sword or bow
Monsters like Skeletons and Zombies like to hide in the shade. They will not be hurt because the sunlight will not hit them directly, making them invincible to being burned. Unless it's on peaceful, get a sword. Once you have string, craft a bow.

Don't attack Iron Golems
Iron Golems sound like a reliable source of iron, right? Think again. Iron Golems only drop 3-6 iron ingots (a poppy too) when they're killed, have hearts (compared to your )and have an attack strength of  to  hearts of damage per attack. Worse of all, killing an iron golem lowers your popularity with a village by 5 points. If it is at -15, iron golems are indefinitely hostile, until your village popularity is restored. However, you can safely construct Iron Golem farms. (This is an advanced construction and requires villagers)

Don't teleport to the Nether without Fire Resistance Potions
When you first enter the Nether you obviously won't have Fire Resistance Potions. While exploring in the nether it is easy to spawn on a cliff or mountain side, it is also easy to get knocked back into an ocean of lava and never see your stuff again. If you haven't gotten blaze rods or started brewing yet, it is best to have some spare food and have a full set of iron armor on with a bow to kill blazes, because when they light you on fire, it's hard to extinguish yourself when you can't place water in the Nether. When you enter the Nether immediately go look for Magma Cubes to brew a Fire Resistance Potion. They are rare, so if you can fight Blazes and have slimeballs, you can combine those two in the 2x2 crafting area to get magma cream like so:

Don't use a wooden door on Hard mode unless it's protected
On Hard mode, zombies can easily break down wooden doors and attack you in your base. The easiest way to protect a wooden door is to place a block of dirt in front of it anytime you are not using it. You can also use an alternative (fence gates, iron doors,) places fences and a gate around it, or place a door from inside the door-hole and open it. See Tutorials/Traps for advanced ways to protect your door.

Don't hit a skeleton with a sword enchanted with Knockback
This knocks it away and gives it more time to attack and knock you back so you can't kill the skeleton. This could kill you too so watch out when near a cliff, fire, or lava. Smite is good for this. With the new 1.5 skeleton AI (shoot faster, shoot farther) this is more important.

Don't fight mobs in water (except creepers or endermen)
If you try to fight a skeleton in water, it will shoot really fast and try to knock you away. This could kill you if unarmored. If you are fighting zombies, even in the daytime, they will have the advantage of not burning, so it will be best to lead them out of the water. Creepers can still hurt you, but the damage is reduced when fighting them in water, and you will benefit from increased knockback. However, remember that your movement is hampered too. If the Creeper explodes in the water, they don't do damage, as water removes the explosion's ability to break blocks. Endermen will get hurt in the water, so if you look at a Enderman and don't have a pumpkin, find a nearby pool or lake you can jump into.

Don't ride horses carelessly in the Nether
Horses are a great way to get around, whether you're in the overworld or the Nether. However, one must be careful in the Nether when riding, otherwise they could ride into lava, set their horse on fire (either by riding into lava, being shot by a ghast or Blaze), and get it blown up by Ghasts. To minimize these dangers, here are some tips:
 * Splash potions of Fire Resistance: These can keep you and your horse safe from being burnt and if you accidentally ride into lava.
 * Horse armor: This reduces the damage taken by your horse if a Ghast shoots at you.
 * Splash potions of regeneration or instant healing: These can heal both you and your horse, and harm any Wither Skeletons or Zombie Pigmen that you encounter.
 * Armor for yourself: Wear this, for obvious reasons.
 * Food for the horse: This will heal your horse whenever he gets hurt.

One good thing about riding on horses is that you can outrun Zombie Pigmen if you accidentally attack one. Also, make sure your potions are splash potions, so you can share them with your horse.

Don't build a Nether Portal on bedrock in survival mode
If you build a Nether Portal at the bedrock layer you will have a very good chance of spawning on small island near the lava ocean meaning that shelter area may be limited to only a few blocks of space and since there is likely a lot of room around you. This type of area can also hide ghasts trying to snipe you from the lava and deactivate your portal. Also glowstone and quartz may be very rare in this type of spawn and ladders will easily be destroyed by ghasts. It is recommended that you build your portal above layer 20. You may even spawn on top of the lava and your first steps into the nether will be your death.

Don't fight bosses without the right equipment
If you find a End Portal or have the blocks to make the wither, get high protection enchanted iron or diamond armor, a sword, a bow, golden apples, useless blocks or ladders, and a pumpkin (Ender Dragon) or milk (wither) before fighting a boss. Also, it's easier with more than one person.

Don't use a fire aspect sword on a zombie
If you enchant a sword with fire aspect, don't use this on a zombie. It is much harder to get knockback on a zombie if he is on fire. If he can't be knocked back enough, he may attack you. When you are attacked by a zombie on fire, you will be set on fire, too. However, If you do this and just run away, the zombie will be weakened by the fire, so you can come back later and finish what you started. Unless you are experienced and can kill a zombie without knockback then fire aspect can be quite useful.

Don't drink poison
Poison is very deadly and spider eyes boot out 2 hearts, but potion of poison can boot out more until the time runs out or you die. It's a waste of spider eyes and you need them for food. (Even if it can boot out 2 hearts.) It's also a waste of potions and you should've used them for splash potions. The poison itself will not kill you, but if you drink (or get splashed by) a potion, you will be reduced to .5 heart, leaving you wide open for a single hit from a mob, fall damage, or really any damage at all.

Don't go to The End without a pumpkin
Wearing a diamond helmet in the end instead of a pumpkin is one of the worst desicions you can make. You will almost certainly die from accidentally staring at endermen. Endermen are much faster than the player, because they can teleport. You may be distracted by the ender dragon and an enderman you looked at teleports behind you. Of course, wearing a pumpkin on your head avoids that. Or, you can just kill everything. Your vision will be slightly worse, but its a small price to pay for being able to stare at endermen. You can also play on peaceful.

However, if you have a diamond sword (preferably enchanted) then you can kill the Endermen easily, and having your vision obstructed can leave you unable to aim a bow at the Dragon.

Some people also build snow golems and iron golems while in the Overworld, then send them to the End. They distract the enderman, leaving you able to attack the dragon. One can also build the Wither, which will attack Endermen (and even enderdragon). It will very rarely attack the Player as long as there are Endermen.

Another completely safe option is to build a small pool of water and sit in it while attacking the enderdragon. The endermen can't teleport into water and you can stare at them as much as you want, as well as wear a diamond helmet and fight the enderdragon.

The usage of a custom resource pack could be used to nullify the pumpkin blindness.

Don't attack a silverfish in a stronghold (unless you can kill it in one hit)
Once you attack a silverfish in a stronghold, it will awaken all other silverfish there, meaning you have a LOT of silverfish to deal with. It is a better suggestion to just run away until it enters a new block. Getting into an inacessable location for the silverfish is a good idea as well. If you have a enchanted diamond sword that can kill it in one hit, thats a different story. You can just hit the silverfish once and it will die, not awakening other silverfish.A failsafe is to enchant a diamond sword with any Sharpness or Bane of Arthropods enchantment. No matter how low or high, it will always 1-hit kill. Another way to safely kill Silverfish is to use a Bucket of Lava or a Flint and Steel to burn them. This won't awaken more because you are only indirectly dealing damage to them. Be careful when using this method though, as it is very easy to accidentally burn yourself.

Don't let a snow golem run free near your bed
Since snow counts as a block, you will wake up standing in your bed, and you will wake up inside a block if your ceiling is only 2 blocks above, and that will make you take suffocation damage. You will also not spawn at your bed if you die, bbecause it is "obstructed". To avoid this, cage up your snow golem.

Don't get careless in a mineshaft
Abandoned mineshafts are some of the most serious places in Minecraft. If you get too careless, you could walk right into a cobweb, or cave spider spawner, and cobwebs don't slow down cave spiders, so you will die in a situation like this. Always bring a sword so you can mine out the cobwebs quickly and escape. Also, dont goof around near lava lakes in a shaft, because the wood around you could catch on fire and you will too. If you are standing on a bridge over a ravine, be extra careful of skeletons and especially creepers, which might send you careening off the bridge,and cause you to take extreme (possibly fatal) fall damage or worse, plunge into a lava river. You can also get lost and never see day again until you die of hunger (on Hard difficulty) or are killed by a mob. So please, don't get careless in mineshafts.

Don't drill around with Efficiency V in Netherrack
Yes, Efficiency is useful for breaking things quickly, but using it in the nether when mining netherrack can lead to death or other problems. Netherrack is a very soft block and high efficiency will mine it so fast that with just one click, multiple blocks will break. Especially don't dig straight down, as your super drill pickaxe could lead you into lava. Even without efficiency, try to mine it slower as it's a good habit to keep you safer. Also, as of 1.5, there is hidden lava in the nether that could spill out and kill you any time, which can be randomly found by digging netherrack. However, if you have potions of Fire Resistance, and want a ton of Netherrack for whatever reason, then it may be a good choice to dig a tunnel. However, make it wide, as to ease up on space if you need to run. If you don't have fire resistance, then bring a lot of wooden pickaxes.

Don't sprint around lava
If you're sprinting to get through a long cave or mineshaft, stop when you come to lava. If you are walking at normal speed, you could accidentally double-tap (default) and sprint into lava. It is recommended to sneak when you are within 2 blocks of lava.

Don't use a bed in the Nether or the End
Using a bed in the Nether or End will cause it to explode, and will also set the ground on fire, so if the initial explosion doesn't kill you the fire will. So don't try to get your night's rest in these hellish dimensions. Beds don't have much use in the Nether or End anyway, even if they didn't explode. Having your spawn in the Nether is rather unsafe, and there is no day-night cycle for you to sleep through. Do not use beds for anything but decoration in the Nether. Same thing applies to the End. It's best not to place any whatever the case, to prevent accidental explosions.

Don't fight the ender dragon (unless you are on peaceful or know what you are doing.)
The Ender Dragon can inflict a lot of damage to you, and once you go to the End you can't go back until you either die or kill the dragon. Endermen make the boss fight harder. Pumpkins prevent you from provoking endermen but can blind you from shooting the dragon and you might shoot an Endermen instead. Peaceful mode is much safer due to no Endermen and the ender dragon not attacking you. If you do try to fight the dragon it is a good idea to carry diamond armor, lots of food and especially a bow so you can hit the ender dragon from a distance. At least one piece of diamond armor will be good enough. However, bring an enchanted iron or diamond sword (lightly, at least) to deal with the Endermen, and bring a heavily enchanted Bow to deal heavy damage to the Dragon.

Interestingly, if you're in Creative mode, using snowballs will actually kill the dragon quite quickly, as they do nearly as much damage as a fully charged arrow, but shoot much faster.

Don't jump off a mountain even if there is water to land in
Jumping off the biggest mountain in Minecraft may seem fun, but you should not attempt it, even if you think the water below will save you. You are likely going to miss the water entirely, fall into 1 block deep water, and you will get game over if you are playing on hardcore (Why would you jump off a cliff on hardcore?). It is much safer to just use feather falling boots or descend the mountain safely by the sides. Usually it is safe if you can see the bottom, and it's wide. Lakes are good choices. Waterfalls are even safer, as you can slide down the water.

Don't forget to light every room in your house
When you think you are safe in your dark house, you are not. Mobs can easily spawn when you leave the house and when you come back, you might be killed because you are not ready to battle. Using torches is good enough, but for advanced players they may use glowstone or redstone lamps. Nobody wants to be surprised by uninvited guests in their home.


 * Exception: If you want to have a mob spawn room to collect the drops and experience.

Don't look up in the sky while walking or sprinting
If you're doing this, you might fall into a ravine, lava lake, or a patch of mobs, or fall down from a mountain. You'll be likely to die and lose your stuff if you do this. This would be dumb if you're playing on survival, especially hardcore. Nobody wants to be surprised by falling down to a ravine, lava lake or a patch of mobs. Looking around is the way to go while sprinting. It's much safer to get the Feather Falling, Protection, and Fire Protection enchantments

Don't forget to leave a trail of torches underground
especially in a abandoned mineshaft. If you don't leave a trail of at least something, You are extremely likely to get lost. Just imagine all that good you have at your home, possibly lost forever. If you don't want to leave a trail, then a compass is what you need. This is pointless if you know how to get out.

Never EVER eat a Pufferfish under any circumstance!
When fished, they may look good to eat, but these things are actually extremely deadly when eaten and should only ever be used for brewing a potion of water breathing. Pufferfish will impose three nasty status effects on you when eaten - poison, hunger and nausea. The poison effect will last an entire minute and lower you to 0.5 hearts in just 12 seconds, forcing you to stay on half a heart for 48 seconds! During this time, you are extremely vulnerable, and as you get the hunger effect, you will need to eat again before you can start healing. Not only that, but for the first 15 seconds, you get Nausea, which wobbles and warps the screen, highly impairing your vision, which could lead to you walking into lava or off a cliff accidentally.

Don't turn all your Bones into Bone Meal
When you turn your bones into bonemeal, it now takes up 3x the space in your chest. The same thing applies to wooden logs and other multiplying blocks. You also want to keep some bones in case you come across some wolves.

Don't Kill Squids with Diamond Swords
Squids, when killed, only give you experience and ink sacks. Unless you are desperate for experience or you need ink sacks, don't waste the durability of your diamond sword on squids. If you want to kill squids, (Maybe they didn't care if they were invited to your pool party or not.) use a low-level sword.

Don't use liquids as block ids
Yes, they are more stackable than water/lava buckets, but once you place them, you can't get them back. Think about placing the liquid blocks before you do.

Don't mine valuable blocks with low-level equipment
If you don't have an iron pickaxe for gold, diamond, redstone, and other valuable ores, they won't drop their contents. Instead, they'll just break (eventually). Likewise you need a diamond pickaxe for obsidian. A good indication is the amount of time it takes for them to appear to be destroyed. If you have been mining a block for more than 4 seconds (with the exception of Obsidian, for which it takes 9.4 seconds with a diamond pickaxe), then it is very unlikely to drop resources when destroyed and you will just lose the item you tried to mine. However they are not good for mining, as they only gain you a miniscule amount more net iron per minute, and a lot less of everything else, plus, you find fewer caves with the slow mining, meaning that they aren't even good for mining iron.
 * Wooden planks have better uses than tool crafting, and should only be used as such when there is no alternative or when you are just starting. When you start, you should make a wooden pickaxe, mine 19 stone blocks, and then you will never again need the wooden pickaxe, or any other wooden tool.  11 of the 19 can be used for a full set of stone tools, and the remaining 8 for a furnace. You can then burn the wooden pickaxe in the furnace.
 * You should use golden tools only if you need especially fast gathering of resources for a short period (for example, working underwater). Gold also enchants very well, so gold tools are useful if you want any enchantment which would otherwise be difficult to obtain, such as silk touch.  However, note that gold pickaxes can't mine the advanced ores (Including gold ore itself!), regardless of enchantments.
 * Cobblestone tools are fairly slow, but they are so cheap as to be disposable, and two of them will last as long as an iron tool. (Longer, with Item Repair.)  These are good for digging out lakes, harvesting jungle trees, and other bulk work.

Don't waste valuable equipment on low-value jobs
Diamonds are worth their weight in... well, DIAMOND! Using your diamond pickaxe for bulk mining may be faster, but will damage the pickaxe a little more every time. Using it for digging dirt won't even be faster. Pretend that every diamond you have is the last one you will ever have - plan for the worst, be pleasantly surprised by everything non-bad that happens. Diamond items last long enough that they're as likely to be lost to a "bad death" as they are to wear out, so the other question is when and where you're willing to risk them. Never use iron, gold or diamond for hoes, as the only gain is durability (and for gold, not even that), unless you have more diamonds than you know what to do with.
 * Iron is faster than stone and lasts twice as long. The sword and armor are also noticeably more powerful.  Iron ore is fairly common, but not unlimited, so don't get careless about spending it.  These should be your go-to tools "in the field", that is when travelling or adventuring.  Enchantments can make them much more useful, and getting "the wrong enchantment" is much less annoying when it's just iron at stake.
 * Diamond tools are for special missions -- when you want stuff that will last a long time (but not forever), and work fast. However, the supply is strictly limited, so choose carefully how you use them and risk them!  Given that you want to get the most out of your diamond items, you should enchant them as powerfully as you can.
 * Branch mining with a diamond pickaxe can easily use it up before you find enough diamonds to replace it. This goes double for using it for large excavations or building, or digging your way around the Nether.
 * Similarly, a diamond axe will be used up by a few jungle trees
 * Shovels also get used up, but are much cheaper than other tools, only one diamond apiece. If you have many diamonds, an "eterna-shovel" may be a decent time-saver.
 * Swords only cost two diamonds, and can give you a key edge in fights, so they are worthwhile, but remember they also increase the possible cost if you do die.
 * Diamond armor should pretty much be saved for the Ender Dragon, until you've got enough diamonds stockpiled that you can risk losing your investment. (24 for a full set of armor!)

Of course, if a villager blacksmith sells diamond tools, that changes things! You can trade renewable resources for emeralds, and then those for store-bought iron and diamond tools, so use those to your heart's content.

Remember also that your most valuable resource is your time. Someone could easily hollow out a 10 x 10 x 10 area with wooden picks and wooden shovels, but it is a waste of time when one has diamond tools to use on the same project. Using iron and stone tools to mine in order to conserve your diamond takes away the point of gathering the diamonds in the first place, and most people don't want to spend their entire minecraft experience digging. If you only have an hour to play minecraft every day, it would be better to spend 20 minutes of it digging out an area for a house foundation then 2 hours digging it, even if you "waste" a few diamond in the process.

Don't use non-weapon tools for damaging mobs
Carry a sword with you until you craft a bow. Other tools cause less damage to mobs, and they lose durability faster.

An axe has the added advantage of the ability to chop wood faster as well as being a decent weapon. At some point you WILL want to replace it with a stone or better sword though. A diamond axe does more damage in the long run than an iron sword, but only do this if you are desperate (i.e. your sword breaks in the middle of combat.) Axes are more expensive (3 material (wood, stone, iron, gold, diamond) and 2 sticks instead of 2 material and 1 stick) and are really not worth it.

An axe is one tier worse than a sword. A pickaxe is two tiers worse, meaning a stone sword does as much damage per hit as a diamond pickaxe.

Don't kill passive mobs with a sword if you have flint and steel
If you're already carrying flint and steel while you're hunting, save yourself some time. When hunting a mob that yields meat (pork, chicken, steak), using a flint and steel cooks the meat for you. This is especially useful on chickens, since they are easy to kill, and raw chicken can inflict food poisoning. You'll save coal and time you would have spent cooking it, and a flint and steel costs less to make and has fewer uses than your trusty iron or diamond sword. However, be careful not to set fire to yourself, or to try it on mobs near water; if the mob extinguishes himself, he will not drop cooked meats when re-lit. Try and set as many on fire at a time to maximize efficiency, and watch out for wooden houses or trees. Lava also works, and it doesn't have durability, but it kills mobs quickly, so be sure to remove it. Plus, remember that lava will destroy any items that fall into it, so be careful if you decide to use lava to hunt mobs. Another alternative is to use the Looting enchantment, as it provides a higher drop rate than regular weapons. Some may deem this far more useful due to the massive amounts of fuel they may possess. Coal is easily obtained anywhere, and blaze rods are easily obtained through a blaze farm. The time required to cook it could be bypassed by farming, mining, etc.

Solution: Fire Aspect.

Be careful using these methods if it concerns a chicken, cow or pigfarm, since you might kill all your flock/cattle and you need at least 2 of each for reproduction.

Beware of the durability level, too. If it goes down, you'll need to waste another iron ingot on it, not to mention a flint, too.

Exception: You may need raw meat to trade with villagers

Don't kill sheep if you have shears
Sheep drop only 1 block of wool when you kill them. If you have shears, you can right-click on a sheep with shears which will give you 1-3 blocks of wool. Not only that, if you right-click a sheep with a dye in your hand, the color of the sheep will change to that color. Sheep eat grass to re-grow their wool, and will have the same color they had before. This makes wool of all different colours renewable. Note that baby sheep cannot be sheared.

Don't make too many planks
Think of your stack of logs as a "compressed" version of a stack of planks. As soon as you make planks, your wood takes up four times the room. You could also need to make charcoal if there is a coal shortage and a low supply of logs, however this is pointless if there is a forest nearby.

Similarly, don't make too many sticks. If you have a lot of extra planks, turning them into sticks will double the amount of space they consume and lower their usefulness (if your planks have been turned into sticks, then you can't craft a new chest for your ridiculous amount of sticks).

Don't use gold as your Tools or Armor
Even though gold tools do work much faster than diamonds, they have very low durability. So rely on iron tools and armor. Iron tools and armor are important for Survival Mode until you find enough diamonds to craft diamond tools and armor. Other than that, you can rely on gold for golden apples, Golden Carrots for potions or food, powered rails, and a clock.


 * Unless you have a gold farm in the nether. If you do, then gold becomes an infinite resource.


 * Gold is also better than Leather armor in all cases, so if you don't have enough Iron to make a full set of armor, Gold is good for your Helmet or Boots.

Don't destroy bookcases without silk touch
Don't do this, as they can only drop 3 books when destroyed, meaning that your 6 wood planks are gone forever.

Don't use Glass carelessly
Glass doesn't drop itself when broken, so if you change your mind on creating a window, you just lost glass. If an NPC Village is not nearby, lost Glass can become an issue. Before you place Glass, make sure to use a block substitute such as Iron Bars or Leaves instead of Glass. It's also important to not hold glass in the hotbar unless you plan to use it soon, since, if you accidentally place glass, a Silk Touch tool would be needed to retrieve it. This is the same with Glass Panes.

Don't use an axe on leaves
Using an axe on leaves is a bad idea, because it will drain the uses your axe has. If you use it on all of the leaves on a tree, not even an iron axe will last very long. It is just as fast to use your fists, or any non tool items, so never use an axe on a leaf. However, the one tool that is made for leaves is shears, which can be used to collect placeable leaf blocks. However, these leaf blocks could potentially hog up your inventory, so you may not want to do this, unless you wish to make a structure out of leaves. If you'll be cutting through a lot of leaves, you may choose to make a few disposable stone swords to use as machetes; this also works on the cobwebs you find in abandoned mineshafts.

Don't use the wrong tool for the job
Using a pickaxe on dirt or wood will only waste the uses on the pickaxe. Avoid using anything other than a sword or bow on a monster, for the same purpose. Instead of using a pickaxe on gravel, break the bottom piece of gravel and place a torch quickly to mine all of the gravel in a vertical line. And avoid wasting valuable diamonds on a shovel or hoe when a shovel breaks quickly and a hoe really needs to only be stone or wood. Note that if you use the wrong tool for a job (ex. mining dirt with a pickaxe or killing a mob with an axe) it takes 2 uses for one hit/block!

Don't attack tiny slimes with a sword
Tiny slimes have the lowest health in the game - so low that they can be taken down with a single punch. They also deal no damage. Knowing this, you shouldn't waste your sword on them because it's unnecessary, and will waste your sword's durability. Tiny magma cubes, however, have more health, meaning you can't kill it with one punch. And since they can damage you, a low tier sword could be handy.

Don't shoot paintings, boats, minecarts or Item Frames
Don't shoot these items. They count as entities, and as such the arrow will disappear if you shoot it. Also be careful with fishing rods, as they will destroy paintings.

Don't make a hoe out of anything other than cobblestone or wood
Although it may be tempting to have a diamond (or gold) hoe, DON'T BUILD ONE! Any hoe can till a dirt block at the blink of an eye. The only thing you can gain with making hoes out of minerals better than cobblestone is durability, but since wood and cobblestone are both renewable, making a hoe out of rare materials is a waste. In the early game, cobblestone is the optimum material for hoes. If you are like many players, you may find yourself with a surplus of iron after several hours of game play. If you intend to build a VERY large farm, making an iron hoe will save you a lot of time, running back and forth to make hoes. In this case, an iron hoe is a good idea. But if you are building a small or medium sized farm, stick to cobblestone. Having a diamond hoe is considered being "high class" so if you have a lot of diamonds, it does have some bragging rights.

Don't heal a Zombie Villager if there are other Zombies around
If you heal a zombie villager when other zombies are around, when the villager goes back to normal, all of the zombies will gang up on that one villager, and kill it, reversing what you just did. This does, however, buy you time to escape, as the zombies will be distracted by the villager. That would be a good splash potion of weakness and a precious golden apple gone down the drain pipe.

Don't use Fortune on low-value blocks
Why would you use a Fortune-enchanted diamond pickaxe on stone? You will not get any extra cobble and you waste your pick's durability. A good idea is to bring an iron pick into a mine to get stone, iron and gold, which are not affected by Fortune.

Don't throw away valuable equipment that has lost most of its durability
None of us want tools that are about to lose durability. So, many of us just throw them out, even if they are valuable. It's a big mistake! For example, let's say a zombie attacked you while you were wearing diamond armor, and the armor lost most of its durability. DON'T THROW IT OUT. Yes, just think about all your hard work and the diamonds you wasted. It still has some use! If you have a fishing rod with less durability, then you can still use them to find fish! It is better than no fishing rod! Shears with less durability has some use! You can get more wool! (But don't collect leaves!) Same goes for tools. You could also use them to repair other armor with powerful enchantments or low durability. And anyway, It's always good to have a extra pair of tools in a chest in case you die and lose your stuff.

Don't immediately throw away your items with lesser value
Admit it. We don't want our chests hogged up with less valuable items right? You think in your mind: "Just throw it into lava." Don't make that mistake! Items made of materials with lesser values still have a use. For instance, a creeper blows a hole in your animal farm and you are left meatless, then think about all that rotten flesh you just threw away? Rotten flesh is not only efficient food for wolves, but it also makes a great emergency food as it's easy to kill zombies, and fills your food bar more than the hunger effect drains it. Also, all that cobblestone that filled 500 chests in your storage room still has a use. Cobblestone can fit great with mossy and cracked cobble when building a fake jungle temple, and can make great emergency tools. Even though it has a lesser value with not much durability, it still has some use in it. So you tried to mine a bookshelf and it dropped 3 books only, you think it is useless. THINK AGAIN. If you throw them out, then you cannot craft a new bookshelf.Think about what you are throwing away before you do.

Don't turn all of your cobblestone into stone bricks
Don't do this, just in case your pickaxe breaks and you have no cobblestone. Stone bricks cannot be crafted into a pickaxe and just think about all of your cobblestone you wasted. You need them to make stone pickaxes.

Don't overload your enchantments
Speaking about tools and armor, over-enchanting them can risk being unable to repair them. (In survival mode, anyway.) The anvil has a limit of 39 levels. Even if you have enough levels, an anvil will declare the repair work "too expensive". You can get into this fix by not renaming your items early (the repair penalty adds up), or by adding on more enchantments from other items or books.

Don't use silk touch on all blocks
Silk touch is a very useful enchantment for mining some blocks, such as glass and glowstone. However, do not use it all the time. For example, ores mined with a silk touch pickaxe will drop as ores and have to be smelted to get the material. Using a silk touch tool on items that drop itself when mined (e.g cobblestone, dirt, wood) will waste the tool's durability as using silk touch will not affect the item drops. On the other hand, using it to stockpile diamond or emerald ore, can let you later use a Fortune pick to get more drops from them. (This also works for redstone, lapis, and coal, but is less worthwhile.) On SMP, they are often used as decoration blocks, and are considered quite valuable.

Don't throw away your tools
You might need extra tools as backups, if any of your tools break you may need an extra. If you had 1 pickaxe and it broke, you have to stop mining and go to your base/home and get the supplies you need.

Don't use shears to collect too many leaves (or vines)
Shears are made for collecting plants like leaves, vines, and grass. But don't collect too many, as they will hog up your inventory. It is better to have a "leaf chest" where you hold all the leaves you collect with your shears. Another thing is that each time you collect a plant with the shears, it tweaks the shears a little more every time. If you collect several stacks of leaves and you dont know what to do with them, you will have just wasted 2 iron ingots. You could have used those ingots for something else.

Don't hog up your inventory
Don't do this or you can't get anymore stuff. Lava is a good thing to destroy the annoying circling items on the ground, but it destroys the item and it's a waste of rare stuff. A better alternative, is Cactus. Cacti can destroy items more reliably than lava, as items in lava can bounce back and you might pick them up. Don't forget a lot of wooden planks( like 64) to make chests or you have to go back towards you home again to empty your inventory into the chests and you might lose your cave by griefers which blocks caves by covering them with soil/grass block, or you might forget to make a trail of torches, or you make multiple paths of torches and you will go to the wrong cave and then you have to make a new mineshaft to mine resources again. What a waste of time and resources.

Don't fight the wither on peaceful mode
Gathering up those wither skeleton skulls was difficult, right... But let's say that spawning the wither on peaceful can reverse what you just did. Yep that's right. If you build the wither on peaceful, it will disappear like almost every other hostile mob. Not only that, but you will have lost those items you used to make it, so there goes 3 wither skelly skulls and 4 soul sand down the drain. Now you have to get that stuff all over again. Don't fight the wither on peaceful or you will lose those precious skulls used to make it.

Don't use tool enchantments in the nether
Netherrack with its fast breaking speed makes you tools seem to not last long(even diamond ones). You may be waiting to give it a good unbreaking enchantment but don't know what you are wasting. The unbreaking enchantment will make hardly a difference with the such fast breaking speed, which will make it seem useless(because it is). Your best bet is to bring 2 unenchanted diamond picks. Also, unbreaking usually comes with efficiency which another post tells about that. Also, fortune is useless because of how much quartz ore spawns.

Don't get careless with the dragon egg
So many players want to show off that they killed the ender dragon, but many have lost the dragon egg. If you get too careless, you may blow it up or send it back to the overworld by accident. To obtain it, you should cover up the portal with end stone and use a piston to push the egg. Here are some of the things you shouldn't do:

-Blow it up with TNT, this might not drop the egg, but will blow it up

-Try to mine it with a weak pickaxe

-Forget to cover the portal and send it to the overworld

Also, never ever leave it where players can obtain it in a SMP server. Lots of players play servers, and might take it from you and grief your house.

Don't use diamond armor in the nether
Diamond armor is very strong and lasts longer, however in the nether it is still very easy to die. Falling into a lava lake means your 24 diamonds are gone forever. Even with high enchantments, zombie pigmen will still do a half heart (sometimes full heart) each hit. Then if you die, the zombie pigman will attack you while trying to get your stuff back. When exploring in the nether, iron armor is better as iron is much easier to find (most people have stacks of it) and still provides lots of protection. Also if you don't die, zombie pigman battles wear the armor down very fast and will break it.

Don't use all of your string just to make bows
String can be made into tripwire or fishing rods, fishing rods can be used to catch fish which you can be used to tame ocelots and is a good food source.

Don't mess up with redstone elevators in the nether
Don't do this, as you may have to start again. As of 1.5, there is hidden lava in the netherrack and it can spill out and ruin your lift, especially if it's made out of wool or wood. Plus, ghasts can blow up parts of you lift if you build it out of weak materials. Also, never ever build it on survival mode because you will die of fall damage.

Don't throw your valuable items out
If you are about to throw your diamonds in lava, then don't. Just think about the hard work you've wasted. Same goes for gold and iron.

Never EVER delete your world if you lost everything under any circumstances!
So you have done well in survival mode. You have diamond armor, diamond tools, diamonds, gold and iron. All it takes is one careless mistake to all be naught. If you and us had that mistake, then we will delete our world! DON'T DO THIS. It's a big mistake! If we did this, then not only our hard work is naught, but we will lose our precious castle, land and friends forever! The only way to solve this is to open LAN world with cheats and you can get your lost diamond armor, tools, diamonds, gold and iron back in no time! An another good tip is to open LAN world with cheats and set the  to true, so you won't lose all of your items! However, to experienced players, it will sound very boring and very easy. In that case, just be careful.

Don't get rid of a clownfish
Yes, Clownfish are pretty much useless apart from restoring half a hunger point, Don't chuck then away. Clownfish is a very rare catch. So think of all that fishing you did. You spent so long and you destroyed the rarest catch. Besides, Mojang may add a use for it at some point in the near future. You never know. You don't want to be the person who threw out their clownfish and found out that there was a handy use for them.

Don't play with fire
This is a no-brainer. Fire, wood and leaves result in even more fire! Though as of Beta 1.6 that wildfires no longer burn indefinitely, this can destroy chunks of forests, as well as accidentally burning down part of your house. Follow what Smokey the Bear says: "Only you can prevent wildfires."

Also, never, ever carry a bucket of lava in the hotbar unless you're about to use it! You should even avoid carrying flint and steel (or a Fire Charge) in the hotbar, at least when you're in a forest or other flammable area. If you are making use of lava or flint and steel, have a bucket of water handy. Then, if you make a mistake (we all do), you can quickly put out the flames. You can also try to punch the fire when it's created, and it will be immediately extinguished (hopefully it hasn't spread already).

Don't use 9 coal when you can craft them into a coal block
9 coal burns for 720 seconds while coal blocks, which can each be crafted with 9 coal, burn for 800 seconds when smelted. Use coal blocks instead when you have to smelt large amounts of items. Using coal to smelt stacks of items wastes room because coal blocks are also useful for storing coal. This is a good reason to use coal blocks instead of coal in smelting if this is reasonable. Fair warning: Do not use blocks to smelt a few items. Whole blocks are consumed at a time and you will waste the block's burning time that way. Note: you cannot use charcoal to make coal blocks.

Try not to sprint in your first days of game
Sprinting depletes the hunger bar at a rate of 1/2 a food unit every 40 meters, or 7 seconds, and at the beginning of the game, food is essential. Sprinting with no food can prove deadly.

If you feel up to it, you could hunt zombies during the night, or wait at dawn until all the zombies and skeletons have died and collect the rotten flesh and bones. The rotten flesh may poison you, but it will still heal more than you will lose by poisoning (on Easy & Normal, if you have been poisoned), and the bones can be crafted and used to create your first little wheat patch.

Now that you have a steady food supply it's safer to sprint.

Avoid building a weak house
Dirt, sand, snow, and Netherrack are weak materials with a low blast resistance, so they are quite easily destroyed by creepers. Avoid building your main base out of dirt. Instead, use cobblestone, which is a cheap, abundant, and tough alternative.

Later on in the game you may wish to make your main base out of bricks, stone brick, stone, and possibly, obsidian. You could also use End Stone if you make an Ender chest, or go to The End, and kill the Ender Dragon and mine some End Stone.

A list of low blast-resistance materials can be found here. Also, if you use an inventory editor, be extremely careful not to use stone, stone bricks, or cobblestone with silverfish in them (also known as Monster Eggs, silverfish blocks, or "Block 97").

Don't build a house with blocks that can easily be destroyed by creepers or TNT
Speaking about blocks, cobblestone is a cheap material and has a blast resistance of 30, but it can be destroyed by TNT or creepers. End stone has a blast resistance of 47, but it is still blow-upable. That includes other blocks below the blast resistance of 500. Use obsidian or if you are in creative mode, use bedrock. Be careful about building, don't use blocks under the blast resistance of 500! They may look very ugly and bad, but they are very strong and it is a small step of improving it. However, for aesthetic purposes, using obsidian and bedrock may be unfeasible. Also, it looks ugly to most players, thus, players will hate your base. Also, your bedrock/obsidian base makes players think you are a very bad builder. In that case, just be careful. An easy solution to this problem is to cover up the resistant block with your favorite building block. But, make sure you have enough to spare, because it will take a lot more blocks to build a cover for your house than it did to build your house.



Don't build houses mainly out of wood, especially, in multiplayer


Yes, wood may look pretty, and everyone loves the texture. It also, however, has a great number of practical disadvantages, compared with other materials.


 * Wood has about half the blast resistance (15) of cobblestone and most stone-based blocks (30). This means that explosions will do far more damage to a wooden structure.


 * Wood is flammable, and other than wool, is the only building material where this is the case.
 * Because wood is flammable, Netherrack can't be used as light sources in a wooden building, and building fireplaces is dangerous as well.
 * Aside from the fires you provide, lightning can set a wooden roof afire. While walls might be set afire by an adjacent strike, this is rare, and can be made more so by an overhang on the roof.  Of course, this is no hazard in a desert biome.


 * Wood is however, efficient to collect in large quantities. A stack of wood blocks can be harvested in the same time as a stack of cobble: but yields four times as many wooden planks. For large constructions, such as mob traps, wood planks are a good choice. (Be careful around fire and lava!)

Wooden roofing may be easy and look nice, but it is vulnerable to being set afire by lightning. Either do the roof in a fireproof material (brick is classic), or have a fireproof layer beneath to limit the spread of fire. If you do use wood walls, consider buttressing or trim with either smooth stone, cobblestone, sandstone, or obsidian. It will not only look better, but will have better blast resistance against explosions.

Don't build TNT traps out of dirt
It is time consuming to rebuild dirt traps. Instead, try a more explosion-resistant material, such as obsidian. Cobblestone also works, but some blocks will be destroyed. Or you can use water to avoid terrain damage.

Water has the ability to absorb the destructive aspect of an explosion, but generally not the physics or health damage, which means that your target will probably get launched. (Or killed, if it was a mob or a non-creative-mode player.)

Don't make a fireplace in a wood house
Fireplaces look very nice, especially in homes made of logs or planks. However, you are discouraged to do so, because of the chance of the fire spreading. You can, however, build a fireplace and make sure no flammable blocks are around (at least six blocks away) unless they're well-shielded by non-flammable blocks. However, be aware this is not foolproof and your house may still catch on fire. As of Beta 1.6, fires don't spread forever, but fire can still destroy a good chunk of your home.

If you really want to make a wood house and still have a nice fireplace, make it in a swamp biome. It turns out that in swamps, fire doesn't actually spread. It's a neat trick to try out!

Hint: Make a fireplace ONLY with blocks of bricks, Nether Quartz, Nether Brick or cobblestone/stone/stone bricks. They look nice and don't burn. Or just use a furnace or a torch if you don't want to risk.

Don't build a portal underground
Don't build a portal underground or caves in the overworld. You could teleport to a low Y level in the nether. Nether quartz ore are rare and it's impossible to find glowstone in that area. Plus it's dark with TONS of mobs crawling around.

Avoid eating poisonous foods without Milk on hand
When eating rotten flesh, it is wise to drink milk after eating it or you have chances of losing some of your hunger. Likewise, use spider eyes to make splash potions instead of eating them. However, if you stay completely still after eating, you can eat rotten flesh with a complete benefit and only half a hunger joint taken away from what you gained on normal difficulties.

Exception: Spider Eyes have a great nourishment value. They will quickly reduce two hearts upon consumption, but the hearts will be quickly restored and your food bar will not deplete as quickly. In non-threatening situations (daylight, at home, well lit mine) eating a spider eye will do more good in the long run. It's not advisable to eat a spider eye while battling mobs. Another alternative is to eat a lot of rotten flesh at once, because it just resets the timer to 30 seconds, so the hunger effect doesn't stack.

Don't grief up your spawn place
If you want to play with TNT, please don't use your spawn place for this. If you die and have not made or slept in a bed, you will spawn at this place, so if you dug where you spawn, you will spawn at the bottom of the hole, and may not be able to get out as you have no pick or materials. And always remember to mark the spawn point when spawning into a new world! You can always create a new world in creative mode to prevent this.

Don't get too cocky
You may be doing well in that Hardcore world or Super Hostile map. However, all it takes is one careless mistake to see it all be for naught. Always make sure to wear the best armor available, and have some emergency armor, usually the second-best you have. (Unless you are in hardcore or you set the game rule keepInventory to true!) Try to keep some stone tools, and put away your tools when they get worn out. You never know when you will buy the farm. The only exception is if you are in a big fight - say, the Wither boss. Iron armor will work fine and it is good not to risk diamond armor.

Try not to live in certain biomes
Some biomes are better to live in than others. Oceans are, of course, not advisable to build a beginner house in, due to the lack of trees, materials, or caves, however for advanced builders the flat aspect and monochrome surroundings might fit into their design. This also goes for the desert and mesa biomes, while both devoid of trees are generally a flat biomes, and is the perfect setting for pyramids and other exotic builds. The swamp and extreme hills biomes are not recommended as build sites due to witch and slime spawns in the former and long drops and few trees in the latter. However, an extreme hills biome makes a great spot for building an epic house in Creative. The snow biome will periodically develop a layer of snow over dwellings, so build at your own risk. The jungle biome, while full of trees, is hard to build in due to crowding, and can be very dangerous to navigate at night. The plains, birch,flower,and standard forests,savannas,deep forests, mega taigas, and taigas due to being non-snowpacked as of 1.7.2, biomes are typically recommended for beginner players due to the availability of resources and spawn rates of friendly mobs. Many Biome variants and technical biomes are suitable too. See biomes for more. If you spawn near a mushroom biome, by all means, settle there! No monsters can spawn, and mooshrooms make infinite food sources with bowls.

Don't venture out at night in certain biomes
Some biomes are better when venturing out at night and the forest and jungle biomes are the worst. It's crowded and a creeper can corner you to a tree. The extreme hills are not recommended due to long drops, although it is very easy to stay on top of a mountain, and punch mobs off the cliff. The swampland is also not recommended, but for advanced gamers it's the second best, due to slimes, and slimeballs create leads and sticky pistons, and there are a fair amount of trees. That also goes for the taiga biome. Snow hills biome are the second worst due to multiple hills and you can get lost. The desert biome and plains are the best due to no obstruction, although desert biomes have cactus. If you spawn near a mushroom biome, by all means, then go there! No hostile mobs will spawn and you have unlimited food - mooshrooms!

Don't fight the Wither near important land
The Wither is a very easy way to grief your beautiful world or diamond castle. If you are planning to fight the wither, move very far away from important land or buildings. Withers make huge explosions when spawned and shoot out wither skulls that explode. Even your protection IV diamond armor or sharpness IV diamond sword won't stop the wither from destroying the world. The wither still takes a number of hits to be defeated from the most powerful of your weapon supply. The safest area to fight the wither is underground, in a cave. That way you can easily hit the wither without it going too far. When planning to fight the wither, pick the area carefully!

Don't be careless with your new pet wolf
A tamed wolf can be very useful. It can give you a hand when fighting mobs, create guards, or just keep you company when lonely. It can be easy to forget to make your wolf sit down when not using it since it will kill any mob you punch possibly resulting in your farm that was once teeming with animals to end up empty. Also when you are attacked by a mob or player, the wolf will stand up and come to you. That can be annoying when you are miles away from your house. After you spend enough time with your wolves, you are less likely to make those mistakes but still don't get too careless! Try to befriend two wolves and then start breeding them to ensure you can easily replace a wolf who didn't have the same survival instinct that you do. Beware walking on ice though, because if you get too far away the wolf will teleport to you, and end up trapped under the ice, and will drown.

Don't adventure from your home without a few essential items
It's important to be prepared if you want to go adventuring. There are a few things that you will always need to carry with you after you leave your base.

General

 * Substantial armor
 * A good sword
 * Pickaxe
 * Optional bow and arrows, but recommended for killing skeletons
 * Stack of dirt or cobble
 * Water bucket
 * Food
 * Torches
 * Compass and/or map (if you plan to just explore)
 * Bed

Stronghold

 * Substantial armor, diamond with feather falling boots recommended
 * A great sword, diamond recommended
 * Bow, Infinity bow recommended
 * Food
 * At least a stack of torches.
 * DON'T FORGET 12 ENDER EYES!

Mining

 * A shovel (For underground dirt and gravel patches.)
 * A substantial set of armor
 * A pickaxe to mine the goods
 * A sword
 * A stack of torches
 * A few wood planks or blocks (for crafting more tools or torches if needed)
 * A furnace 
 * A few pieces of coal (about 10-15, for furnace)
 * A chest (to places the goods in)
 * Food
 * A stack or so of cobblestone/dirt in case you need to build up
 * A bucket of water
 * A bed (It's a good idea to set up a small room to sleep in if you plan to mine for a long period of time)
 * Optional: Signs, to prevent getting lost
 * Optional: Ladders, to climb ravine walls

Mineshaft and Temples

 * Milk.
 * An infinity bow or sword.
 * Diamond pickaxe.
 * A stack of some kind of blocks.
 * A bucket, smarty!
 * Creative mode (if the hostile mobs are really bad)


 * And last but not least, for all of these, your brain!

Don't be careless with a horse
Horses, donkeys and mules are quick and donkeys and mules give you a place to keep your stuff! So, if you see a horse or donkey, tame it. They're rare, so don't be picky - a slow horse with low health and poor jump height is better than no horse at all (unless you already have a better one). Just remember, if you want to tame a horse, always keep a lead and a fence on hand to tie them up. Make a pen to keep them safe, and give it a sturdy cobble roof. Make sure you have a two fence gate door to make sure you can leash up your pet and take it for a ride. If you are taking a survival journey, take a mule or donkey! they'll carry food and resource while providing a ride. Keep your horse healthy and never dangle it from a high place with a lead. And if you have other pets, pen them up in another area of your home; if you accidentally hit a horse, your pet wolves will kill it. You can name your similarly-coloured horses so you can tell them apart.

Don't pass a chance to settle down in a village
Villages are DIAMOND MINES. They have farms if you're hungry. They have guards in large ones. They have a population. They have non-hostile villagers. Villages are very good for players. They give shelter to the people without it, and a town. They also give you something to build on! Make a pool, a garden. Turn it into a city, while you have no effort building a home first. And don't forget, if there is a blacksmith's, there is a chest with something of use inside it! But first, before you settle down, try these things: - If you have pets, especially young pups and kittens, board up the blacksmith's lava with cobblestone or iron bars. That way, they can't be hurt in the lava. - All villages have wells. Board them up, pets can drown. - Villagers will go into your house. BUILD an Iron Door. It keeps villagers AND zombies out! - Look at your house. A villager won't settle down if you don't make it sustainable to them. Look here for a guide on that : NPC Village

Don't smash a monster spawner if you don't need the 50 Experience Points
When you are in a dungeon, mineshaft, stronghold, or nether fortress, don't break the spawner if you don't need any more experience points. The spawner will only drop 50 experience points when broken and you can use them later in the game for mob drop traps. Unless you are sure you don't want to make a mob drop trap and you would like to receive the 50 Experience Points, don't break spawners.

Don't be afraid to take a little damage
If your hunger bar is full, you regenerate lost hearts quickly, but at the cost of hunger points. Perhaps jumping down that mountain is a safer option than taking ages to build your way down when night is about to fall. If you have lots of useful stuff with you, such as diamonds, it might be better to put them in a chest and come back for it later, as jumping off something higher than 24 blocks will kill you (except when you have the feather falling enchantment). Letting a creeper blow up can be useful when mining. Just like before, spider eyes are useful as food, even though they cause poison that take out only 2 hearts.

Don't just tame ocelots
Ocelots only scare away creepers, they don't attack any mobs and they take a while to tame due to their shyness, tame wolves along with ocelots instead so you can deal with any mobs ranging from creepers to cows! Oh, when tamed, they annoy you by sitting on the chest you just needed. If you can't walk away you have to punch them off, however, this will get them out of the sitting 'status' and they will go sit on it again.

Don't PvP without the right equipment
It is dangerous to fight players without armor or weapons. And even worse, they can take your hard earned valuables such as diamond, gold, and iron. In a PvP battle players normally take the best equipment to fight the other player like enchanted diamond armor or diamond swords or worse, they have cheats on and they have the strength VI! Don't take gold weapons as well, but you can use lava to burn the player if he has no fire resistance potion on him.

Don't punch a griefer
Don't do this, as the griefer may pay attention to you attack and he might kill you, so always hide when you attack him. And if he finds out where your base is, being a griefer, he will grief it.

Don't stand in the open in a PvP server with bows
This is very dangerous, especially when towering. One hit could sent you falling to your death, into lava, or into a group of enemies. A good idea is to tower up high and make an enclosed room.

Don't attack players wearing armor with the thorns enchantment
Don't do this as the armor can deal damage to you. Worse of all, you can die from it. It can even pierce through armor you are wearing, so always attack a player not wearing armor with the thorns enchantment.

Don't show new faction/clan members your base
Do not trust players looking for factions/clans. If they teleport to your house/base they could steal your stuff and grief your base/house/land or kill you every time you come home. They may invite other people to do the same. Keep a close eye on new recruits, and only invite people who you know in real life or trust deeply.If you do they may grief and you dont want that to happen (and or they may tell other factions)

Don't move beds without telling fellow server members
Beds can be helpful but tricky. Helpful by letting you sleep peacefully through the night with no disturbance. But, they can also kill you. If you pick them up, your spawn is back to where you entered the game. Remember, they are used to set your spawn in case you die. Don't underestimate the power of the bed. You can use it for safety or to be a troll.

Don't live near the spawn in multiplayer
If you are in multiplayer, live away from the spawn in a hidden area. It is easy for a newcomer to come in and see your house and just grief it or come into your house, kill you and steal your stuff. Try to remember the way to the spawn and the way to your house. Ideally, you should always build your home underground or underwater on a multiplayer server (when you can't protect your home from griefing using a plugin), especially if you're playing on a server where griefing is allowed.


 * Exception: Servers with Factions/Clans where you can claim land to protect it.

Don't store your valuable stuff on Ender Chests
So, you think that if you store your diamonds on an Ender Chest it is safe, THINK AGAIN. Ender chests are easily destroyed, and it may take you a while before you can find an Eye of Ender to remake the Ender Chest, rendering your items useless until you can find another chest.

Don't let miners accidentally find your base
So you have a hidden piston door in a cliff with lots of diamonds. All it takes is a miner to dig into your base. Once he did it, he would grief it. That means your base is ruined. Just by a miner! It is important to surround your base with lava to kill people, but that means it would kill YOU if you are extending your base. Use obsidian as a shield to protect most miners, or if he griefs it, grief his house and kill him!

Don't use X-ray mods
Administrators and other players do not appreciate the use of X-ray mods on their servers, it gives you an unfair advantage and most likely will lead to penalization and ultimately banning from the server! It is NEVER a good thing to X-ray, no matter how far away you think admins are, because you never know when they could be using an invisibility potion to spy on and ban you!

Don't build houses out of bedrock or obsidian
Speaking about bedrock and obsidian, don't build your base out of bedrock or obsidian (in multiplayer anyway). Administrators and other players hate bases that are built out of obsidian or bedrock due to their ugliness on it. Like dirt house builders, they also think your a noob! If you are building a house out of obsidian or bedrock, then players that saw your base would hate your base and worst of all, they will ban you!

This ban message will say if you are banned:

''You are banned from this server! Reason: built house out of bedrock or obsidian.''

So next time if you are building a house out of bedrock/obsidian, do it in single player mode. In multiplayer mode, try to build houses that impress players so you can be safe from being banned. However, they can still be destroyed by creepers (or griefers). A good way to make your base protective and beautiful is to have obsidian/bedrock inside and the beautiful house outside!


 * Exception: Some players that liked protective houses will like your base.
 * Another Exception: You can do this when you own the server.

Never ever create a house on a superflat of snow alone
If you try to build a house on snow alone, watch out. You will crash the game. Although you can still build your house there, be careful. Chances are, you will place the block on snow and you will crash the game.

(Also, never ever try to spawn on this superflat world on survival.)

Don't try to teleport carelessly on a laggy computer
Don't do this as you might crash or freeze the game, or worse, make it extremely laggy. If it is, then it is impossible to move the arrow outside of minecraft because, it is fixed to the game and the game is laggy. That means it is impossible to close minecraft without task manager.

Don't be fooled by fake chunks
Fake chunks are very sneaky you know. Trouble is, you don't notice them until it was too late. They are always hidden, but here's a way to spot them. First, you can see that trees are cut off. That happens to structures as well. Secondly, at the debug screen, you can see the numbers on the debug screen. If you are close to fake chunks, then sneak until you get no further ahead. Also, if you are in a cave, then you can see a light with no torches. This is a sign of fake chunks because, since it's non-solid, light can go though it and if it is night and you are near lava, the lava doesn't light up. This is also a sign of fake chunks. Plus, if you in an ocean biome, then you can see a lighter side of it. That means there is a fake chunk.

Note: Fake chunks are removed by the Halloween update, but then reintroduced in the Adventure update.

Don't corrupt your world
Don't do this as all your hard effort will be gone, meaning you wasted your stuff. That means you need to create a new world.

Don't play the demo version
Don't do this, as the computer is very laggy on it. So the full version is recommended to play due to less lag.

Don't have 1 furnace when it has infinite items
Don't do this, as you cannot place an another item to smelt it due to lack of space. That means you have to create an another furnace. Luckily, this only happens in beta.

Don't fly over fake chunks
Don't do this as you be trapped in the air and you have to restart your world again. However, this is no longer happens in 1.3.1 and above versions.

Don't go to the illegal point
Don't do this, as you may be kicked from the game and sometimes not by another player. Please note that it happens at X Z 32,000,000. If you do get kicked, then it is worse than being stuck at 30,000,032 X Z since you are kicked from the game and MCedit cannot solve it. It is impossible to go over 32,000,000 X Z without a use of a disable kick command mods. This ban message will say when a player is kicked.

''Disconnected by server. You are kicked by: Null.''

And also

''You are kicked from this server! Reason: Went to illegal point.''

Note: Also, in MCedit, the selection box disorts after 12,500,000.



See also: Far Lands

Don't try to use mods without deleting META-INF
Minecraft will not load with META-INF and mods both existing in minecraft.jar, only a black screen will appear. If you can't delete META-INF, your minecraft.jar will become corrupted by the mod files, and Minecraft will not work until a new version is released. Thankfully, with the new launcher, you can go to your Minecraft directory, delete the version you modded in "versions," and re-download it with the launcher.

Don't follow any of the rules on this page blindly
These tips were made by players, just like you. Some of them make sense, some are exaggerated, and some forget that Minecraft is just a game designed to be fun. If you find some of these rules boring, break them! Always keep in mind that having as much fun as possible is the ultimate goal in Minecraft. As said by Vareide, "With no rules to follow, this adventure, it's up to you."