User:Junebugbnm/Mining tips

Mining is the overall base of Minecraft and as you go through all those caverns, pits, and ravines you, as any good Minecraft player knows, you will get tripped up. So here are some tips to keep you safe as you look for the elusive pots of diamond, gold or whatever else you're looking for.

basics of mining
First thing's first: the basics. You will need plenty of food and torches, bottom line. It is not recommended going mining with wood or gold tools as they break too easily, which means you will have to have lots of them in your inventory and thus there is less room for the stuff you want in there. Additionally, the only ore wood and gold pickaxes can mine is coal. So stone, iron and diamond tools are recommend. (Diamond picks are not recommended if you cannot afford to craft a new one when they break.) When mining, you should have at all times three Pick axe (or a pickaxe and enough materials to craft more, as they stack but pickaxes don't), a stack of wood or sign to mark your way out, a shovel, swords (but how many is up to player and where they will be mining), plenty of food and torches.

(If you do not wish to bring signs with you, but you need to make sure that you don't get lost, you should always put torches on the right-side walls of caves. Thus, to find your way out, you just need to go wherever you see torches on the left side.)

Advanced mining tips
Advanced supplies: this is if you've been in there for some time and you're fed up with being surprised by caves and ravines. You should first get your pickaxes, swords, whatever you use to mark your way, food, shovel, jack-o-lantern (optional) and torches. Then, you should get a bed so you can make a bunker and sleep in it in case you die and need to get to your stuff fast, along with clock so you can keep track of time and know when to go to bed. Then get a furnace, crafting table, and chests for your bunker. Get a bow and arrows (obtained either by crafting or by killing skeletons), so you can kill unsuspecting enemy's from a distance or to keep creepers at a distance. Also get cobblestone and dirt for getting past lava, climbing, and making path ways. Plus you can't forget you lucky, trusty water bucket. Always keep it in your hot bar, and also milk and an empty bucket for lava (DONT EVER KEEP LAVA IN YOUR HOT BAR UNLESS YOUR ABOUT TO USE IT!).

Optional supplies is up to the player like a axe to take down your under ground wood structures fast. Alongside TnT to clear out a dead end quick. Plus a Iron or Gold block so you can make some more tools but take up less space in your inventory.

Managing resources
Managing your resources can be a big help when mining, like if you go into a cave to go get iron but when you come out you have mostly coal in your inventory. Solution: craft mineral blocks to save space, and watch your inventory limit yourself to how much of the ores you're going to get so you get the most of the ores you came to get. There is nothing wrong with making two trips to the cave or mine to get resources. The ores you get aren't going anywhere (unless you're playing with others)!

Staying safe
How to stay safe: Number 1: light the way through the caverns so monsters cant spawn. Number 2: mark your way so you don't get lost. Always be aware of your surroundings so creepers cant creep up on you, and so you don't fall in lava or fall off a cliff. When you find diamond look around for any possible danger and fix it before getting the diamond. When you fix the problems (if there are any), get the diamond and get out! There is no reason to stay when you find diamond unless you see more. Keep your head when you find diamond. Don't freak out. Stay claim 'till you get to the surface and/or safety. Number 3: put some armor on; it will help protect you from monsters and more if you enchant them.

If you find a dungeon, make sure you have at least iron armor. To deactivate the spawner, either put torches right next to it (if you plan on making a mob farm later), or break the spawner (it gives you experience points.) (There is a way of getting to the chests without having to deal with the difficulty of fighting the mobs; open them from underneath.) Never turn down the chance to grab dungeon loot (you don't have a chance to grab the loot if you are close to death), as they have saddles which are the only way of mounting horses.

Most useful and most rare ores.
1. Coal. Very useful, though unnecessary as you can smelt wood logs into charcoal, which is renewable. However, charcoal cannot be crafted into a coal block, which smelts more items then nine coal/charcoal. Not rare at all, and comes in very large veins.

2. Iron. Very, very useful, as it can be crafted into tools, swords, armor, compasses, buckets, shears, and more. Commonly found.

3. Redstone. Useful in redstone machinery, as well as compasses and clocks. More common than iron if you're between layers 5 and 12, though not many caves go that far down. (Layer twelve is lava level.)

4. Gold. Not very useful. Tools and armor made with it are the most enchant-able, though they have the least durability and can only mine coal ore in the Overworld. Needed for clocks. Mostly used when gilding apples, melons, and carrots. Very rare.

5. Lapis lazuli. Not very useful. If one wishes to obtain wool colored blue (or with any dye that is crafted using lapis), then only one is needed: dye a sheep and shear it for wool. Very, very rare. Looks like diamond.

6. Emerald. Not useful (if you do have a village, then it is much easier to obtain emeralds by trading with them). Very, very rare, does not come in veins, only found in Extreme Hills biomes.

7. Diamonds. Very useful. Used to craft the highest tier of armor, sword, and tools. Needed to create an enchanting table. Diamond pickaxes are the only type that can mine obsidian.