Tutorials/Exploring caves

Caverns or caves are natural formed cavities in the stone layer of a map. Most caverns have tunnels branching off as catacombs and winding in all sorts of directions. They are often very deep and can go from surface all the way to bedrock. Caverns are not ravines but often bleed into them. They are naturally created so no two will ever look the same. They will often have enemy mobs like skeletons, zombies, spiders and more.

Tip: Never go into a cavern without a good supply of torches and swords. Leave all your valuables back in a safe place on the surface. Caverns are huge and have lots of intersecting tunnels, making them easy to get lost in. Getting lost in a cavern can be very dangerous. If lost too long you may run out of food or weapons and starve or get killed.

These are some of the recommended items you should bring with you into caverns.

Weapons: Because of a cavern's low light level, mobs such as zombies, spiders, skeletons, etc., will spawn in them making exploration dangerous. It is recommended the player brings weapons such as swords, axes, or bows and arrows to fight off monsters.

Wood: In case you need to make torches or tools when exploring, bring along a supply of planks or logs. It is essential to have the capacity to make these items if you run out.

Tools: Because of caverns being found at stone level, lots of ores such as iron, coal, gold, redstone, lapis, or on rare occasions, diamonds or emeralds. So it is recommended you bring pickaxes with you to mine ores. Also be sure to bring shears with you in case you run into an abandoned mine shaft. You can use shears to destroy cobwebs without using your sword.

Light: Caverns can be very dark. Always remember to bring light sources with you such as glowstone, torches or jack o lanterns.

Food: Caverns may have lots of intersecting tunnels making it easy to get lost or worse. Make sure you have food with you to survive.

Armor: As said before lots of mobs spawn in caverns because of low light level. Armor may be needed when exploring caverns so you have protection against mobs. Even with the difficulty on peaceful, the player can still take fall damage or fall into lava. Having armor while in lava gives you enough protection to escape from the pool, depending on the distance to the nearest edge. Ravines and pits can also cause fall damage. It is recommended the player have feather falling on their boots to protect against fall damage.

Fishing Rod: If you run out of food, fish might work as a last resort. Water is easy to find underground, and fish can be extracted from any water. So if you get lost and totally deplete your food, you can fish for more. It might take some time, however. Fishing underground should only be a last resort.

Water Bucket: This might be useful when you fall into lava, being on fire or when you need to descend a great distance down. When you fall in lava try to put the water on the walls or above you, this is because you will lose the water when you put it directly on the lava.

Other Items: Also bring a bucket of milk with you if you plan on entering an abandoned mine shaft, as milk can be used to heal poison from cave spiders. Multiple milk buckets may be needed. it is also worth considering bringing a stack of cobblestone or another cheap block that can be used to jump to the surface with.