User:Pallascat/Pallascat's Guide

This article is a compact guide on how to get started at creating your world in Minecraft Alpha. It's meant to answer first-timers' common questions about the basics of gameplay, building, survival and mining. Alpha is available for paid users only, the difference between the free Creative Mode being that Alpha is deeper in gameplay, as players have to earn their building materials. Being a sandbox game, there is no pre-set goal in Alpha other than survive and prosper.

= The Guide =

Starting Out
Now that you're a proud owner of Alpha, the first thing to do is to create a new world. Select Single Player from the main menu and choose one of the empty saves. The game will now randomly generate terrains consisting of numerous blocks. A default world is a 3D cube that extends 256 blocks into each direction, half of it above sea level; to put things in perspective, you are only 2 blocks high. You will start out in a random spot inside this world with no equipment. The starting location for your player remains the same within this world, and since you will be dying a lot, it's wise not to obstruct your spawn point.

You can move using WASD, jump using space, attack things by left-clicking, and use objects by right-clicking. Since monsters will spawn and seek out defenseless players at night, the first thing to do is to find a shelter. Higher spots are usually better, as enemies have problems reaching them. Unfortunately, so do you, which is why you may have to destroy dirt blocks by holding left-click at them. You'll notice this makes collectible dirt fall out, which you can pick up to your inventory and place in a different spot by selecting it and right-clicking on solid ground. This is the core game mechanic of Minecraft, and once mastered, it'll eventually allow you to build whatever you can think of.

Your first base
It's wise to build your first base very close to where you spawn. The newly added compass in the game points to your spawn point, so a base here would make the compass doubly useful. A typical first base starts in the side of a mountain because you only have to carve blocks, not carve and then build. Later you can make a way to see from a tall vantage point, but right now you're just trying to survive. You'll want to gather wood first (see below), then find at least one block of coal to make a few torches. Then you can carve out a spot by your spawn. If you found a lot of torches, place a few by your entrance as well as inside your new area. When night comes, you'll want to block off the entrance somehow, either with a block or you can make a door. Keep your first base well lit, at least on the inside, because monsters spawn in the absence of light.

Your first house
If you've played Minecraft before, have an overwhelming fear of caves, or just want to be a little different, you can always skip the "base" approach and go right to building a house for yourself. This method of starting the game is a little more intensive and time-sensitive, so it's not necessarily recommended for the new player.

Begin as usual, gathering wood. Don't go overboard though, you're looking to get just enough to make some tools. We'll need a lot of resources quickly, so faster tools are a must. Gather three logs, which in turn craft into 12 planks. First make a workbench using four of the planks. Place it and open up the 3x3 crafting square. Take two planks and craft four sticks. You now have everything you need to craft yourself an attractive wooden pickaxe and a wooden axe. Make sure to pick up your crafting table when you're done.

The next thing you need to worry about is finding some coal. It will be imperative that you light your new home to prevent the spawing of any mobs in or around your structure. You don't need a ton, maybe four to six deposits. Just scout the nearby cliffs for any deposits. If there are no apparent cliffs nearby, pick a hilly location and dig a little under. Don't spend a lot of time on this, as torches won't do you any good without the structure itself.

While running about looking for coal, chop down every last tree you come across. With your new axe, that should be no problem at all. If your axe breaks, just use a few planks to craft a new one. The goal here is to have enough planks to create a small cabin out of.

Once you have about a stack-and-a-half to two stacks of planks (24-32 raw wood), you're ready to build. Just layout your foundation, go up two or more blocks and create a roof. It doesn't have to be fancy yet, just safe. You can either block yourself in with some dirt, or create a door using six planks. If you managed to find coal, craft and place a few torches around the outside, namely by the door, and put a couple inside as well.

After your first night, you can find some stone, craft some glass, and remodle the roof to your liking. You'll likely want to expand, make outbuildings for mining shafts, or a second floor to house your stash and workspace. You're off to a great start and have a stately home to prove it!

Resources & Crafting
Now that the very basic criteria for survival are met, it's time to start gathering resources.

Wood


Logs are essential at the start, and can be easily found by cutting down tree trunks. By crafting them, you can create the necessities for more advanced bases - wooden pickaxes that can mine stone and coal, workshops that improve your crafting possibilities, plus tools that make your everyday routines easier. Open your inventory with 'I' and simply place your newfound logs to any of the four crafting squares at the top. The arrow now points at the potential outcome - wooden planks. You get four blocks of refined wood per one log. Left-click on the results and place them into your inventory. One wood can be further crafted into four sticks, generally used as tool handles or torch sticks.

The default crafting panel has 2x2 squares, which is not enough for creating basic tools. The solution is to build a Workshop by inserting one refined wood into each square. Place this into a safe area, namely inside the shelter you've built before. Place it on the ground, right-click on it and you'll be taken into a crafting screen with a 3x3 space for resources. You'll lose control of your character while using the Workshop, so remember to place it in a safe place, such as the shelter you built before. If you want to move your Workshop later on, don't worry, just destroy it and it'll drop another one.

The most useful craftable item at this point would be a wooden pickaxe, as it allows you to collect more valuable resources and build better tools. It's recommended that this beginning pickaxe should be your first and last wooden tool, as their kind aren't very durable and stone is even more common. Go to the Workshop, place three refined wood on the top row, one of the aforementioned sticks at the center, and another one below it. You should now be able to craft your first pickaxe. Say goodbye to mining stone by hand, which is a very slow process and only lets you shatter it, not gather.

Stone and Coal
Stone can be found underground, so if none is exposed near your base, dig through the dirt a little. (This can be done by hand, as a pickaxe has no effect on dirt digging speed but will still wear out - watch out for the health bars on tool icons. Be careful to dig down in a staircase fashion rather than the block directly under you, as you may fall into dark tunnels and don't have the proper equipment to explore them yet.) Mining stone with a pickaxe makes collectible cobblestone fall out, which now allows you to craft stone tools.

You may also discover stone blocks with black spots on which are coal that like stone must be mined with a pickaxe to create a collectible and can usually be found around or just below sea level. Coal is essential to exploring and preventing monsters from spawning nearby as the torches you make with coal will stop any monsters spawning within the lit area created.

Iron, Gold, and Diamond
While digging below sea level eventually you'll run into a bit rarer materials. You'll likely come across iron blocks first. After you use the stone pickaxe and get the iron block, you'll need a furnace to "extract" the iron ingots. Use a fuel source for your furnace and put the iron in the top box. It will become usable iron ingots (henceforth referred to as simply "iron"). It is recommended that you use your first few iron blocks for an iron pickaxe for later, in case you come across diamond. (It is still wise to use exclusively stone for a pickaxe 90% of the time because it so so abundant and you'll go through so many - use the iron one for when you come across anything other than coal or more iron.) Then fashion an iron sword to replace your stone one. Same goes for when you come across diamond blocks (some recommend making the sword first).

Lumbering


Before you get too far into the earth, you'll likely want some tools to help you along the way. One crucial base material for these tools is sticks, which can be crafted from planks. To help speed up the process, it is recommended you craft yourself an axe. This is simply made from two sticks and three other craftable material. Wooden axes are readily made but break quickly. Once you have some stone or iron dug up, it's a good idea to upgrade.

Pickaxes
Arguably the most important piece of equipment in Minecraft, the pickaxe is made from two sticks and three craftable materials. The pickaxe ranges in durability and effectiveness. The rarer the material the better the pickaxe... most of the time.

wood < stone < iron < diamond

Gold can be used to make tools as well, but it's about on par with wood in terms of durability. Gold is recommended only as a cosmetic crafting material.



Torches
Another necessity when exploring the depths is torches. Torches are easily made from one stick and one coal, which are both readily available. You will receive four torches for the effort. Torches are used to primarily light the way, but they also prevent mobs from respawning in your tunnels. NOTE: Mobs are not killed by torch light as they are by sunlight. They will happily run into the light to attack you.



Ladders
Another, sometimes overlooked, mining tool is the ladder. Ladders are easily crafted from six sticks and can be stacked. These will help in the digging of downward shafts and getting out of caverns without building stairs of stone and dirt. They are reusable; just break them down and collect the item.

It is often times more efficient to dig down, getting you to the rarer minerals faster. Digging right under your feet is a great way to plummet into caverns and dungeons though. The safest way to do this is to dig a 1x2 block shaft. On one wall place a ladder every other block. This will save resources, but still allow full functionality of the ladder for climbing. On the opposite wall, torches can be placed at intervals to help you see. When you hit a cavern, carve out a small landing and you can continue the shaft downward after you are done exploring.