Tutorials/Achievement guide

This guide is intended for people who are interested in completing the Achievements.

This tutorial is all about the Achievements and how to complete them. It is divided into the starting three Achievements and the three paths afterwards. It should be noted that every achievement is optional and therefore not necessary to gameplay.

Taking Inventory (Press 'E' to open your inventory.)
Goal: Open your inventory

This one is pretty straightforward. Press . A fairly big screen should pop up. This is the inventory and crafting menu.

Players before the Beta 1.4 update have their default inventory key as, so if you played before Beta 1.4, then press I.

If you changed your inventory key to something else, press that key instead.

Unlocks: Getting Wood

Getting Wood (Attack a tree until a block of wood pops out.)
Goal: Punch a tree until a block of wood pops out and collect it.

This one is easy as well. Just hold down the left-click on a wood block until it breaks, then collect the dropped block by walking over it. Wood blocks are found on trees, which are very easy to find (as long as you didn't start out in an Ocean or Desert biome). Just look around.

Unlocks: Benchmarking

Benchmarking (Craft a workbench with four blocks of planks.)
Goal: Construct a Crafting Table.

Use the log you just got from the tree and open your inventory. You will see a grid near the top-right corner, place your wood block in any of those grids. Then click on the Wood Planks to pick them up, and put one of the four you got into each container of your grid(a 2x2 square of wooden planks. all planks should be from similar wood).

Unlocks: Time to Strike!, Time to Farm!, Time to Mine!

Time to Farm! (Use planks and wood to make a hoe.)
Goal: Construct a Wooden Hoe.

Place the Crafting Table you just made and right click with your mouse on it. Then make some sticks, note how it can be done in your inventory crafting grid: Now use your sticks and some more planks to make a hoe:

Unlocks: Bake Bread, The Lie

Bake Bread (Turn wheat into bread.)
Goal: Make Bread.

Break several Tall Grass Blocks until you gain three Seeds - use your hands or the hoe to do this. Use the hoe on three Dirt or Grass Blocks to get Farmland, preferably near Water. Holding the Seeds, right click on each Farmland Block. Wait 1-3 ingame days for Wheat to grow; alternately, using Bone Meal on the wheat will cause it to grow faster. After that, left click the wheat. Arrange the wheat like so:

The Lie! (Wheat, sugar, milk and chicken eggs!)
Goal: Make Cake.

Collect the following:
 * 3 Milk Buckets: Craft 3 Buckets with nine Iron Ingots. Use each bucket on a Cow to obtain Milk.
 * 3 Wheat: Grow 3 Wheat from Seeds. Collect Wheat.
 * 2 Sugar: Find or grow 2 Sugar Cane and collect. Put all of the Sugar Cane into one crafting square of the Workbench to craft Sugar.
 * 1 Egg: Follow a Chicken around for 4–5 minutes. If you are lucky you may stumble upon an Egg laid by a Chicken already.

Arrange the ingredients in the following order to craft cake: This achievement is a reference to the video game Portal which spawned the meme phrase "The Cake Is A Lie".

Time to Strike! (Use planks and wood to make a sword.)
Goal: Construct a Wooden Sword.

Collect another wood block. Turn it into Wood Planks. If you don't have any Sticks make some. Then arrange your ingredients like so: Unlocks: Cow Tipper, Monster Hunter

Cow Tipper (Harvest some leather.)
Goal: Collect Leather.

Find a Cow. They may appear at any place with Grass and enough light, unless it is an ocean biome. You may have to wander a bit to find one, so take care so you'll be able to find your way back. When you find the Cow, equip the Wooden Sword by putting it in the lowest (4th) line of your inventory and then scrolling your mouse wheel until it is selected. Stand next to the Cow and click to swing the sword at it. You will need to hit it three times to kill it. The Cow may drop one or two Leather. If you don't get any, try with another cow.

Unlocks: When Pigs Fly

When pigs fly (Fly a pig off a cliff.)
Goal: Take any fall damage when riding on a pig.

First you need to get a Saddle (out of a chest in a Dungeon or via trading with Villagers). Follow the link for more information. Now use it with right click on a Pig, which should be near a cliff. The easiest way to get it to jump off a cliff is to throw a Snowball at it while it is near a cliff because it doesn't get damaged and you automatically do two things: throw the snowball and ride the pig. There are also other ways of doing it but in most of them the pig gets damaged and once it is dead a Saddle is dropped. Also, make sure that your cliff isn't over water, because the pig will just land in it safely and not get hurt. It should also be noted that pigs will only rarely jump off of or go near steep drops or cliffs of their own volition; it may be necessary for the player to fence the pig off in some manner to make use of snowballs effectively.

Other option: Go to a cliff. Dig a trench 3 blocks deep that leads to the edge of a cliff. Put a Fence Gate at the very edge. Place Water so that the current go towards the cliff. Get a Pig to fall into the trench. It will be pushed slowly towards the edge of the cliff. Put the Saddle on the pig, ride it, then open the gate. The pig (and you) will fall off the edge and you will get the achievement.

As of the Pretty Scary Update this task is a lot easier by using a Carrot on a Stick to make the pig walk off a Cliff.

Video Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpeEa7r0ZQw

Monster Hunter (Attack and destroy a monster.)
Goal: Kill an aggressive Monster.

First you'll need to find an aggressive Monster. They can appear only in darkness, so you should wait until night or find a dark area, like a cave. While you're waiting, you should construct a shelter so the Monsters don't kill you. You can build a wooden house, dig a hole in the ground, build a stone house or think of something else. Refer to Tutorials/Shelter Types for different designs. When it gets dark, you can either go out and try to kill a Monster (more dangerous) or wait until daytime and kill one then (less dangerous). It takes five hits with a Wooden Sword, or four with a Stone Sword to kill an aggressive Monster. Your best bet for a first kill is probably a Zombie, as these are slow and have short reach. Some Monsters you can kill to gain this achievement: (note that Zombies and Skeletons will burn during the day -- if you can reach them first, they're an easy kill then.
 * Zombie: Weak. When it sees you it will walk to you and hurt you if it touches you. An easy way to kill one is to wait until it is in the reach of your sword, and then hit it. The Zombie will fly back a little, and you can wait until it gets near again and hit it again. Since 1.2.1 zombies actually have good AI and can run around corners and walls.  They are your ideal first kill.
 * Skeleton: Medium. Skeletons will shoot at you when they see you, and they can't run out of arrows. They are hard to kill with a Sword, so you should probably choose another mob for this achievement. They are, however, very easy to kill with a Bow.
 * Spider: Medium - weak. Spiders will attack you at night, but won't attack you if you don't hurt them during day. They can be killed fairly easily if you hit one, run backwards and hit it again when it jumps. You may get hurt, but you will probably manage to kill the Spider.
 * Creeper: Strong. Don't try to kill it without practice or a Bow. Creepers will walk towards you when they see you and explode if they come near. They can be killed with a Bow easily, and with a Sword by hitting it and running backwards until it stops glowing (so it won't explode). Repeat until you kill it.
 * With the addition of sprinting, it is much easier to fight creepers with a sword. Hitting it while sprinting will knock the creeper back far enough to cancel its attack. However, be especially careful, as if the creeper's flight is interrupted by a block in its path it may still be in range.
 * If you want to cheat a bit with Creepers, set the difficulty to Easy. Hitting a creeper with a sword and running back 5 blocks will immediately cancel the explosion.
 * Enderman: Strong. Endermen won't attack you unless you look at them or attack them. They are fairly strong in terms of damage or health, but they can teleport around, and they can easily catch you off guard when they attack you from behind. They cannot be damaged from projectiles, so bows are useless against them. Leading them into water will get rid of them; if you want to hunt them, build a 3&times;3 or bigger ceiling '2 blocks above level ground, and wait under there for the monsters to come out (watch for anything coming up behind you).  When you spot an Enderman, stare at it, and whack it while the 3-block-tall monster is stymied by your 2-block-high ceiling.

Sniper Duel (Kill a skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters.)
Goal: Kill a skeleton by firing on it from a distance of at least 50 blocks.

Simple version: Well before sunset, stock up on arrows and choose some blocks to use to mark spots (colored wool or just a contrasting material). Hit to show your coordinates. Find an open area, and pick a place for a tower. Mark that for later, and note down its coordinates. Move in various directions, and similarly mark points that are at least over 50 blocks away from that, in different directions (err on the far side). As sunset approaches, return to the first spot you marked, and pillar-jump up 10 or 15 blocks to spend the night. Wait for the monsters to come out, and fire away. (Speaking of which, if you have a bow enchanted with Flame, that will make this much easier, because you can see where your arrows landed.) More elaborate version: Find a large flat area on the surface. Dig a trench one and a half blocks deep, two blocks wide and several blocks long. Line the trench with light. Just over 50 meters away from the lip of the trench, make a tower 15 blocks high. When night comes, wait for a skeleton to fall into the trench or lure it in (giving it up to 2 arrows in the process). Then from your tower, aim just above the skeleton, about halfway between it and the horizon, and fire from full charge.

Time to Mine! (Use planks and wood to make a pickaxe.)
Goal: Construct a Wooden Pickaxe.

Time for some more wood. Ensure that you have 3 wooden planks and 2 sticks, any kind. Then arrange them like this: Unlocks: Getting an Upgrade, Hot Topic

Getting an Upgrade (Construct a better pickaxe.)
Goal: Construct a Stone Pickaxe from sticks and cobblestone.

Use your new Wooden Pickaxe to mine some Stone, which in return you will receive Cobblestone. Go find 2 more sticks, and arrange what you have like so:

Hot Topic (Construct a furnace out of eight stone blocks.)
Goal: Construct a Furnace.

Mine 8 blocks of Cobblestone and open your crafting table. Arrange the cobblestone like so:

Unlocks: Delicious Fish, Acquire Hardware

Delicious Fish (Catch and cook fish!)
Goal: Cook fish.

Craft a Fishing Rod to catch a fish, just right click so the "bait" lands into water then put the fish you got in the Furnace like so:

Acquire Hardware (Smelt an iron ingot.)
Goal: Get Iron Ingot.

Collect some Iron Ore and put it in the furnace:

Unlocks: On a Rail, DIAMONDS!

On a Rail (Travel by minecart at least 1km from where you started.)
Goal: Travel 1000 blocks with a minecart from where you started.

It will take at least 378 Iron Ingots as well as 63 Sticks to craft 1000 Rails. Alternatively, you can find them in Abandoned Mine Shafts. Build a continuous track so that a Minecart can travel the full distance. Place a Minecart on the start of the track, then travel from the start to the end without leaving the Minecart. The achievement does not allow you to repeatedly loop the same section of the track.

You will likely need a Powered Minecart or Powered Rails to get this achievement. These will take additional resources.

You can also make a spiral from bedrock to 1 block below the sky limit with only regular rails on it, this is going to create natural speed, and if this doesn't go 1000 meters, make a long line with regular rails. Maybe Powered Rails too.

DIAMONDS! (Acquire Diamonds using your Iron tools.)
Goal: Pick up a Diamond.

Make an Iron Pickaxe like so: Search below layer 16 for Diamond Ore and destroy it using your Iron Pickaxe. Shaft mines are extremely useful for this achievement.

Unlocks: We Need To Go Deeper, Enchanter

Enchanter (Use a book, obsidian and diamonds to construct an Enchantment Table.)
Goal: Craft an Enchantment Table

Make a Diamond Pickaxe so you can mine Obsidian:

Get 3 Paper and 1 Leather, the paper can be made from Sugar Canes like so:

Then craft a Book like so:

Then arrange the ingredients like so to make an Enchantment Table:

Unlocks: Librarian, Overkill

Librarian (Build a Bookshelf to improve your Enchantment Table.)
Goal: Craft a Bookshelf.

Make some more Books and get some more wood. You need at least 6 Wood Planks and 3 Books, arrange like so:

To achieve the maximum potential from the enchantment table, place 15 bookshelves 1 block away from the enchantment table (in a box shape), like this:

Although not required, this is the most efficient method to acquire the highest enchantment possible. Any additional bookshelves around the enchantment table beyond 15 will not increase the maximum level beyond 30 and will only serve aesthetic purposes.

Overkill (Deal eight hearts of damage in a single hit.)
Goal: Deal 8 hearts of damage in one hit.

Enchant a sword with Bane of Arthropods, Smite, or Sharpness with a level high enough to deal together with the sword's base damage at least nine hearts of damage in one hit (this is a bug, it should be eight hearts of damage) to a Mob/Player. Dealing Critical Hits greatly helps for this achievement.

We Need To Go Deeper (Build a portal to the Nether.)
Goal: Enter the Nether.

Collect at least 10 Obsidian with a Diamond Pickaxe and build Nether Portal. If you do not have Obsidian, create a mold and pour Water on top of stationary Lava. Open the Nether Portal with Flint and Steel, and then step inside the purple portal block. Arrange your obsidian like so, upright:

Note: the four corner blocks do not have to be obsidian, they can be any other block you want, even Air.

Unlocks: Return to Sender, Into Fire

Return to Sender (Destroy a Ghast with a fireball.)
Goal: Kill a Ghast with a fireball.

Aim the Ghast then punch the fireball when it is close enough to you to deflect it. If you are extremely lucky, a shot arrow or fishing rod bobber may hit the fireball and deflect it.

Into Fire (Relieve a Blaze of its rod.)
Goal: Pick up a Blaze Rod.

Kill a Blaze and collect its dropped Blaze Rod. An easy way to do this is to set the game to peaceful until you find a nether fortress, then set the game to easy upon finding a blaze spawner. Armed with over 7 snowballs, attack the blaze from range. Upon the blaze's death, set the game to peaceful, then collect the rod.

Unlocks: Local Brewery, The End?

Local Brewery (Brew a potion.)
Goal: Pick up a Potion from one of the 3 lower Brewing Stand's slots.

Craft a Brewing Stand like so: Get a Water Bottle, Place it in one of the 3 lower Brewing Stand's slots, Then put either Nether Wart, Redstone, a Spider Eye, a Fermented Spider Eye, a Glistering Melon, Blaze Powder or Glowstone Dust in the upper slot to get a Mundane, Thick or Awkward Potion.

The End? (Locate the End.)
Goal: Enter the End.

Craft an Eye of Ender from Blaze Powder and an Ender Pearl like so: Throw it and follow it to locate a Stronghold, and find the Stronghold's Portal Room. Activate the portal by inserting (right-clicking) an Eye of Ender in every empty portal slot, then jump into the opened portal. (This Achievement Is Now Bugged)

Unlocks: The End.

The End. (Defeat the Ender Dragon.)
Goal: Enter the portal created after killing the Ender Dragon. Here is how to slay it.
 * 1) Destroy the Ender crystals using throwable items (e.g Snowballs, Bows,)
 * 2) After they are destroyed, hit the Ender Dragon using throwable items.(chicken egg,snowball,etc.) A bow would probably be best.
 * 3) When you kill the dragon, you will gain a LOT of experience and a return portal will generate. Get the experience, the egg (optional) and hop into the portal. Then, enjoy the credits.

Video Guides
On a Rail Achievement Guide (with map)

When Pigs Fly Achievement Guide