News: Minecraft World's Ultimate Survival Guide, Part 4

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Contents

• Starting off & Mobs
• Combat
• Food
• Mining
• Survivability

Welcome back! Today we're going to look at the most important aspect to advancement ("technologically") in Minecraft: Mining. Mining is the only way any minerals are acquired and is imperative to improving weapons, tools, acquiring better armor and obtaining the ability to enchant items. 

This guide will guide you through the basics and technique's of mining, as well as the advanced ones.

Mining - The basics

Looking for mines is the easy part. What you really should be doing is getting ready for it. Here's a list of items I find the most important for any mining expedition:

1. In case you can't see it too clearly:

• 1 sword (2 if stone, don't even try wooden)
• 1 pickaxe (2 if stone)
• At-least some kind of armor if possible
• Food
• Torches (at-least 32)
• Optional : Bucket of water, and an empty bucket (getting some lava)

This is the most important thing you can ever do. If you don't go in with proper supplies, you might have to end a great mining streak to go to the surface for supplies. Don't let it happen to you!

2. Take your time in the mines, do not rush it.

If you rush, you may miss out ores and other important items. Also, you may run into mobs and end your expedition prematurely! So take your time, look at your surroundings, place torches where YOU see fit. If you aren't comfortable with a certain area of the mine, move on, and come back to it later. It's going to stay there so you don't have to explore it now!

3. Know where you're going.

Most of the people I know just can't remember the way out of mines and as a result make  long stairs up to the surface, only to find out they have come out somewhere they don't even know.

Co-incidentally, this is a good technique if you start from above. This leads you straight to ore levels (layers at which different ores are found), though in my opinion it should only be a last resort in case you can't find any caves since it wastes a lot of "pick health".

Ores

• Coal

Rarity: Common

Used for: Torches, Burning food, smelting ores (refining).

Minimum mining requirement: Wooden pickaxe

• Iron

Rarity: Uncommon

Used for: Better weapons, tools, armor, shears.

Minimum mining requirement: Stone Pickaxe

• Gold

Rarity: Relatively Rare

Used for: Nuggets, Weak armor, weapons & tools

Minimum mining requirement: Iron Pickaxe

• Lapiz Lazuli

Rarity: Very Rare

Used for: Coloring wool

Minimum mining requirement: Stone Pickaxe

• Redstone

Rarity: Relatively rare

Used for: Circuits

Minimum mining requirement: Iron Pickaxe

• Diamond

Rarity: Extremely rare

Used for: Strongest weapons, armor & tools, enchanting table.

Minimum mining requirement: Iron Pickaxe

Mining - Advanced Techniques

1. Not getting lost

    On this topic, many sites I go to have suggested placing torches on the same side to remind you which way is the exit, but I find it less useful than placing some sort of 'marker' by yourself.

2. Anomalies

Anomalies (courtesy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R) are, in my Minecraft vocabulary, just what it means: an anomaly. Anomalies make great way points and markers so look out for them (Oh the irony: anomalies are hard NOT to spot).

End!

I believe there are a few things that many of you will think may belong here, but I have decided to put it in the survivability section for simplicity.

Thanks for reading!