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Minecraft Tutorial I: Mining For Dummies

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by SuYo1141 » December 28th, 2011, 5:03 pm

By SuYo1141
Welcome to a tutorial series by SuYo1141 detailing the various situations in Minecraft. If you follow these tips and tricks, you just might advance your creations.
Glossary

1- The Basics
Minecraft is made up of 128 levels of blocks, called "layers". Below Layer 64, which is sea level, players dig shafts to find valuable materials that are impossible to find on the surface. These materials include:

and, most importantly,

Diamond (Best found at Layer 12)Players can also find coal above Layer 64, but it is also best found below the surface. So, if you wanna find stuff, go down.

2- Beginner Mining
Guidelines for starting your shaft:
1. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, dig straight down. It can have hazardous effects such as digging into a lava lake or even a ravine which could result in death and loss of your items.
2. It's best to dig into an existing cave instead of down into the dirt. Caves give more surface area, which often yields better results.
3. Time yourself, or use a clock, while mining. If you surface at nighttime, you could be assaulted by monsters, and believe me, I know how that feels.

4. Bring lots of spare pickaxes/shovels.
5. Make a "station" consisting on furnaces, crafting tables, etc. to smelt or craft your findings.
6. Keep your area very well lit. A light level of 7 or below (the level in most surface caves) will allow any mob to spawn, with the occasional exception of Slimes.

3- Advanced Mining
If you've gotten the hang of this or simply want to flatter yourself, here are tips to help the more advanced players.
1. Making a minecart track down your shaft, while costly, can shorten the time it takes to get down to your cave/shaft and prevent hunger.
2. If you notice a mob spawner, destroy it IMMEDIATELY with a pickaxe, or for the troll, flow sunlight into the room to change it into an animal spawner. However, in SMP, spawners always have pigs inside them instead of whatever they spawn.
3. Gold weaponry is a sort of double-or-nothing. It can mine almost nothing, but what it CAN mine, it will mine the fastest out of all the weapon sets.
4. If you see diamonds, immediately mine the area around it to make sure the ore doesn't fall into lava.
5. By pressing F3, the player can see their y-coordinate/layer. However, the measurement is recorded from the player's head instead of their feet. So y=71.6 means the character is on Layer 70.

4- Spelunking
When you are mining, you will almost undoubtedly encounter some sort of cave. These tips can help you better prepare for these works of beauty....well, to a miner they're works of beauty. But whatever.
1. Bring torches. LOTS of torches. At LEAST a stack.
2. Bring buckets to fill in lava lakes to make Obisidian (only mineable with a diamond pickaxe)
3. Bring a bow with at least half a stack of arrows. If you're on Suyo's server, head on down to The Grinder (courtesy of jello.)
4. Bring gravel or sand. They are the only two types of blocks that are affected by gravity, and are therefore useful for safely maneuvering large drops.
5. The "Hop-and-Drop" method is a mining strategy in which a player look down and mashes the jump and place button simultaneously. This can be used to exit caves and eventually reach the surface.
6. If you notice red droplets coming through the ceiling, don't dig that block. That's lava.
7. Diamond is only mineable with an iron pickaxe, so be well prepared.

5- Types of Caves
There are several types of caves in Minecraft, each having their own pros and cons.
1. Dud Caves- These are very small caves that don't hold anything valuable in them.
2. Regular Caves- These are medium-sized caves that don't go too far down, and are rather easy to navigate. Some of them are infested with mobs though.....like one right outside my house.
3. Awe Caves- These caves take the breath out of you. They're absolutely HUGE, and pack tons upon tons of valuable ores.
4. Ravines- These are absolutely beautiful. They are very tall and narrow, and can extend all the way into the Lava Layer (Layer 5-10.)
5. Abandoned Mine Shafts- These are supposedly abandoned shafts that are home to the venomous Cave Spider and stretch for miles. They have minecart tracks, wood arches, and cobwebs inside, and can sometimes intrude other caves or even strongholds.
6. Strongholds- The rarest underground structure. They contain Silverfish, lots of doors and buttons, and are the only place where a player can warp to the End. They have a similar form in the Nether known as Fortresses.

6- Extra
For a complete list of ore recipes, see these links provided by the Minecraft Wiki.
Iron: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Iron_ ... Ingredient
Gold: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Gold_ ... Ingredient
Redstone: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Redst ... Ingredient
Lapiz Lazuli: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Lapis_Lazuli_(Dye)#As_a_Crafting_Material
Diamond: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Diamond_Gem
Here are a couple examples of how NOT to mine:

That is all for today, and remember, stay safe, and good luck. *dies 2 seconds later*
(C) 2011 SuYoTips

I'm SuYo the faker, I rant in Forum 23 so you don't have to.

SuYo1141

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Re: Minecraft Tutorial I: Mining For Dummies

by Master1.0 » January 1st, 2012, 6:57 pm

I'm very impressed!

Back in the beginning, I remember how much of a dumbass I was, always falling to my death and wasting my ore.

This guide is guaranteed to help the beginners. Keep up tje good work, SuYo!