Tips for Your Trip Away From Spawn
Live conservatively the first few nights. Gather only enough material to survive. There's no sense in sticking close to the spawn any longer than you have to.
Get as far away from spawn as you can as quickly as you can without sprinting. Lots of people die 600 blocks from spawn because they settled down too early and ended up running into someone who was ahead of them in terms of weapons and armor.
Finding food is your number one priority. However, don't neglect to pick up other EXTREMELY key resources while you're trying to get as far from spawn as you can. A mobile workbench is clearly essential, so pick up some wood. Try to grab about 2-3 trees worth, as this should be enough to tide you over until you settle down. Don't forget to grab at least one sapling.
A sword (wooden or stone) is a highly valued item that you should make as soon as possible. It will kill animals quicker (and thus, spend less hunger points), as well as provide protection in the event of a hostile mob sneaking up on you.
Second on your list of items to craft is a wooden pick. Use it to quickly pick up just enough cobblestone for making a full set of stone tools, as well as a furnace (i.e. 17 cobblestone, YOU DON'T NEED A HOE RIGHT NOW.)
Use your furnace to cook up animal meats and make some charcoal if you have no coal. If you're starting to get low on hunger points, stop everything, hole up, and cook your meat before you set out again. 5 - 10 cooked steaks/porkchops/chicken will tide you over for thousands of blocks worth of normal travel (i.e. no sprinting/excessive jumping).
FORGET ABOUT FARMING FOR THE FIRST FEW NIGHTS. It's not at all worth it to start a wheat farm during your first two Minecraft days. Like the OP stated, wheat takes a LONG time to grow unless you have bonemeal. Farming is only to be considered once you're far from spawn and settled down. Tons of new players end up dying 600 blocks from spawn waiting for their wheat farms to grow. That being said, be sure to break tall grass on your way, especially if you're going through a plain. You can quickly gather 10 - 20 seeds while running from spawn if you break tall grass.
Mushrooms are your best friend. Gather any mushrooms you see, and gather both types if you find them. When you're settled, you can use your bonemeal to make giant mushrooms (in a hidden location). Mushroom soup should be a staple of your diet. It's cheap to make and provides one of the highest food bar increases you can get.
Finally, NO DETOURS. Pick a direction and go. The only thing you should go out of your way to avoid is a mountain range. Jumping quickly eats up food bars, and you'll likely spend less walking around the mountain than going over it. Detours slow down your progress away from spawn. In fact, if you don't make any detours, you can actually find food relatively quickly if the spawn area has been depleted. I joined the server only a few days before the reset, and I ended up finding food because I ran south and didn't stop for anything except the absolute essentials. Only about 1200 blocks outside of spawn, animals began appearing.
Tips for Being Settled Down
HIDE YOUR HOME. People who build above ground become obvious targets for people looking to raid supplies, and thus end up dying relatively quickly.
HIDE YOUR HOME WELL. You might as well not be hidden if your secret entrance to your underground dwelling is marked by something obviously manmade, like a row of flowers/oddly shaped landscaping/two vertical dirt blocks in the side of a mountain of smooth stone.
Think small, build small. Grand, epic underground fortresses are fine if you don't mind being accidentally found by people digging nearby. Small work areas are good work areas. Use your space efficiently. You don't need a massive wheat farm for only one person. The standard 9x9 farm with a single water source in the center is more than enough for one person.
Build a tree farm. This goes without saying, honestly. Going up for wood constantly increases your chances of being discovered.
Strip mining is a safe and effective manner for gathering materials. Depending on your perspective, massive cave systems are either a blessing or a curse. Personally, I'm not big on large caverns and labyrinthine mineshafts. There's a lot of risk involved. If you do end up being in an area with a large cave system, go slowly. Be as cautious as you can and watch your step. You never know if there might be a hole in the floor that leads to a certain death by falling and/or lava.
As an addition to "strip mining is good", make your strip mine an effective strip mine. Personally, I go for a vertical shaft with horizontal corridors at the diamond layer. Layout is everything. Make a small central hub, then dig a corridor 20+ blocks long in every cardinal direction. Off of those corridors, make corridors on one side in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Space these corridors with a two block gap between each one, as this maximizes your ore yield while minimizing more digging than is needed. [1] Picture for more details (not to proper scale or size, just to show basic layout).
There are most likely even more efficient methods than this for strip mining, but it's one that I find works very well.
If you want to explore and you're well outfitted with armor and weapons (full iron or better), consider traveling at night. There are less people outside at night, and thus you're safer from other players. As long as you don't go blindly bounding through thick forests, and try to maintain your distance from hostile mobs, you should be fine. Coastlines are good to follow. Boats are even better, as it minimizes mob contact and maximizes speed.
Posted: April 7th, 2012, 6:57 pm