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Minecraft is a game with fairly straightforward gameplay, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of tricks to improve a player's gaming experience in multiple areas.
For both newcomers and veterans of Minecraft, there's always room to learn new tricks here and there. Players are always coming up with new life hacks and shortcuts as the game evolves and is updated.
With that in mind, there are more than a few noteworthy tricks that players may want to try as they play the game. Even in 2022, there are plenty of ways to improve one's Minecraft experience through simple nuanced applications that don't take much to pull off.
Minecraft: Great tricks to keep in mind
10) Finding North
Keeping your heading is important in Minecraft, especially when you don't have items like maps or compasses to assist you. Fortunately, it's possible to find the northern Cardinal Direction by using blocks.
When striking a block, Minecraft players may notice a pattern of cracks on the blocks as they are broken. If a block is hit on its side or on the ground, players should notice the pattern's cracks pointing up, to the right, and nearly straight down. The crack on the side of the block will point northward on top of the block itself, pointing players in the right direction.
9) Stonecutters Matter
Many Minecraft players likely consider stonecutter blocks a helpful way to make stone blocks like slabs, stairs, and more. However, it's also important to note that stonecutters are more economical than creating stone blocks on a crafting table.
Not only can players create stone blocks in single increments instead of groups, but players also require less stone to create these items compared to a crafting table. If Minecraft players have a choice, they should make their stone blocks at a stonecutter in order to save stone for later.
8) Spacing Torches
When exploring dark caves in Minecraft or digging out a mine underground, placing torches ensures that hostile mobs don't spawn behind the player and cause problems. Though this is a fairly basic premise that most Minecraft players know, there's some nuance to spacing out torches.
This saves torches in the long run and keeps hostile mobs away just as well (or even better) than haphazardly-placed torches. The key is to place a torch every 26 blocks. This is due to the light level of the torches being 14, and 26 is the maximum range the torches can spread apart while keeping the light level between them above zero.
7) Zombie-Proofing Doors
On Hard Mode in Minecraft, zombies are capable of breaking down a player's (or villager's) door and attacking them. There are multiple ways to prevent this from happening, and many Minecraft players usually build around it. However, there's also a neat little trick that zombie-proofs doors without any building needed.
Break the door, then stand perpendicular to where the door originally was. Place the door again, then step away from the hole the door is occupying and open the door. If done correctly, zombies will ignore the door due to mistakenly thinking it's open.
6) Pillaring to Save Your Life
If Minecraft players find themselves in a dangerous situation, particularly when dealing with hostile mobs, sometimes the only way to save themselves is to head upward. If players have multiple stacks of building blocks, they can build straight upward by continuously jumping and placing a block below them.
At 10-12 blocks, players should be out of the range of skeleton arrows, though they'll need to build an overhang to prevent spiders from crawling up their pillar. This tactic should be avoided if players haven't slept in three in-game days, though, as phantoms can easily knock players off their pillars and fall to their doom.
5) Collect Sand/Gravel/Concrete Powder with Torches
Collecting gravel, sand, and concrete powder in Minecraft is typically done with a shovel, though this can quickly chew up the tool's durability. Fortunately, there's a trick to collecting multiple blocks of these types when they're stacked vertically.
By equipping a torch and breaking the bottom-most block, a short opportunity will exist where players can place a torch underneath the blocks above. Since these blocks are affected by gravity, they'll attempt to fall and collide with the torch, destroying the vertical assortment of blocks and allowing players to collect them.
It's worth mentioning, however, that when used on gravel blocks, this tactic won't allow them to drop flint.
4) Diamond Finding Trick
This trick is one of the more interesting ones in all of Minecraft. Players who are on a hunt to find diamonds may want to look to a nearby river. In the event players spot a patch of clay blocks in a river, they can quickly access diamonds.
All players need to do is locate the center of the patch of clay, then move two blocks up on the Z-axis (players can check their position with F3 on Minecraft: Java Edition), then dig straight down.
Normally, it's highly unwise to mine straight down, but this clay trick ensures that players will most often find diamond ore, though this isn't 100% foolproof. In addition, this tactic should keep players safe from the dangers of mining straight downwards, such as lava pools or huge pitfalls.
3) Creeper Blast Protection
Few things are quite as annoying in Minecraft as being killed by a creeper explosion. However, for players that know how the explosion works, they can easily protect themselves from a creeper's detonation.
Since the damage calculation of the creeper's explosion is based on the distance between the creeper and the target's feet, players can quickly place down blocks between themselves and the creeper at the ground level. Doing so correctly will cause the explosion to hit the blocks instead, either completely negating or heavily reducing the damage taken.
2) Treasure Chest Tracking
Finding treasure chests in Minecraft can be tedious, but fortunately for Java Edition players, there's an easy solution. The trick is that chests generate in the same location in each chunk, at (X:9, Z:9). With this in mind, players can open their coordinate menu with F3.
There should be a coordinate listing directly under the player's block coordinates indicating their chunk coordinates. Simply head to the chunk coordinates of (X:9, Z:9) and dig downwards in order to easily and effectively find treasure every time.
1) The Alternative to MLG Water Bucketing
Many Minecraft players have relied on using the "MLG" tactic of dispensing a water bucket during a fall right before landing to protect themselves from fall damage. However, if players are standing on a tall structure such as a pillar and need to get down, blocks such as honey blocks or TNT can be much safer.
Simply place the honey/TNT block a few blocks down from the top of the pillar, stand on it, then break it and place another block a few blocks down until the player is back on solid ground. Since honey and TNT blocks break easily, this allows players to move downwards quickly and safely.
Note: The list is subjective and reflects the writer's own views.
