3 quickest ways to find ancient debris in Minecraft 1.18 update

Ancient debris (Image via Minecraft)
Ancient debris (Image via Minecraft)

Ancient debris is the rarest ore in Minecraft, generating in the Nether world. It was added to the game with the Minecraft 1.16 update.

One of the main objectives for most players in survival game mode is acquiring Netherite tools and weapons, and ancient debris is the only source of it.

After acquiring ancient debris, players can smelt it to get Netherite scrap. With four Netherite scraps, players can get Netherite ingots by combining it with gold ingots.


Quick ways of acquiring ancient debris in Minecraft

3) Using efficient mining methods

Branch mining in the Nether (Image via Minecraft)
Branch mining in the Nether (Image via Minecraft)

Over the years, the community has discovered multiple mining methods that can help boost players' rate of finding rare ores, such as diamonds and ancient debris.

Two of the most efficient methods for mining ancient debris are branch mining and strip mining. In branch mining, the player mines a few blocks, creating a path, then turns left and mines five blocks (both upper and lower ones) in both directions. By repeating this process, players can get quite a few ancient debris ores.

Strip mining is very similar to branch mining. However, in this method, the player mines a straight line for as long as they want and then goes back to the starting point. However, players have to be careful of lava.


2) Mining at the correct height

Ancient debris at Y 15 (Image via Minecraft)
Ancient debris at Y 15 (Image via Minecraft)

All ores in Minecraft have a range of heights between which they may generate. This range for ancient debris is quite large. In the Nether, ancient debris generates between Y levels 8 and 119.

However, it is not a good idea to start mining at any height in this range because the chances of ancient debris generating at most Y levels are quite low. On average, players will find the largest amount of ancient debris at Y 15.


1) Using TNT or Beds to explode unnecessary blocks

TNT blocks placed in a straight line (Image via Minecraft)
TNT blocks placed in a straight line (Image via Minecraft)

Ancient debris has a higher blast resistance compared to most blocks in Minecraft. By exploding TNT blocks or beds in the game, players can get rid of the blocks surrounding the ancient debris to reveal the ore itself.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion