7 best Minecraft build ideas for desert biomes

Minecraft’s deserts are one of the most iconic biomes in the game. They comprise large expanses of open sand, broken up by occasional villages and mountains - or maybe, if the player is lucky, it will be a rare desert temple filled with amazing loot such as golden apples.

With how massive and expansive the biomes can sometimes be, what should players do with all the space? Detailed below are seven amazing ideas for builds centered in the desert biome.

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The 7 best build ideas for desert biomes in Minecraft 1.19

7) Custom Dune Sea

Custom sand dunes (Image via Minecraft)

Deserts, such as the real-world Sahara Desert, comprise giant sand dunes that are formed by the wind carrying sand in such a way as to mimic the appearance of waves, shifting and moving, turning deserts into dry oceans almost.

This is a very different look and feel to Minecraft’s deserts, which tend to be quite flat and bland by comparison. For players looking to make their home in the desert, they can turn their nearby desert biomes into a custom dune sea, adding visual detail and excitement to an otherwise boring biome.

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6) Well

A custom desert well (Image via Reddit)

Deserts are, by definition, areas that get very little precipitation. In fact, deserts do not even have to be hot, and technically speaking, the Arctic is also a desert, as there is almost no rain. This makes it incredibly difficult for large amounts of water to build up, as it very rarely gets replenished.

This means that players looking to make their base in the desert will need to find some kind of sustainable water source. The best way to do this is to create a large ornate well, representing water being pulled from deep within the ground rather than raining down from the sky.

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5) Irrigated Desert Farm

An example of custom desert farming (Image via Reddit)

One of the most important things for players to do is set up some kind of way to create a sustainable source of food, this can be done either with a farm for crops, or a collection of animals that can breed to replenish their numbers.

Players can make a very intricate farm design using multi-tiered levels of irrigation, both practical as well as visually appealing.

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4) Oasis

Large stretches of desert can be both hard to navigate and hard to look at due to how bright sand can be when sunlight directly hits it. This can cause hallucinations on the horizon, with the most iconic being of pockets of lush greenery and water: the oasis.

While these hallucinations might not exist for many people in the real world, players can force them into existence in Minecraft by crafting custom small biomes of lush trees, greenery, and water, bringing life into what would otherwise be a nearly inhospitable biome.

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3) Tomb

An above ground entrance for a tomb (Image via Reddit)

One of the most iconic aspects of ancient deserts in real-life are the ancient tombs that can be found under the sand. Players can create their own versions of these tombs in Minecraft, creating intricate labyrinths of sandstone and terracotta, in which they store all of their goodies in massive underground storage systems.

The best part is that these tombs can either be totally buried, allowing for space above to fill with other builds, or can extend above ground with massive temples and mausoleums covering them.

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2) Pyramid

Pyramids might be the single most iconic feature of deserts. The pyramids of Giza are some of the oldest man-made structures, and are incredibly imposing and awe inspiring.

This makes pyramids a natural choice for a build to fill a large area within a desert biome. But where the pyramids we have in the real world are quite basic, only being the shape itself, pyramids in Minecraft can feature additional colors, block types, and even additional structures such as awnings and overhangs, making them incredibly customizable.

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1) Sphinx

The sphinx is very similar to the pyramids in terms of real-world iconography. Where it gains an advantage, however, is in its visual appeal. While a pyramid is a simple geometric shape, a sphinx is a large and imposing replica of an animal.

While players can make a replica of the real-world sphinx in Minecraft, a more interesting application would be to put a unique twist on it by changing the animal the build is based on.