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Iron is one of the most used resources in Minecraft. It can be found in the form of iron ore in the upper levels of the Overworld dimension.
The mineral block can be used to make armor pieces for an entire iron armor set, iron weapons and more. It is also the only resource in the game that can craft pickaxes that mine every material in the game.
With the release of the Minecraft 1.19 update, some players may be wondering if there are any changes to the spawning or dropping criteria of iron in the game.
This article takes a look at seven tips that players can take note of when trying to find iron.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.
1) Explore Minecraft's caves
The easiest way to look for iron in the Overworld is to just explore caves.
Iron is a fairly common resource that can be found close to the entrance of a cave or even inside. In addition to this mineral block, players have a chance to obtain a ton of additional loot from caves, including more ores, blocks, XP from mobs and mob drops.
2) Look between Y levels 128 and 320
Before the release of the Minecraft 1.18 update in October 2021, the distribution of all ores and resources was the same for years. The best level for diamonds was Y level 11, while the best one for iron was between Y levels 5-54.
Since the release of the 1.18 update, however, that has changed dramatically. Iron ore now attempts to generate in three batches. The biggest batch is generated between levels Y 128 and 320 and is most common at Y level 255.
This batch attempts to generate the most times per chunk (40), which means it has a higher probability of holding more iron ore than its sister batches.
3) Don’t waste your Fortune pickaxe
The Fortune enchantment is among the best enchantments in Minecraft.
This enchantment increases the number of items obtained as a drop when mining certain ores in the game. It is one of the most popular enchantments for diamond mining.
However, players must remember that it does not work on iron ore. Therefore, using it while mining iron would be equivalent to wasting their pickaxe’s durability.
4) Search for iron veins
Among many other features, Minecraft 1.18 also added ore veins to the game. These veins contain up to hundreds of ore blocks, all connected via a loose chain of sorts.
Iron veins can often be identified by the presence of blocks of raw iron. Finding an iron ore vein early can completely transform players' gameplay to the point where they don't have to worry about iron in their playthrough for a long time.
5) Good ol’ Golems
The iron golem is a hulking mob made entirely of, you guessed it, iron. A direct confrontation with an iron golem can leave players dead within seconds. However, building up three blocks allows players to attack the mob without any danger, as it cannot reach the player.
Golems drop 2-5 iron ingots, which can be just the amount of iron new players need to start off their Minecraft journey.
6) Skip Y levels 65 to 127
As mentioned above, iron generates in three batches in the Overworld. Players can find these batches in the following three Y level brackets:
- First batch: 128 to 320
- Second batch: -24 to 54
- Third batch: -63 to 64
Mojang has already established that the first batch (which attempts to generate 40 times per chunk) has its most profitable generation at Y level 255. Meanwhile, the second batch has its most profitable generation at Y level 15.
Given the surplus of information, players should remember not to waste time and resources in the zone between the first and third batches.
7) Strip mining
Note: The tutorial linked above shows the player mining diamonds. However, the strategy used is the same for iron mining.
Strip mining is one of the most effective strategies when it comes to mining any resource. This is especially true for iron as it is more commonly available than resources like diamonds, gold, redstone, lapis or ancient debris.
It requires players to dig one-block wide tunnels starting from every alternative block in a horizontal line. This ensures maximum coverage and vision while mining. Therefore, it allows players to identify and find iron as quickly as possible.
