Minecraft 1.20 Trails and Tales update has been a huge success, and the game continues to be one of the most played sandbox survival games until now. In Minecraft, you'll find a vast array of natural structures and buildings at various points in the game. You either choose to experience the serene beauty of these structures or raid them for all the loot they have to offer.
In this article, we will discuss the 10 best Minecraft structures that you must explore solo or with your friends in 2024.
Best Minecraft structures in 2024
1) Geode
The amethyst geode structure was added in Minecraft 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update. It can be found in between y level 58 to -36. The geode generally has one of its sides broken or you may also find a fully closed geode from all sides.
This geode will have three layers, the outer smooth Basalt layer, and the middle calcite layer, and on the inside, you'll find amethyst building blocks and Amethyst Shards. When you obtain Amethyst you'll be able to make a spyglass, tinted glass, use it to brighten up your home, or even use it for decorative purposes.
2) Trail ruins
Minecraft 1.20 update has introduced a new gameplay feature called archaeology. The new structures introduced in this update are trail ruins and ocean ruins. These ruins are quite rare to find, and they may occur partially above the ground. You will have to dig the site completely to discover the loot in these structures.
These trail ruins contain suspicious gravel blocks that you have to excavate using a brush. You can get various loot from these structures such as emeralds, armor trims, gold nuggets, and most important of all, pottery shards.
3) Bastion remnant
Bastion remnants are huge castle-like structures that can be found in the Nether dimension. These structures are home to Piglins and come in four different types, including Bridge, Hoglin Stable, Housing Units, and Treasure Room.
These structures contain Piglins, pigling brutes, and hoglins. Apart from piglins, the other two will attack you no matter what, so be prepared before raiding these structures. The Treasure Room is the only structure where you will find the magma cube monster spawner, and the center part can contain blocks of gold. Therefore, raiding these structures for loot is usually fruitful.
4) Ocean monument
The ocean monument is a rare underwater structure that is lit by sea lanterns and made up of prismarine blocks. This monument is home to guardians and elder guardians. Although both of these mobs are aggressive, this structure holds a generous amount of loot in chests.
You can break the sea lanterns and take them with you, which functions as a nice decoration for your house. It may take a while to clear these structures and get the loot inside them, so you must take some water-breathing potions with you or a couple of doors if you are playing in Java Edition.
5) Jungle temple
If you spot a jungle biome in Minecraft, there is a 75% chance that you will find a jungle temple somewhere in the jungle. These temples can be easily identified from their characteristic moss-covered stone blocks in the middle of the jungle woods.
The jungle temples will contain all sorts of traps made using redstone dust, strings, dispensers, and arrows. You'll have to look out for these traps and find the place where there are three levers. By using a specific combination for these levers, you can unlock a secret room in this temple that contains the main loot.
6) Desert temple
The desert temple is a pyramid-like structure that you can find in the desert biomes of Minecraft. These will be made of sandstone, cut sandstone, and chiseled sandstone blocks and at some places, you may even find some terracotta blocks. This temple will contain some suspicious sand blocks that have been added after the 1.20 update in June 2023. You may excavate these blocks to get various pottery shards.
The temple has a TNT trap at the center that goes off if you step on the stone pressure plate. You must tread carefully into the hole such that you don't fall into the trap and lose all your loot. The desert temple will contain all sorts of loot, such as armor trims, diamond horse armor, golden apples, and so on.
7) Stronghold
Strongholds are dungeon-like structures that can be found by using eyes of ender, which can be crafted using ender pearls. These are extremely rare to find, and you will have to keep letting the eyes of ender show you the direction in which a stronghold is located. Once the eyes of ender falls directly to the ground upon throwing it, then you'll know that the stronghold is located just under that spot.
These structures contain spawners and a large number of mobs, so be prepared before going inside them. They have a generous amount of loot, and you may find enchanted books, armor trims, horse armor, and other weapons. Each world can have up to 128 strongholds. If you have located the library room, you'll find the End portal nearby.
8) End City
Once you get access to the stronghold and are able to kill the ender dragon, you may feel that you have completed the game. However, defeating the ender dragon gives you the freedom to explore more structures in the Overworld, Nether, and the End dimension.
In the End dimension, you can explore these massive structures called the End Cities, which are made up of magenta-colored Purpur blocks and End Stone Bricks. These structures will contain the highest form of loot, shulker shells, and if you are fortunate enough to locate an End Ship, you can get your hands on Elytra.
9) Woodland mansion
The woodland mansion is one of the rarest and biggest structures in Minecraft. These are located in darker forests and are often far away from the location in which you have spawned. They are occupied by pillagers, illagers, and witches.
The mansion has three floors, each with a progressively more challenging obstacle to overcome, with the difficulty steadily increasing from the ground level upwards. The chest room that is clearly visible to you will not contain any loot, so you must look for secret rooms and secret loot chests inside this structure. Make sure to equip yourself with a lot of torches and excellent armor before raiding the woodland mansion.
10) Igloo
Igloos are relatively small structures made up of ice blocks that look similar to a hut for villagers. These are found in the snowy biomes, and you may have gotten into the habit of ignoring them for being so small in size and having no visible loot.
What you may not know is that some igloos contain a secret underground basement. You'll have to look for it by digging the floor, and you'll find a trapdoor that leads to the basement. However, the only useful loot items you'll find here are emeralds, gold nuggets, and golden apples.