Top 5 must-know tricks for speedrunning Minecraft in 2023

Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game with a lot in store for every player, whether they like building stuff or exploring the naturally generated world.

The Minecraft survival mode has one end goal, defeating the infamous Ender Dragon. Doing so is considered as finishing the game, and an ending poem appears on the player's screen when the dragon is slain.

For those unaware, speedrunning is the art of reaching a game's authored conclusion as quickly as possible. The speedrunning community has set multiple mind-blowing speedrun scores in Minecraft that casual players cannot break.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

Bartering and 4 other must-know Minecraft speedrunning tricks

Defeating the deadly Ender Dragon is an enviable feat, but doing it in the first few minutes of creating a world is unimaginably harder. A game like Minecraft can only be speedrun by players who know a few time-saving tips.

Here are some of the best speedrunning tips for Minecraft:

5) Create a boat

The player in a boat falling into the Nether dimension (Image via Mojang)

Boats in Minecraft are some of the most unrealistically working items. This may seem like a weird trick to players who are unaware that these things can be used to prevent fall damage.

When a player is in a boat, no matter how tall of a point they fall from, they cannot sustain damage. This is extremely helpful as speedrunners will be running around to reach their destinations as quickly as possible and can easily fall from a high point.

Boats can also be used to travel across lava pools. Another hurdle players often face while exploring the Nether dimension.

4) Use the F3 screen to decide where to go

Many players are unaware that the F3 screen in Minecraft Java Edition can be used to determine which way is better to steer. The C value in the top left of the F3 screen shows the number of chunks rendered in the direction in which the player is looking.

By looking at this value, the amount of open space behind a wall can be determined. This is extremely helpful when a player is stuck in a small space in the Nether.

3) Building the Nether portal

Players need the eye of enders to enter the soulless land of the End dimension where the Ender Dragon resides. This rare item requires blaze powder to be crafted, which can only be acquired in the Nether world.

Entering the Nether is far easier than entering the End dimension, as players can create a nether portal anywhere. However, these portals require obsidians, and players need a diamond pickaxe to mine this block.

Since water and lava form obsidian upon contact, players can use this game mechanic to form a portal without having to mine obsidian. Deep ravines and ruined portals are some of the best places to create a nether portal, as both these places already have quite a lot of obsidian and lava from beforehand.

2) Bartering

Piglins inspecting a gold ingot (Image via Mojang)

Bartering is a feature in Minecraft that allows players to trade gold nuggets for valuable items with piglins. By doing so, players can quickly get valuable items such as ender pearls and obsidian, which can help with their speedruns.

The best place to do so is in bastions, as many piglins naturally spawn there, and many gold blocks naturally generate

.1) Acquire beds

A bed in a village house (Image via Mojang)

Players who plan to defeat the Ender Dragon in a matter of minutes cannot waste time crafting weapons.

Since beds in Minecraft explode when the player uses them in the End dimension, players can use them to cause damage to the Ender Dragon. If the player has a village close to spawn, they can quickly grab the village house beds.