Why is beating Minecraft likely impossible without guides and tutorials?

Countless Minecraft players have "beaten" Survival Mode by reaching the End and defeating the Ender Dragon, but would it be possible to do so without any provided knowledge? Suppose a player knew nothing about the game, couldn't look up guides, tutorials, videos, or wikis, and was tasked with beating Survival Mode. Would it be possible for them to achieve their goal?

As a sandbox game, Minecraft operates pretty heavily on allowing players to learn from their own experience. In-game tips and tutorials are available in some capacities, but the mechanics for the vast roster of mobs, blocks, and items aren't always thoroughly explained. How long would it take for a player to achieve victory over the Ender Dragon without a little help along the way?

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Why beating Minecraft's Survival Mode would be incredibly difficult without in-game knowledge

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition offers a "how to play" section and encyclopedia to help new players (Image via Mojang)

Despite Minecraft: Bedrock Edition offering an encyclopedia and a "how to play" for beginners, Java Edition doesn't extend the same courtesy. If a player had no access to these tutorials and couldn't look up guides or videos, would it still be possible for them to beat Survival Mode and witness the end credits? Perhaps, but it would be a challenging task, to say the least.

Without knowing crafting recipes, how certain items and mobs are crucial for completing the game, and strategies for defeating the Ender Dragon, simply stumbling into the end of the game would likely be nigh-impossible. Sure, with enough time, a player could ostensibly figure things out for themselves, but doing so without help would require a ton of trial and error.

A man, who has never played, is locked into a room where he can only play Minecraft. How long does it take him to see the end credits? byu/Kefla-san inMinecraft

Comment byu/Kefla-san from discussion inMinecraft

Put plainly, aside from players who have been playing Minecraft for years or who were there from the very beginning, many fans have relied upon internal or external assistance to reach their in-game goals, even if they don't necessarily include defeating the Ender Dragon.

A player experiencing anything about the game for the first time by playing it would have their work cut out for them. Having to learn crafting recipes without tips, learning how to get to the Nether, how to collect blaze rods, create Eyes of Ender, and countless other in-game mechanics including surviving nightfall and obtaining the necessary resources for tools and gear.

A player in this situation would likely die more than a few times, which may set their progress back even further.

Even simple Minecraft tasks like crafting would be tougher without a reference (Image via Minecraft/YouTube)

In the end, if a player had a set amount of time to complete Survival Mode's progression, it may not be impossible to do so without assistance, but it would be highly improbable. Plenty of time, effort, and mistakes could likely lead to an utterly uninitiated player making their way to the final battle. Still, the difficulty skyrockets if they were expected to do so in a reasonable amount of time.

Every player is different and approaches things from their own perspective, and some players might have an easier time completing Survival Mode unassisted. However, it's hard not to think that players would have an incredibly difficult time progressing through major milestones without any aid. Even if it isn't impossible, the job would be a particularly tedious and tough one.

For some players, diving into the game and getting to the end credits might simply be too tall of a task without a helping hand from within Minecraft or elsewhere.