8 best tips to get a fast start in Minecraft

The journey of a thousand blocks begins with the first block. When starting your first Minecraft playthrough, the initial stages can be quite challenging. Surviving the first night is difficult since you have nothing to protect yourself from the zombies and skeletons. But there are some ways to get a fast start in Minecraft and avoid spending your first few nights in a ditch or a small wooden box.

Here are eight tips to easily grab more resources and make the game less challenging.

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Best tips to get a fast start in Minecraft

Resources needed in early gameplay (Image via Mojang Studios)

To get a great start, you need resources and shelter. While there is no end to the type of resources in the game, you should aim to cover the basics: food, stone, and wood. The second essential element is a decent shelter with a bed.

1) Making a shelter

Making a basic shelter (Image via Mojang Studios)

The first night in Minecraft is the most difficult to survive. Therefore, when you start the game, chop down as many trees as possible to get a decent wood supply.

The location of the base should not matter. You only need a large enough space to keep the crafting table, bed, and a furnace. The first step is to make a crafting table, craft a pickaxe, and collect some stones.

Then, use stone or dirt to make a basic shelter. Note that dirt is preferable as it is abundant and gets the job done. Once you have a shelter, move to the next step.

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2) Get the resources

Furnace in Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

Use the stone to make stone tools and a furnace. Accruing coal in the beginning can be difficult unless you spawn in a coal-rich area. However, going out to look for coal is not recommended, as a workaround exists.

Use wood as the fuel source and burn some wood logs in the furnace to get charcoal, which can also work as a fuel source and for making torches. Light up the house and the surrounding area, as dark zones in Minecraft can be very dangerous.

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3) Get food

Getting food early is important (Image via Mojang Studios)

Before the night falls, you must get some amount of food. This is not too difficult as you have stone swords and axes. Look for any animal nearby: chickens, cows, and pigs. Alternatively, try using a hoe on the tree leaves as they might drop some apples.

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4) Make a bed

Make the bed as quickly as possible (Image via Mojang Studios)

After collecting sufficient food — around four to five cooked meat or chickens — you must look for sheep to make a bed. These mobs must be killed to obtain wool, as making sheers takes iron.

Since you need three pieces of wool blocks of the same color to make a bed, this can be a challenging task. Survey your surrounding area to find sheep. That said, it is better not to venture into the distance and risk walking back home at night.

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5) Make a mine from your shelter

Mining to get resources (Image via Mojang Studios)

If you cannot find the resources to make a bed, stay inside the house and create a mine entrance by digging down. Since you can make torches with charcoal and must stay up all night, mining for a bit will help you amass this resource. You might even acquire some iron and redstone dust.

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6) Avoid caves

caves can be dangerous in early gameplay (Image via Mojang Studios)

Making a staircase mine is better and safer than entering a dark cave mine without any armor or better gear. Staircase and strip mining are the best options, although they can get tedious.

After making an armor set and an iron pickaxe and sword, you are ready for the cave. Ensure you carry enough torches and food to keep both hunger and hostile mobs away. Make a cave house to be on the safe side.

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7) Know your way

Use cobblestones as guides (Image via Mojang Studios)

Venturing out in Minecraft for the first time can be difficult, and players often lose their homes. This is a huge problem as you can lose all the collected items and food. Furthermore, you could get lost outside in the middle of the night.

Marking your way is ideal for avoiding this predicament. All you need is some abundantly available cobblestone blocks. Just place them on the way so that you can backtrack easily. If you have multiple torches, placing them along the path is also great for finding your way back home and keeping the area lit.

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8) Make a locator map

Make a map to know your way and explore (Image via Mojang Studios)

After gathering some resources, the next step is to make a locator map. Minecraft encourages exploring different biomes and collecting resources. To that end, a locator map will help you venture into the world.

To make this asset, you only need redstone dust, iron, sugarcane, and a crafting table. Create a few copies and keep them in your base.

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