5 most important builds for survival in Minecraft 1.18

Surviving in Minecraft is a huge part of the game's draw for many, but it may be trickier to figure out for players jumping into the game for the first time.

Survival has remained about the same in most recent iterations of Minecraft, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Depending on a player's seed and game mode (Survival or Hardcore specifically), there may be very different challenges to staying alive in a Minecraft world.

However, there are certain core builds and structures that all players should have, either to survive their first night or to survive the nights to come.

Note: The article reflects the views of the writer.

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Minecraft: Essential survival builds in Minecraft 1.18

5) Enchanting area

Though not immediately necessary, enchantments are a huge help for late-game adventures (Image via Mojang)

Enchantments are a substantial part of surviving in Minecraft. Even though they're not essential at the end of the day and aren't needed in the first few days, enchantments can be a big help in many facets of the game.

Whether it's gathering resources, staying protected from hazards, or battling enemy mobs, enchantments improve a player's performance. Players shouldn't let their accrued experience levels go to waste and build a high-level enchanting table and a room to house it as soon as they have the time and means for it. It'll help them more than they might think.

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4) Storage

Storage is vital when it comes to keeping materials close by (Image via Mojang)

There's no two ways about it, a Minecraft character's inventory is finite. Although quite expansive for basic gathering, players who are gearing up for long-term survival will eventually run out of room for materials.

This is where storage areas come in. Regardless of whether players are using chests, barrels, shulker boxes, or other means of storage, having a place to put tools and materials is important.

If players are operating solely out of their own inventories, they'll likely be dropping a ton of useful items to make room for others.

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3) Crafting area

Centralizing the ability to forge and craft saves traps between blocks (Image via Mojang)

Crafting is one of the core tenets of Minecraft. After all, it's in the name! Players can save themselves a lot of headaches and travel time by placing all of their crafting blocks such as crafting tables, furnaces, anvils, stonecutters and more in one location.

Having a central spot to perform a player's crafting means a lot more can get done than running back and forth between crafting locations to transfer materials or pick up things from furnaces.

Players need to craft in Minecraft, and keeping the tools to do so as conveniently available as possible is ideal.

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2) Easily accessible food farm

With food comes health regeneration, which players will likely need often (Image via Mojang)

Keeping your character fed in Minecraft is imperative, as they won't be able to heal without sufficient food intake. Furthermore, without enough food, players will be incapable of sprinting. If a player's hunger bar hits zero, they'll take damage over time (though they won't die outright unless they're on Hard mode).

To avoid this, keeping a ready source of snacks nearby is a wise and early investment that should be made.

Whether players prefer to grow simple crops like wheat, potatoes, etc. or keep a herd of renewable livestock close, the aim is to refrain from depleting the food supply.

This is fairly easy for crops, as they can be harvested and replanted. However, making animals reproduce will require different food items to place the mobs in love mode and can be a little more complex.

For most new players, building a simple wheat farm to make bread suffices, and players can even build the farm directly into their shelter!

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1) Shelter

Players aren't likely to go far without a place to call home (Image via Mojang)

Unless players are doing a Minecraft challenge, spending life hiding in caves and sleeping in holes is no way to live. The nomadic life can be a dangerous one, especially when it comes to hostile mobs hunting players down.

However, with a sturdy shelter in place, those issues evaporate. With a well-built and lit area to call home, players won't have to worry about waking up to a hostile mob attacking them.

New players can start small with their shelters before expanding with extra rooms that perform different functions.

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Minecraft survival just isn't as enjoyable without a safe haven like a shelter available, and that becomes apparent pretty quickly.