5 most useful ores in Minecraft for survival

There are several different ores in Minecraft. During the game, players will find themselves needing coal, gold, diamonds, and more at one point or another. Each ore provides a different material and players can use them to obtain certain resources in the game.

However, not all ores are created equally. Some ores are more important than others, especially for survival mode.

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What are 5 essential ores for survival in Minecraft?

5) Redstone

Without Redstone, everything in Minecraft would have to be done manually. Automating anything, whether it's a door, a furnace, or a farm is very useful.

None of that would be possible without Redstone dust. Fortunately, it's fairly easy to find in bulk, especially with a Fortune III enchanted pickaxe.

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4) Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli can be found underground (Image via Mojang)

Lapis Lazuli can be crafted into blue dye and can also be used in enchanting books and items. The latter is one of the most important parts of the game, and enchanted books are otherwise hard to come by.

Enchanting books manually with Lapis Lazuli is the easiest way to get the necessary books.

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3) Coal

Coal ore is very valuable (Image via Mojang)

Without coal, players would have a very difficult time staying alive. It is true that there are other fuel sources. However, coal is the most abundant and isn't used for much else.

Other fuel sources are often used for crafting and building. However, coal doesn't fall into that category. It is only used to smelt or cook items.

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2) Iron

While they're not diamond-level, iron tools and armor are very good to have. Having a full set of iron armor is nothing to sneeze at and iron tools are among the game's best.

Iron is easier to find than diamonds, which makes it a little less valuable. However, given its uses and applications, there aren't many other resources quite as valuable.

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1) Diamond

Diamonds are the most important ore (Image via Mojang)

Even after Netherite was introduced, diamonds remained the most important resource in the game. They're fairly rare and this only adds to their value. Diamonds are used to make the second-highest level of tools and armor.

Without them, players can't get Netherite tools or armor, so they have to craft diamond items first. Nothing is more important than diamonds in Minecraft.