Easiest way to find coal in Minecraft

Coal is one of the most important items in Minecraft that is mainly used as fuel to smelt all kinds of items. Whether players want to cook their food or smelt Ancient Debris for precious netherite, coal is essential to burn and smelt all of this. It comes under the essential items needed for players to take their first steps in the game. Hence finding them as soon as possible is beneficial.

Coal is one of those items that is quite common in a world. The moment players enter a new world, they can find them almost instantly if they know where to look. However, new players who have never been in the game might have some difficulty and confusion in finding them. They will also need some tools to mine the item out of the blocks. On top of this, the change in ore distribution after the latest update of the game has modified how these items appear in the sandbox title.

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How to easily find loads of coal in Minecraft?

Understanding the new ore distribution

Coal is majorly found in the form of ore blocks made from stone or deepslate. Since the latest Minecraft 1.18 Caves and Cliffs part 2 update, Mojang has brought huge ore distribution and generation changes. This change was necessary as the world got deeper and went below Y level 0. This changes at which Y level these ores will generate, including coal.

Coal ore generating the most at Y level 96 and above 136 (Image via Mojang)

If we take a look at the official ore generation chart released by Mojang, we can notice that coal ore mostly generates around Y level 96 and above Y level 136. This means that if players need to find this item quickly and easily, they need to open the debug screen by hitting the 'F3' button and watch their coordinates until they reach Y level 96.

Ore in a cave (Image via Minecraft)

Along with this, players must mostly aim for mountains, as the item generates higher up. For new players who might not know what the ore looks like in Minecraft, it will look like a normal stone block but with black patches. Players can easily find large blobs of the ore from which they can get anywhere from 1 to 37 of them.

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Even though players can find the most ores at a certain Y level, this item is extremely common. Hence, if players start the game and roam around for a while near stone blocks, they will be able to spot these ores from which they can mine the item. Players must always make sure that they have a pickaxe to mine in these ores. Mining with any other item or hand will not yield anything.

Aside from smelting, coal can be used to make torches, campfires, and for trading. Players can collect coal with the aforementioned strategy and get going on their projects.