7 Minecraft features that feel like cheating

One of the most satisfying parts of survival games like Minecraft is slowly becoming stronger and less susceptible to threats. Finally having good enough armor to safely take on groups of hostile mobs, for example, represents a huge jump forward in progress. However, while most parts of the game are well-balanced, there are a few features so useful that they're essentially cheat codes.

Seven examples of such powerful features can be found detailed down below, along with exactly what makes these systems so strong in survival.

Note: The entries are arranged in no particular order. The article reflects the the writer's opinion and is subjective in nature.

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Seven Minecraft features so powerful they feel like cheats

1) Villager Trading

Villagers in a small trading hall (Image via Mojang)

Villager trading is, in terms of survival, unrivaled in terms of power. Players can convert common and easy-to-get items like rotten flesh, Minecraft melons, sticks, and fish into emeralds, which can be spent on enchanted diamond gear and books, food, and other useful and hard-to-get resources.

Ultimately, villager trading is so strong that it can essentially solve the entire game, which is why Mojang has been experimenting with nerfs to the system for future updates.

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2) The mending enchantment

The mending enchantment is part of what makes villager trading so strong (Image via Mojang)

Mending is by far Minecraft's best enchantment. It allows damaged items to repair themselves by consuming collected experience orbs. The rate that mending repairs is equal to two per point of experience in the orb. This is more than enough to keep all the god-enchanted gear that players will accumulate from ever breaking.

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3) The fortune enchantment

The fortune enchantment makes mining much better (Image via Mojang)

Another Minecraft enchantment so powerful that it makes the game feel considerably easier is fortune. This enchantment makes the different ores found throughout the game drop many more resources than they otherwise would. This means players can make more farms, and in a game as easy to break as Mojang's blocky masterpiece is, the sooner things start snowballing, the better.

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4) Shields

Blocking a creeper explosion with a shield (Image via Mojang)

Shields are the most powerful item in the game when it comes to staying alive. Unlike armor, which reduces incoming damage, shields can totally absorb damage. This makes surviving otherwise deadly situations, such as close creeper explosions or mobs of zombies, not only possible but easy. Shields are basically required for any sort of long-term survival, which shows how powerful they are.

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5) Protection enchantment

Fully enchanted diamond armor (Image via Mojang)

Armor is just as important for survival as shields. While it won't stop damage entirely, armor does decrease incoming damage. However, armor can be made substantially better with the protection enchantment.

This enchantment increases the damage reduction of armor by 4% per level per piece. A full set of protection IV on a set of armor will increase damage resistance by 64%. When combined with diamond and netherite armor, this enchantment can make players nearly unkillable.

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6) Conduit

A full-sized conduit in a river (Image via Mojang)

Between buried treasures, shipwrecks, ocean ruins, and ocean monuments, there are plenty of reasons for players to take to the seas. However, doing so can be quite dangerous. It's dark, drowned Minecraft mobs can overwhelm players, and drowning is a constant threat, especially near ocean monuments thanks to the mining fatigue debuff.

That's where conduits come in. These are multiblock structures created using three five-by-five rings centered around a conduit block. When activated, a full-power conduit will give players permanent water breathing, night vision, and haste effect while in the water near it. This essentially makes being underwater the same as playing Minecraft creative mode.

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7) Beds

Beds are an easy item to underestimate (Image via Mojang)

Beds are quite unassuming items on the surface. They can be made very early on in a world or found right after spawning within villages. They are also very powerful. Players can use beds to change their spawn location, which is extremely handy for making bases far from world spawn. They also allow players to skip hostile mob-filled nights and keep phantoms from spawning.

But even that isn't the extent of how powerful beds are. They can also be used to inflict huge amounts of damage on high-health mobs, such as Minecraft's ender dragon or wither bosses. Having so many different powerful uses while also being easy to get is what makes beds so fantastic for survival.