Ranking the Tools in Minecraft: From least to most useful

In Minecraft, whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting on your blocky adventures, understanding the pecking order of tools is crucial for thriving in this pixelated universe. In this comprehensive article, we'll embark on a journey through the different tool tiers, unveiling the hidden secrets of Minecraft's tool hierarchy.

In the vast world of Minecraft, a well-equipped toolbox can mean the difference between surviving the night and being overwhelmed by mobs. From the humble wooden tools that mark the beginning of your journey to the legendary diamond variants that signify mastery, each tool has its unique utility. These rankings consider factors such as durability, mining speed, and versatility, ensuring you have the knowledge to make informed decisions and achieve maximum efficiency.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

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Ranking Pickaxe, Axe, Shovel, and every other tool in Minecraft 1.20

12) Clock

Clocks in Minecraft provide a convenient way to determine the time of day or night by displaying the position of the sun and the moon in the sky. While they can assist in planning activities or avoiding hostile mobs, their necessity is debatable. Players can easily ascertain the time by looking at the sky or employing alternative methods.

Moreover, clocks do not function correctly in the Nether or the End dimensions, where the sun and the moon remain invisible. Clocks cannot be enchanted or repaired and require relatively rare and valuable resources like gold ingots and redstone dust to craft.

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11) Compass

Compasses aid players in locating the world spawn point or specific structures within Minecraft. While helpful in finding one's way back home or identifying specific landmarks, they have some limitations. Compasses do not provide precise coordinates or the exact direction of the spawn point, and they can be influenced by magnetic interference from lodestone blocks.

Binding a compass to a lodestone block makes it point to the lodestone's position instead of the spawn point. However, this requires rare and expensive materials for netherite ingots and chiseled stone bricks. Compasses lack enchantments or repairability and require iron ingots and redstone dust to craft.

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10) Lead

Leads allow players to leash and pull mobs or items like animals, villagers, and boats. They offer utility in transportation or mob control, albeit with certain limitations. Leads can only be attached to specific mobs or blocks and break if the distance between the player and the mob/item becomes too great or if the mob/item dies or despawns.

It can also be used for decorative purposes by creating rope bridges between fence posts, though this feature is more cosmetic than practical. Leads cannot be enchanted or repaired and require uncommon resources like string and slimeballs to craft.

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9) Name Tag

Name tags allow players to assign names to mobs or items like animals, villagers, and armor stands. They are valuable for personalizing, identifying, or organizing mobs/items but do not affect their functionality. Name tags also prevent mobs from despawning, ensuring the survival of pets or rare mobs.

However, numerous named mobs can lead to lag or performance issues. Name tags cannot be crafted or enchanted and can only be obtained through fishing, dungeon chests, mineshaft chests, woodland mansion chests, buried treasure chests, or trading with librarian villagers.

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8) Flint and Steel

Flint and steel enable players to ignite blocks or entities such as fire, TNT, netherrack, campfires, or portals. They prove helpful for setting traps, removing obstacles, illuminating areas, or accessing the Nether dimension. However, it can also be dangerous and destructive, causing fire spread, explosions, damage, or unwanted portal activation.

While they possess limited durability and lack enchantments, flint and steel can be repaired by combining two damaged ones in a crafting grid or an anvil. Crafting them requires easily obtainable materials like flint and iron ingots.

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7) Fishing Rod

Fishing rod in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

The fishing rod adds a leisurely and rewarding dimension to Minecraft. This tool allows players to indulge in peaceful fishing activity, reaping benefits such as food, experience points, and rare loot like enchanted books, bows, saddles, and name tags.

The fishing rod can also hook and pull entities such as mobs or items, offering utility in transportation or combat scenarios. The rod can be enchanted with Luck of the Sea, Lure, Unbreaking, Mending, and Curse of Vanishing to enhance its fishing capabilities.

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6) Brush

Brush - a new addition to Minecraft in 1.20 (Image via Mojang)

The brush tool in Minecraft is a new tool introduced in the 1.20 update, along with the archaeology feature. The brush tool can excavate suspicious blocks, such as suspicious sand and gravel, and reveal hidden items, such as pottery shards, armor trims, or sniffer eggs.

It can be crafted with three pieces of string and two sticks on a crafting table. To use the brush tool, you need to find a digging site in a desert biome and look for suspicious blocks with a slightly different texture than normal ones. Then, you can use it on them and slowly uncover the item inside.

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5) Hoe

Hoes play a crucial role in farming activities within Minecraft. Their primary function involves tilling dirt or grass blocks to create farmland for planting crops like wheat, carrots, potatoes, beetroot, and nether wart. Farming is a reliable source of food and trading materials, and hoes facilitate the process.

Also, it can break blocks like hay bales and dried kelp blocks more swiftly than bare hands. Enchantments such as Fortune, Efficiency, Unbreaking, Silk Touch, and Mending can enhance their utility.

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4) Shears

Shears (Image via Mojang)

While not highly durable or enchantable, shears still serve a purpose in Minecraft. They are primarily used to shear wool from sheep or cut wool blocks. Wool provides vibrant and decorative blocks for building and crafting banners, beds, carpets, and paintings.

It can also expedite the collection of specific blocks like cobwebs, leaves, vines, and flowers. Though their usefulness may be limited, shears find value in resource gathering and farm creation.

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3) Shovel

While not as essential as the pickaxe or the axe, the shovel still proves to be a valuable tool in Minecraft. It excels at digging dirt, sand, gravel, snow, and other soft blocks. Additionally, it can create aesthetically pleasing grass block paths, enhancing the visual appeal of bases and villages.

Though its usage may be situational, the shovel can be incredibly helpful for clearing vast land areas or collecting specific resources. Enchantments like Fortune, Efficiency, Unbreaking, and Silk Touch can further augment its effectiveness.

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2) Axe

Chop wood with the Axe (Image via Mojang)

The axe holds a prominent place among the tools in Minecraft. It allows players to chop wood and wooden items like planks, logs, fences, and chests for multiple purposes. Wood is an abundant and crucial resource for crafting various items and blocks.

In addition to its utility in gathering resources, the axe can be wielded as a formidable weapon, dealing more damage than a sword (although at a slower attack speed). Enchantments like Sharpness, Smite, and Bane of Arthropods can also be applied to the axe for combat-related benefits.

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1) Pickaxe

The most useful tool - The pickaxe (Image via Mojang)

The pickaxe reigns as the most important tool in Minecraft. It is essential for mining blocks like stone, ores, and obsidian. Without a pickaxe, players would struggle to access valuable materials needed for crafting, enchanting, and progressing in the game.

Moreover, pickaxes can be enchanted with effects such as Fortune, Efficiency, and Unbreaking, significantly enhancing their performance and durability. The pickaxe is an absolute must-have tool for any Minecraft player.