Month: March 2020

The final installment of our four-part Minecraft Beginners series is stepping things up a notch. We’re still going to keep things as simple as possible for you, it is just that we’re dealing with some more advanced concepts. If our mining, crafting, and farming guides we’re looking much more traditional concepts and technology; our redstone guide is bringing things into the 20th and 21st centuries.

You can find redstone ore dotted around the Minecraft world. When you do this, you’ll turn a block of redstone into redstone dust, which has some impressive properties. You can lay redstone dust down on the ground and then use it like wire, to transmit signals and electricity. This can then form the basis of more complex systems. You could go as far as to build a computer using redstone dust but at the very least you’ll want to set up lighting systems, combinations locks, and more. Let’s look at some redstone basics.

Minecraft Download now ►

How to use Minecraft redstone

When you want to build a redstone wiring system that will transmit power you simply need to right-click on the ground where you want to place it. You then need to build a complete line from your power-source to whatever you’re trying to power. You can place redstone wire traveling up the side of blocks too, so make sure you don’t forget to complete your circuit vertically as well as horizontally.

There is a limit to how far redstone power can travel. When it isn’t connected to an activated power source the wire will be dormant, but when it is the power will be transmitted along the wire and the redstone wire will glow. The glow will dim, however, the further it gets from the power source until it gets to 15 blocks away. Once there, the wire is no longer carrying power.

The redstone torch

As the redstone dust does nothing on its own, you’re going to need to craft some power sources. Fortunately, this is very easy to do. If you take a stick and place it in the center square of your crafting table, and then take some redstone dust and place it above the stick, you’ll create a redstone torch. Redstone torches can be used to power other blocks and give power to redstone wire circuits. The torches will never burn out on their own, but you can use other blocks to prevent the power transmitting along circuits. This is very important as when combined with other redstone dynamics like pistons that can move things you’re able to set up systems that can carry out series of actions.

The redstone repeater

You may have noticed a problem. If redstone can only transmit power for 15 blocks, how do you make bigger circuits? This is where the redstone repeater comes in, which can boost the power for an extra 15 blocks. This means that you can theoretically at least, build infinitely long redstone circuits from a single power source, simply by adding redstone repeaters to the circuit at regular intervals.

7 Best Minecraft Mods

Read Now ►

To build a redstone repeater you need three stones, two torches, and some redstone dust. You place the stones horizontally across the central row of your crafting table and put the torches in the two top-corners of the grid with the redstone dust between them both.

Redstone creations

Before we get into the systems you can build using redstone circuits, it is also worth pointing out that you can use redstone to build some of the more advanced analog items in the game such as a clock or a compass. To build a compass you need to place some redstone dust in the center of your crafting grid and then place an iron ingot in the squares above and below it with two more in the squares either side of it. To build a clock you need to do the same but replace the iron ingots with gold ingots.

More advanced redstone creations

What redstone allows you to do is create powered systems like we’re used to seeing in the real world today. If you have a Minecraft house, you could easily use redstone dust to set up a fully functioning lighting system that turns on when you flick a switch. You could also set up a powered door system that could open your door remotely, whenever you wanted. All you would need to do either would be a power source, a switch, enough redstone repeaters to boost the charge far enough, and either a light or door.

Minecraft Forge Download now

Other key redstone components that can help you conceive new ideas are pistons and pressure plates. Pistons can be used to move things up or down or side to side. Adding pistons and pressure plates to your circuits at certain locations could cause the triggering of a trap for example. Another component that works with a transmitted redstone signal is TNT. This means you could build a circuit to a remote bomb and then trigger it by activating a power source. Comparators too are worth looking at as they will behave differently depending on the signal they receive.

Wrapping up

We’ve walked you through all the redstone basics then and showed you just what is possible thanks to the magical red dust that you chip out of the ground. If you’re just getting started with redstone, we suggest you take some time to go over the basics we’ve outlined above. Try to build some simple circuits and understand the dynamics of the systems you’re creating. Once you’ve got a clearer understanding of how it all works you can them move on to more complex systems and start building your systems into walls and buildings so that they can’t be seen.

Redstone is just another example of how endless the Minecraft possibilities actually are. Some Minecraft players really have created some magnificent machines and creations using redstone circuits and there is no reason why you can’t too, once you’ve mastered the basics.

Which Minecraft edition is best for you?

Read Now ►

This week we’re walking you through all the problems you might encounter when you first start playing Minecraft. There’s a lot to get the hang of with Minecraft so it is useful to have a solid understanding of the basics before you head off into the almost endless Minecraft world that is out there waiting to be explored.

There are two key aspects to Minecraft that all players need to master. You need to be able to mine and then you need to be able to craft the resources you collect into useful items. We’ve already gone through the basics of crafting so let’s today focus on mining. This is your guide on how to mine more effectively and efficiently on Minecraft.

Minecraft Download now ►

Minecraft mining

Different resources you can mine in the world of Minecraft

Mining involves digging into the ground in search of resources. There are many different types of ore you can mine available in the game. These include Coal, Iron ore, Gold ore, Redstone, Lapis Lazuli, Diamond ore, Emerald, Obsidian, and Quartz. Some of these are more prevalent than others, and each spawns in certain biomes. We’re going look more deeply at Redstone in another guide, but as this is a guide to mining and not a guide on resources, we’ll leave it there for now.

Different mining strategies for Minecraft

We have three effective mining strategies you can follow in Minecraft. There are more, but these three offer a great starting point. These are Cave mining, Quarry mining, and Branch mining. We’ll look at each now and then walk you through what you’ll need before you start chipping away at the world in search of riches and useful resources.

Cave mining

Cave mining is when you find a large cave underground and explore it for resources that are lying around. Cave mining is less labor-intensive as it means you won’t have to chop through stone to find what you’re looking for. It also means you won’t need to wear out your tools in the meantime neither. Cave mining is risky though because caves are dark and in Minecraft that means monsters and creepers can spawn. If you die before you can deposit the resources you’ve mined in a chest, you’ll lose them all. We’ll come back to this later though.

Which Minecraft edition is best for you?

Read Now ►

Quarry mining

If rambling around in the dark underground seems unappealing to you, then you should start out with Quarry mining. A quarry is basically a big hole dug into the ground so that resources found in that particular area can be unearthed. Quarry miners will get their hands on lots of cobblestone, but they’ll also get every resource that was lying in the ground where they built their quarry. All you need to do to Quarry mine is pick an area and dig, then dig down again in the same area, and repeat. You’ll also need to build a stairwell or at least a ladder if you go deep enough to need them.

Branch mining

There is quite a lot of established thinking across the Minecraft wiki that says Branch mining is the most efficient way of mining. This is because most resources in Minecraft generate just a few layers above the bedrock and Branch mining involves digging down to this resource-rich area and mining there.

To Branch mine efficiently choose an area and then dig down. You shouldn’t go straight down because you don’t what could be underneath the block you’re standing on. When you get close to bedrock you want to build a small tunnel, two blocks high and one block wide, and then build branches off that central tunnel. Make sure you light the way with torches though, so that monsters don’t spawn behind you. Once you’ve mastered this basic technique you can then develop further mining patterns off your central mineshaft trunk to ensure you cover the most surface area possible.

Things to remember before you start mining

There are a few things you should consider before you get started on your mining expedition. Remember how we said you can lose all your resources if you die before storing them? Well, we have an idea of how you can protect against that. Build a Mine office.

If you’re setting off on a serious mine expedition, you’re going to be investing a lot of time and resources. Just think of all the tools you’ll need to dig out all that stone. This is a serious business and you should treat it accordingly. Before you begin digging, or at least very soon after, you should build a Mine office. In it, you should put a bed so that you can spawn there should you die, a chest so that you can store all the resources you collect, a crafting table so that you build new tools to replace the ones you wear out, and a furnace for smelting any ores you unearth.

The other thing you’re going to need, which we’ve mentioned already is tools. You can build tools using a crafting table and what you should take on a mining expedition is two stone pickaxes, a shovel to dig out any pesky gravel or dirt, a sword to protect yourself in the dark, and lots of torches to fight back the dark itself. It will also be a good idea to take signs to point out the way in and out of your mine and food because digging is a hungry business. Once you’ve found your way down to a vein of ore, you’ll need specialist pickaxes like an iron pickaxe or diamond pickaxe to help get it out.

Wrapping up

There you have a fairly comprehensive beginner’s guide to mining in Minecraft. There are more advanced tips and tricks including using TNT, searching out abandoned mineshafts, and building rails and riding minecarts but for the new beginner, there is many hours’ worth of experience to gain from the tips laid out above, before you’ll need to push your learning further. The main tip we have for you though is to enjoy it. Structure your plan and be as efficient as possible. This is the quickest way to get your hands on the resources you desire.