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There are a number of ways players can mitigate some of the risks and increase their odds of survival. With the right strategies, players can find themselves not only succeeding but thriving in a deadly world. Here are the best Minecrafttips for players who want to tackle and overcome the Hardcore challenge.
Updated on November 27, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman:Being efficient is the key to staying alive. By taking precautions and setting up one’s base while prioritizing the most important things first,players can figure out how to beat Hardcore Minecraft with a bit of trial and error. Don’t get discouraged from possibly failing a few times, as the Hardcore mode is meant to be tough. Sneaky Creepers, unexpected pits, and more can ruin one’s latest run. However, after culminating all of one’s past Minecraft knowledge from each attempt, players can start each new Hardcore world with better chances of success.
10 Act Quickly In The Early Days
The first thing to do in a Hardcore Minecraft world is to move as quickly as possible once the player spawns. Nightfall is the first main threat players will face and only a single day to prepare for it. There is quite a bit the player needs to get done, but it is more than manageable if the player acts quickly.
Day 1 Tips For Beginning A Hardcore Minecraft World
Gather at least four logs Craft a Wooden Pickaxe Gather enough stone for a Furnace and a full set of stone tools Gather a stack of building materials such as Dirt, Wood, or Cobblestone Build a basic, fully enclosed shelter
At this point, the player has somewhere they can hide from threats at night. Ideally, the player will want to gather some meat from nearby animals along with a furnace to cook it. The player can opt for making charcoal using wood or coal if it’s readily available. At this point, the player will have shelter, food, weapons, and torches to keep them alive during the night. Building a bed is the priority as it allows skipping nighttime, but not all biomes have Sheep.
Where To Build Your First Base
While forest biomes will seem like a great place to set up one’s base due to all the nearby wood, players should not live in this biome during a Hardcore run. Trees cast a lot of shade, which makes mob spawns much more frequent and will also protect the undead foes from sunlight. It would be best to set up in a flat, open area, like in a desert or plains biome.
9 Armor Up
Armor will protect the player from all of the common forms of damage that can result in death. Everything from mob strikes to lava blocks can be mitigated by wearing armor of any kind. As a result, it is in the player’s best interest to have a full suit of the best armor they can afford at all times.
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Starting out, there’s nothing wrong with having Leather Armor, but Iron Armor should be the first priority. A full suit of enchanted Iron Armor is the bare minimum that the player will want when exploring the Nether. But, for the Ender Dragon, the player will want a full set of Diamond Armor with multiple high-level enchantments. It takes some time and considerable resources, but having the best armor possible is how to beat Hardcore Minecraft easier.
How To Get Better Armor
There are a few ways of getting the best armor in the game, such as getting enchanted items from enemies as drops and finding rare goods in chests around the world. However, the surest way of getting top-tier armor is to make it from scratch. Iron Ore and Diamonds can be found while underground, so go digging to find some.
8 Fight With A Bow
The player will do the majority of their fighting at range with a bow. This keeps the player out of harm’s way as they can avoid enemies, and some flying threats like the Ender Dragon are easier to harm with a bow than a sword.
How To Get A Bow & Arrows
Keeping this in mind, players will want to get Sticks and String to build Bows, as well as amass as many Arrows as possible. The latter can be done with a Flint, Stick, and Feather but this requires having access to Gravel and Chickens. If this isn’t possible, players can farm Skeletons, but this can be risky. The safest method is trading villagers one Emerald for 16 Arrows, however, this can get expensive very quickly. It also requires having access to a Village or breeding Villagers, which isn’t always an option.
This isn’t to say the player shouldn’t fight with a sword and shield. Swords can deflect fireballs and Shields can block incoming projectiles and other forms of damage. But when it comes time to go on the offensive, the player will want to do so with Bows and Arrows whenever possible.
Tips For Using A Bow
One of the easiest things to do in a Hardcore world is repairing a Bow. Just like in Normal mode, players can put two damaged Bows next to each other in a crafting grid to combine them into one with higher remaining durability. As such, it would be efficient to keep multiple bows handy so that players are never without a ranged option for combat.
7 Eat Only The Best
Food is an essential component of survival, and, in the beginning, players will need to eat whatever they can get their hands on. Even Rotten Flesh can be enough to keep starvation at bay and keep the player alive–albeit while taking in some risky poison. But as time goes on, the player will want to start stockpiling the best food they have access to and only consume that food.
The Best Food Choices For Hardcore Minecraft
Steaks Cooked Porkchops Cooked Mutton Golden Carrots
Golden Apples are also good for hunger and healing but are very expensive to make. Golden Carrots have a number of uses and are far easier to obtain than Golden Apples. But they do require quite a bit of gold and having Carrots to start the farm in the first place.
How To Build A Farm
In most cases, players will use the above meats depending on whether they have access to Cows, Pigs, or Sheep. Fundamentally there’s no difference between them and each will serve the player well. Getting an animal farm going and building it up to a large scale is key to long-term survival. This also means building up Wheat farms for Cows and Sheep or Carrots, Potatoes, or Beetroot for Pigs for large-scale breeding.
6 Have A Stack Of Cobblestone
A great tool to beat Hardcore Minecraft is a stack of humble Cobblestone. When traveling, the player can quickly use this material to craft an impromptu base if night starts falling. It can also be used for pillaring to get a lay of the land and for making simple bridges.
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In battle, Cobblestone can be used to evade monsters by creating walls and barriers. Neither Ghast fireballs nor Creeper explosion can break cobblestone. In fact, the only mobs that can break Cobblestone are Charged Creepers, which are rare, and, the Wither, which is an optional enemy.
How To Get Lots Of Cobblestone
By mining for other resources, players will naturally gather a ton of Cobblestone–likely more than they’ll ever need. Cobblestone is created when the player mines regular Stone, which is one of the most abundant kinds of blocks in the overworld.
5 Fast Draw Water Buckets
Water Buckets are another handy tool for staying alive and mitigating problems. They can be dumped over Lava blocks to turn them into harmless Obsidian and can put out fires. With a little practice, players can use Water Buckets to create small pools that can negate fall damage. This is handy when pillaring or getting knocked off a ledge, though creating a waterfall is much safer.
Using Water Buckets In Combat
They can also be used in combat situations. It can be used to create currents that prevent mobs like Zombies or Creepers from getting too close. They’re also really effective at damaging and deterring Endermen.
How To Make A Water Bucket
To make a Water Bucket, gamers will have to first create a Bucket from three Iron Ingots. Make a “V” shape on a Crafting Table to craft a Bucket, and then fill it by using it on some water to get a Water Bucket.
4 Have Backups Of Everything
There’s nothing worse than being in battle with an enemy and having the only sword on hand break. It is strongly recommended that players create and hang onto backups of most items; armor, weapons, and tools are perhaps the most important things that should have backups. This can mean anything from having a suit of Iron Armor if the one’s Diamond set breaks. Although, another Diamond set with all the same enchantments would be much better.
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Managing Inventory Space
While having backup items is crucial for beating Hardcore Minecraft, players should not go overboard, as this will result in too few inventory slots for gathering resources. While a single backup for each important item is smart, having more than that would simply take up too much space to be worth it.
3 Become A Master Alchemist
Alchemy is a major source of power for the player. With the right ingredients, players can craft potions that achieve all kinds of effects.
Generally Useful Potion Effects
Swiftness gives the player boosted movement speed that can help them run away Night Vision will let the player see in the dark Strength increases melee damage
Most Useful Potion Effects For Hardcore Mode
While these and other potions are useful, there are some that are far better to beat Hardcore Minecraft. These potions provide an added layer of protection or even healing to keep death at arm’s length.
Invisibility prevents mobs from detecting the player at a distance Slow Falling prevents fall damage Fire Resistance prevents fire and lava damage Healing is an instant heal Regeneration provides healing over time
Some potions do require ingredients from dangerous sources. The Potion of Regeneration requires Ghast Tears, but others, like Swiftness, only requires Sugar. In the end, having a variety of potions is critical to surviving the various threats in the Minecraft world and for facing the Ender Dragon.
2 Master Enchanting
Similar to Potions, Enchantments are another way to greatly increase the player’s power. Enchantments are special effects applied to armor, tools, and weapons that are not consumed like potions.
Enchanting can be very expensive and requires quite a bit of experience grinding. Fortunately, there are plenty of low-risk ways to obtain the items necessary to craft an enchanting table and gain experience. Getting the right enchantments does rely on quite a bit of RNG so players will need to be patient and have plenty of Sugar Cane and Leather on hand to craft Enchanted Books.
It’s also important that the player avoids the Curse of Vanishing effects, as they prevent the player from being able to remove the item enchanted with it in Hardcore. Binding can also be annoying, but it can be removed by breaking the item naturally.
Best Offensive Enchantments
Knockback can push enemies back Power increases arrow damage Punch causes arrows to knockback Sharpness increases damage
Best Defensive Enchantments
Blast Protection to resist explosions Feather Falling to prevent fall damage Fire Protection to resist fire and lava damage Protection to resist all forms of damage
Best Utility Enchantments
Infinity for infinite arrows Unbreaking to increase any item’s durability Mending to automatically repair items with experience gain
1 Avoid Unnecessary Risks
Perhaps the best tip for players in Hardcore Minecraft is to avoid taking unnecessary risks. Players will often develop a cavalier attitude to death when playing the game on Normal. Some even utilize death as a quick means of transportation when exploring a new area or if they get lost. That same attitude will quickly lead to a game over if carried over into Hardcore mode.
How To Be More Cautious
Players should adopt a more calculated and cautious approach when doing any activity in this game. Mines should be well lit, players should have armor and weapons entering caves, heights should be avoided, and having the proper gear, enchantments, potions, and food is essential to fighting the Ender Dragon. The player should always assume the worst will happen and have a plan for when it does.
There’s no shame in running from fights or hiding inside every time the sun sets. Even Hardcore veterans with years of experience can die to a Zombie Baby. It pays to take those extra few minutes to build scaffolding over cliffs or when building things. Spending a day to upgrade from Iron to Diamond before tackling a fortress in the Nether is a worthwhile investment.
Minecraftis available on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Xbox 360, Raspberry Pi, Windows Phone, PlayStation 3, Fire OS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Apple TV, tvOS, Nintendo Switch, and New Nintendo 3DS.
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