Some new versions of Minecraft will always change how the game works, in some way or another, and sometimes that includes how often and difficult it is to mine diamonds! So what is the best way to find them lately?
Because of how important for your progress diamonds are in Minecraft, they won't be everywhere, but still, some techniques will give you more chances to find them or at least make it less frustrating, be it because it is a more enjoyable way of mining or because it is more likely to give you diamonds based on probability.
Sometimes mining methods will be very profitable, but while being very boring to do. It is very tedious to go back to a technique that you hate, but there should be a way to hunt these diamonds while having a lot of fun, right? And there is!
This article will briefly show some easy ways to get diamonds, mentioning:
- Caving
- Exploring
- Branch Mining
- Dive Mining
Coordinates in Minecraft
Coordinates are important to mine diamonds efficiently, in special Y, also called level, is the current layer you are on, diamonds are usually more abundant between levels 5 and 12. To see your coordinates you need to press F3(on Desktop), this will show a lot of info on your screen, but you are just looking for X, Y, and Z on the left side of the screen, in special, the Y.
Your coordinates when you press F3, unrelated information is blurred. X positive is east and negative is west, also know as longitude. Z is south when positive and north when negative, also know as latitude. And Y is your elevation.
A frequent question that new Minecraft players make is if looking at those coordinates is cheating, if you are playing on singleplayer, it is up to you if you are going to look at coordinates in your playthrough. In multiplayer servers, they can be removed by the server owner using the command /gamerule reducedDebugInfo true, so if you can see the information when you press F3, it is more likely that the owners of the server didn't decide to remove it, so it is not considered "hacking" in any way to have this information.
Find diamonds early on in Minecraft
Finding diamonds early is still the same as it has always been, however it got a little better lately, with more diamonds to be found.
Caving
Caving is the best way to find diamonds when you don't have a lot of resources, if you only have a few irons and can't invest or afford a lot of pickaxes, you may try caving, it will allow you to find some diamonds if you're lucky and give you more resources to proceed with better techniques.
It may sound easy, but you have to know where you're going if you pretend to start caving. Sometimes caves open on the world can be a bit far from your home spot, and it is easy to get lost or run out of food, so knowing when to get back instead of keeping on going until you die is the best way to get something out of it.
Caving can be an excellent method to find a lot of iron quickly, especially if you're able to find a Mineshaft, these structures provide wood to keep you always equipped with a pickaxe, and while also having valuable chests for those starting in the game. Iron isn't diamond, but it is something you need to be able to find it.
Requirements for cave mining
- Pickaxe
- That's it!
It is always recommended to bring logs or wood planks with you, in case you need a torch for a spawner, or if you play lighting up all places. Wood and foods are things you rarely will find inside caves, so bringing them with you is good to not be forced to go back when you need them.
Exploring
There are a lot of exciting structures to explore on Minecraft, a lot of them will have chests, which can hold your precious diamonds! Diamonds are usually rare to find on chests, but still, if you're feeling lucky it is worth a try.
Dive Mining to get diamonds
This method can also be done when you're just starting a new world, but it is easier to manage once you always have some resources available, not only making it more efficient but also safer.
Dive Mining is mining through a 1 block height hole, and Branch Mining is about discovering as many blocks as possible while mining as few as possible. These two techniques can be used together to mine with low risk and in a decent profit way.
There are several ways and layouts to go about Branch Mining, and you can combine most of them with Dive Mining, each one of them will have advantages and disadvantages, the one we will show you is very popular.
Requirements
- Iron Pickaxe or better, as many as possible
- Some trapdoors
- Throwaway blocks to protect yourself from lava
The first step is to dig some stairs down, it doesn't matter how you do it, just find a way to go to Y 12, although you can try any level between 5 and 12 as these levels are known for more diamonds.
Some stairs way down or hole to reach Y 12
The Y corresponds to 12, this indicates we are in a good place to start mining
The second step is to put a trapdoor on the top side of the bottom block of a corridor, don't worry, the picture below will make it easier to understand.
Trapdoor is placed on the bottom block (notice how it aligns with the block holding the torch)
Then the only thing left to do is open the trapdoor, go on that block, and "close" it, your character will crouch on a 1 height tall block, allowing you to keep this height, as long as there is no free space above you.
Closing the trapdoor while on that block will put you in a swimming position, which you may use to start mining ahead
Now you are Dive Mining, but what about Branch Mining? Branch Mining is how you will mine the blocks from now on, although you could randomly start mining to a way or another, that will create problems as you will have long tunnels that overlap each other and create the hell of a loop.
To start Branch Mining, you need to have a main path, and from this, you will create branches, which will allow you to see more blocks as possible and keeping everything organized.
Dive and Branch mining
- Start mining to the left, in a block quantity that you define, for example, 8.
- After you mined all 8 blocks, go back and mine 8 blocks on the other side.
- Now go back, skip 2 blocks from the one you mined, and mine 8 blocks, and so on.
Complicated? Let's see it in-game.
In the picture, you can see several 1x1(width and height) holes with intervals of two blocks between them, made for both sides of this main path, the straight path forward that the torches are facing
This is a simple way of combining both techniques, and it shows the main problem of Dive Mining while Branch Mining, going back to the main path can be slow!
You can solve this by increasing the number of blocks you mine, so you will have to go back fewer times, for example, mining 16 blocks and then going back, the problem is still there, but you can make the most of Dive Mining while you're mining.
To eliminate the downside of going back while you're Dive Mining, you can do something called Timed Ender Pearl Stasis Chamber, this Reddit post shows one design of it, you can trigger it with a Daylight Detector, any system like this will allow you to create the largest branch possible during the night, and then coming back instantly, you can also switch it and make it then be activated by night, well... the options become endless as it is Redstone!
If you don't want to bother with the Branch Mining part, nothing stops you from just going to one way or another, as long as that is what makes you enjoy the process. For the random Dive Mining it is recommended to have a way to know your way back, as you are mining on a single layer, you can use certain blocks or just have the exact X and Z position of the entrance, this will be less effective, but is enough to get some diamonds.
Dive Mining tips
- Always have more pickaxes if you're not using a consistent mining strategy, this way you can go back home by mining your way and this potentially will give you more ores
- Have some wood with you, wood is a good last resort way of crafting a pickaxe when you broke all the ones you had, and you have some diamonds in hand.
- Have more trapdoors, when you find a diamond you will want to grab it even if it is above you, and sometimes this will force you to stand up, extra trapdoors are handy to continue the process. Gravel can also make you stand up!
- While Dive Mining, you can break a block that will allow lava to come in your direction, blocking it with some block you have in hand is the fastest way to get away and continue your path.
- If you don't know how to go back home, stay with the Branch Mining technique, it is safe and consistent.
You don't have to do Dive Mining if it is not your thing, it has disadvantages, it can be great for exploring so it is something to try out, you can do the Branch Mining in the same way but with a 2 block height hole.
Other mining techniques
Just being on the best levels for Diamond in the version you're playing the game will already do great for you, there is a range of different ways to mine which are way more efficient than the ones shown here, although Branch Mining is popular and widely used, Dive Mining isn't, it arguable provides more safety and allows you to discover blocks by just mining one at a time, instead of being forced to mine two, the downside of swimming back can make it very annoying and less efficient depending on how you're doing it.
Nonetheless, knowing more options and trying until you find your preferred way is the best as there are many techniques around, although some are very inefficient and will give you a lot of cobblestones!
