Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Weapons & Armour

If you are reading this, you need a weapon.

      To survive in Minecraft, to combat the mobs that plague your world, you need a weapon. You need something that can strike first, and end a fight quickly. Prepare, young warrior. Your training has begun.

Weapons & Armour: Sword

       The main weapon in Minecraft is the sword. It can be crafted from five different resources, each variant of sword with it's own power and durability.The worst of the five swords is the gold sword. It does 2 hearts of damage, and has very low durability, only giving you about thirty three. The wood sword does the same amount of damage, but is more durable. You could get about sixty hits.

The next is the stone sword. It separates the weak swords and the strong swords, doing two and a half hearts of damage, and gives 123 hits. The iron sword is the most commonly used of them all, doing a deadly three hearts of damage. It lasts for about 251 hits. And last, but far from the least, the diamond sword, doing a colossal three and a half hearts of damage, and lasting 1562 hits. Many veteran players find that the diamond sword often outlasts them, rather than the sword breaking from overuse. To craft a sword, place two resources that can be used to make a sword above a stick like so:

Crafting recipie for (iron) sword



Weapons & Armour: Bow and Arrow

     For those of you who have read the Hunger Games, the only reason Katniss survived was because of her skill with the bow. The same can apply in Minecraft. The bow can be used to kill from a distance, which is usefull against mobs like creepers. When fully charged and shot, an arrow can do four and a half hearts of damage, and rarely five.

The usage bar depends on how much you charge the arrow before firing it. The distance varies, depending on the angle you fire from, your elevation, and the power in the drawback.

Crafting recipie for bow.

Weapons and Armour: Axe

      Throughout history, the axe has had two uses. They are chopping wood, and hacking at your enemies like a beserker. In Minecraft, the axe is classified as a tool, but it serves as a good weapon too. If you have an iron or diamond axe, it should serve you well. It can't block like a sword, but it provides you with immediate defense if you are woodworking and you are attacked.



It can't be enchanted like the sword with better combat upgrades, but if you went into battle in the Medievel Times, it was all you needed if you could lift it. A group known as the Men of the Bacc are lethal online players, and use axes whenever they can, only using swords when they have to. If you play the HG servers online and you see a beaver-like creature with an axe, run or proceed with caution. Show no mercy to them.

Weapons and Armour: Armour

        If you know a warrior that has survived and won a Hunger/Survival Games on an online server, I'll congragulate him. Armour reduces the amount of damage done when hurt by another player. The weakest armour is leather. It is the armour equivelent to a wood sword. Next on the strength list is gold. Unlike the sword, it should give decent protection in a fight, but make sure you get the first hit in.

Chain armour has the same protection as gold, but is more durable. Wear chain instead. It has better camoflauge. Next is the iron armour. If you get a set of this, you have a high chance of surviving and winning a fight against another player. If you are fighting against someone who has gold armour and a stone sword, and you have a wood sword, you should still win if you hit the foe fast enough. And last of all, the most protective, durable armour known to Minecraft, the diamond armour. Diamond armour insanely reduces damage to the player, taking very little damage to even TNT or creepers. If the player blocks an arrow with their sword, and has diamond armour, they will take no more that half a heart of damage. The chestplate will last for over five hundred hits.

Well, now that you know about combat tools, get mad and fight your friends online,

 and kill hostile mobs with precision!

Coming Soon: Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Tools

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Tameable Mobs And Bosses

If you are reading this, you are close to beating the game, or you want a pet.

     Everyone has wanted a pet at one point in their lifetime, and now you can have one in Minecraft. Your loyal cat or dog will follow you anywhere, even when you go to fight the bosses of Minecraft, the all powerful Ender Dragon and the fearsome Wither.

Tameable Mobs: Ocelots/Cats 

       Many people love cats, which is why you can have one in survival mode. They are spawned in the Jungle biome, as ocelots. Ocelots are untamed wild cats that are very timid and skittish around players. They often run upon sight of you. However, there is a way to tame them. Stand very still while holding a raw fish in your hand. 

                                          

The ocelot will slowly creep up and sit about two blocks away. It may take a few, but feed the ocelot the fish to tame it. Cats are the player's best defence against creepers, as the hostile mob will run if it sees the cat. The furry feline will also sit if you tell it to. 

Tameable Mobs: Wolves/Dogs

        Man's best friend? What about a digital man's best friend. Wolves spawn in taiga and deciduous forest biomes. They can be found alone, or in packs. If a wolf is attacked by something, all it's brethren in the vicinity will attack the intruder without mercy. They remain hostile for about five minutes before calming down. To tame a wolf, you need bones. 

On average, it takes from 1-6, but it can take up to twenty sometimes. When tamed, the wolf/dog will have a red collar. It will sit when you tell it, attack what you attack, and defend you from danger. However, they need to be fed. Unlike the cats, the wolf indicates lost health by the drooping of it's tail. If it is nearly between it's legs, it is nearly dead. Heal it by using beef, bones or rotten flesh. 

                                                                                                                                                                         

Boss Mobs: The Wither

         My advice to you is this. Don't spawn a Wither unless you have already beaten the Ender Dragon, and built an enclosure it can't break around it. The Wither is the most aggressive mob in Minecraft. It will attack any other mob it sees (excluding undead mobs) by shooting a flaming Wither skull at it, which explodes and has the Wither affect. The Wither affect is like poison, only twice as deadly. You lose health, and your health bar goes black making it hard to tell how much health you have left.

To spawn a Wither, place three soul sands in the same configuration as the Iron Golem's main body. Then place three Wither skeleton heads across the top. You have a short time to run from it, as it emits a massive explosion after about twenty seconds. The Wither cannot be contained by most blocks in the game, excluding obsidian. Make an obsidian prison that is at least twenty blocks by twenty blocks. 

Boss Mobs: the Ender Dragon

      When you come face to face with the Ender Dragon for the first time, you will probably not survive. It is the most powerfull mob in the game. Capable of breaking any kind of block besides obsidian or End Stone, it would destroy the surface world if it spawned in it. Thankfully, it only spawns in the End, a shadowy realm filled with black. It is only inhabited by the dragon and Endermen.

 When you spawn in the End, you should have enchanted diamond armour, an enchanted diamond sword and an enchanted bow. The dragon will swoop at you and hit you, dealing a good five hearts of damage. It's health is the highest in the game, with a whopping 100 hearts of health. To kill him, destroy the large crystals on the obsidian towers. They heal him whenever he is damaged. When you kill him, a portal to the overworld will spawn, and you will get 13,000 experience points.

This is the end of the Mobs chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!

Coming Soon:

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Weapons and Armour

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Mobs of the Nether

If you are going over this chapter, you probably died in the past few minutes.

       I have gone over most of the mobs now. But I left a small part of a deadly group out. The zombie pigman and magma cubes are in this group, so i will show you them again. These are the mobs of the Nether.

Mobs of the Nether: Ghasts 

        Many new players, well, aren't that new any more if they have reached the Nether. But nothing can prepare them for facing the terrors of this hellish place unless they have read this. The first thing people often hear upon reaching the Nether is what seems to be childish laughter. They think, "I didn't think there was a mob that made that sound. It must be friendly." and then the explosion rocks their screen and says,"So-so was slain by Ghast" 

Ghasts are large floating mobs that lurk above the lakes of lava in the Nether. They sound like little children when unaware of the player, but screech and hurl fireballs at them when they are. The fireballs are capable of disabling the Nether Portal's connection. They also set fire to things around the impact point. When killed, it may drop a ghast tear, which is used in making potions. The fireballs can be deflected back at them if the fireball is hit by anything, damaging them. The most common way of fighting them is with the bow and arrows.

Mobs of the Nether: Zombie Pigman

      An odd combination of pig and zombie, these creatures spawn in the Nether and near Nether Portals. They also spawn if a pig is within five blocks from a lightning strike. They wield gold swords. A zombie pigman will not attack a player unless the player harms it or another pigman. 

           

     They will attack relentlessly until the attacker is dead. They are not the forgiving type, unlike the Enderman, which will calm down after a minute or so. They remain hostile for more than a full Minecraft day.  They drop their gold sword sometimes when killed, and more often gold nuggets.

Mobs of the Nether: Blazes

      These mobs have a fiery temper about them, literally. They are found in Nether Fortresses, and are quite hostile towards the player. They lob fireballs at the player, causing serious damage. 

Fighting blazes without running space is not wise, because of the blaze's ability to hurl fireballs quickly. Fight them using a sword preferably made of iron or diamond. A bow is not advisable because of the blaze tendency to weave around quickly. When killed, blazes drop blaze rods, which are crafted into blaze powder. Blaze powder is needed to make Eyes of Ender.

Mobs of the Nether: Magma Cubes

        Magma Cubes are basically slimes that bathed in lava during childhood. They can spawn any size. When the largest size is killed, it splits into four medium sized cubes, and when those are killed, they split in four again. 

They attack in the same manner as slimes, which is jumping on you. They drop magma cream when killed, which is essential for many potions.

Well, have fun butchering your neighbours in Minecraft's hell!
Coming Soon:
Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide:
 Tameable Mobs And Bosses

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Utility Mobs

If you are reading this, you are probably a resourceful player.

   You have met most of the mobs by now. But not all of them. This time I will show you a strange class of mob known as the utility mobs. These odd beasts are created by your own hand. 

Utility Mobs

Utility Mobs: Iron Golem

    Many of you probably hate hostile mobs, like the zombies or the skeletons. So do the Iron Golems. These  lumbering metal machines are made to battle most hostile mobs, excluding the creeper. They will protect NPC villagers from any attacker within a vicinity of about twelve blocks. If you harm a villager, it will view you as a threat. They have one of the highest numbers of hearts in the game, second only to the Ender Dragon.

 

The way to craft them is to stack two iron blocks on top of each other, and put a pumpkin on top. Then you put two more iron blocks on the block below the pumpkin across from each other. They are relentless fighters, dealing heavy damage with one hit. This would be a good mean of protection for your land.

Utility Mobs: Snow Golem

      These guys track snow wherever they walk. They can be built by stacking two blocks and putting a pumpkin on top. They can be troublesome, though. They throw snowballs at hostile mobs, excluding  creepers. Because of the fact that the snowball does no damage, except against Blazes and the Ender Dragon, all this does is agitate the mob, making the golem almost suicidal.

 It is recommended not to have them near your home because of this. They prefer cooler climates, and due to this, Snow Golems take damage in the Desert, the Jungle, and the Nether. They are also hurt upon contact with water. Snow Golems drop 0-15 snowballs when killed.

      I hope this chapter was helpful to you doods!

Coming Soon:

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Mobs of the Nether

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Neutral Mobs

If you are reading this, you need a bit of advice.

      Many a veteran Minecraft player once felt the confusion you might be feeling now. They probably were afraid of most of the mobs that crossed  their path. You, unlike them already know what mobs to fear. In this chapter of the Beginner's Field Survival Guide, you will learn what mobs not to fear. They can be used to your advantage.

Neutral Mobs

Neutral Mobs: Endermen

       One of the creepiest and strangest mobs in the game, Endermen hail from the End, a strange realm filled with black, inhabited only by these strange creatures and the fearsome Ender Dragon. They spawn outside the End occasionally, and have a tendency to pick up and place blocks randomly. 

         

      They will only attack a player if it is looked in the face, or assaulted by the player. They teleport by using their ender pearl. They may drop the item when killed. When used by the player, the player teleports to wherever it lands while sustaining some damage.

Neutral Mobs: Zombie Pigman

      An odd combination of pig and zombie, these creatures spawn in the Nether and near Nether Portals. They also spawn if a pig is within five blocks from a lightning strike. They wield gold swords. A zombie pigman will not attack a player unless the player harms it or another pigman. 

           

     They will attack relentlessly until the attacker is dead. They are not the forgiving type, unlike the Enderman, which will calm down after a minute or so. They remain hostile for more than a full Minecraft day.  They drop their gold sword sometimes when killed, and more often gold nuggets.

 Neutral Mobs: Wolf       

      These canines inhabit deciduos and taiga forest biomes. They normally travel in packs, ranging in number from one to seven. They will leave the player alone unless attacked. And, similiar to the zombie pigmen, the entire group will attack you, damaging you severely. 

             

However, this mob is tameable. If you feed it a few bones, it will become your loyal companion. The dog/wolf will fight your battles for you, will sit when you want it to, and kill food animals for you. They breed when fed rotten flesh, bones or beef.

 Well, that's all for neutral mobs, folks!

Coming Soon:

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Guide: Utility Mobs 

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide: Hostile Mobs

If you are reading this, you need some help.

      A lot of people who start playing Minecraft have no idea about the game play. This guide, continued from the first, will tell you what you need to know about the game. This manual will answer many questions about the game.

Hostile Mobs



      The many creatures that live in the typical Minecraft world are called mobs. There are two variations of mobs, hostile and passive. I will help you determine which ones are passive and which ones are hostile. You need to know the difference.

Hostile Mobs: Creepers

       Many a Minecraft player has been minding their own business some time or other, getting some coal, or getting some wood, when the last thing they hear is, "SSSSSSSS-BOOM", and are blown up by a creeper. Creepers are one of the greatest scourges that a newbie can stand. They have a tendency to sneak up on unsuspecting players and explode, killing them and wrecking their stuff . Experienced players however, can dispatch on average four out of five creepers they come across without dying. They are the most common source of gunpowder.

 

 They may also drop TNT when killed. The tips for killing creepers vary, but one that is often very effective, is sprinting towards them and hitting them with, preferably,  anything stronger than a stone sword. It may take three hits with a stone sword while sprinting to dispatch one. Once the creeper is hit, it goes flying backwards, cancelling it's detonation sequence. Repeat the same action, and it won't have have time to detonate the TNT inside it's body. New players should avoid them. Creepers will run away from you if you have a cat/ocelot with you.

Hostile Mobs: Zombies

     A classic monster in many games and stories, zombies are the weakest hostile mob in the game. If they are alone, they can easily be dispatched. But if there is many of them, they are a force to reckon with. They drop rotten flesh when killed, and sometimes a carrot.

 

    If they find and kill NPC villagers, there is a one in four chance that the killed villager will become a zombie villager. 

Hostile Mobs: Skeletons

     Skeletons are the only mob aside from the Wither that are ranged fighters. They wield a bow with unlimited arrows. They have flawless aim if you are standing still and are less than twelve blocks away. A sword will supress the damage from the arrow if you block with the sword. 

      In the Nether however, skeletons spawn as Wither Skeletons, large grey skeletons wielding stone swords. They can sprint and are very hard to kill.

Hostile Mobs: Spiders

      Spiders are not aggressive during the daytime unless attacked. They sometimes sport spider jockeys on their backs. Cave spiders are found deep underground, and have a poisonous bite. They are smaller than their surface dwelling cousins and have a dark bluish tinge.

Hostile Mobs: Silverfish

    Silverfish are one of the rarer hostile mobs in the game. They spawn in what look like dungeon blocks, but are really eggs. They are small and hard to hit due to their tendency to wriggle across the floor towards you

Hostile Mobs: Slimes and Magma Cubes

    Slimes are large green blobs, of, well, slime. They will try to jump on you to kill you. They are not easy to kill. When you kill a giant one, it splits into four smaller slimes, and then four tiny slimes. Magma Cubes are basically the same, except that they only spawn in the Nether and look red.

Slimes drop slimeballs, and Magma Cubes drop magma cream, which is an essential ingredient to potions.

Good! Now you know what mobs you should fear in the game. 

Happy mob hunting!

Coming soon:

Minecraft: The Beginner's Field Survival Guide:
 Neutral Mobs 

The First Four Days (Minecraft Time)

   In The Beginning, You Appeared!

     When you appear, in your first survival world, you probably look around you and think, "I'm hopeless." If you have read this guide, you will survive. There are necessities you need, and there are things that can wait.

  The First Day

    When you first spawn, the first thing you need is food. Without food, you will be an easy target for hostile mobs that lurk mainly at night. You might have to cross a couple of biomes to find an animal that gives meat when killed. Edible animals include cows, pigs, and chickens. If you are truly desperate, look for a deciduous forest, and break the leaves on the trees. The chance of finding an apple are one in sixteen.

   

    The second necessity is shelter. You can use nearly any block in the game to make walls around a small space. That is all you need for the first day.

The First Night

    The night is full of danger. You can be running through a forest and fall into one of the many caverns that randomly appear across the map, and wander the endless caverns underground, and never find a way out. Or you could be walking through a desert and suddenly be attacked by a horde of zombies. You should try to obtain a weapon before it gets dark if you have food, but no shelter. The easiest weapon to craft is a wood sword. To make one, break a tree down and make wooden planks from the blocks. Turn two of the blocks into sticks, and place two of the wooden planks above one stick. It should defend you from the monsters that prefer melee combat. However, if your fortress is secure, you should not need a sword.

 

    

The Second Day

       Now that you have survived the horrors of the night, you are ready for the next day. Restock on food if you need to. (Note that in order to regenerate lost health, you need at least seven and a half points on the food bar) Break down everything you have and take it with you on your journey to find a place to settle. There are nine biomes to choose to settle in. They are: Deciduous Forest, Taiga, Mountainous, Tundra, Plains, Swamp, Desert, Jungle, and Mushroom Islands. The first eight are common, and be easily found if you keep walking in one direction. The Mushroom Islands however, are found in the open ocean. I suggest that you don't try to find one. It may take you many days and nights or longer.

      

      Once you have found the desirable land, rebuild your hut from the previous night, just in case. The next thing to do, is make a bed. In order to do this, you need three wood planks and three wool. Obtain wool by killing sheep. It doesn't matter what colour the wool is, as long as you get it. Craft the bed on your bench by putting the wool three across, and the wood below it in the same manner. Place it in your shelter. Make sure no hostile mobs can have access to it. The other things you need are tools. These will help you obtain resources such as wood and stone easier.

   

      The three important ones are the pickaxe, axe, and shovel. Make them from wood first. Then you can mine stone with the pickaxe and make stone tools. Now you should restock your food. It can't be stressed enough. Without enough food, you will die eventually. It is unavoidable. When you have your food, place your bed in your shelter and sleep. You may want to have an adventure this particular night, but now the choice is yours. You have a bed, which means if you die, you will respawn in your bed. The bed marks home.

The Third Day

     If you have followed the guide so far, you should still be alive. Congratulations! But now your mission to survive involves a little creativity. Once you have left your shelter, the time to build a permanent shelter is at hand. Choose your material from the land around you. The most commonly used building materials are cobblestone and wood. But you can choose whatever you want. Start with something simple, like a square or a rectangle with a roof, and place your bed inside. It is also recommendable to make a chest to place your   extra items. You can have a double chest if you want. Create a double chest by placing another chest beside the first one. A door is also an item you may want to place at your doorway. Where else would you put it? You should also make a furnace. You can cook food in it if you have charcoal or plain coal.

   After you have built a house, it is time to find or create your mine. Look around your general area. You should find a tunnel leading underground. Some are short, with a dead end, and some stretch for hundreds of meters. Or you could just start digging in a hillside. But before you do, remember the number one rule in Minecraft. Do not, under ANY circumstances, dig straight down. The probability of falling into a pit of lava 

or some random mineshaft is very high

 

   Once you have your mine, look for coloured blocks on the walls of the cave or your mineshaft. To mine most of these, you need an iron pickaxe. To mine iron, you need a stone pickaxe. Smelt the iron in your furnace to get ingots. With them, you can make tools and armour. The only block iron can't mine is obsidian.

The Fourth Day

   You are off to a great start. Now is the time to make sure the hostile mobs have a more difficult time getting to your house. You can start by making pitfall traps at least 2 blocks deep. If the mobs fall in it, they can't get out, leaving you an easy way to kill them. Another way is a wall surrounding your house, or even a fence. Cacti are also a good way to hurt them. Just break them by the base, and put a sand block where you want to put it near your house. 

Congratulations! 

You have completed the 

Minecraft: The Beginners Field Survival Guide

With the knowledge given to you through this manual,

you can pass on your knowledge to your fellow Minecraft 

buddies, beginners or veterans.

Now you can forge your own path.

Good Luck!

Coming Soon!

Minecraft: The Beginners Field Survival Guide: 

Hostile Mobs