Minecraft Ultimate Guide: Minecraft Tips, Hints and Ultimate Redstone Guide (Speedy Boxed Sets). Speedy Publishing

caused by a malfunctioning or substandard mouse can cost you your life, especially if you’re in the heat of battle.

      Take note of crafting patterns. Crafting is one of the essential skills you should learn when playing Minecraft. That said, the more sophisticated the tool, the more complicated the crafting pattern – and the more likely that you’ll make mistakes. If you want to decrease the chance of wasting your resources by crafting the wrong tool or material, you need not look at a cheat sheet or alternate between your game and the guide you opened in your PC. All you need to do is remember the shape of whatever it is you want to make. While this isn’t always the case, be comforted by the fact that majority of the things you’ll be crafting follows this rule. So if you want to craft a fishing pole, for instance, you just need to arrange the string and sticks in a way that resembles the real thing.

      Read up on weapons and equipment. When in PvP mode, you don’t have the luxury of experimenting with various types of armor and weapons. If you are confronted by an enemy unexpectedly – something that can and will happen if you won’t be playing in an arena and there’s no need to issue a challenge among players – there’s a good chance you’ll lose if you’re ill-equipped. Thus, it is very important that you have an idea of which weapon best suits you and which armor to don for maximum protection.’

      Know what type of PvP game you’ll be doing. There are basically two types: organized and unorganized games. Organized PvP games often make use of an arena where players fight on definite terms. Unorganized games, on the other hand, give free rein to players regarding when and how to attack opponents. There are also friendly PvP games, where any items lost by the losing player will be returned to him after the fight. Knowing which type you’ll engage in is important because it will dictate what combat and survival strategies you should employ.

CHAPTER II

      SURVIVAL TIPS: YOU AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT

      As with other Minecraft game modes, there are also hostile mobs and other dangers in PvP. Your strategy for beating your friends should therefore include surviving despite the challenges presented by the environment. Here are some tips to remember:

      Construct a shelter before nightfall… Most hostile mobs appear at night, so you don’t want to be caught outside and without a safe haven. There are players, though, who prefer nomadism instead of spending their resources on creating shelter. If you are just new to the game, this method is not advisable.

      But don’t make this your top priority! In regular survival mode it is important that you are able to build a house or any form of accommodation as soon as possible. But if you’re playing in PvP mode, it’s highly likely that you’ll get killed if you prioritize this task. Most PvP players stage an escape first – that is, they run away from the majority of the other players – in order to secure food and do some crafting. Tips regarding these will be given in the latter part of this guide.

      Never go on an adventure unprepared. Make sure that you have the tools and resources needed to create basic housing in your backpack before you venture out of your shelter. Even if you’re certain that you’ll be able to go back before sundown, it still pays to be prepared. What if you went too far, got lost, or were chased by another player to what seems to be the ends of the world?

      Always have food with you. Farm animals such as pigs, chickens, and cows may be everywhere, but you won’t always have the time to kill them for food. That said, it is important that you always have food in your backpack in case you lose track of time – that is, nighttime approaches and your character still hasn’t eaten.

      Always have a weapon. This tip does not only apply to PvP, but also to survival mode games. Although most hostile mobs only spawn at night, there are classes – such as zombies and skeletons - that can persist even during daytime. As such, even if you haven’t ventured far from your home and can go back easily, bring a bow or a sword with you so that you can protect yourself.

      Take note of your tool’s and weapon’s durability. Much like in real life, you can’t go on using the same tools forever. Having said that, you should always look at the durability of your tools and weapons before you decide to go out of your shelter to do some work or to stage a surprise attack on the enemy. Getting caught outside by hostile mobs or by your enemies without tools and/or weapons is akin to suicide. On a related note,

      Stock up on tools/weapons. Since your implements won’t last forever, you should always, always have back-ups in your inventory. This way, you won’t waste time going back to your shelter to craft or retrieve more items which you can use to gather resources, attack hostiles, and defend yourself. Also,

      Consider taking a crafting table with you. If you’re not sure that you can go back to your shelter before night falls or you want to gather as many resources as possible, you might want to bring along a crafting table.

      Additional tip regarding durability: combine two used tools of the same kind. Don’t use up a tool completely – that is, to the point that it simply disappears. Instead, when a tool’s durability is nearing zero, switch to a new one. Then, when this is also close to being decimated, combine the two tools. What remains of their durability will be pooled, and you’ll also receive a repair bonus.

      Digging straight down can be disastrous… You can fall into a cave or an underground pool of lava and die, in which case your hopes of beating your friends come to a grinding halt. Or, you might fall into an underground dungeon built by one of your enemies and be killed.

      As can digging straight up… If you’re exploring a cave, do not make the mistake of mining the block that’s directly above you – unless you want to perish. Pouring lava will burn and kill you, while water can drown you to death. Gravel can also fall on top of you and you can die of suffocation.

      And digging in front while situating yourself very near the blocks being mined. As with digging straight up, mining the blocks in front of you while staying dangerously close to them can lead to death caused by flowing water or lava. Also, you might not realize that you’re mining your way to a chasm and fall to your demise.

      On that end, practice safe mining. Given the many instances when you can get killed while doing something as seemingly innocuous as mining, you should exercise extra caution when engaging in this activity. To keep yourself safe, just do your mining in an open-mouth cave. You should also use a ladder and/or create a staircase pattern instead of digging straight down to avoid falling. Or better yet,

      Engage in surface mining. This means you won’t do any digging or engage in cave explorations – you’ll just search for ores and stones on the surface of mountains and other areas where these abound. This method is a more difficult way of finding materials, but at least the chances of you dying accidentally are greatly reduced.

      Gather coal when you can. Do not just pass by a coal mine even if you have another task in mind – find time to gather it! Coal is a required ingredient when crafting torches, which are very useful and essential to your survival. It can also be used as fuel and in smelting.

      Explore the mountains. Mountain regions in the world of Minecraft are similar to those in real life in the sense that both may be hiding cave systems waiting to be explored. If you are in a mountainous area, find time to look for caves filled with cobblestone and/or iron – two things that will help you win the game.

      Make sure you have access to water. Water has numerous functions. Apart from dousing fire, flowing water can be used to generate stones and cobblestones – which are invaluable building materials - by making it collide with flowing lava. It can also create obsidian, a black/purple block that is used to: create a Nether Portal, construct a shelter that is explosion-resistant, and ender chests and enchantment tables. Water can also serve as a means of transportation – you can create water trams, elevators, and the like. It has many other uses, but given those mentioned, it is obvious that it would be to your benefit if you settle near a water source.

      Build