Most people who play Minecraft have had that awesome moment where they find Diamonds for the first time. It’s genuinely exhilarating, taking that first step into crafting what is to be your final set of gear, the strongest and most durable material in the game. Part of what makes it so satisfying, however, is the tedious and time-consuming process of Minecraft’s biggest draw, mining. Today, we’re going to go over how to more efficiently find Diamonds. This guide is mainly based around 1.16, so don’t expect any tips for 1.17 cave generation!
Strategies
Besides just normal mining, there are a variety of ways to acquire Diamonds that involve more than a few strategies.
Caves
Surprisingly enough, some of the best ways to find ores is to just search through caves. You can find cave openings on the surface, or just through natural mining. Cave generation allows you to cover lots of ground quickly without using durability on your pickaxe. If you’re lucky, ravines are a variant of cave generation that lead fairly low, and usually have an abundance of rare ores along the walls.
Optimal Diamonds
In Minecraft, Diamonds have an elevation level that can be used to optimize the maximum possible spawn rate of the elusive mineral. They spawn at levels 1-16, and they’re most prominent at level 12. To check what level you’re on, press ‘F3’ and then check your Y value. Stay around this elevation to make sure you have the best chance of finding Diamonds when mining.
Treasure Hunting
A great mining alternative, shipwrecks not only include fairly decent loot but will also grant you a treasure map. Treasure maps can be used to track down treasure chests which include all ores from Iron, Gold, Emerald, and even the infamous Diamond! This is a great way to find Diamonds early, not requiring practically any mining. This is also just a nice change of pace if you’ve become tired of the same routine mining like I have.
Loot Chests
In structures like Mine Shafts and Dungeons, you can expect to find multiple loot chests which include a variety of loot. Luckily, Diamonds are often included in the plethora of items you can expect to find.
Mining Tactics
If you’re an old-school kinda guy, you’re most likely preferable to the classic form of mining. These are some ways to optimize your mining to cover as much ground as possible.
Strip Mining
Strip mining is essentially the brute force method of mining. You just dig an area around yourself in the shape of a cube and then you continue mining downward on all sections of the area. You’re bound to find something. The drawbacks to this method are that it is time-consuming and it will eat at the durability of your tools.
Branch Mining
Branch mining is significantly more optimal and efficient than strip mining, but it is a little more complex. To do this, dig a 2×2 tunnel and then mine “branches” from every third block. This is one of the best ways to cover the most ground in the shortest amount of time.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it! Finding Diamonds is actually not that difficult, and with all of the options that have been added since Minecraft’s conception, it’s sort of like a choose your own adventure type beat. Although we used to only have tedious strip mining, we have many more options these days. With that said, I hope you learned something, and have a great day!
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