Note: This guide focuses on the Bedrock version of Minecraft, available on Windows 10, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and mobile.
When Minecraft first debuted, you had to figure out what materials and arrangements you needed to use to build tools. These days, it’s a lot simpler–the recipes are built right into the game! But you still need a little bit of knowledge to get beyond those first few days. What tools to use for what tasks, of course, but also what you can build them out of. For best mining locations, standard “ground level” is 62, and underground is typically 61 and below. With all that out of the way, here are Minecraft’s tool crafting materials, ranked from worst to best.
Gold
Where to find it: Between Layers 5 and 76.
Minecraft is hardly the place to go for realism, but in this case, it’s a pretty good match. Like in real life, the idea of a golden shovel is a lot cooler than the reality. There are plenty of uses for gold in minecraft, but when it comes to tools, you should skip gold entirely. It’s literally the least durable of tool materials. Even if you should happen to pick up a golden tool off of a mob you’ve killed, it’s likely going to be more useful to turn any enchantments into XP with a Grindstone smelt down into a gold scrap than to try to actually use the tool.
Wood
Where to find it: Almost everywhere!
Wood is the true starting point for Minecraft tools. It’s plentiful, renewable, and almost twice as durable as gold. You won’t want to stick with wooden tools for long, but it’s a great starting point and will quickly get you to stone tools.
Stone
Where to find it: Almost everywhere!
Stone is even more plentiful than wood and again almost twice over as durable. This is where you’ll start to see the benefits of stronger tools in both durability and speed.
Iron
Where to find it: Between layers 5 and 61.
The path from stone to iron is pretty clear. Once you have stone tools, you’ll be able to easily mine fast enough and deep enough that you’ll start building a good stock of iron. Iron is more than twice as durable as stone, and is the first block that will let you start to mine more exotic materials like diamond ore. It’s also the first material where you’ll really start to get mad if a creeper sneaks up on you.
Diamond
Where to find it: Layers 11-12.
Diamond is the first truly durable material you’ll find for building tools; it’s about the equivalent of 48 golden pickaxes or 26 wooden ones. Because of those pesky creepers, you may want squirrel this away in a safe chest and wait until you can afford a full diamond armor set before you start making tools.
Netherite
Where to find it: Exclusively in the Nether between layers 13 and 17.
The fastest, most durable, and rarest of all tool-crafting materials, Netherite is found in the Nether, which means you’ll need at least a diamond pickaxe to even get access to it. Netherite is created by finding Ancient Debris in the Nether and burning it down to Netherite Scrap. Combine that with gold to make Netherite Ingots, which you can then take to a Smithing Table to upgrade your Diamond tools to the highest level. At that stage, you may want to wait until you can (literally) fish up some Mending books to make sure these have enough life in them to make the trouble worthwhile.
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