Diamonds in Minecraft: How to Find and Mine Them
Diamonds are some of the most amazing gifts in the natural world. They are rare, billions of years old, powerful, symbolic of love and markers of life’s most precious moments. These extravagant gemstones also carry value in virtual worlds. A perfect example of this can be found in the hit game Minecraft. Just like diamonds in real life, the diamonds in this video game play an important role.
What Is Minecraft?
Minecraft is a virtual sandbox gaming platform with multiple levels. Users can express themselves creatively without needing to complete pre-determined tasks or missions. Minecraft is insanely popular and one of the best-selling video games of all time. In fact, as of August 2021, Statista reports that the game has amassed 141 million monthly active users. Back in 2014, Mojang Studios (the company behind Minecraft) was acquired by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. This move will certainly go down as one of the most successful acquisitions of all time.
Natural Diamonds vs. Minecraft Diamonds
In Minecraft, as in real life, diamonds are rare. In fact, diamonds make up only 0.016% of all minerals in the game! They can be obtained from diamond ores or “loot chests,” which are virtual treasure boxes that grant the finder a randomized prize. In the real world though, there are no loot boxes with diamonds in them. Rather, diamonds are found deep within Earth’s crust after forming over billions of years thanks to a combination of intense heat and pressure. Their unique crystalline structure actually makes diamonds the hardest natural materials in the world! Finally, every diamond found in Minecraft appears with a bluish color. In reality, diamonds come in a variety of colors (including blue) because of different types of chemical impurities.
Read More: The Science of Colored Diamonds
How To Get Diamonds In Minecraft and Which Levels Are Best
The primary way to get diamonds in Minecraft isn’t that different from the natural way that diamonds are extracted: They need to be mined. To mine diamonds in Minecraft, you need to start with the right tools—specifically an iron or diamond pickaxe. Even a gold pickaxe won’t do the trick since diamonds are just too hard. It’s a fun nod to the real-life characteristics of diamonds, however you would need to have a pretty deep wallet if you want to purchase a real diamond pickaxe. According to Game Rant’s Jeremy Frutkin, a real pickaxe made of diamonds would set you back about $6.7 billion (!!!).
With your diamond pickaxe and torch in hand, the next step is to find veins of diamond ore; one way to do this is via cave exploration— just watch out for lava! As in real life, diamonds in Minecraft occur in more abundance at specific depths; layer 12 is where a player should start if they are looking to increase the probability of finding diamonds.
In the Minecraft 1.18 update, the developers changed the distribution of diamond ore. They are now more common as players get closer to bedrock, AKA level -59. (You can check which layer you’re on in the game by pressing F3.) Mining at a 45-degree angle in a staircase pattern makes it easiest to dig while giving you the ability to jump back out. Branch mining (making a tunnel and digging out “branches” every third block) and strip mining (clearing every single block in an area) are other methods worth considering to find diamonds.
Finally, diamonds can also be found in chests so rare, so they shouldn’t be relied on. If you’re exceptionally lucky, you might come across one in an abandoned mine shaft or village.
What Can You Do With Minecraft Diamonds?
Crafting is an important game mechanic in Minecraft. In the game, crafting is a process where users create new items by arranging resources according to specific recipes. Diamonds are used to craft some of the highest-tier items in Minecraft, including diamond armor, diamond weapons, enchanting tables and jukeboxes.
Minecraft is a game that can be modified extensively. These modifications and extensions are called “mods” in the game. In one of these mods, players have even crafted their own diamond engagement rings—another nod to the mineral’s real-life counterparts.
The Minecraft Community
The Minecraft community is always interested in welcoming new members. If you are curious about all the excitement this game has to offer, then you’ll be happy to know that after multiple COVID-19 delays, the annual Minecraft Festival will be coming to Orlando, Florida later this year (official dates TBA) and tickets are expected to be available soon. So, if you consider yourself a Minecraft fan, or even if you are just interested in learning more about the game and its community, then you may want to start looking for flights to Florida for the fall.
Learn More: Minecraft Festival
From real-life to virtual worlds, diamonds are precious and rare. Finding diamonds in Minecraft at the right level is a significant accomplishment and a rewarding endeavor. Whether they are being used to upgrade your armor, or propose to your loved one, Minecraft diamonds truly mirror the magic of real-life natural diamonds mined from the earth.
