What to Do When You First Start Minecraft
A comprehensive, beginner-friendly step-by-step guide from Craft Guide to survive your very first Minecraft session, covering gathering, crafting, shelter, food, and early exploration.
By the end of this guide you’ll have a practical, beginner-friendly plan to start Minecraft: gather wood, craft essential tools, build a safe shelter, secure food, and survive your first night. You’ll learn where to find basic resources, how to manage your inventory, and how to expand later. This approach works across Java and Bedrock editions.
The First Moments in Minecraft
According to Craft Guide, what to do when you first start minecraft is to set a simple, repeatable plan: gather wood, secure a shelter, and prepare for your first night. Spawning into a fresh world, your first minutes decide your odds of survival. Scan for a safe open space with nearby trees, then start by punching trees to drop logs. Those logs become planks, which fuel almost every early item. Keep your goals small and tangible: collect resources, craft tools, and place a basic shelter before sunset. As you move, stay aware of your surroundings, manage your hunger bar, and keep your inventory organized. The choices you make in the first 10-15 minutes—your location, lighting, and storage—shape your entire playthrough.
The Early Mindset: Short-Term Wins Create Long-Term Progress
- Focus on immediate, repeatable tasks instead of chasing grand goals.
- Prioritize safety: light sources and a defensible space before nightfall.
- Practice inventory discipline: drop nothing you think you’ll need soon; you can always return for items later.
If you’re playing with others, establish simple base rules and a shared resource plan. A calm, methodical start reduces the risk of wandering into dangerous areas or wasting resources on unnecessary items. Remember, every big base begins with a few rooms, proper lighting, and clear storage.
Craft Guide’s introductory strategy emphasizes consistency over brilliance. Start with wood to craft a crafting table, then basic tools, and finally a simple shelter that you can improve over time. The point is to establish a safe, repeatable rhythm that you can repeat in any world seed.
As you gain confidence, you’ll naturally begin to expand your base and explore. But solid basics come first: reliable shelter, steady food sources, and well-lit spaces. This foundation enables smooth progression into mining, farming, and more complex builds.
Tools & Materials
- Wood logs(Punch trees to collect logs, then convert to planks)
- Wooden planks(Craft from logs; needed for crafting table)
- Crafting table(Craft from 4 planks; unlocks tool crafting)
- Sticks(Craft from wooden planks; essential for tools)
- Wooden pickaxe(First tool; helps harvest stone)
- Cobblestone/stone(Upgrade to stone tools for efficiency)
- Coal or charcoal(Fuel for torches and furnaces)
- Torches(Light sources to prevent mob spawns)
- Food(Maintain hunger and health; gather early sources)
Steps
Estimated time: 3-5 hours
- 1
Punch Trees to Gather Wood
Immediately after spawn, locate a nearby tree and punch it to drop logs. Collect enough logs to craft planks and your first tools. This wood becomes the backbone of early gear, shelters, and crafting materials.
Tip: Turn logs into planks quickly to free up inventory space. - 2
Craft a Crafting Table
Open your inventory and convert four wooden planks into a crafting table. Place the table on the ground to unlock more complex recipes, including tools and a shelter layout.
Tip: A crafting table expands your crafting options far beyond the basic inventory. - 3
Create Wooden Tools
Use the crafting table to make basic wooden tools like a pickaxe, axe, and shovel. These will help you gather resources faster and shape your early base.
Tip: Prioritize a wooden pickaxe to start mining stone sooner. - 4
Gather Food for Hunger
Explore locally for food sources such as apples from trees, raw meat from animals, or scattering seeds for small farming. Food sustains you, enabling longer exploration and mining sessions.
Tip: Early farming provides steady food even if you roam away from your base. - 5
Build a Simple Shelter
Find a small, flat footprint and construct a basic shelter using logs or planks. A safe enclosure protects you from night-time mobs and gives you a stable spawning point.
Tip: Leave an opening for a doorway and craft a door for easy entry/exit. - 6
Light Up the Space
Craft torches and place them around your shelter to prevent monster spawns inside. Lighting also reveals nearby threats and guides your early exploration.
Tip: Place torches at the corners and near doors to maximize visibility. - 7
Mine for Stone and Coal
Begin a shallow mine to collect cobblestone and coal. Stone tools are more durable than wood and coal fuels torches and furnaces for future upgrades.
Tip: Light your mine to reduce surprise mob spawns; a safe tunnel is easier to navigate. - 8
Craft a Furnace and Upgrade Tools
From cobblestone and fuel, craft a furnace, then smelt ores or cook food. Upgrade to stone tools as soon as you find cobble and coal for durability and efficiency.
Tip: Smelting iron ore later compounds your early strength; keep a small fuel reserve. - 9
Organize Inventory and Plan Next Goals
Sort your items, keep essential tools handy, and set simple next goals like improving shelter, expanding farmland, or exploring nearby biomes.
Tip: Regularly clear junk items to prevent inventory clutter.
People Also Ask
What should I collect first?
Begin by collecting wood, crafting a crafting table, and making basic tools. Then find a safe space to shelter before night arrives. Prioritize food sources to keep hunger meters up.
Start with wood, craft a crafting table, and make simple tools to secure a base before night.
How do I craft a crafting table?
Open your inventory, place four wooden planks in a 2x2 square to create a crafting table, then place it down to access more recipes.
Use four wooden planks in a 2x2 pattern to craft the table, then place it down.
What should I do about monsters at night?
Stay inside your shelter after dusk and ensure it’s well-lit. If outdoors, retreat to your shelter, and consider adding more torches along your path to prevent ambushes.
If it’s night, stay safe inside your shelter and light up exits to deter mobs.
How can I find food in survival mode?
Collect nearby animals for meat or berries, hunt responsibly, and plant seeds to start a farm. Cooking meat improves hunger restoration.
Hunt animals or gather berries, then set up a small farm to keep a steady food supply.
When should I start mining for resources?
Begin mining after you have basic tools and a shelter. Surface copper or coal near you is a good early target, then advance to deeper ores as your gear improves.
Mine after you’re secured with tools and light; start with coal and move deeper as you upgrade.
What is the best early goal in Minecraft?
Establish a safe base, secure food, and accumulate essential resources. From there, you can expand to farming, mining, and basic redstone or building projects.
Set a safe base, secure food, and gather essential resources before expanding.
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The Essentials
- Gather basics first and stabilize your hunger.
- Build a shelter before night to avoid mob threats.
- Upgrade from wood to stone tools as soon as possible.
- Light and organize your base for smoother progress.
- Plan your next moves after securing fundamentals.
