Get started in Minecraft with this beginner’s guide

If you’re just starting your Minecraft journey, Creative mode will offer you plenty of enjoyable options. But if you want something more exciting, you should check out the game's Survival mode.

These five quick tips will get you started with great advice to help you ace Survival. With this guide, you'll have a solid direction from the jump, and before long you'll be a Minecraft savant.

When you first drop into a Survival run, you'll have no tools or materials to work with. You can gather wood to start building by punching trees, but you should prioritize stone tools as well.

The increased durability of stone tools makes them last twice as long as wood tools in your inventory. The time saved in not having to craft replacement tools will help you progress in the game more quickly.

You can die and respawn in Survival mode, but you’ll lose all the items in your pockets at the time. This can delay your progress, but you can mitigate the issue by building a chest.

Chests can store items you need but don't want to hold. Moreover, items you store in a chest will not be lost if you die in the game. If you have vital items, build a chest to store them; you'll be glad you did.

You start a Survival world completely alone, so you need to get help wherever you can. After punching some trees, mining stone, and building your resources a bit, look for a village in your immediate area.

Villagers can offer trades for your needed resources at a manageable cost, which will put you ahead in your survival quest. Don't be afraid to check out a nearby village if you find one.

Nighttime in Minecraft can mean unpleasant encounters with mobs of Zombies, Skeletons, Creepers, and more. But all of these enemies can be kept at bay with light.

These nocturnal mobs can't spawn in light from fire or electricity. So make sure you have a well-lit safe haven to "hide" in, and you won't have to worry about things that go bump in the night. Just don't let the lights go out!

The Minecraft world can be harsh, with each biome filled with dangerous mobs. The world is a joy to explore, but you don't move on before you're ready. Stay in the beginner's biome for as long as you need.

Survival mode is not timed, so you can play as quickly or slowly as you choose without any penalty. Use that to your advantage, and make the jump to your next biome on your own time.