Minecraft Survival Guide — From Stone Age to Diamond

Progression Path

Minecraft survival has a natural progression arc. Follow these tiers:

Tier 1: Stone Age (Day 1)

• Collect wood, craft stone tools
• Build basic shelter
• Gather food

Tier 2: Iron Age (Days 2–5)

• Mine and smelt iron ore
• Craft iron armor, tools, and sword
• Establish a permanent base

Tier 3: Pre-Diamond (Days 5–10)

• Build a farm (wheat, carrots, potatoes)
• Mine deep for diamonds (Y=-54 to -58 in 1.18+)
• Craft enchanting table

Tier 4: Diamond & Enchanting

• Full diamond or netherite armor
• High-level enchantments
• Nether exploration

Tier 5: Endgame

• Enter the End, defeat the Ender Dragon
• Farm shulkers
• Build mega projects

Essential Early Buildings

Furnace Room

2–4 furnaces smelt much faster than 1. Use coal or logs as fuel.

Storage System

Organize chests by category:

• Raw materials (wood, stone, dirt)
• Ores and gems
• Food
• Tools and weapons

Crop Farm

Plant wheat seeds from grass drops. 8×8 farm feeds indefinitely.

Mob Farm Area

Light up all caves and surface within 128 blocks of base to prevent mob spawning near you.

Combat Tips

Mob	Best Strategy
Zombie	Sword spam; easy
Skeleton	Strafe and close distance
Creeper	Back up 4+ blocks, shoot or slash-and-run
Spider	Spam sword; jump on walls
Enderman	Don't look at them; hit their feet

Resource Milestones

Goal	What You Need
Iron tools	21 iron ore
Iron armor	24 iron ore
Diamond tools	21 diamonds
Diamond armor	24 diamonds
Enchanting table	4 obsidian + 2 diamonds + 1 book

Related Guides

• Mining Guide
• Farm Guide
• Nether/End Guide