If you blog or vlog about Minecraft, it seems to be obligatory to talk about "surviving your first night".
Even though I've been playing Minecraft for a while, I am still not always successful in getting through the first night in a new world.
Unless you are playing Hardcore, it is not 'Game Over' if you die, but I think it helps to start in a world where you have a fair chance to survive and resources to build your first base.
The odds are pretty good that you will spawn in a location with at least a few resources, but if you land on an 'impossible' spot there is no shame in starting over.
Don't try for perfection*. On your first day you are just seeing a small slice of a larger world. Right now I would say that if there are no trees, the ground is covered with snow or ice, and you are at the base of a Pillager Tower, it is OK to roll up a new world.
What I do:
To me, making a safe shelter is most important, but I need tools to make it easier and faster.
First I use my hand to punch a trees to get a few logs and use the nine-block space in my inventory to make the logs into planks. I then use the planks to make a crafting table.
I put the crafting table down near where I think I will make my first shelter, then I make wooden tools (pick, shovel, sword, shovel, axe) and use them to gather more resources, protect myself, and make a place to survive before it gets dark and the monsters come out and do their best to try to kill me.
Making a Shelter: An old forum post by SafeShot lists the most common options cited by Minecrafters:
- The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang
- The Dirt Hut Squad
- The 3 Blocks Deep Mafia
- The Treetop Nation
- The Sky Platform Coalition
- The Village Squatters
- The 1st Night Cavern Exploration Team
- The Unfinished Build Project Defenders
- The Mob Spawn Outrunners
- Those Cowards over in the /time set camp and their Day/Night Cycle:OFF allies.
Here's my feelings about each of these options:
'The Hole in the Wall Gang':
If I can find a dirt wall, I will dig or punch a 2-block high by 3-block deep opening so that I can hide when it gets dark. After I'm inside I put a block on the top of the opening - that way I can see when it is daylight again.
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| Hiding in hole in the wall |
'The Dirt Hut Squad':
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| Got a little fancy here, but door only took six planks. |
You can make this as plain or fancy as you want. I don't usually make these because they take longer to make than a hole in the wall or in the ground.
The 3 Blocks Deep Mafia:
 |
| Good in a pinch |
You dig down three blocks and put a block on top of you. I think of this as a last resort, because you can't really see what is going on above you. You can make the hole wider and then cover part of it, but you risk a monster falling into the hole with you.
'The Treetop Nation':
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| Ready to spend the night on top of a tree. |
You can walk on tree foliage, but so can spiders. Zombies, skeletons, and creepers are not supposed to be able to walk or spawn on tree foliage***, but they can certainly spawn under them and wait for you. Zombies and skeletons will survive in the shade when the sun comes up.
The Sky Platform Coalition:
 |
| Standing on a pile of dirt blocks |
Place blocks at the same time you jump up, to make a column where you can get away from zombies and skeletons. Hostile mobs will still spawn in the surrounding dark and wait for you at the bottom. Don't stay awake all night for too many days or phantoms will also come flying after you at night..
 |
| Modified sky platform |
If you are coordinated enough to crouch and add blocks to the sides of the top, you can make this a little bit safer by adding walls at the side.
The Village Squatters (Almost sounds like a rock band)
 |
| Better to borrow a villager's bed than to stay awake and become a monster magnet. |
If there is a nearby villager, just use one of their beds. Again, a last ditch method. Don't stay awake in a village, though, as your waking presence draws monsters.
The First Night Cavern Exploration Team
 |
| I think I'm going to need more torches. |
Brave or foolish? Caves may be full of resources, you need to light them up to make them safe. If I have been lucky enough to find the materials, I will make a stairway down from inside my shelter to look for rock, coal, and iron.
The Unfinished Build Project Defenders
This happens when you are building a shelter and it isn't finished before night comes. I think a simple finished shelter beats an elaborate unfinished shelter.
The Mob Spawn Outrunners
Yeah, I've done this, but it has a lot of drawbacks:
- You probably won't be able to see where you are going so there is the danger of falling into a hole or over a cliff.
- In the morning you will probably be a long way from your original spawn point, and until you are able to make a spawn-anchor (bed) every time you die you will spawn back at your far away origin.
"Those Cowards over in the /time set camp and their Day/Night Cycle:OFF allies."
Here, I think SafeShot was just being snarky, but it is a good reminder that you can play Minecraft any way you want. If you start out and find that the monsters are too much for you, why not make it Peaceful? But, for those who want a challenge, if there are no dangers, why play Survival? For those who want to try their hand at building elaborate structures and Redstone devices, Creative can also be perfect, but I would suggest not starting in Creative, because it makes everything too easy.
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This post is getting too long, I will make other posts about First Day Options and Tool Progression
*"If you're waiting to feel ready before you start...you'll be waiting forever. "
**To make a safer "three blocks up" sky platform, make the top 9x9 and put in side blocks and a ceiling. Here I suggest you google "How to crouch in Minecraft" and learn the procedure for your gaming device and platform so that you don't fall off when you are expanding the sides.
***Hostile mobs can spawn on wood, though.
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