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Here’s an important point many people fail to realize: given the size of the Minecraft world, the time you spend mining is far more valuable than actually getting every single diamond vein. Knowing this, you will want to avoid any chance of redundant tunnels searching the same chunk for diamonds you’ve already found. You don’t want to walk too far between your mine’s branches either, so spacing them too widely is no go.
I branch mine. I figure around ~5 blocks between branches is good, but not on the same level. When I start a mine, I just stay on one level (feet at y=11), with a branch every 10 blocks. My main tunnel is usually 2×2, but it’s kinda personal preference. I make my branches 100 long—the round number makes it easy to watch my coords to know when the end is coming. I also like to cap each tunnel with a fence gate to stop any mobs from caves wandering into the main corridor. If I find I start to have to walk too far to get to the next unfinished tunnel, I’ll start to do tunnels between and 2 block up. I just plop a single ladder at eye level for each one in the main tunnel.
I prefer jack-o-lanterns in the floor for lighting, and I like to place them frequently enough so no mobs spawn. Depending on how you play, glowstone may eventually be even cheaper (and you can place them over air). In either case, they’re water proof and you won’t accidentally knock them off the wall.
cobblestone slabs are great for bridging gaps and lava.
When I have a beacon and enough iron, I just do the haste II efficiency V diamond pickaxe thing and clear out big swathes. I like my efficiency V pickaxe to have silk touch so I get mountains of smooth stone, and don’t accidentally mine any ores with a non-fortune pickaxe.
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[–] timholt 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Here’s an important point many people fail to realize: given the size of the Minecraft world, the time you spend mining is far more valuable than actually getting every single diamond vein. Knowing this, you will want to avoid any chance of redundant tunnels searching the same chunk for diamonds you’ve already found. You don’t want to walk too far between your mine’s branches either, so spacing them too widely is no go.
I branch mine. I figure around ~5 blocks between branches is good, but not on the same level. When I start a mine, I just stay on one level (feet at y=11), with a branch every 10 blocks. My main tunnel is usually 2×2, but it’s kinda personal preference. I make my branches 100 long—the round number makes it easy to watch my coords to know when the end is coming. I also like to cap each tunnel with a fence gate to stop any mobs from caves wandering into the main corridor. If I find I start to have to walk too far to get to the next unfinished tunnel, I’ll start to do tunnels between and 2 block up. I just plop a single ladder at eye level for each one in the main tunnel.
I prefer jack-o-lanterns in the floor for lighting, and I like to place them frequently enough so no mobs spawn. Depending on how you play, glowstone may eventually be even cheaper (and you can place them over air). In either case, they’re water proof and you won’t accidentally knock them off the wall.
cobblestone slabs are great for bridging gaps and lava.
When I have a beacon and enough iron, I just do the haste II efficiency V diamond pickaxe thing and clear out big swathes. I like my efficiency V pickaxe to have silk touch so I get mountains of smooth stone, and don’t accidentally mine any ores with a non-fortune pickaxe.