Minecraft: 27 Essential Things Everyone Should Build First

Summary

• Build a crafting table first in Minecraft to unlock more crafting options.
• Shelter is vital to protect against enemies on the first night.
• Prioritize creating a wooden pickaxe to gather essential crafting materials.

Minecraftis one of the most beloved games of all time. During the game's initial beta, it blew away players with the level of creative freedom it gave them. Since then, the game has managed to maintain its incredible popularity, as its player base continues to grow.

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However, Minecraft's seemingly endless amount of content can be overwhelming for new players. You might find yourself wondering what to build first. Here is a collection of the most vital things that a Minecrafter should focus on making.

Updated Dcember 4, 2024, by Zackary Wiggs: Minecraft stands out as a game that, despite launching back in 2009, always finds a way to remain in the forefront of people's minds. It's this timelessness through consistent updates, and relaxing qualities, that makes it such an amazing game. Whether you need some help on your first playthrough, or you just want a handy checklist for the next go-around, here are some things that are a priority for building in a Minecraft playthrough.

If you're a new player, we have even more beginner tips to help you — check out everything you should do first, so you know which activities and what to build right from the beginning.

27 Crafting Table

Requirements

4x Wooden Planks

The easiest but most important thing to make in Minecraft is the crafting table. With it, you get an abundance of more crafting options. In fact, there is not a lot that you can make without one. Therefore, building a crafting table should be one of the first things you do in Minecraft.

Punch a tree to get four logs, and turn those logs into planks by putting them into your crafting grid, or select planks in the crafting menu. After that, fill your crafting grid with the planks to build a crafting table.

26 Shelter

Requirements

Wooden Planks / Dirt Blocks

Once you get more resources and tools, you can make a beautiful place to live. For the first night, though, you just need to make a shelter that keeps out the enemies who spawn in the dark.

If you make this your first objective after you start a new game, then you should have time to collect wood or dirt and build a basic hut that stops anything from getting in. Those who spend their first day exploring might not have the time for that.

If that's the case, digging a few blocks into the ground, jumping in, and placing a few blocks above your head might be necessary to protect you from dangerous mobs.

25 Wooden Pickaxe

Requirements

2x Sticks

3x Wood Planks

The pickaxe is the most vital tool in Minecraft. Without it, you wouldn't be able to mine most of the crafting materials in the game. So one of the first things you must build when starting a new world is a wooden pickaxe.

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It takes three planks and two sticks (which can be made using planks) to make the wooden version of the tool. To make one without the crafting menu, place a horizontal line of planks at the top of the grid in the crafting table and put the two sticks in a vertical line underneath the middle plank.

24 Wooden Axe

Requirements

2x Sticks

3x Wood Planks

If you're using a lot of wood to build your home or any other structures, then it's smart to invest in a wooden axe. At first, you may be skeptical, as there's no issue with using your hand to punch down trees. But the process is much more efficient with an axe, and in the long run, you'll save plenty of time.

Just place three wooden planks in the left corner of the crafting grid, and place a stick in each of the squares underneath to make your axe. If you have plenty of excess cobblestones, you can use them instead of planks to make a stone one.

23 Torches

Requirements

1x Coal

1x Stick

When deep down in one of Minecraft's many cave systems, torches are as essential as a pickaxe. Not only do they light up the dark caves so you can see what materials and monsters are around, but they show you where you've been. They are also useful in lighting up your house, or any place you don't want monsters to spawn.

All you need to make torches is sticks and coal or charcoal. The former can be found through mining, whereas the latter is made by putting wood into a furnace. To craft them, just place the coal or charcoal in the middle of the crafting grid, and place the stick underneath.

22 Bed

Requirements

3x Wool

3x Wood Planks

In the first few days of a new Minecraft world, you should be focusing on building up your house or base of operations. That can be difficult at night due to the lack of visibility and the fact that enemy mobs are walking around ready to attack you. Sleeping in a bed automatically takes you to the next day, enabling you to skip the night completely.

Also, it allows you to set your spawn for when you die.

To make one, you need to gather three pieces of wool from sheep, and three planks of wood. If you don't have the use of a crafting menu, the recipe to make the bed is three pieces of wool in a horizontal line with a parallel line of planks underneath them.

21 Fencing

Requirements

2x Sticks

4x Wooden Planks

Some passive mobs are brilliant sources of food, and it won't be long before you start getting hungry. However, slaughtering every cow and chicken you come across will soon leave you with none left. By crafting wooden fences, you can create a pen for them so they stay near to your base, while also being easy to breed for a continual source of protein.

Fences are made by placing two sticks in the center column, and four planks on either side. This will make three fences, and you'll need at least 25 for a decent-sized pen. A gate can be made by inverting the recipe, and surrounding two planks with four sticks. Lure animals inside by using wheat, carrots, or seeds.

20 A Safe Mine

Early on in your Minecraft adventure, you probably don't want to stray too far from your spawn as you don't have the equipment needed to survive every encounter. Therefore, it's a smart idea to build a mine close to your home — perhaps even inside it. This way, you have quick access to a place where you can gather resources.

Plus, if you light that place up with torches and don't accidentally dig into a cavern, it should be a pretty safe space to work where you're not bothered by many mobs. To make such a thing, all you need to do is dig into the ground.

19 Ladders

Requirements

7x Sticks

Sometime soon after creating a mine, and probably before you do any serious exploring, you'll want to build a few ladders. Thankfully, the recipe for these is simple, and won't take much extra effort if you've already harvesting wood and making torches.

Ladders are surprisingly handy for moving up and down through the world without doing so diagonally. This means mountains, ravines, or even caves can be traversed a bit easier with just a handful of these.

18 Boat

Requirements

5x Wooden Planks

If you're going to go exploring, which is the best way to discover awesome structures and precious resources, you'll eventually run into water. Yes, you can just swim it, but a much faster way to traverse that ocean is in a boat.

These can be made out of any kind of wood, though every plank must be from the same kind of tree. On your Crafting Bench, place five planks in a 'U' shape, and voilà! To get really fancy with it, you can then combine your boat with a premade chest, providing you with a little extra space on your travels.