Minecraft – How to not get lost underground

minecraft-java-edition

I have found a rather large series of underground caverns in Minecraft, and have come close to becoming fatally lost several times. What are some best practices in making sure I get back to familiar territory? I have the compass but since it points to my original respawn point it's not terribly useful. What tactics are employed to make sure you can explore deep caverns and still make it home in one piece?

Best Answer

There are a number of spelunking techniques that lead to successful navigation and tracking while wandering underground. As with anything in minecraft, you'll want the right tools for the job:

tools

bow+arrows (sword optional)
food
torches/raw wood
a bunch of stone shovels/pickaxes
iron/diamond pickaxe for rare ores
steadfast resolve in the face of impending lava, and/or water bucket

I put the bow and arrows first as they're really the most important for surviving caves in minecraft, killing enemies at a distance will significantly reduce the amount of damage you take, which will allow you to go further, although food will help in the event that you get hurt.

Torches are key, you'll need lots. I usually pack 64 and make more from wood when I find coal veins.

stone shovels and pickaxes are just for regular old digging, and you'll need to do a bunch of that to get through the steeper jumps

As far as directions go there are a number of simple tricks to being able to find your way around.

lost & found

Right/Left-wall rule – Follow the right walls while traveling into a cave, and you'll be able to do a 180 and follow the left walls to find your way out. This is a tedious rule to follow, but is one of the simplest rules for new adventurers to adhere to. As an extension of the rule, place your torches on the same side, and you'll have a better idea of whether you're going into or out of the caves.
Signs – Signs used to take up a bunch of inventory space because they didn't stack. But they are stackable now, and they make for great posts for spots that are particularly confusing, especially when you find yourself at a 7-way junction that goes every direction but up.
Arrows – Not the arrows for your bow, simply arrows made out of blocks, use dirt/gravel/cobblestone to make → in the walls or ground. Have fun and make a 3D floating arrow in the middle of the path, it'll be much more visible than a sign, and can be a useful way of getting rid of some of the materials that you've no doubt collected on your journey.
Torch Patterns – use torches to make patterns to give you clues as to which way to go. Simple designs like ..: can be used to point the way in or out (make up your mind before you go in so that you're not confusing yourself with inconsistent signage.
Drilling – If you've got a particularly deep system of caves that double-back and overlap, "drill" some 1x1 ladder holes or 2x2 staircases in any location. They're convenient fast-access points to the surface or other tunnels. As long as you can find your way back to the surface, you're bound to be able to get back to your home.
Clean-up – If you've got a lot of time to burn, and you really want to be able to get home in one piece, dig out the tunnels so that they follow a nice pattern with decent lights and stairs.

Related Solutions

Minecraft – Is it possible to build a new river across a land barrier

What you should do is make the water only one block deep, so that it all levels out. See the question that ZoogieZork posted. After that, you can dig as deep as you want and the currents shouldn't appear.

In general, here is a good technique for building rivers (top-down view):

█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█... | █ = block
.█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█.. | ▒ = water source
..█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█▒█. | . = empty block

First, you want to dig out a path for your river. Place alternating blocks and water sources along where your river is dug out so it looks like a checkerboard. Then, destroy all the blocks. Because there are water sources every other block, the space created by the blocks being destroyed will turn into source blocks themselves and create a nice and smooth river.

In your case, you would probably be able to build this pattern right up to one block before the lake. When you've destroyed all the blocks and the river is nice and smooth, you should be able to connect the lake and the river and the connection between them should level out.

Minecraft – I’m stuck underground. How to get back to the surface

You can do a couple of things. If you have a pickaxe, then you can mine the block directly above you, then collect the stone and jump + place it below you. Do this repeatedly until you reach the surface.

If you don't have a pickaxe, it will take a little longer since you can't collect stone without one. Instead, just mine out blocks in a staircase fashion, using your hands.