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Image from Minecraft in the Nether, where there's a tunnel of Netherrack blocks that look like red stone, and some ancient debris
Guides
Kate Gray
Written By
Kate Gray
Published
12/29/22

How To Find Ancient Debris

Tutorial Difficulty: 8/10

I have to be honest: This tutorial is for me. I just started a new Minecraft Realm, you see, and I invited a bunch of my friends to build their own creations in the world. What I didn't realise was that all of my dear pals had way more free time than me, and so by the time I finally logged on, everyone was running around in diamond armor while I was sporting nothing but a half-destroyed iron hat. How embarrassing! I was still living in a dirt hovel while my "friends" were lording it up in castles made of blocks I hadn't even seen yet.

Oh, they took pity on me – they threw spare iron blocks my way and offered to chop down trees to help me build a slightly-less-embarrassing house – but I do not want their pity. I want to be the best. I can't let them show me up like this on my own realm.

I know what I need. I need netherite. But, having played Minecraft as much as I have, I still haven't found a single piece of ancient debris.

Wattles has, though — and so, it's wattles' video I shall be consulting as I attempt to make my revenge outfit. 

Image from Minecraft in the Nether, where there's a tunnel of Netherrack blocks that look like red stone, and red bed at the end of it

Mining for ancient debris has been perfected as a science by many Minecraft players far smarter than I, and they have apparently all come to the conclusion that the best way to find ancient debris is to Explode Yourself On Purpose. Trying to use a bed in the Nether will explode the bed, so why not use that to your advantage?

You'll want to dig a series of tunnels at Y=11, 12, or 15, each one with a bed at the end, and try to "use" the bed while sheltering behind a block for protection. It will explode you a little, so make sure you have full health, plenty of food, and diamond armor, or your ancient debris adventure will be over before it's begun.

Here's a massive disclaimer, though: ancient debris is really, really, really rare. The bedsplosion trick is costly in terms of wool and wood, but way faster and more efficient than breaking fifty diamond pickaxes. There's a lot of mindless, tedious, repetitive stuff involved – but a lot of Minecraft is mindless, tedious, repetitive stuff... and that's part of the reason we love it. Just set aside a few hours on a Saturday and mine mine mine mine until you're all kitted out, and all your friends finally look like peasants in comparison. Nyahaha!

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