Minecraft has a plethora of crafting recipes to learn, with many more coming in the future, but some are so important or useful that they should be made at least once. The survival block game is easily one of the most popular in the genre and, despite lackluster updates over the past few years, continues to dominate. This is in no small doubt due to the attractive gameplay and creativity that makes each playthrough feel different.

Minecraft's 1.21 update was one of the largest in a while, putting a renewed focus on combat with some minor exploration. The largest addition was the Trial Chambers, a dungeon-like experience with new challenges and enemies. It also introduced a series of new blocks and one of the most powerful new weapons in the Mace.

10 The Shield Proves The Best Offense Is A Good Defense

Recipe: Six Wood Planks And One Iron Ingot

The Shield has been one of the mainstays of combat in Minecraft since it came out. For the cheap price they cost to make, the benefit they bring, especially to Hardcore worlds, is immense. They can block almost everything in the game and are only disabled if hit by an axe or Warden, but even that is only a five-second cooldown.

It is easier to list out what Shields can't block to prove how strong they are.

These include arrows enchanted with piercing, lightning damage, the Warden's Sonic Boom, and any splash or lingering AOE attacks. This versatility makes the shield a must-have regardless of difficulty, and the ability to use it to safely close space makes it a viable tool for offense.

9 Gain Mighty Buffs Or Devastating Debuffs With The Brewing Stand

Recipe: Three Cobblestone And One Blaze Rod

Though already widely used, the Brewing Stand is one of the best assets for players of any experience level. Though they can sometimes be tricky to get with Nether navigation, the benefits are worth the effort. The hardest thing about them may be getting the resources needed to craft the various potions.

Meanwhile, Poison and Weakness potions can work great for hordes of mobs or in PvP.

Potions can make or break certain situations in Minecraft. The best options are Strength, Regeneration, and Healing to help with dangerous combat situations. Meanwhile, Poison and Weakness potions can work great for hordes of mobs or in PvP. There are also options like Fire Resistance, Water Breathing, and Night Vision, which can be boons for specific tasks.

8 Never Lose An Important Location With The Lodestone

Recipe: Eight Chiseled Stone Bricks And One Netherite Ingot

Added in 1.16, the Lodestone is one of the most useful blocks for navigation and base building. Once placed, the Lodestone can be linked to a Com so that it always points to the location of the Lodestone. This is extremely helpful for vanilla worlds and has the added benefit of working in all three dimensions. Though using it in The End is not as necessary, it can be a boon to avoid getting lost in the Overworld and Nether.

The tricky part of Lodestones is the Netherite Ingot needed to craft one. This is not a hard process but can be time-consuming depending on luck and farming strategy. However, assuming getting enough Netherite is not an issue, Loadstones can be the vanilla means of waypoints with the combination of crafting multiple Comes.

7 The Recovery Com Will Prevent Losing Items

Recipe: Eight Echo Shards And One Com

The Recovery Com is the best item to have stashed away at one's base. This is because after a player dies, the com will point to their location of death. A mechanic like this helps prevent items from despawning if they can't be reached in time and is another example of adding "waypoints" to vanilla Minecraft.

The caveat to this is the effort needed to craft one. Building a regular com is not hard, but the Echo Shards can only be acquired through chests in Ancient Cities. Thus, not only does one have to find one of these rare locations, but navigate around the Warden to find chests that will only contain one to three shards each.

6 The Ever-Growing Importance Of The Enchanting Table

Recipe: Four Obsidian, Two Diamonds, And One Book

Enchanting has always been a key part of Minecraft, but even more so with the recent update which added new entries. Also, unlike the early days, Enchanting Tables are much easier to craft. The hard part is getting the right enchantment given the numerous options to choose from. In this regard, it is easier to use the Enchanting Table, but it could be quicker to find a book with the enchantment.

Regardless of the changes to the system, having at least one Enchanting Table is still crucial to any proper base.

However, there are a handful of Minecraft's best enchantments that can only be acquired by using the table. The most notable of which include Frost Walker, Mending, and the new Wind Burst. Regardless of the changes to the system, having at least one Enchanting Table is still crucial to any proper base.

5 Automate Minecraft With The Crafter

Recipe: Five Iron Ingots, Two Redstone Dust, One Dropper, And One Crafting Table

The Crafter is one of the new blocks of 1.21 and is a huge step toward the technological side of Minecraft. It allows players to craft multiple items without standing there to do it themselves. This alone is a huge boon, and even more so given how cheap they are to make. The hardest thing to get is Redstone, which is not even that hard and is used for the Dropper and Crafter.

The real strength of the Crafter is the automation and Redstone contraptions that can be made with it. Crafters can be set up to receive materials from a chest with hoppers, and then removed from the Crafter into a new chest. This is as close as Minecraft can get to having assembly lines without mods.

4 Make The Nether More Forgiving With The Respawn Anchor

Recipe: Six Crying Obsidian And Three Glowstone Blocks

The Nether can be an unforgiving place, especially when it sends players back to the Overworld upon death. However, with the Respawn Anchor placed and charged with Glowstone, it will respawn someone on it upon death. This makes it extremely useful for Fortresses and Bastions, as it can be placed right in front of them as a mobile spawn point.

The hardest part about getting one of these blocks is the Crying Obsidian, which can only be found at Ruined Portals in the Overworld or Bastion Chests. The latter method is faster while being more dangerous while looking for Ruined Portals is not very dangerous but can be time-consuming. Regardless of the method used, it is a huge advantage and time saver to have a Respawn Anchor when exploring the Nether.

3 A Beacon Is A Base's Best Friend

Recipe: Five Glass, Three Obsidian, And One Nether

Beacons may take some effort to get but can then take things up a level. The only complication is needing to kill at least one Wither, if not more, for multiple Beacons. Beacons then need to be built upon a Pyramid of blocks made from Iron, Gold, Emerald, Diamond, or Netherite. The number of layers will affect what powers the Beacon can give and what range it will have.

When powered, Beacons can offer one of five powers to players in its range; Haste I, Speed I, Resistance I, Jump Boost I, and Strength I. On a level four pyramid, these powers can be boosted to level two, or grant a secondary effect of Regeneration I. Two of the primary powers can be used at once on the Java Edition, but it won't actively show that the second one is selected in the Beacon.

2 Increase Player Inventory With The Shulker Box/Bundle

Recipe: Two Shulker Shells And One Chest/One String And One Leather

Bundles and Shulker Boxes fill a similar role but are in a weird state given the constant delays of the former. The benefit is the Bundle will be better once it is fully released as it is much easier to craft. However, the Shulker Box has the same storage size as regular chests, whereas the Bundle, currently, has about half that.

In this regard, it comes down to player preference about which to use. The tradeoff with the Shulker Box is it is not as easy to use, since it needs to be placed and opened like a regular chest. Whereas Minecraft's Bundle is used from the Hotbar, making it easier to open in a pinch.

1 Unleash The Power Of The Mace

Recipe: One Heavy Core And One Breeze Rod

The Mace has become the most powerful weapon in Minecraft, albeit in specific situations. These weapon pieces can only be obtained through Trial Chambers, but reward the player greatly for the effort. The Mace's normal attack has the slowest attack rate of any weapon but also does three hearts of damage. However, the real power of the Mace comes from its Smash attack.

When jumping from a height, the Mace will gain damage the farther the drop. Successfully hitting a target will also negate all fall damage, leaving risk in the damage but still having an escape. This damage can also be increased through the best Mace enchantments. Breach will ignore a portion of the armor of the attacked target, whereas Density will further increase damage based on the number of blocks the falls.

One of Minecraft's greatest strengths is the numerous blocks that change how the game plays. Some will only need to be crafted a handful of times, while others may be crafted often. However, due to their powerful or helpful uses, these are the ten items that everyone should craft at least once in Minecraft.

Source: Minecraft/YouTube