There are no games quite like Minecraft. Initially released back in May of 2009, Minecraft has swiftly grown into a worldwide phenomenon that still manages to grip fans old and young to this day. The game is made up of random, procedurally generated worlds that players can create and interact with; every world is made up of blocks, and each block can be changed, harvested or even destroyed (TNT is one particularly amusing way to accomplish this).
Players pay a one time fee in order to own a copy of the game, and as time goes on, the team behind Minecraft is constantly releasing more exciting additions to keep fans searching and fighting and building on. Some of these add-ons include whole new biomes, like oceans or jungles, exciting new mobs like turtles or dolphins, or cats and parrots to befriend and follow you along; there are even new weapons, armors and color blocks for building up a world that truly reflects your individual personality.
Some of the items in Minecraft - whether they have been around since the days of Alpha testing or added later on as a teaser for fans - are just plain difficult to find. Hidden, even. Maybe they are mob drops from creatures that hardly show up, or they're the kind of thing that you have to be 'in the know' for to even come across. Maybe you have to make them yourself, but the ingredients are near impossible to collect.
Whatever the case, here are 20 Hidden Things Only Real Fans Know How To Find, focussing mostly on Survival mode.
Emerald Ore
When Minecraft first began, there were only a few different ores for players to mine and collect. Coal was, and still is, considered the most widespread and common to find. On the opposite end, diamond ore was once thought of as the rarest; it was almost a status symbol to have some diamonds in your world's inventory. However, nowadays the emerald ore is the rarest of them all. It is found very rarely in caves and only drops a single emerald when mined. You would have to spend a very long time in Minecraft to actually come across even one of these, let alone enough to build up a solid collection of emeralds for trade.
Totem Of Undying
The Totem of Undying is a mystical item that can only be found by seeking out one of the incredibly rare Woodland Mansions that pops up randomly within a world. Venture inside, and you will undoubtedly come across the Evoker, a grey-skinned illager (that is, evil villager type). He is a powerful sorcerer who will attack you with many spells. If you can defeat the Evoker, he will drop the Totem of Undying.
If something ends you while you have it equipped in your off-hand slot, you will pop right back to life. This makes the item highly sought-after, even for all the hoops you have to jump to find one.
Name Tags
If you're new to the game or have just started up a world, it's unlikely that your priorities will be geared much towards naming the many items you have accumulated. However, for more experienced players and longer-running worlds, it can be fun to give a name to your things. What about calling that diamond sword 'Destroyer of Worlds' and slaying a sheep? You'll get a funny little message in the chat that makes it all worthwhile.
The problem is, name tags cannot simply be crafted. If you want one, you'll have to start dungeon-crawling. It could be many hours of gameplay before you finally find a chest with those elusive name tags in it.
Pink Wool (From A Pink Sheep)
One of the great things about this game is how in-depth you can get with customization, making buildings and structures of any shape and color. You could make the world's most detailed rainbow if you really wanted to.
Part of that is accomplished by gathering a bunch of different dyed wools. You can get dyes from random items and apply them to wool blocks, or even straight to one of the sheep you own. But, coming across a wild sheep that naturally has a crazy color like yellow, blue, or especially pink, is very rare. Usually, that takes one red and one white sheep coming together to make it happen. So, traveling long enough to find and shear a natural pink sheep is quite the achievement.
Blaze Rods
Blaze rods are an item essential for the complicated art of potion-brewing. In fact, you can't even make a potion stand without one, making them a valuable commodity. However, they are only acquired by destroying a creature called a Blaze, and Blazes cannot be found in the overworld (that is, the main world you spawn in). Instead, you must harvest enough obsidian (which, in itself, requires a diamond pickaxe to achieve) to build a Nether portal and enter that Nether World. Once there, if you can bring down a Blaze, you can have as many of these rods as you like. Unfortunately, newbies are unlikely to get to this point for quite a while into their game.
Slime Balls
Slime balls are one of those items that aren't strictly necessary in day-to-day gameplay, but one that opens up a whole new world of possibilities if acquired. To get slime balls, you have to venture far and wide to find a swamp biome (or, rarely, they will spawn underground) where bouncy, cuboid creatures called Slimes may appear. Attack a Slime, and they will break into smaller versions of themselves, making it easy to get overrun if you're not prepared.
Finally slaying a Slime will net you some slime balls, which can be used to make sticky pistons; these pistons are part of advanced mechanisms made by players to control their world, so these slime balls are always sought after.
Saddle
Sure, it's fun enough to run around your Minecraft world, u energy to traverse those long distances. It can even be exciting to hop in a boat and journey across the vast oceans. But, few things beat coming across a ride-able mob, such as a horse, or – much sillier – a pig, slapping a saddle on their back, and hitting the road with your new pal.
Saddles are another item that cannot simply be crafted, though, so you will have to seek one out. The problem is, saddles are only found in a small percentage of chests within strongholds, villages, Nether fortresses, temples and End cities. Though the possible places to acquire one are widespread, the actual odds are very low.
Command Blocks
Unlike most of the other entries on this list, command blocks are not actual items that can be regularly found during gameplay. Instead, the only way to get your hands on one is by entering various commands into the console, such as /give @s minecraft:command_block. These special blocks are predominantly used by Minecraft multiplayer servers, although they can also be useful to more experienced single players.
When powered by Redstone, command blocks unlock powerful cheats that can make – or literally break – the game. There are even three types of command blocks to choose from: an impulse command block, a chain block, and a repeating block. With so much to choose from and so much power, make sure that you use them with caution!
Ender Pearls
Playing a bit on the idea of 'Slenderman', the Endermen are spooky, infrequently-spawning mobs that slither in the night, steal blocks, and stare into your soul. Unlike skeletons, creepers, and zombies, Endermen don't pop up all the time. If you do manage to come across one, they can be very tricky, as they poof in and out, teleporting around you. Wearing a pumpkin on your head stops them from getting hostile before you can attack, and once it has been slain, you can harvest a couple of ender pearls, which let you teleport long distances.
It takes some dedication to seek out Endermen and go through the trouble to harvest these pearls, but if you can, it will make your travels a lot more fun.
Monster Spawner
Who wouldn't love to have a room where you can spawn endless amounts of skeletons, zombies, or more? Well, all right, maybe that sounds a bit odd, but think about it. If you had one of these rooms, you could farm hostile mobs for all of their useful drops! But how would this come about? You'll need to find a monster spawner.
These cage-looking blocks can be found very occasionally after a while of mining. These dungeon rooms are often pitch black and deadly to drop into, but if you can get to the spawner and cover it with torches, you can neutralize it and make it your own. Unfortunately, these cannot be picked up, only destroyed, so any monster-farming rooms that you make in Survival Mode will have to stay where you found them.
