With brand-new blocks come brand new buildings, and thanks to the 1.16 Nether update, tons of people have returned to the creative land of Minecraft. The success of Mojang's sandbox building and survival game comes from the fact that there's really no set direction to go. Everything is up to the players themselves.
For any builders wanting to challenge themselves or seasoned experts looking for new ideas to add to their build maps or survival worlds, huge projects tend to be the best way to spend time. They're rewarding to make, but difficult to execute. Here's a bit of inspiration for experienced builders wanting to create massive builds in Minecraft.
Updated on January 4, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: Significant changes have been introduced to Minecraft following the highly anticipated 1.18 Caves & Cliffs Part 2 update. The world generation and biomes saw a huge overhaul, which is good news for builders looking for that perfect spot for their next gigantic Minecraft build.
The builders' community of the game has always been hard at work coming up with new ways to create homes and bases in Minecraft. Regardless of the player's preferences, there's something medieval and something futuristic for everyone here. These huge Minecraft builds are perfect for players looking for a real challenge.
20 Desert Futuristic
The desert biome in Minecraft is usually not the most popular choice for players to build in, but it can be a good place to start for giant builds due to the amount of flat surface. There's also no clearing needed when it comes to trees and shrubs.
XevianLight built this really uniquely-shaped futuristic green, white and grey megabase in the desert. It's a nice homage to desert pyramids as well, with a modern twist to it. Players should never feel pressured to build squares and rectangles when only the sky's the limit with shapes and designs in the game.
19 Grand Castle
Medieval and traditional building styles will often reign supreme in Minecraft, due to the game's natural style. The wood and stone textures inspire players to go for these traditional, almost gothic-style builds, as seen in this grandiose castle.
151owners decided to go big for their build, which they named after the very persistence that helped them through finishing this project. Although these detailed, absolutely massive and epic builds take weeks, sometimes even months to finish, the results are always worth it.
18 Battleship
The trend of building homes that don't look like homes is one of the best ones in Minecraft. It lets players innovate and think outside of the box. A home is wherever the Minecraft bed is, and that could even be a massive battleship docked in the middle of an ocean biome.
Stickmanhasfeet's battleship is impressive as it is, but it's even more awesome when players realize that they actually completed this build in survival mode. The sheer dedication needed for something like this is impressive, but hard work tends to pay off.
17 Beacon Mega Base
Back to more contemporary and futuristic builds, megabases are another great way to challenge one's buildings skills in Minecraft. Sci-fi-themed ones are especially fun since they play around with blocks and shapes and effects that are typically not used in more classic Minecraft builds.
This beacon megabase by Trollyn_ is absolutely gorgeous, and took them over 12 hours to build. That still seems like an insane feat, considering the sheer amount of detail and planning that probably went into crafting something as elaborate as this. Adding beacons into builds is also a fantastic idea, as they can often serve as a centerpiece or something to build around.
16 Dracula's Castle
Castles are always a safe choice for Minecraft players since they'll often end up looking impressive and fantastical no matter the location or setting. Plus, the blocks and the aesthetics of the game are simply perfect for more medieval-style builds.
LaurenArtist was inspired by the stories of Dracula with this beautiful castle. Here, the choice of location is important too and just adds to the effect of it being a solitary gothic castle in the middle of nowhere. Perfect for the players who love to be fancy and a bit dramatic.
15 Lava Blade Home
With all the new Nether themed blocks there's been a surge in Nether builds as of late. Ranging from dungeons to ominous castles and even builds within the Nether itself, it's a cool change of style for the game which is normally quite happy and bright-toned.
Rather than going for an evil wizard's castle, however, why not instead create a lava blade house, which looks like a sword stuck into the ground? That's the path AtrixStd went for in their build, which also has a tutorial available on their YouTube channel.
14 Cherryblossom Mountain House
Mountains remain one of the most popular places for players to set their homes in. There's plenty of high ground safety and the view is simply gorgeous. However, rather than building on top of a mountain, the new trend seems to be the build a home within the mountain.
This gorgeous cherry blossom-adorned Japanese-style mansion created by echo0delta is a great example of just how cozy and lovely a mountain mansion can be. It's a nice mixture of modern and traditional build styles, paired with some creative ways to light up the scene with lanterns and glowstone.
13 Diorite Castle
For absolutely massive builds, the biggest challenge is to get enough material and to actually make them work. Builds like this are probably the hardest feat to accomplish in Minecraft, but it's also the most rewarding feeling ever to finally be able to look at a finished creation.
This castle is made completely out of diorite, which is a creative choice not many end up taking. Diorite is a niche material at best, but ToastyPuma makes it glorious in their highly skillful classic castle creation. This is a home fit for a king, that much is certain.
12 Skull Home
Who said a home has to look like one? Any place that's safe and has a bed is a valid spot to call home, and that thought alone should get anyone's creative juices flowing. Why not make something completely different, something unexpected and even bizarre that most players wouldn't even think of using as a house?
A skull home is a perfect fit for a fantasy-themed Minecraft world, and this creepy yet gorgeous skull rock house by Bloody_Corpse is simply breathtaking. Pair it with a lush forest or jungle biome with tons of overgrowth and it looks like something that's been there for hundreds of years.
11 Home In The Sky
Putting limitations on building is a good way to challenge one's creativity. Why build on the ground, when the sky is a great subject, too? Players who love getting into SkyBlock survival, in particular, will be glad to know that just because there's little land around, doesn't mean things can't get creative.
A castle or a mansion in the sky is a unique take on just about any regular build. It's a real challenge, especially in SkyBlock survival where space and resources are scarce. However, it's also a valid choice in creative mode and this adorable yet incredibly luxurious little cottage mansion on sky islands by censssored showcases that perfectly.
10 Desert Pyramid
The desert biome isn't a fan favorite, that's for sure. However, there are ways to make things look nicer if the player is up for the challenge. Desert biomes also tend to be flat and big, allowing players to easily create builds that would otherwise demand a ton of landscaping and planning.
Reddit user OnTheSpotLive went for a desert-themed home for their desert survival base: a gorgeous pyramid-style survival base with beautiful details at the entrance and top. What's even better is that the whole area is accessible through a large, decorated bridge highway as well.
9 Classic Castle
Builds don't always have to be something brand new or inventive. Sometimes, classic build styles are the best when it comes to making a giant home. The first idea that comes to the mind of many builders is making a castle, and with so many different styles of castles to choose from, it's a great choice.
Reddit user Varriv created this wonderful European-style stone castle from stone bricks on a survival server. The roofing is really well-executed, given that tends to be the weakness of many builders. Moreover, the flags add a touch of motion and a cool detail to the overall build.
8 Underground Base
If clearing an area overground sounds boring, then how about mining downwards and creating an underground base instead? The base could be hidden, or it could be fully visible through a glass ceiling looking up to the night sky, which would make for a cool effect.
Reddit user Executive_Tree wowed everyone with their underground, traditional Minecraft base. The resources are easy to find, as it mostly consists of oak wood and stone brick, but it's the shape, the location, and the small details that make this huge circular base so cool.
7 Futuristic Home
Classic builds definitely get old after a while, and some players just might be more into the modern, science fiction style architecture which Minecraft's blocks also happen to cater for. With glass, concrete, and wool, the player can already achieve quite a bit when making a modern home.
This futuristic base of class domes and towers was made by Reddit user AdricHs, and it has just about everything in it. The base isn't one singular area but consists of multiple buildings of various shapes and sizes. The organic and slanted look of the buildings looks absolutely stunning.
6 Classic Oak Base
If the player happens to spawn into a large forest world and there aren't any other interesting biomes nearby, just building a house out of wood might be the best option. Thankfully, oak is one of the best-looking blocks in the entire game and no matter the build always tends to look gorgeous.
Reddit user Executive_Tree made this classic stronghold type survival base with four corners and two floors. It has a nice, homey style, while also looking sturdy enough to fend off any invaders or other enemies at night. There's plenty of space, and the shape isn't too difficult to replicate.
5 Nether Fortress
With the new Nether content, more and more players are choosing to build some type of home in the Nether. However, those doing this should ensure they don't put down a bed, since trying to sleep in the Nether has some, well, adverse effects.
Despite the abundance of lava, hostile mobs, and generally a terrible area, building in the Nether can be very rewarding thanks to all the new biomes and blocks. Reddit user Wintertooth100 built this ominous fortress floating in the skies, made from some of the new blocks and decorated with fountains of flowing lava.
4 Japanese Mansion
When searching for new architecture types or inspiration, it's always a great idea to look to different cultures for references. Japanese temples in particular tend to have a very unique appearance that could make for a cool challenge to build in the game.
Reddit user Hannah_Whelan didn't shy away from a challenge when creating this incredible Japanese mansion with a dark prismarine pagoda roof. The use of stairs and slabs here is beyond smart and helps to create the illusion of different shapes and curves.
3 Underwater Facility
For the ultimate large building challenge, there's no better way to bring things to the next level than by going underwater. Of course, this requires the player to have a bunch of potions and proper gear available or a Conduit built with a Heart of the Sea. However, grinding for those items is absolutely worth it.
Reddit user Frank_de_bot wanted to make a breathtaking aquatic facility underwater and succeeded. Made with glass, it has an even more stunning effect which also allows the player to admire the underwater animals from inside their survival base.
2 Modern Mountain Base
Another cool location to build houses into is any type of hill or mountain. However, rather than just going for the mountain top the player can simply build into the side of a mountain to create whatever type of classic or modern house they'd like. This is a technique that really uses terrain to its advantage.
Reddit user Guillosd designed and created a modern house into this savanna biome, with a beautiful overlook-type balcony. This is definitely a home worth coming back to, and with how deep the player can dig into the mountain, there's no telling how big the house really could be.
1 Mountain Castle
If heights aren't scary, mountain tops are absolutely one of the nicest places to build at. Not only do bases here provide a nice 360-degree view of the entire area around the player, but they also tend to be safer from the litany of hostile mobs that might otherwise spawn in plains, forests, and deserts.
Mixing up styles from classic mansions to simple fortresses, Reddit user Wamshwam was able to create this hybrid of a build and make it look absolutely perfect perched on top of the mountains. With indoor farms, three floors, and even a tower, there's plenty of space here for a player who needs it.
Minecraft was released on November 18, 2011, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, and many other platforms.