The Nether is one of the three main dimensions in Minecraft, and for the longest time has remained pretty much untouched by the developers. Now, however, fans have a lot to look forward to as the much anticipated 1.16 Nether update brings some major changes to the most hostile dimension in the game.
For those still somewhat new to Minecraft, entering the Nether is a big challenge and something worth preparing for properly. It's a very difficult terrain to traverse, with extremely tough enemies compared to many of the mobs in the Overworld. Here are a few things to keep in mind when stepping through that first Nether portal.
10 Travel Distance
The cool thing about the Nether is that it has one big utility: traveling great distances. Within the Nether, the player can build more Nether portals and travel further away into different areas in the overworld, making it an excellent dimension to build infrastructure in.
Just keep in mind that one block traveled in the Nether dimension equals eight blocks traveled in the Overworld.
9 Uneven Terrain
At first blush, there's no question about what the Nether looks like. It's a hostile and barren environment, and in the current 1.15 version, it doesn't have any different biomes. In the future, it will have Warped Forests and other cool additions, but for now, it's pretty much a barren cave.
This means there are huge drops and random cliffs looking down into lava lakes that pretty much spell instant death to an unseasoned player. Keeping one's eyes peeled is crucial.
8 Fire And Lava Pockets
The Nether doesn't have a huge abundance of ores like the Overworld does. In the 1.16 update, players will get the chance to rush to the Nether in search of the highly covered ancient debris, which can be turned into Netherite, a material stronger than diamond. However, in 1.15, there are only quartz and glowstone to look out for.
When mining in the Nether, it's critical to keep an eye out for lava pockets, especially in solid walls and floors, as well as random drops. Always mine slowly and light up the path properly.
7 No Sleep Allowed
A massive rookie mistake, and perhaps even a hilarious prank on those who aren't educated on the details of the Nether, is to make them sleep in a bed while in this dimension. Unless the player wants to die, this is a huge mistake.
If a player interacts with a bed while in the Nether, they'll immediately explode, and the bed will get destroyed. It makes for easy mining, but is deadly when the player is vulnerable.
6 Dealing With Ghasts
A major threat in the Nether is the abundance of ghasts, which are these giant white flying ghost-like creatures that make screeching sounds when attacking the player. The best way to deal with them is with a bow and arrow, or just hiding from them until they despawn.
A big mistake for newbies is to enter the Nether without a flint and steel, and not build a room around their portal instantly. Ghasts can actually break portals with their explosives, so make sure to be prepared at all times to protect the portal.
5 Zombie Pigmen
Zombie Pigmen might look terrifying, but the good thing about them is that they're passive unless provoked. They're not very tough to deal with alone, but the problem comes in when there's a bunch of them around the player.
If one Pigman is attacked, every Pigman in the vicinity will immediately turn on the player and attack them. This can be quick, instant death if they get overwhelmed, so leave the Pigmen be.
4 Water Doesn't Work
It's human instinct to want to bring a bucket of water into a place filled with lava and fire. Sadly, Mojang was pretty smart about this and fixed their game so that players couldn't take advantage of things and just turn every lava lake into an obsidian platform.
If a bucket of water is emptied in the Nether, the water will simply vanish and evaporate into thin air. It's most likely due to the immense heat in these caves.
3 The Nether Roof Method
Who doesn't love game-breaking hacks? Well, this one is actually very doable and doesn't require the player to download cheats. In the Nether, there's an area on top of the world called the Nether roof, which is a massive flat surface of bedrock where mobs don't spawn.
Players like to use this to build farms, as well as portals to travel easily without having to deal with mobs. OMGCraft has a great in-depth guide on how to get to the roof quickly.
2 Proper Supplies
Many players' first instinct would probably be to travel to the Nether dressed in their finest. However, rookies should leave their fancy diamond armor home and just go with the basics because there's a strong likelihood they'll die on their first visit.
A basic set of iron armor and iron tools will serve the player well, as well as a bow and some arrows. A shield is an absolute must and will help to cut some of the damage taken.
1 Leave Blazes Be
At some point during a Nether visit, players will likely run into a big dark fortress which will contain a whole host of evil mobs and some precious loot. One of the mobs in particular is the Blaze, a fire-spewing hovering creature that pops out of a spawner block.
Although it might be tempting to destroy these spawners, it's important not to. Blaze rods are a super valuable item in the game, and these spawner blocks can be easily turned into renewable experience farms in the long run.