While there are countless free Minecraft clones on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the original is still the best, even if you have to pay a little for it. We’re referring to Microsoft-owned developer Mojang’s Minecraft Pocket Edition, which is available on Android, iOS, and of course, Windows Phone. This is the mobile version of the sandbox-style world-building game made popular on PC and other platforms by Mojang co-founder Markus “Notch” Persson, and it’s actually been around for quite some time. But with a new free update introducing the Nether and its inhabitants, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to cover this game, right?
These Minecraft Pocket Edition tips and tricks are one of the more special ones we’ve ever published, as the tips contained in here come straight from Microsoft’s Windows blog. According to the company, these are beginner tips so read on if you want to be good at the game even if you’ve just begun playing.
1. Know The Different Game Modes
Minecraft Pocket Edition has two game modes, namely Creative and Survival. In Creative, you can “jump straight into a world, fully equipped with everything you’d possibly need to start creating,” according to Microsoft. This is a straight-up beginner’s mode where there are no limits in terms of resources or in terms of what you can create.
Survival Mode, on the other hand, really tests your capabilities in making your own world and starting from nothing. If you need resources, such as wool, stone, gold, or wood, you need to collect it yourself. And you’ve also got to defend yourself from the “nasties” out there, such as spiders, endermen, creepers, and zombies. That’s right – zombies. Minecraft Pocket Edition has them too. If attacked by any of these creatures, you lose everything and have to start your resource-collecting from square one. Going forward for this strategy guide, we’ll be focusing on Survival Mode.
2. Hide When Darkness Falls
Building a home is one of the first things you’ll have to do in Minecraft Pocket Edition. And it won’t be easy if you’re starting with nothing. You also have to build your house in the daytime, and not at night, as that’s when all the above mentioned creeps appear and make life harder for you. We recommend digging a hole by the side of a hill to serve as your “first home.” This is actually a “one-time safe house” that shouldn’t be too large – Microsoft suggests two blocks tall, one block wide, and two blocks deep.
3. Make Sure Your Safe House Is Protected
It won’t be a safe house if it isn’t safe, which means you need to do what you have to do to protect it from danger. Block off the bottom of the entrance with a dirt or sand block, and leave just one block free so you can see outside of it. This is important as you need to know when the sun rises.
4. Daytime Is For Resource Gathering
When beginning Survival Mode, you don’t have any tools either. That means you’ll be using your fists when collecting stuff early on, or hunting for food to eat. If you want to gather wood, then punch the tree until you see a pile of logs and splinters (you read that right) on your knuckles. Make good use of the resources you gather to upgrade the hole that’s serving as your safe house.
5. Craft While Still Early
Tap on the ellipsis icon on the bottom of your screen so you can view your inventory. This will then take you to the crafting section, which will allow you to eventually come up with tools and other equipment that could make your world-building experience easier. Logs of wood, for example, can be converted to planks, which can then be turned to sticks. You also need to have your own crafting table, which would then be used to create advanced items from the basic materials you’re forced to gather early on in the game.
6. Craft Practical Items Too
The items you craft should serve certain purposes in the game , but it all boils down to making items that could help you move forward faster. Microsoft suggests the wooden sword, wooden axe, wooden shovel, and wooden pickaxe. The latter three items can help you chop down trees and dig dirt or sand faster than you could with your fists. The wooden sword, on the other hand, is useful when defending yourself against enemies. Pickaxes, in addition, can help when you’re mining stone, as it allows you to find cobblestone, an element used for stone items such as furnaces.
7. You’ll Eventually Need A Door
Use six planks of wood to make a door for your first house. The in-game world is a rough one, as we’ve told you a few times above, and you don’t want to open the door, only to see someone (or something) who has nothing but bad designs on your house and yourself. Having a door allows you to open and close your door, and further protect you from trouble.
8. Use Coal To Create Fire
Coal is another important resource item, and you’ll find it by using a pickaxe while mining coal ore blocks. Microsoft recommends that you dig at the dirt on the mountainside and look for a gray block with large black specs. That’s an example of coal ore, which isn’t too easy to find in certain parts of your world. As a bonus tip, you can combine one unit of coal and one stick to make four torches to brighten things up at home.
9. Expect Some Monsters In The Daytime
Again, we’ll have to emphasize this because of how common it is for fearsome creatures to come out at night. But that doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax in the daytime. For example, some skeletons and zombies may still be burning when the sun rises, so you still want to be as far away from them as possible.
Are you looking for more Minecraft Pocket Edition cheats, tips and tricks? If you’re just starting out in Survival Mode, we suggest you to head over to our detailed strategy guide. Also, we’ve collected some neat tricks that can help you to survive longer, that you can check out right here.