Discovering a vein of diamonds in Minecraft is one of the most rewarding experiences in the game. The mineral is among the rarest available, and finding some can be an incredibly time-consuming process. If you’re hoping to speed up your diamond-mining operation and want to maximize your time playing, you’ll need to know exactly where to find the precious stones. Here are the two best ways to find diamonds in Minecraft.
Further Reading
- The best games like Minecraft
- What is Minecraft?
- How to install Minecraft mods
Explore cave systems
Finding a massive cave in Minecraft is a fairly common occurrence, and deep within these caverns you’ll typically find a few diamond deposits. Diamonds can be found in groups of up to eight blocks, meaning just one vein is worth all the time and effort you’ll put into finding it. Thoroughly exploring natural caves is a great way to build up a stockpile of diamonds if you’re not interested in setting up your own diamond mine.
With some luck, you may even stumble upon treasure chests that contain a few diamonds. Chests can be found in some of the larger caves in Minecraft; however, there’s no guarantee that you’ll find diamonds in them. That said, it’s worth going out of your way to open one up if you see it in the wild — just don’t expect to amass a large number of diamonds with this technique.
Start your own diamond mine
While exploring caves and opening treasure chests might net you a few diamonds, the best way to obtain them is by creating your own diamond mine. Doing so is a simple — albeit time-consuming — process. But with a few pointers, you’ll be finding hundreds of diamonds before you know it. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Diamonds naturally occur between layers 1 and 16 but are more likely to be seen in layer 12. Bedrock is considered layer 0, so you’ll need to dig pretty deep before you start seeing the shiny blue rocks. If you need help figuring out what layer you’re currently digging at, PC players can press F3 to display their current location. Console players will instead have to dig down to bedrock and then work back up through the layers until they hit the desired height.
- There are several different mining techniques you can employ, but we recommend digging out a staircase until you hit layer 12. Once that’s complete, dig a long horizontal hallway. From this main hallway you can now dig perpendicular paths to maximize your diamond-finding potential.
- When you find diamonds, make sure to clear all the surrounding blocks to check if others are nearby. Diamond veins typically spawn in diagonal patterns, meaning there’s usually a bit more hiding just out of sight.
- It’s helpful to have a bucket of water with you in case you accidentally open up a lava flow. If this happens, throw down your water as quickly as you can. Then, go up a few layers and do what you can to remove all the lava before proceeding.
- You’ll need at least an Iron or Diamond Pickaxe to harvest diamonds. You’ll also want to carry extra in your inventory, so you don’t have to stop mining when the first one breaks.
Finding diamonds is an exercise in patience. There’s no foolproof way to locate them in Minecraft, but your best bet is to head down to layer 12 and start breaking some cobblestone.