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hey all thanks again for the help on my last thread. well im here with a new question as i built me a pretty nice size home with a boat dock, water pit and starting to grow trees and some wheat for health and wood etc. i have been making tunnels from my home throught the floor via to a underground mine i was working on and have been digging for a good while both down and sideways. But for some reason i have yet to come by anything decent besides iron ore and even then thats rare so my question is, it harder to find better ore and items since the 360 version is made of less blocks as i am told? or just keep digging till i find what i want and then expect a creeper to ruin it for me as it has the last 4 times i was farming?

Learn how to branch mine and just expand out from there.

I hate branch mining.

Try tunneling down to bedrock, then branch out into tunnels along the bedrock. As long as you keep it well lit, you can find rare ores that way with a minimum of danger (unless you hit a cave accidentally).

Of course, since you're near bedrock, you'll need to content with lava. Bring a bucket of water with you just in case.

I've found I have the most luck for rare ores when I'm mining in the levels between 12 and 30 (check the Y value on your map). I dig a tunnel down till I get to the mid 20's then start branch mining. Following any open caverns you come across will often cut down on mining time. Also dig out that gravel! It can be removed quickly and will almost always expose an ore or another cavern.

I spent days mining in the 30-50 range before I realized digging deeper provided better results. Now I rarely waste time at those depths.

hey all thanks for the fast replies you guys sure make a newb welcome. when you say branch do you mean something like this crappy work of art. make a solid room as a base and then go say 30 blocks in each direction? then say from 1 of those corners repeat the same process?


l
-- [] --
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stupid thing doesnt want to stay lined up but i hope you get the idea

When I branch mine its configured like this []= one block  Arrow=Indefinite continuation  
  /\      /\    /\
  |        |      |
  [][]    [][]   [][]
  [][]    [][]   [][]
[][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][]___>
[][][][][][][][][][][]
  [][]    [][]    [][]
   |        |      |
  \/       \/    \/

A  4x4 main tunnel with 2x2 branches every two blocks. 

An alternative to branch mining is strip mining, where you mine is a large room with no branches/tunnels, although this method produces much more cobblestone, dirt, gravel, etc. than branch mining.  This method is preferable if you are planning on building large cobblestone structures 

Both methods result in the same amount of found ores.

I tend not to branch mine at all. (waste more picks than anything and where do you put all the stone) just get to the good floors in a larger cave system you can usually see the ores and dig them out.

http://www.minecraft...s#Branch_Mining

I use a modified version of this. Rather than a 2x1 tunnel, I dig an upside down L shape, with the top dug out to my right side going away from the main shaft. I space them every 3-4 blocks, as I find shaft shape allows me to see one further block into the wall, and I know which way is out by the shape of the shaft.

Also, MOST IMPORTANT MINING TIP EVER: Torches go on the left hand wall as you enter, or on the floor. Always. The reason is mnemonic, "Torches on your right will lead you to the light." Ever spend 20 mins lost in a massive cavern? It can happen quickly and is very frustrating. This one tip in play style has changed mining from a hassle to an easy chore that yields quick results.

Quote from Shades747

Ever spend 20 mins lost in a massive cavern? It can happen quickly and is very frustrating.

2 1/2 hours is my current record for being lost in a MASSIVE cave system until I finally decided to dig straight up even though I was basically in the middle of an ocean. Was fun, though. =)

Anyway, rarity of ores also depends on the seed used. My current world is very rich in iron ore, lapis lazuli, and even diamond, but gold ore is very rare. It definitely helps to look up the ore(s) you're searching for on the Minecraft wiki to see in what layers they're the most common, and start digging there.

hey all thanks for the extra inpute and an update for me. well i been doigging big tunnels around 5x5 blocks and going a few feet in and then dropping down. after awhile i found my first few gold blocks along with some blue lapis(?). after digging down more avoiding a cave a found by shoving dirt over a zombies head since he almost 3 shotted me i dug further away and found some lava which i took 2 buckets and droped it in a pool i made to store it in my house for later along with some water. but the better news.... after going down and blocking off a side of the cave i found myself in near the lava to avoid a creeper or anything really from sneaking up to me i have found more gold and redstone! i need to make me a weapon and armor now as things are getting alittle to much to handle with just my fist.

im guessing bedrock is a very very very low point? i seem to hear people say it all the time

wah?

Quote from bugcola

im guessing bedrock is a very very very low point? i seem to hear people say it all the time

Bedrock is a kind of block that forms at the bottom layer of the world. You can't mine through it.