The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
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Ok,
so I'm semi-new to Minecraft, I've watched a lot of youtube videos, and scanned the forum for the answer to this question.
I play on XBOX 360, survival mode. I have made a portal to the nether, but it seems so chaotic. The second I spawn in I'm attacked by like 15 floating things spewing exploding fire at me, then pigmen are everywhere. Did I just get a bad spawn?
So I have a few questions that I think might help me survive if I knew the answers...
What is the best strategy to survive your first trips into the nether? For eample, do you need to build a obsidian house or something the second you get in there to protect yourself?
Does it require diamond everything?
Zombie pigmen won't attack you unless you hit one - but if you do, they all will turn at you. Also it looks like you were a bit unlucky with ghasts. They shouldn't spawn in such numbers, however sometimes they do - especially if you enter the nether on large open area.
You may consider it cheating, but switching world to peaceful until you build a base around your portal helps a lot.
As MajorAPayne said - cobblestone is good enough for walls.Also iron bars are great for windows.
I would also advice NOT to bring diamond equipment to the nether. One wrong step and your precious diamonds will burn in lava...
You can also kill ghasts pretty easily with a bow, sometimes one hit kill if you have the right enchantment on it. You can also hit their fireballs straight back at them. As soon as you find magma cube, kill them for the lava cream they drop. You can make fire resist potion with this and then you can run around to your hearts content, take a swim in a lava lake, just keep an eye on the potion duration remaining before swimming across a big lava lake! Pigmen also drop gold nuggets and you can soon collect enough to make plenty of gold ingots, probably the quickest way to collect gold ore.
All great tips, especially the cobblestone tip, and flint & steel. Very necessary, in my opinion. You seem to have a bad spawn location, just cover it quickly with cobblestone, even the floor I'd suggest, netherrack is disturbingly easy for the ghast's attack to destroy. If it's still too difficult to cover, a nice idea is mining down in the overworld, and placing your nether gate at a lower level. When you jump through often times you'll end up in an enclosed cave, where the only threats are pigman, don't hit them, and the occasional magma cube.
I spawned in the Nether last night in a hot zone with a Ghast shooting at me. i brought a few stacks of Cobble and a lighter as well.
Once I realized I was in danger, I ducked behind part of the portal and began laying down a wall, and some roof (connected to the top edge of the portal) By ducking, moving, and popping out to place a few more blocks, I got my landing zone secured without dying. Then I could relight the portal (since it took a few hits).
Ghasts are dumb. If they can't see you, you're safe. So the goal is to get walls and roof up right away.
From then on out, if I want to go to a new area, I build a tunnel to get there. That pretty much secures my passage.
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
2/12/2014
Posts:
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Member Details
AWESOME. Seriously thanks for the tips. Minecrafts a pretty simple game, but i could not survive long enough to figure out any strategy due to the many Ghasts instantly shooting at me. I will bring cobblestone and build as quick as possible. Thanks a ton for the suggestions. Glad I came on here to ask! :-DAlso - if i build a different gate to the nether somewhere else - will I spawn in a different nether location?
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
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Posts:
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Ok awesome. Thanks! Once again - i appreciate all the help with the nether. I'm going to venture into it again tonight.. armed with cobblestone and a iron door. I'll let you guys know tomorrow how it goes.
IF you are surrounded and pounded by Ghast fireballs from every direction upon entering the Nether (in addition to all the advice above)... use your cobblestone to rough out a quick frame of walls and a grid for a ceiling first.
Ghasts very rarely shoot fireballs on straight lines, and roughing out a structure this way will drastically cut down on the number of fireballs that will get through to you very quickly, and provide you a little breathing room to go back and fill in the holes later.
You can use the rows and columns of cobblestone to move from one to the next for cover... although this won't cut down on them 'trying' to hit you with fireballs much, and the continual bombardment is a little unsettling at first to get used to...it will keep you surprisingly fairly well protected, especially if you can keep moving.
I like to take a good bow with me and a good supply of arrows to the Nether with me, and enough materials to place a chest and a crafting table at least.
I brought a good supply of cobblestone and a flint and steel as I always do with my last nether portal, expecting to have to rough out a quick structure, and was lucky enough to spawn in the heart of the Nether Fortress, just down the hall from a Nether Wart Garden down one branch and a couple of Blaze spawners down another branch. It was very nice to have randomly appeared in a relatively secure location so close to these available resources.
I paid a visit to mine again last night after reading these posts. The current one I have is in a pretty tricky place. The portal generated on a very thin (one block thick) and narrow outcrop. As soon as I spawned there for the first time, a couple of ghasts started bombarding me. Below was a big drop into lava lake! I got so pummeled that there was barely no ground left and i had to quickly build a cobble walkway to the nearest solid ground. Ghasts may be below the ground you are on and get a shot off at you so watch out for that because if they hit the ground your on you might find yourself taking a very hot bath!
Depends, the nether portal searchs for the nearest portal, I think 128 blocks, if there isn't one, it'll make a new one.
You are correct in 128 blocks going 'into' the neither, but coming to the over world it actually searches 256 blocks.
Remember that in the neither every block you travel is 3 blocks in the over world (8 on the PC).
Portals do not 'remember' the the portal they were linked to but rather simply floor the x, and z cords and then attempt to locate the closest portal to that location. If none exists the game will attempt to create one in the closes possible entry location which could be many many many blocks off depending on the area.
With a bit of work the neither can be used for very speedy routes, traveling across the entire over world map in a a faction of the time it takes to ride a minecart or run to said location. Furthermore with correct linking portals can be used as 'elevators' ie a portal at or near bedrock can link into the neither, once in the neither, a few steps and exit another portal could exit you at y=120 or whatever, effectively raising your y cord by over 100 in a few seconds with most of the time spent waiting in the portals themselves to teleport you.
Once secured you have less mobs to worry about, with the ghast being the biggest threat, and is my choice of areas to build in. However keep in mind that in a neither fortress blaze spawners do exists and are a serious threat, but once secured the blaze make great farms, and can supply you with an endless supply of blaze rods and glowstone dusts. Its rumored that TU14 may have 'the wither' in it and if so, you can also expect the update to begin spawning wither skeletons within said strongholds as well.
Since the OP is new to the neither I give you this warning, do not attempt to sleep in a bed in the neither, it will blow up, most likely killing you and causing alot of damage around you.
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
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Posts:
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Member Details
Nice. Thanks for the extra info. I'll apply it tonight. Didn't get to go into the nether last night as I decided i needed to build rails to my mining places. Tonight hopefully!
The other thing worth noting about the nether is that maps don't work very well there. You can make a map in the nether if you take all the necessary materials in with you, but your marker on the map spins wildly and there are no geographic features on the map. Having said that, it does help to know roughly where you are on the map in relation to your start point. I tend to build a tall cobble column with a torch on top as a beacon, move some distance, then build another in sight of the last one. It is still quite easy to get lost in there though! Its nice to spawn near a fortress but I tend to get lost when I go off collecting glowstone then suddenly turn around and think "where am I !"
Remember that in the neither every block you travel is 3 blocks in the over world (8 on the PC).
Portals do not 'remember' the the portal they were linked to but rather simply floor the x, and z cords and then attempt to locate the closest portal to that location.
Good advice here - you can move portals anywhere on the vertical plane, but only "massage" them on x/z. So, if you have one that opens up at the base of a nether fortress, you can pillar up and build another one within the same x,z cords, destroy the original one, and link the overworld to the new portal within the fortress. You can also build a nether transit system in the top of the nether (ie. more digging through netherrack, less dodging ghasts), and relocate your portals to it if you need to.
Good advice here - you can move portals anywhere on the vertical plane, but only "massage" them on x/z. So, if you have one that opens up at the base of a nether fortress, you can pillar up and build another one within the same x,z cords, destroy the original one, and link the overworld to the new portal within the fortress. You can also build a nether transit system in the top of the nether (ie. more digging through netherrack, less dodging ghasts), and relocate your portals to it if you need to.
I will definitely be moving my nether portal. I also didn't know about the moving in nether is faster.
Reminds me of the 'Wheel of time series' and moving through "The ways" -anyone get that reference? If not - start reading this series.. its amazing.
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so I'm semi-new to Minecraft, I've watched a lot of youtube videos, and scanned the forum for the answer to this question.
I play on XBOX 360, survival mode. I have made a portal to the nether, but it seems so chaotic. The second I spawn in I'm attacked by like 15 floating things spewing exploding fire at me, then pigmen are everywhere. Did I just get a bad spawn?
So I have a few questions that I think might help me survive if I knew the answers...
What is the best strategy to survive your first trips into the nether? For eample, do you need to build a obsidian house or something the second you get in there to protect yourself?
Does it require diamond everything?
Any tips appreciated.
~CeejTank
You may consider it cheating, but switching world to peaceful until you build a base around your portal helps a lot.
As MajorAPayne said - cobblestone is good enough for walls.Also iron bars are great for windows.
I would also advice NOT to bring diamond equipment to the nether. One wrong step and your precious diamonds will burn in lava...
Once I realized I was in danger, I ducked behind part of the portal and began laying down a wall, and some roof (connected to the top edge of the portal) By ducking, moving, and popping out to place a few more blocks, I got my landing zone secured without dying. Then I could relight the portal (since it took a few hits).
Ghasts are dumb. If they can't see you, you're safe. So the goal is to get walls and roof up right away.
From then on out, if I want to go to a new area, I build a tunnel to get there. That pretty much secures my passage.
Ghasts very rarely shoot fireballs on straight lines, and roughing out a structure this way will drastically cut down on the number of fireballs that will get through to you very quickly, and provide you a little breathing room to go back and fill in the holes later.
You can use the rows and columns of cobblestone to move from one to the next for cover... although this won't cut down on them 'trying' to hit you with fireballs much, and the continual bombardment is a little unsettling at first to get used to...it will keep you surprisingly fairly well protected, especially if you can keep moving.
I like to take a good bow with me and a good supply of arrows to the Nether with me, and enough materials to place a chest and a crafting table at least.
I brought a good supply of cobblestone and a flint and steel as I always do with my last nether portal, expecting to have to rough out a quick structure, and was lucky enough to spawn in the heart of the Nether Fortress, just down the hall from a Nether Wart Garden down one branch and a couple of Blaze spawners down another branch. It was very nice to have randomly appeared in a relatively secure location so close to these available resources.
You are correct in 128 blocks going 'into' the neither, but coming to the over world it actually searches 256 blocks.
Remember that in the neither every block you travel is 3 blocks in the over world (8 on the PC).
Portals do not 'remember' the the portal they were linked to but rather simply floor the x, and z cords and then attempt to locate the closest portal to that location. If none exists the game will attempt to create one in the closes possible entry location which could be many many many blocks off depending on the area.
With a bit of work the neither can be used for very speedy routes, traveling across the entire over world map in a a faction of the time it takes to ride a minecart or run to said location. Furthermore with correct linking portals can be used as 'elevators' ie a portal at or near bedrock can link into the neither, once in the neither, a few steps and exit another portal could exit you at y=120 or whatever, effectively raising your y cord by over 100 in a few seconds with most of the time spent waiting in the portals themselves to teleport you.
Once secured you have less mobs to worry about, with the ghast being the biggest threat, and is my choice of areas to build in. However keep in mind that in a neither fortress blaze spawners do exists and are a serious threat, but once secured the blaze make great farms, and can supply you with an endless supply of blaze rods and glowstone dusts. Its rumored that TU14 may have 'the wither' in it and if so, you can also expect the update to begin spawning wither skeletons within said strongholds as well.
Since the OP is new to the neither I give you this warning, do not attempt to sleep in a bed in the neither, it will blow up, most likely killing you and causing alot of damage around you.
Good advice here - you can move portals anywhere on the vertical plane, but only "massage" them on x/z. So, if you have one that opens up at the base of a nether fortress, you can pillar up and build another one within the same x,z cords, destroy the original one, and link the overworld to the new portal within the fortress. You can also build a nether transit system in the top of the nether (ie. more digging through netherrack, less dodging ghasts), and relocate your portals to it if you need to.
I will definitely be moving my nether portal. I also didn't know about the moving in nether is faster.
Reminds me of the 'Wheel of time series' and moving through "The ways" -anyone get that reference? If not - start reading this series.. its amazing.