I noticed that I went through an entire diamond pickaxe without finding enough diamonds to replace it while mining.
Are diamond tools even worth it? I find myself using stone tools and switching to iron when I run into redstone/diamond.
Same issue with armor. I NEVER use armor since it decays so fast and can be lost so easily (I play on a pvp heavy server)
I don't use diamond armor because diamond is so hard to get a decent amount of it.
A diamond pickaxe is the only thing that will break obsidian.
A diamond sword can kill any hostile mob in two hits.
Iron armor is a good option because it has a decent durability and iron isn't too hard to obtain.
Gold armor is only better than leather armor and not by much.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Try my mod Sparcs Tweaks Better dungeon loot, bones in dirt, Witch hut loot, ect
i only use diamond picks for wat's incapable of stone picks, aka redstone, gold and diamonds. i use stone for everything other than that.
i dont use iron tools at all, cuz it's so highly demanded in other productions like rails. i use diamond tools because it's more durable and less demanded than iron
i dont use armor at all, i just try to avoid damage in the first place, plus, dying isnt THAT much of a problem in the game.
Gold armor is only better than leather armor and not by much.
How is this in any way true? Gold has the exact some durability and number of uses as leather. If anything, gold is far less efficient than leather because it's harder to come by, and is therefore worse than leather is.
The Minecraft Wiki has a good section on armor material and durability. According to that article, gold armor is marginally more effective than chainmail, which itself is "halfway" between leather and iron (albeit unobtainable legitimately at the moment). I don't think SparcMan was referring to efficiency in his statement; indeed I am inclined to agree that gold armor is quite inefficient for the very reason you stated (with the addition that leather is effectively infinite).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from CubeJackal »
[Notch] <- me
[stone] [stone] [stone]
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] <- darkness below here
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone]
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] [Skeleton] <- some faggy skeleton
Im in the process of building a 6x4x2500 block tunnel down @ bedrock. My only option is diamond tools. Thankfully I have 2 full stacks of diamonds from earlier branch mining, and in my first 200m of tunneling Ive found 21 more diamonds :smile.gif:
But yeah from now on the only tools i will ever use are diamond. They are so much quicker and you dont need to waste inv space with more than 1 copy of each.
The rarity and difficulty of getting diamond makes us want to horde it. Just to have extra in case we need it. But of course we don't *need* it. The only thing it is needed for is mining obsidian. That is easier to get by crafting a mold, pouring lava, and turning it into obsidian - layer by layer.
What's even more odd is we work like hell to get diamond, arguably it is the main objective in the mid game but then we don't use it. Logically, it makes more sense to use diamond as soon as you get it. Since you were fine without it till you found it. I mean, diamond makes everything faster and easier right?
Somebody had this as their signature - "Play Minecraft and release your inner OCD". Hahaha So true.
I've managed to get a bit over 42 diamonds so far and I still horde them like they are dinosaur eggs. I don't make armor, dying in my save is no big deal since it's so easy to get back since I've built walking tunnels from the spawn point to the base. I've made a diamond sword, it's only 2 diamond and it lasts a really long time and it works very well. I make diamond shovels since every other shovel gets used up so fast it's annoying. Plus, when I'm outside getting sand, I have a limited time of daylight and I want as much sand as possible. I've made a diamond axe for harvesting my tree farm. Now with leaf decay working I can harvest and replant the farm completely in about 4 minutes versus nearly a full day and night. That's a good investment I think.
But it kills me to make a diamond pick. Yeah it shouldn't. It is so much faster, but you are right OP, if you manage to find more diamond when mining with your diamond pick, consider yourself lucky. And that's the part that kills me.
And Iron, fugetaboudit! All my iron is used for tracks and mine carts. Iron tools only last twice as long as stone anyway. I've managed to go through 20 stacks of iron ore so far and I still need more! What I need to do is make a new branch mine so I can benefit from the increased amount of iron the beta brings - or so I have read.
EDIT: Removed my idiotic babble, sorry for doubting your statement SparcMan =D
No worries. Honestly, most people don't make gold armor because it's not nearly as durable as iron, but if you have a lot of extra gold and you don't want to waste your iron on armor, that's when gold armor is worth considering.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Try my mod Sparcs Tweaks Better dungeon loot, bones in dirt, Witch hut loot, ect
I would use Iron picks if you have enough to spare, stone shovels, diamond sword, and stone axe. Also unless you have plenty of iron for armor, don't use any.
I only use iron tools if I run out of diamonds. I would only use stone tools if I run out of Iron. I never make wood tools again after I have my first stone pickaxe.
I do have a save on World 2 where I am completely run dry of diamond and iron. Only because I used it all up for minecart tracks and didn't think to save enough to make tools.
whats the point of getting diamonds if you aren't going to use them...
I feel more guilty making iron tools than diamond tools. Diamond tools are awesome. they speed up your gameplay drastically..which time is the most valuable resource in minecraft..or any game for that matter.
Using an iron pickaxe to mine is fine. You'll always find more than enough iron to replace it.
Using diamond pickaxe to mine for more diamond is a loss. You will not find enough diamonds in the long run.
However, using a diamond pickaxe to mine out a large area, or for convenience (you don't need to store 10+ stone pickaxes) is fine. It is what it is for, and it makes perfect sense to use diamonds for that purpose.
A diamond sword is a good idea. It lasts for 1025 hits, and will kill any hostile in 2 hits. That means you can kill 512 baddies, plus a chicken spy. It is very good value.
The only reason to ever make a diamond shovel is to dig a lot of dirt. Sand can be collected faster with torches.
A diamond axe or hoe is completely pointless. And armour is too expensive.
Diamond sword is the most useful for me. Lasts forever, one hit kill on farm animals, two hit kill on nasty mobs.
Diamond shovel is next useful for me. I hate making a lot of stone shovels that take up my inventory space and it's only one diamond.
I've never used a diamond axe or hoe.
I usually make a diamond pickaxe, but don't really use it for mining stone unless I'm desperate or need a lot of cobble quickly.
If I'm playing on my normal world I often use leather armour as I need the iron for mine tracks. When I play hardcore I make iron armour as soon as possible.
When I'm strip-mining for diamond, sometimes I find enough iron to 'break even' and keep replacing all the picks and shovels I go through; sometimes I don't. So, if I'm trying to stockpile iron I do what you do.
Last time I spelunked a big awesome cave system, I walked out with stacks and stacks of iron after using only 3-4 pickaxes. That was such a shockingly big take, and so much more fun, that I'm rethinking the idea of strip mining at all.
I only use iron/diamond to get ores that require them. I mostly use stone tools, since I don't do a heckload of mining. That said, make several stone picks if you do make them. THey run out fast.
On armor, I only use leather. I'm an Minecraft environmentalist, I only use renewable resources!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from K_Kinnison »
If i were a mod, i would be destroying threads like a creeper at a hug-a-thon
Quote from Meddyan »
That's right, this elevator is powered by MURDER and ANIMAL CRUELTY.
Quote from Denn »
Manly blood is both highly acidic AND highly basic, but I'm glad to see you're paying attention.
Using diamond pickaxe to mine for more diamond is a loss. You will not find enough diamonds in the long run.
However, using a diamond pickaxe to mine out a large area, or for convenience (you don't need to store 10+ stone pickaxes) is fine. It is what it is for, and it makes perfect sense to use diamonds for that purpose.
Quote from schnee »
When I'm strip-mining for diamond, sometimes I find enough iron to 'break even' and keep replacing all the picks and shovels I go through; sometimes I don't. So, if I'm trying to stockpile iron I do what you do.
I've actually used diamond picks to mine at a net gain [in diamonds], but only when I was branch-mining or using some other high-efficiency mining technique. Since strip mining throws efficiency out the window (as far as ore is concerned) I think an important distinction has to be made as to whether it's a mining operation or an underground excavation. For the former, I agree with schnee that diamond (or even iron in my case since I'm a resource *****) would not be worth it to use; for the latter, I agree with availn that diamond is acceptable if speed is the primary concern.
Quote from availn »
A diamond sword is a good idea. It lasts for 1025 hits, and will kill any hostile in 2 hits. That means you can kill 512 baddies, plus a chicken spy. It is very good value.
The only reason to ever make a diamond shovel is to dig a lot of dirt. Sand can be collected faster with torches.
A diamond axe or hoe is completely pointless. And armour is too expensive.
^ Spot on, except maybe the sand thing. I've always found the torch technique to require too much setup time IMHO, time in which I would be digging said sand anyway. I suppose in the end it probably evens out, though, with the exception of saving a couple diamonds with the torch method. *shrugs* And armor, forget about it. I'm too clumsy to use anything more than leather unless I'm specifically going hunting (in which case I use iron).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from CubeJackal »
[Notch] <- me
[stone] [stone] [stone]
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] <- darkness below here
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone]
[stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] [stone] [Skeleton] <- some faggy skeleton
Diamond tools and swords last 8 times as long as iron, but iron only lasts twice as long as stone. Diamond armor only lasts twice as long as iron, but iron lasts 4 times as long as leather. So use diamond for tools and swords, and iron for armor. Or use iron for minecart tracks and leather for armor. If you are going to rely on leather for armor, you need an animal trap.
Swords are probably the most efficient use of diamonds, although it's typical to make a diamond pick first (to get obsidian). I only use a diamond pick to mine obsidian, or when I want to do a huge amount of tunneling at once. Similarly for diamond shovels. I never made a diamond axe because I never chop insane amounts of wood.
A diamond hoe would be really stupid because you only need to hoe your field ONCE, then just don't trample it (either Sneak or leave walkways between rows). If you make a farm big enough to use up a diamond hoe, you'll be growing way, way more wheat than you could possibly need. Even an iron hoe is overkill. And all hoes work instantly, so durability is the only difference.
Like most other people have said, I only really use diamond or iron tools to get ores that need them or obsidian. Other than that, I usually use stone tools for mining, gathering wood, etc. Although, if I find a lot of iron, I may make iron tools. I've only made iron armor like once.
This reminds me, if gold is only as good as wooden tools (It may be a little better like armor. Not sure ^^:wink.gif: and a bit better than leather armor, why do you need an iron pick to mine it?
Not gonna lie, didn't read the replies to the thread.
But, to answer the titular question, it depends on how much you value your time.
Personally, I aim for maximum efficiency while down in the mine. This means using a diamond pick, click mining, and some shaft techniques that I've developed.
I probably *net* about 12 diamonds an hour. By net I mean I find that many more diamonds than I use in finding them. This number was higher on SMP where tools were infinite, clearly. I had a stack of diamond that is now becoming quite useful to the other members of the server.
Even though you 'loose diamonds', you'll end up with tons more of everything else for the same amount of time spent.
And what else are you gonna use diamond for? Armor?
No. Probably just tools.
EDIT: To be more specific, Picks, Shovels, and Swords. Swords should last you quite a long time if you don't go jumping into lava.
Are diamond tools even worth it? I find myself using stone tools and switching to iron when I run into redstone/diamond.
Same issue with armor. I NEVER use armor since it decays so fast and can be lost so easily (I play on a pvp heavy server)
I don't use diamond armor because diamond is so hard to get a decent amount of it.
A diamond pickaxe is the only thing that will break obsidian.
A diamond sword can kill any hostile mob in two hits.
Iron armor is a good option because it has a decent durability and iron isn't too hard to obtain.
Gold armor is only better than leather armor and not by much.
Better dungeon loot, bones in dirt, Witch hut loot, ect
i dont use iron tools at all, cuz it's so highly demanded in other productions like rails. i use diamond tools because it's more durable and less demanded than iron
i dont use armor at all, i just try to avoid damage in the first place, plus, dying isnt THAT much of a problem in the game.
The Minecraft Wiki has a good section on armor material and durability. According to that article, gold armor is marginally more effective than chainmail, which itself is "halfway" between leather and iron (albeit unobtainable legitimately at the moment). I don't think SparcMan was referring to efficiency in his statement; indeed I am inclined to agree that gold armor is quite inefficient for the very reason you stated (with the addition that leather is effectively infinite).
But yeah from now on the only tools i will ever use are diamond. They are so much quicker and you dont need to waste inv space with more than 1 copy of each.
What's even more odd is we work like hell to get diamond, arguably it is the main objective in the mid game but then we don't use it. Logically, it makes more sense to use diamond as soon as you get it. Since you were fine without it till you found it. I mean, diamond makes everything faster and easier right?
Somebody had this as their signature - "Play Minecraft and release your inner OCD". Hahaha So true.
I've managed to get a bit over 42 diamonds so far and I still horde them like they are dinosaur eggs. I don't make armor, dying in my save is no big deal since it's so easy to get back since I've built walking tunnels from the spawn point to the base. I've made a diamond sword, it's only 2 diamond and it lasts a really long time and it works very well. I make diamond shovels since every other shovel gets used up so fast it's annoying. Plus, when I'm outside getting sand, I have a limited time of daylight and I want as much sand as possible. I've made a diamond axe for harvesting my tree farm. Now with leaf decay working I can harvest and replant the farm completely in about 4 minutes versus nearly a full day and night. That's a good investment I think.
But it kills me to make a diamond pick. Yeah it shouldn't. It is so much faster, but you are right OP, if you manage to find more diamond when mining with your diamond pick, consider yourself lucky. And that's the part that kills me.
And Iron, fugetaboudit! All my iron is used for tracks and mine carts. Iron tools only last twice as long as stone anyway. I've managed to go through 20 stacks of iron ore so far and I still need more! What I need to do is make a new branch mine so I can benefit from the increased amount of iron the beta brings - or so I have read.
No worries. Honestly, most people don't make gold armor because it's not nearly as durable as iron, but if you have a lot of extra gold and you don't want to waste your iron on armor, that's when gold armor is worth considering.
Better dungeon loot, bones in dirt, Witch hut loot, ect
although you should always carry atleast one steel pickaxe with you incase you come across gold/diamond/redstone.
CLICK IT. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO... [SSSS]
I do have a save on World 2 where I am completely run dry of diamond and iron. Only because I used it all up for minecart tracks and didn't think to save enough to make tools.
I feel more guilty making iron tools than diamond tools. Diamond tools are awesome. they speed up your gameplay drastically..which time is the most valuable resource in minecraft..or any game for that matter.
Using diamond pickaxe to mine for more diamond is a loss. You will not find enough diamonds in the long run.
However, using a diamond pickaxe to mine out a large area, or for convenience (you don't need to store 10+ stone pickaxes) is fine. It is what it is for, and it makes perfect sense to use diamonds for that purpose.
A diamond sword is a good idea. It lasts for 1025 hits, and will kill any hostile in 2 hits. That means you can kill 512 baddies, plus a chicken spy. It is very good value.
The only reason to ever make a diamond shovel is to dig a lot of dirt. Sand can be collected faster with torches.
A diamond axe or hoe is completely pointless. And armour is too expensive.
The New Boat Elevator
Simple Drowning Trap
Complex Drowning Trap
Note Blocks - The Blue Danube
Minecart Rider Detection System
^This
by c0yote
I tried it with terrible results. I gave my wife my glasses for a second, a creeper showed up and now my wife is pregnant.
Stupid 3D..
Last time I spelunked a big awesome cave system, I walked out with stacks and stacks of iron after using only 3-4 pickaxes. That was such a shockingly big take, and so much more fun, that I'm rethinking the idea of strip mining at all.
On armor, I only use leather. I'm an Minecraft environmentalist, I only use renewable resources!
I use diamond for picks, swords, and axes only.
Picks for speedy stone removal, and obsidian.
Swords for easy protection
and Axes, cause I hate collecting wood, and collecting it fast and in huge quantity's helps me =)
I've actually used diamond picks to mine at a net gain [in diamonds], but only when I was branch-mining or using some other high-efficiency mining technique. Since strip mining throws efficiency out the window (as far as ore is concerned) I think an important distinction has to be made as to whether it's a mining operation or an underground excavation. For the former, I agree with schnee that diamond (or even iron in my case since I'm a resource *****) would not be worth it to use; for the latter, I agree with availn that diamond is acceptable if speed is the primary concern.
^ Spot on, except maybe the sand thing. I've always found the torch technique to require too much setup time IMHO, time in which I would be digging said sand anyway. I suppose in the end it probably evens out, though, with the exception of saving a couple diamonds with the torch method. *shrugs* And armor, forget about it. I'm too clumsy to use anything more than leather unless I'm specifically going hunting (in which case I use iron).
Swords are probably the most efficient use of diamonds, although it's typical to make a diamond pick first (to get obsidian). I only use a diamond pick to mine obsidian, or when I want to do a huge amount of tunneling at once. Similarly for diamond shovels. I never made a diamond axe because I never chop insane amounts of wood.
A diamond hoe would be really stupid because you only need to hoe your field ONCE, then just don't trample it (either Sneak or leave walkways between rows). If you make a farm big enough to use up a diamond hoe, you'll be growing way, way more wheat than you could possibly need. Even an iron hoe is overkill. And all hoes work instantly, so durability is the only difference.
This reminds me, if gold is only as good as wooden tools (It may be a little better like armor. Not sure ^^:wink.gif: and a bit better than leather armor, why do you need an iron pick to mine it?
But, to answer the titular question, it depends on how much you value your time.
Personally, I aim for maximum efficiency while down in the mine. This means using a diamond pick, click mining, and some shaft techniques that I've developed.
I probably *net* about 12 diamonds an hour. By net I mean I find that many more diamonds than I use in finding them. This number was higher on SMP where tools were infinite, clearly. I had a stack of diamond that is now becoming quite useful to the other members of the server.
Even though you 'loose diamonds', you'll end up with tons more of everything else for the same amount of time spent.
And what else are you gonna use diamond for? Armor?
No. Probably just tools.
EDIT: To be more specific, Picks, Shovels, and Swords. Swords should last you quite a long time if you don't go jumping into lava.
viewtopic.php?f=1020&t=137901