Minecraft is Colonization

Sometimes in Minecraft you will feel the need to leave your home for somewhere different. Maybe this is due to a lack of necessary resources where you started or perhaps it’s a result of failing at building your base the way you really want it resulting in a desire to start over without sacrificing all the progress you’ve made and resources you’ve acquired by making a new map (guilty as charged). In these cases colonization will likely be your best bet.

What is Colonization?

my home away from home

Essentially, colonization is establishing a new base of operations somewhere else. Maybe this will include moving over everything from the old base, but more likely it’ll serve as an outpost where you can collect massive quantities of resources you don’t have available back home. This is actually a good method to use if you want to make a massive quarry but don’t like the idea of having a huge hole dug into the ground within sight of your base.

What You’ll Need

To set up a functioning colony you’ll need to take a lot or resources with you to get things set up and functional. Remember that there’s no need to do a complete restart and try living off the land. That will only slow you down. You worked hard for the resources you have so use them to set up a livable base so you can get started working on the project you set out to do in the first place. Obviously you’ll need to take plenty of food with you to get yourself started and something that you can plant to make more food when you run out as you’ll probably be way out at your colony for a long time. If the site for your colony is close enough to your base that you can go back for resources whenever, it’s not really worth setting up a colony and you may as well just set up a rail system to it. You’ll also need lots of basic materials for making the things you’ll need once you’re there. At least one stack of cobblestone and maybe a stack of iron for tools (if not more) and several stacks of wood at least. If you take stacks of the whole wood blocks with you, you’ll be able to carry much, much more and can convert it to boards, sticks, or whatever else you need once you’re there. Still you’ll also want to bring a few chests so you have room to store your materials as you gather and convert them. You can even fit more by using blocks instead of smaller materials (like ingots) to bring extra resources. Naturally as you’ll be traveling a great distance and may encounter some mobs, armor and weapons are always a plus, and some basic tools will be helpful as well (pickaxe, shovel, and axe) What you’ll want to bring will likely depend upon what you’re planning to do at your colony, but you really only need to bring one of each tool for the trip as more than that will clutter your inventory. You can always make more once you’re there and set up. Finally a stack of torches is always handy for lighting up the area where you intend to build your colony and a bed is absolutely a must to avoid those long dangerous nights stuck in your new home.

Conclusion

Sometimes it really is just necessary to set out and establish a new home, at least for a while. The dangers are ever present, but the rewards are great and I would conclude that it’s absolutely worthwhile to set up a few colonies in your N3rd C0rn3r.