Minecraft is Hunting

While it’s true that sustainable living in Minecraft is going to require farming and ranching, hunting is also an activity you’ll find yourself doing from time to time. Whether you’re looking for rare loot drops from mobs or just grabbing a bite to go when traveling far from home hunting is going to play a role in your Minecraft world.

Why Hunt?

There are a couple reasons to go hunting in Minecraft. Foremost of course is to get some food. This is an option best used early in the game before you have farms set up or when far from home with food reserves running dangerously low. In such a case you can hunt chickens for raw chicken, cows for raw beef, or pigs for raw porkchops. If you kill these creatures by lighting them on fire the food will actually drop cooked saving you the need to cook it yourself. You can set them on fire with a flint and steel or with a sword that has the fire aspect enchantment or a bow with the flame enchantment. You could also hunt zombies for their rotten flesh and the rare drop of carrots and potatoes though this is more dangerous and ultimately less rewarding. The other purpose of hunting is to get at items that mobs drop but only when physically killed by the player. Things like spider’s eyes (which can be eaten but will likely cause a poison effect) and the coveted ender pearl. This type of hunting is often far more dangerous and is something you’ll want to do only when properly equipped. While it may be dangerous, the rewards are often well worth it.

How to Hunt

The actual process of hunting is much like it is in the real world. You go out at the appropriate time, either day or night depending on what kind of prey you’re after and when you’ve located your prey, you attack. Swords and bows are the main implements for hunting. Which you choose to use will depend on what you’re after. For chickens, cows, and pigs, since you can hunt them in broad daylight and they won’t attack you back it just makes sense to use your sword. For zombies and spiders the bow makes more sense as these mobs can attack you back. In fact since these mobs are hunted at night you may want to create a sort of blind to shoot them from and go down for the loot in the morning when it’s safer. Finally we have the endermen. Because it’s impossible to hit an enderman with an arrow, you’re going to have to get up close and personal with them using your sword. It’s extremely dangerous so make sure you’ve got some good armor on and you’re equipped for a difficult fight.

Conclusion

While hunting may not be the kind of thing that you find yourself doing every day, it can in fact prove quite beneficial when done right in the correct circumstances. If you find yourself low on food far from home or need to get at some of those ender pearls why not try hunting in your N3rd C0rn3r.