40 Things To Build In Minecraft Survival [Tips For A Unique World]

For passionate Minecraft players, there always arrives a time when building the same old structures gets a tad boring. You’ve mastered the basic necessities required for survival and crafted your dream cottage.

There are tons of things to build in Minecraft Survival that can recharge your creative energy and provide sheer fun. No more wandering aimlessly, wondering what to create; let’s explore the origin of exciting ways to extend the boundaries of your virtual world.

Broadening your horizon beyond those same go-to structures can present new challenges and make the game more entertaining than ever.

This article introduces 40 innovative ideas you may not have previously considered, ranging from simple builds to extensive projects.

With a dash of creativity and a pinch of persistence, you’ll achieve even the seemingly impossible ones before you know it. From awe-inspiring castles to convenient farming systems to even creating your own metropolis, the possibilities are limitless in this sandbox wonderland we all adore.

40 Cool Things To Build In Minecraft Survival

Imagine diverging from your usual building routine to explore the astounding depths of creativity Minecraft offers.

From constructing towering treehouses that blend seamlessly into the environment to crafting grandiose strongholds as your domain, Minecraft enables you to build virtually anything you can conceive.

These versatile ideas will provide the inspiration you need for your next survival adventure.

Treehouse

Treehouses in Minecraft aren’t just childhood daydreams; they embody a combination of aesthetics, safety, and utility. Start by selecting a batch of sturdy trees or grow your own with Jungle Saplings. Jungle trees yield more building space, making them the ideal choice.

Construct multiple floors and rooms lit with lanterns to fend off unwanted mobs. Don’t forget to add a ladder for easy access and windows for enjoying the view. Surround your treehouse with crops or animal enclosures for a self-sufficient lifestyle high above the ground.

Underwater base

An underwater base is a fun change from traditional land houses, providing breathtaking aquatic views along with safety from many hazardous mobs who can’t survive underwater.

Establish an outline of your base using blocks of your preference, then gradually hollow out the water within using sand or gravel blocks and hop into a creative mode for faster clearing if water removal gets too tedious.

Construct airlocks at entrances using doors or fence gates to keep water out when entering or exiting. Consider adding magma blocks to create fun bubble elevators for moving up and down swiftly.

Castle

Building a castle is one of the classic projects in Minecraft that truly breaks boundaries on what is possible as it combines architecture, engineering, planning, and creativity all in one project.

Start by choosing an awe-inspiring location, preferably on a hill or mountain, for a natural defense against mobs, and plan out your castle’s blueprint, including towers, battlements, and inner rooms, accordingly.

Pay special attention to details like fortifications incorporating cobblestone flags using banners and add drawbridges for the ultimate castle experience.

Interior details like a throne room or barracks will give your castle the royal ambiance it deserves. You can look out for approaching mobs from atop your towers and proudly know you’ve constructed something magnificent.

Roller coaster

Who knew you could build your own amusement park right in your Minecraft realm? Get started by clearing a wide area and laying out the roller coaster track with rails, including some exciting features like leaps, drops, and turns.

Power your ride using powered rails with redstone torches or levers to control the speed. Don’t forget to include minecarts for riders and maybe even multiple tracks for racing friends.

Redstone contraptions

Redstone has honestly revolutionized the way Minecrafters play since it allows you to automate tasks and create intricate devices.

From simple door trap mechanisms or secret entrances to more sophisticated builds like an automatic farm or a working clock tower. Redstone can be daunting initially, but once mastered, it truly opens up a world of possibilities in Minecraft.

Giant statue

Expressing artistic flair is another fun part of Minecraft’s immersion. Create a massive monument as a tribute to your favorite game character, or design something entirely original.

Either way, it’ll be an imposing sight in the landscape of your world. Make the project easier by separating your statue into distinct sections, beginning from bottom-up feet, legs, torso, arms, and head.

Build step-by-step using colored blocks that resemble the color scheme of what you aim to construct.

Also Read: 18 Minecraft Dock Designs 2024 [Create Your Ideal Waterfront]

Maze

Channel Theseus as you indulge in building monstrous puzzles – mazes! All you need is plenty of blocks (hedges are great for that authentic garden maze feel) and ample space to kickstart this exciting construction venture.

Spicing it up with traps or mob spawners is optional but highly encouraged; after all, what’s a journey without some thrill? Challenge your friends to complete it or navigate through it yourself for sheer excitement.

Farm automation

Despite its survival aspect’s challenges and dangers presented by mobs in Minecraft, there are equal opportunities provided by farming.

You can automate almost everything from crop production, wheat, carrots, and potatoes, to livestock farming wool, chicken, and beef.

Utilize redstone and hoppers for efficient harvesting, giving you more time and freedom to concentrate on other key aspects of the game. The satisfying feeling of watching your farm prosper by itself is genuinely refreshing.

Pixel Art

Express your creative side by incorporating pixel art into your Minecraft survival world. To get started, choose a design, be it a popular Minecraft creature or other geometric structures.

Stick to simpler designs initially; as you get more comfortable, take on intricate pieces for a challenging project. Construct your design block by block on any large, flat surface, such as the side of a mountain or even the ground.

Use various colored blocks or wools to represent different shades and bring your artwork to life.

Hidden Base

For added security and thrill, construct a hidden base within an obscure location such as mountainsides or deep underground. You can build secret entrances using behind-waterfall doors, bookshelf doors, or piston trapdoors that blend almost seamlessly into the surroundings.

These hidden bases can store extra supplies for rough times and hide from potential threats.

Sky Island

A sky island is an exquisite break from the terrestrial humdrum of survival Minecraft. Start off by gathering significant amounts of resources and dirt blocks for the islands themselves alongside seeds and tree saplings to replicate nature’s wonder above the clouds.

Pile up blocks high in the sky, then fashion them into islands of varying sizes before planting trees, crops, and flowers for that organic look. Link these islands with picturesque bridges and create diverse biomes for each one. It’s like your archipelago in the sky.

Explore More: All The Minecraft Biomes [Exploring Diverse Landscapes In 2024]

Nether Fortress Base

Beginners beware: this is not for the faint-hearted. Making a functioning base in a Nether fortress offers both challenges and rewards in equal measure because of surrounding hostile mobs like wither skeletons and blazes while also providing bountiful resources like a nether wart and blaze rods right next door.

Solid fortresses can serve as sturdy foundations; however, certain parts may need rebuilding or reinforcing to ensure safety.

Auto Smelter

An auto smelter saves time by automatically smelting things like ores and foods into cooked meals, logs into charcoal, etc.

Building one involves arranging a series of hoppers, chests, and furnaces so items can be inputted, smelted, and outputted effectively without constant player monitoring.

With the right system in place, load up your raw materials and come back later to find them conveniently converted for use.

Enchantment Room

An Enchantment Room is a must-have for survival in Minecraft. It empowers your tools, armor, and weapons, providing a significant advantage for your survival journey.

Begin with a room that’s at least 5×5 blocks, housing an enchanting table in the center. Surround it with bookshelves. They serve as the power source and increase the potency of enchantments offered by the table.

Remember to leave one block space between the table and bookshelves to let the magic flow. For an added aesthetic touch, try using themed decorations like end rods or lanterns for lighting.

Potion Brewing Station

A Potion Brewing Station equips you with custom-crafted consumables that enhance your abilities or cause debuffs to mobs, becoming an indispensable part of your Minecraft survival kit.

Dedicate a secluded room with a medieval laboratory vibe for this purpose. Start by placing down a brewing stand and filling chest storages nearby for stocking essential potion ingredients like Nether wart, blaze powder, and ferment spider eye, among others.

Remember to include cauldrons filled with water and access to an endless water source for handy refilling of bottles.

Mob Farm

Mob Farms are valuable as they provide relentless resources from bonemeal to gunpowder to ender pearls, depending on the type of mob you farm.

Build spawning platforms high up in the air for passive mobs (like cows or pigs) or in dark enclosed spaces for hostile ones (like skeletons or creepers).

Implement systems to automatically channel them into killing mechanisms, for instance, water currents or gravity traps, and collect their drops.

Beacon Pyramid

A beacon pyramid is perhaps among the most rewarding builds in Minecraft due to its monumental function: granting special effects like a speed boost or jump boost within its range.

The base/size determines how much effect you get; larger pyramids give more powerful effects covering a larger area so don’t hesitate going all out.

The construction includes rare blocks (iron, emerald, or diamond), making it a challenging but worthwhile endeavor.

Lighthouse

A lighthouse serves as a fantastic navigation landmark while adding charm to your ocean-side or harbor area. Build a tall round tower using wool for color stripes and glasses for the beacon area.

The topmost part houses a Redstone lamp circuit, creating an illusion of revolving light perfect for guiding you home from your sailing adventures.

Also Read: 50 Minecraft Castle Ideas [Unleash Your Creativity In 2024]

Tree Farm

Creating a tree farm in Minecraft is one of the most satisfying and practical structures for sustaining a steady supply of wood. Select some flat land with ample sunlight and plant saplings with two blocks spacing between each.

This guarantees each tree has adequate space to grow without interfering with others. Add automatic harvesting systems using pistons for maximum efficiency. With your own tree farm, you’ll never worry about running out of wood for your builds.

Fishing Hut

Fishing in Minecraft offers calming downtime and nutrition with the added bonus of potential treasure hauls, so why not build a dedicated fishing hut on the banks of a lake or river?

Start by crafting an intimate wooden cabin using logs and planks, then add necessities like furnaces to cook your catch, storage chests for fishing rods, barrels for fish, and crafting tables for the necessary creation of tools.

Add a dock outside by extending fences onto the waterbody. You can even spice it up with lily pads and flowers around your pond.

Mini-games

Crafting mini-games provides an amusing diversion from routine survival shenanigans while also breathing life into your world with vibrant entertainment destinations.

Possibilities are endless race tracks for boats or horses, archery shooting ranges, treasure hunt maps, and obstacle courses. Choose what resonates with you. Redstone contraptions can increase the excitement level by adding timers or scoring systems.

Library

Reading may not be feasible in Minecraft survival, but building an extensive library will add aesthetic appeal to your domicile.

Stack rows upon rows of bookshelves around a grand wooden table complete with study lamps made from lanterns, adding enchanting tables in corners for added functionality.

Don’t forget comfy seats using stairs & slabs, ornate carpeting on floors for that velvety look & multiple floors connected via ladders or stairs.

Secret Passages

Adding secret passages to your base is both thrilling & beneficial. Utilize redstone to create a concealed door within your common builds, like a bookshelf in your library or a wall in your castle.

Use paintings, armor stands, or waterfall entrances for simpler alternatives. These passages can serve as hidden storage areas or escape routes during mob invasions.

For the adventurous at heart, intricate maze-like secret passageways could add an exciting twist to their gameplay.

Underwater Tunnel

Adding an underwater tunnel to your Minecraft world brings a new level of excitement and novelty! Constructed with glass blocks, these tunnels provide an outstanding view of the underwater world.

The preferred method is to create a containment area where you plan to build and then carefully extract all the water using sponges or sand/gravel blocks.

Utilize sea lanterns or glowstones for a serene lighting effect inside your tunnel. You can link different underwater bases using this tunnel or use it for quick and safe transport across bodies of water.

Observatory

Look upon the moonlit skies of Minecraft from the comfort of your own observatory. Building an observatory on the highest point in your base would give you unhindered access to gaze at the stars and moon.

Use a combination of stone bricks and glasses to construct a dome-like structure. Incorporate plenty of glass for clear viewing opportunities from multiple angles.

A dome shape on top will maximize viewing potential. Use ladders to traverse up and down within the structure easily.

Explore More: 18 Minecraft Underground Base Ideas [Create Your Hidden Sanctuary]

Horse Stable

If you love having horses as companions in Minecraft, building a convenient horse stable is essential. Pick out some wood types, such as oak or spruce wood planks, for constructing walls and fence doors.

These materials provide that rustic aesthetic synonymous with stables. Keeping stalls for individual horses ensures they have ample space. Don’t forget to throw down some hay bales to generate an authentic look.

You could also include a tack room for storage chests, holding saddles, and other horse-related items.

Desert Temple Base

The desert temple base essentially involves transforming an existing desert temple into a phenomenal survival base—a unique idea that’s both practical and fun.

It proposes natural protection against mobs with traps around it and customizes them in different ways depending on what works best for you.

Be careful while dealing with traps initially present within these temples. You wouldn’t want any unpleasant surprises.

Giant Tree

How about growing your own giant tree, a perfect mix of creativity and green thumbs? Use dark oak saplings or jungle saplings to get just the right vastness.

The fun lies in carving out the inside and turning it into a beautiful, hidden tree base. You can build rooms across different levels linked with ladders or vines.

Think of it as living inside a sprawling treehouse! Make sure to add plenty of torches to keep mobs at bay and retain the cozy glow of your living space.

Ice Castle

Crafting an ice castle is an incredibly unique project that’s equal parts challenging and fascinating. An extraordinary architectural feat, an ice castle will truly glitter as a gem in your icy biome.

You can kickstart it by sketching out the base of the castle with snow blocks and then slowly building the walls and towers with packed ice or blue ice blocks for a polished look.

Lit with lanterns and complete with icy tunnels, grand halls, and a royal throne room, your winter wonderland will have every ‘Frozen’ fan green with envy.

Shipwreck Base

Harnessing the beauty of shipwrecks to create a base is one way to add intrigue to your survival world. Locate a shipwreck; they are usually found underwater or beached on islands and salvage materials such as wood planks to restore it into a liveable structure.

Remember to use doors, trapdoors, or ladders to create pockets of air in underwater sections! Store your loot in chests for authenticity, or convert lower sections into farms by adding dirt blocks, water, and crops.

Wool Farm

If you are fond of designing colorful structures in Minecraft survival mode, then building a wool farm will provide you access to all the colors you require.

Start by making fenced enclosures for each color sheep you want and dye them accordingly using various dyes; this ensures each sheep generates its own color wool when sheared.

Automate this process using observers and dispensers filled with shears that can detect when wool regrows on sheep and promptly trim it off for you.

Also Read: 30 Best Minecraft Windmill Designs 2024 [Create Energy & Beauty]

Roller Coaster

A Roller Coaster brings thrilling entertainment straight to your Minecraft world. Choose a location that provides dips, falls, and rises for maximum fun.

Lay down powered rails on slopes and flat rails on level grounds using Redstone torches or levers for power sources. Tunnels through mountains, loops around trees, or aerial tracks over waterfalls; the more intricate the coaster, the greater the adventure.

Enderman Farm

For Minecraft players who frequently use Ender Pearls, creating an Enderman farm is perfect. Find a quiet space in The End, away from the central island, and build platforms for Endermen spawn.

Be sure to create a roof two blocks high over each platform to prevent Endermen from teleporting. Incorporate Endermites to bait the Endermen towards your trap.

A properly set up farm will net you a significant amount of pearls, facilitating interdimensional trips or quick escapes when needed.

Bamboo Forest

Creating your very own bamboo forest is an easy way to add an exotic touch to your Minecraft world, and it’s massively resourceful, too.

To begin, you’ll need bamboo plants that naturally spawn in jungle biomes or can be fished from the waters as junk. Planting is straightforward.

Place bamboo shoots on any grass, dirt, sand, or gravel block and watch them rapidly grow up to 16 blocks tall! It also doubles up as a panda habitat if you manage to lure some in.

Statue Garden

A statue garden can do wonders for the aesthetics of your Minecraft estate. While it’s not a small task, creating a collection of giant sculptures can be incredibly rewarding.

Mold the statues using materials like cobblestones for the ancient look or quartz blocks for a polished finish. They can be humanoid figures, animals, or even colossal weaponry.

The addition of ground lighting and landscaping around each statue will make your garden come alive at night.

Desert Oasis

If you’re wandering around lifeless, hot deserts full of sand and cacti, put all that sand to use and construct a stunning desert oasis.

Start by digging out an irregularly shaped body of water. Around this waterbody, construct palm trees using jungle tree blocks and add coconut brown ‘cocoa beans’ for detail.

Throw in some sugarcane alongside mini waterfalls cascading into the pond, and add lily pads, flowers, and even island retreats in the middle for visual interest.

Hot Air Balloon

Have you ever dreamt of floating above stunning landscapes? Building a hot air balloon in Minecraft can make that fantasy come true, at least virtually.

Begin with making a basket using fences or iron bars held by lead to represent ropes onto your balloon. You could chisel out colorful combinations from wool or concrete blocks following a roundish pattern for a realistic approach.

Don’t forget to add flames inside the middle section using campfires. It can also serve as an elevated viewing platform or a floating home if you’re feeling adventurous.

Explore More: How To Build A Beacon In Minecraft? [Powerful Light Sources]

Ruined City

If you have a penchant for ancient ruins and love to imagine the bustling metropolis they once were, building a ruined city can be an incredibly fulfilling project.

Start by sketching out a rough blueprint of what used to be different city structures: abandoned temples, dilapidated buildings, crumbled city walls, or fallen statues.

Pepper your cityscape with vines crawling on blocks and sporadically placed cobblestones to create the impression of weathering and decay.

A sense of mystery permeates as you navigate through such a setting, firing up your imagination about its past inhabitants and their lives.

Wizard Tower

An otherworldly wizard tower is just the thing for you! Pick a location that gives the tower an air of solitude and mystery perhaps atop a hill or in the middle of a secluded forest. Stack several levels high using mainly cobblestone or bricks to create that old-fashioned look.

Add circle-stone windows for dramatic effect or design spiraling stairs upwards towards various enchanting rooms, each dedicated to different magical items like potions, enchantments, or brewing stands. Lights streaming from these windows at night make for an enchanting sight.

Jungle Treehouse

If survival amidst virtual wilderness thrills you, then building a jungle treehouse in Minecraft offers an exciting prospect. Jungle trees provide a height advantage along with plenty of leaves for camouflage against mobs, making them perfect treehouse locations.

Create interconnected pathways between trees using jungle wood planks; add multiple levels connected via ladders or vines for variety. Furnish interiors with crafting tables, furnaces, and beds – maybe even spruce up your abode with some potted plants.

The canopy’s green cover offers protection from rain. At the same time, its immense height gives stunning panoramic views during sunrise and sunset, truly offering another level of gameplay experience deep within Mother Nature’s warm embrace.

Also Read: 18 Best Minecraft Fountain Designs [Upgrade Your Landscape]

FAQs About Best Things To Build In Survival Minecraft