The Start of a Minecraft Speedrun
The Concept
Before we start, it is important for you to know the basics of Minecraft. and a general knowledge of what a speedrun is. If you already know what the game is about, great! For this post, you will learn about what "beating" the game means and the first step into beating the game which is the Overworld split.
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What "Beating" The Game Means
In Minecraft, it is generally agreed that beating the game means slaying the Ender Dragon. Of course, Minecraft is a sandbox game where you technically will never fully complete the game as long as you don't decide to, but for the sake of speedrunnning, we will say that killing the Ender Dragon is how you beat the game. This "act" of killing the Ender Dragon as fast as you possibly can is called Any%. This is the category I will be focusing on for the rest of this post. From this point on, it will get very knowledge-heavy so be prepared.
Versions
In MCSR(Minecraft Speedrunning), and in Minecraft in general, there are several different versions. there are over 30 different full versions and even more subversions per version. I will be focusing on the version 1.16.1. Now you may ask "Why that version specifically?" That's because 1.16.1 is the best version to do MCSR on and is the most optimized in terms of RNG(stands for random number generator but it will be used alongside with the terms "rates" an "luck"). I will also be specifically targeting the category 1.16-1.19 Any% RSG.
How To Beat The Game
Beating the game can be split into three big steps: The Overworld, The Nether, and The End, with the nether split(a section in a speedrun) having three extra steps. However as mentioned before, this post wil only go over the Overworld.
The Overworld
This is where you start every speedrun. Typically, speedrunners will reset(create a new world) for a spawn with a buried treasure where they can quickly get food and iron to help them beat the game. However, for beginner runners, you should reset for a seed where you spawn at or close to a village to get iron and food, which is what I will be focusing on(more specifically images of a Plains type village but the idea for all village types are the same).
The F3 screen
Before we start, I will introduce the F3 debug screen which will be mentioned throughout posts many times as it is probably the most useful tool in speedrunning. When you press F3, a lot of text will pop up on your screen which will look something like this to the right. There are also many keyboard shortcuts associated with the F3 screen but the most important one I will be talking about is Shift+F3 which brings up the F3 debug pie chart as shown below the F3 screen.
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| F3 screen |
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| Pie chart |
The Start
The beginning is where you will gather enough resources to last you most of the run and ideally the entire run. This includes 7 iron: 3 for bucket, 3 for pickaxe, and 1 for flint and steel. The pickaxe will allow you to mine gold blocks in the nether, the bucket will allow you to create a nether portal, and the flint and steel will allow you to light the portal. You will also need a sufficient amount of food which varies as you get better but I usually aim for 20. However, you should try to get at least 30 or more or however many bread you think you need. You will also need a decent amount of blocks to traverse the nether. You will most commonly see runners either get extra wood or craft shears if they have an extra 2 iron to get leaves. Assuming you can't craft shears, you should aim for at least 20 logs(80 planks). Also make sure to craft a boat as it is one of the most useful items you can have.
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| Blacksmith |
There are many different types of buildings in a village but the one you will be looking for is a blacksmith. Though the loot table of the chest in this house is random, you will hopefully be able to get at least 3 iron. Then, you can kill the iron golem which spawns in every village for 3-5 iron. If you get unlucky and only get a 3 iron drop, you can sacrifice the flint and steel and try to woodlight the nether portal.
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| Composter |
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| Barrel |
Building a Portal
After you have collected everything you need, you will need to find a lava pool. For beginners, you can try and do a strategy called lava-dowsing. This way you won't need to reset a seed every time you can't find a lava pool on the surface to build on. In case you didn't find lava after digging down, you can dig in any direction in a straight line at y 11(open f3 and see your coordinates on the left side) and listen for a lava pool. Building a nether portal with a bucket might seem complicated at first, but the concept is very simple and easy to understand, you just have to put a few reps in. The link to the MCSR general practice map will be at the top.
Building a portal is hard to explain with words as is easier for it to be shown rather than explained so here is a video (for myself find vid later) explaining it. After watching through and understanding the basic idea, just practice a few times and you should be able to build a portal consistently.
Conclusion
Again, everything here is a basic guide to the start of a speedrun and with this knowledge, you should be able to enter the Nether consistently and have a sufficient amount of resources to continue your run.
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