How to Find Diamonds in Minecraft

Ever since it was released in 2011, Minecraft has not only wowed audiences with its penchant for unbridled creativity. But it has frustrated many newcomers on the hunt for the game’s most precious commodity – diamonds! They say diamonds are forever. Whether that is true or not, the item is crucial in many of the game’s more advanced tools and mechanisms.

So where do you find diamonds at? Well, it’s called Minecraft for a reason. It’ll take a little bit of effort and also exploring underneath Minecraft‘s blocky earth. Let’s take a look at how you can find enough diamonds to open a jewelry store.

How to Find Diamonds in Minecraft

Where To Start Looking

Minecraft continues to be an ever-evolving game over the past decade. So, the places diamonds spawn have changed depending on which version of the game you are playing. If you are playing on Minecraft Version 1.18 or later, diamonds can be found by digging between Y-Level 15 and Y-Level -63. Y-Levels represent the height levels of the Minecraft biome. It’s best to look between Y-Level -53 and -59 for the greatest amount of diamonds. Bedrock will impede your search at Y-Level -60 and below.

If you are playing Minecraft Version 1.17 or before, diamonds will spawn more frequently at levels 5 to 12.

Gear You Will Need

You’ll be heading into the depths of the earth, so you want to be prepared. Here’s everything you will need before you start mining for diamonds.

• An iron pickaxe or diamond pickaxe. (Wood, Stone, or Gold pickaxes won’t produce diamonds)
• Plenty of torches

Other items you might want to consider:

• Iron armor
• An iron sword to defend against any monster spawns
• Plenty of food
• Crafting materials
• Crafting table
• A bed in case you need to sleep
• A bucket with water for any lava blocks you come across

Best Methods to Find Diamonds

There are several methods in Minecraft to mine for diamonds. All of them can be efficient so it depends on personal preference. In Minecraft, it’s best to never dig straight down. For one, you don’t know what hazards you might come across (hello lava). Here are three mining methods you could adopt.

Staircase Mining: The staircase method involves digging down at a 45-degree angle in a staircase pattern. With each step, you dig one block deeper into the ground. This method is efficient at getting you deep into the earth at a quick rate. It also gives you a quick escape back to the surface.

Strip Mining: Strip mining is for those who want to leave no block unturned. First, dig a large rectangle outline at a level where diamonds form. Once you accomplish this, mine from the outsider inward until you have created a large open area. One con of this method is that it can take a lot of work and time, but you can gather a lot of material.

Branch Mining: Meanwhile, branch mining is a more efficient way to cover a large surface area. Branch mining involves digging 2×2 branches outward every third block. You’ll end up with a wide area while conserving both time and tools not breaking unnecessary blocks in the process.