Skill v1.0.0
currentLLM-judged scan90/100version: "1.0.0" name: game_progression description: How vanilla Minecraft 1.21.1 progresses from an empty inventory to the ender dragon - what each tier unlocks, what each milestone requires and where the materials come from, the material totals for reaching and beating the End, and the matching vanilla advancements.
Game progression (1.21.1)
Survival progresses through materials: each tier of tool can harvest the next tier's ore, and each dimension needs things from the previous one. Details of each step live in mining_and_ores, crafting_and_smelting, the_nether and the_end.
Tiers and what they unlock
| Tier | Needs | Unlocks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | logs (by hand) | planks, sticks, crafting table, wooden pickaxe → stone and coal | |
| Stone | cobblestone (wooden pickaxe) | stone tools, furnace → iron, copper, lapis ore; charcoal and cooked food | |
| Iron | raw iron smelted (stone pickaxe) | iron pickaxe → diamond, gold, redstone; bucket, shield, iron armor, flint and steel, compass, rails | |
| Diamond | diamond ore (iron pickaxe), mostly near Y -58 | diamond pickaxe → obsidian; enchanting table; diamond armor | |
| Netherite | ancient debris in the Nether (diamond pickaxe) + templates from bastions | netherite gear (strongest, lava-proof items) |
Milestones and their requirements
| Milestone | Requires | Where the materials come from | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nether portal | 10 obsidian, flint and steel (or fire charge) | Obsidian: diamond pickaxe on obsidian, or a ruined portal; water poured over lava sources makes it. Flint: gravel | |
| Blaze rods | entering the Nether, finding a fortress | Blazes at fortress spawners; 0-1 rod each | |
| Ender pearls | killing endermen, or bartering gold with piglins | Endermen: night overworld, End, densest in warped forests | |
| Eyes of ender | 1 pearl + 1 blaze powder each; up to 12 to fill a portal | 6 rods give 12 powder; frames are 10% pre-filled each | |
| Finding a stronghold | eyes thrown toward it, or knowing its location | Closest ring is 1280-2816 blocks from (0, 0) | |
| Activating the End portal | all 12 frames filled | ||
| Ender dragon | destroying the 10 end crystals, then 200 HP of damage | Bow and arrows for the crystals; blocks to climb caged pillars and bridge to the island |
Things that make the late game easier: iron or diamond armor, a bow with plenty of arrows, a stack of cooked food, building blocks for bridging and pillaring, a bucket of water (overworld and End), golden apples, Fire Resistance potions in the Nether, gold armor around piglins.
Vanilla advancements along the way
| Advancement | Earned by | |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Age | mining stone with the new pickaxe | |
| Getting an Upgrade | a stone pickaxe | |
| Acquire Hardware | smelting an iron ingot | |
| Suit Up | wearing any iron armor piece | |
| Isn't It Iron Pick | an iron pickaxe | |
| Diamonds! | picking up a diamond | |
| We Need to Go Deeper | entering the Nether | |
| A Terrible Fortress | entering a Nether fortress | |
| Into Fire | picking up a blaze rod | |
| Eye Spy | entering a stronghold | |
| The End? | entering the End | |
| Free the End | killing the ender dragon | |
| The Next Generation | holding the dragon egg |