Survival Guide: How to Progress in the Mid-Game! [Minecraft Bedrock]

Hello, this is Shunsuke.
This time, we’ll be diving into the mid-game of Minecraft Survival Mode.
You might be wondering, “What exactly counts as the mid-game?” Well, if we think of defeating the Ender Dragon as the ultimate goal, I’ve put together what I believe are the key things you should focus on during the middle stage.
Of course, there’s no single right way to play Survival—the progression is up to you. But here, I’ll share what I consider to be a safe and reliable path forward.
So, let’s get started with the mid-game of Survival Mode!
I’ll be covering how to gear up with stronger equipment to increase your survival chances, how to renovate your base, and how to use enchantments effectively.

1. Get Your Gear Ready

Once your base and food supply are secured, it’s finally time to set out on a real adventure.

That said, boosting your attack and defense is crucial for increasing your chances of survival.

So, to start off, let’s gear up with a full set of iron equipment, which is relatively easy to obtain!!

Mine Raw Iron

First, in order to mine iron, you need to know the height levels where iron ore generates.

While iron ore can be found across a wide range of heights, there are certain levels where the spawn rate is much better.

The recommended heights are Y=16 or Y=232.

However, keep in mind that Y=232 only exists in mountain biomes, so consider this option only if there’s a tall mountain nearby!

That’s why I think the safest and most reliable way is to mine for iron around Y=16.

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If you want to know your current height level in Minecraft, you’ll need to turn on “Show Coordinates.”

Unless you have a specific reason not to, I recommend just keeping it on all the time!

The coordinates appear as (X, Y, Z) — with Y showing your height level. You can use this to check how high or low you are.

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So, how do you get down to Y=16?

There are basically two main methods:

1. Explore caves and follow them deeper and deeper, or
2. Dig straight down intentionally (carefully, of course!).

If you choose the cave exploration route, you can often reach your target depth fairly quickly—as long as the cave system continues downward.

However, caves are filled with monsters, so heading in unprepared can be quite risky…

On the other hand, digging your own way down with a pickaxe is much safer, though it does take a bit more time.

Cave Exploration

First, you’ll need to find the entrance to a natural cave.

However, even if you find one, it might end in a dead end before reaching your target depth.

When exploring caves, the main things to watch out for are monsters, darkness, and food.

Make sure to prepare everything you need in advance to handle these dangers!

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Here are the essential items you’ll want to bring when exploring caves!

• Pickaxes (about 3 stone pickaxes)
• Weapons (about 2 stone swords)
• Torches (around 60)
• Food (about 30 pieces of bread)
• Wood (around 10 logs)
• Building blocks (around 30 of any kind)

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Since caves are dark, torches are a must!

Bring plenty of food as well, so you can stay out exploring for a long time.

Wood is handy for crafting tables and tools, so it’s always good to have some on hand.

Also, bring some random blocks—you’ll need them to make scaffolding or build paths.

It’s also a good idea to set up a temporary base by placing a bed near or inside the cave.

And don’t forget to note down (or take a screenshot of) the cave entrance coordinates—it’ll help a lot if you get lost!

Digging Down Through the Layers

Compared to cave exploration, this method is much safer for digging downward.

All you really need are a pickaxe and some torches — that should be enough.

Here’s the basic procedure:

1. Start digging downward in a staircase pattern, so you can safely move up and down as you go.

It’s best to start digging near your base — that way, you can return easily if needed! 🏠

2. Once you reach Y=16, keep digging horizontally at that level to search for iron.

This systematic way of digging is called branch mining.

(It’s called that because you dig out like the branches of a tree.)

Branch mining makes it easy to keep track of how far you’ve dug and also makes it simple to return to the entrance you came down from.

By the way, here’s how I usually do branch mining (viewed from above).

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Coal, which is used for making torches, is commonly found around Y=96.

If you find exposed stone or cliffs nearby, you’ll often be able to spot coal relatively easily on the surface.

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Got Raw Iron!

Once you find iron ore, use a pickaxe to collect it!

You can even collect it with a wooden pickaxe.

(Just don’t try to mine it with your bare hands 😆)

By the way, to craft a full set of iron equipment (sword, helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots) plus a bucket, shield, and pickaxe, you’ll need 33 iron ingots.

So if you want to collect enough in one go, aim for around 33 raw iron.

Craft a Full Set of Iron Gear

Here’s how to craft each piece of iron equipment:

<Iron Sword>

<Iron Helmet>

<Iron Chestplate>

<Iron Leggings>

<Iron Boots>

With this full set, your survival chances will increase dramatically!

Mine Diamonds

Let’s also touch on diamonds, which are stronger than iron.

(Honestly, iron gear is enough for the mid-game, so you don’t need to rush to collect diamonds.)

Basically, the mining method is the same as for iron.

The main differences are the height levels and the spawn rate.

The recommended height for diamond mining is around Y=-53 to -54.

Diamonds spawn less frequently than iron, so patience is key when searching for them!

Diamond gear is the second strongest equipment in Minecraft, so once you have some spare time and resources, give mining for diamonds a try.

2. Upgrade Your Base

In the beginner’s guide, we focused on making a simple base to get started.

But by the mid-game, you’ll probably have a lot more materials.

Even just mining will give you tons of cobblestone, which you could just throw away… but many players prefer to keep their resources to use in future builds.

That’s why you’ll likely want a dedicated chest room to store everything.

So, at the very least, I recommend setting up a storage area (chest room) for your materials!

Secure a Storage Area

Securing a dedicated room inside your base isn’t complicated.

My recommendation is to create a storage space underground.

The reason is that if you focus too much on the exterior or interior layout of your base at the start, expanding storage later can become tricky — it may affect the balance of your design.

With an underground space, you can expand as much as you want without any issues.

For reference, I’ll show an example of how I do it.

This is the storage area. I’ve placed item frames nearby so you can easily see what type of items are stored in each chest.

In my case, I built it on the second basement level.

By the way, the first basement level is set up like this as a workspace.

The first floor is also a chest area.

I store items here that I want to put away or take out quickly.

Items that I rarely use but still want to keep are stored underground.

3. Get Enchantments

Enchanting is the process of enhancing the abilities of armor, tools, weapons, or books, or adding special abilities and effects to them.

In other words, enchanting lets you power up your gear and items.

To enchant, you’ll need an enchanting table, experience points, and lapis lazuli.

Here’s how to craft an enchanting table.

It requires obsidian and a diamond, so the crafting requirements are a bit on the high side.

Let’s Try Enchanting

1. Place the item you want to enchant in the table.
2. Add lapis lazuli.
3. Choose the enchantment level.

Recommended Enchantments

I’ve put together a list of recommended enchantments for each item, based on my own opinions and preferences.

These are the ones I think are most useful to have during the mid-game.

Enchantment	Recommended Item	Effect
Sharpness	Sword	Increases damage
Fire Aspect	Sword	Sets attacked mobs on fire
Knockback	Sword	Knocks back attacked mobs
Protection	Armor (all)	Reduces damage taken
Feather Falling	Boots	Reduces fall damage
Fortune	Pickaxe	Increases the amount of mined ores
Efficiency	Pickaxe	Increases mining speed

Honestly, there are many other types of enchantments besides the ones listed above.

Each enchantment has its own useful purpose and can be helpful in different situations.

The ones I recommended above are generally useful for everyday survival activities in the mid-game.

Finally, the End-Game: Defeating the Ender Dragon

Once your base and gear are well-prepared, it’s finally time to start getting ready to take on the final boss of Survival Mode, the Ender Dragon!

To defeat the Ender Dragon, you’ll need to travel to the Nether to gather materials for Ender Eyes, and then enter The End through a stronghold.

As you approach the end-game, monsters will become stronger, so make sure you’re well-prepared before taking them on.

That’s it for the mid-game survival guide!

Thank you for reading all the way through! (´ω`)