Minecraft: Non-renewable resources and all limited items

In many of our other articles, we cover blocks and items you can farm automatically at scale. From simple mob farms to massive gold or iron farms, you can keep yourself stocked with the essentials! But there are a number of resources you simply can’t automate. They aren’t dropped by mobs, and you can’t craft them by other means. The Minecraft world is huge and many materials are plentiful, but some are still extremely rare treasures. Today we’re looking at every item you must find or otherwise obtain that exists in a limited quantity.

Minecraft structures: non-renewable items and where to find them

The largest group of non-renewable items are those you have to find in structures. That’s part of the game’s progression, and it wouldn’t be as exciting if you could just farm them automatically. The game nudges you to search for structures and go on treasure hunts.

• Dragon Egg: Appears only once per world, when you defeat the Ender Dragon for the first time.

• Dragon Head: Found on the ships of End cities.

• Elytra: Also limited to End ships. You can repair elytra with Phantom Membrane, which is renewable.

• Certain banner patterns: You can craft some patterns yourself, but three (Snout, Flow, Guster) only appear as loot in specific chests.

• Pottery Sherd: These decorative items are found only via archaeology (Minecraft Archaeology: Discover All Excavation Sites & Rare Items) .

• Disc Fragment (5): Most other music discs can be obtained by having a skeleton kill a creeper. Disc 5 is exclusive to the Deep Dark as fragments.

• Six music discs: There are six more discs you must find. We have a full guide on the topic (Minecraft Music Discs: All Locations & How to Build an Automatic Farm) .

• Echo Shard: Also only found in the Deep Dark; used to craft a Recovery Compass.

• Enchanted Golden Apple: One of the rarest items in the game, found only in chests.

• Gilded Blackstone: A beautiful block found in the Nether, either as part of Bastion Remnants or in their chests.

• Heart of the Sea: You’ll need this rare find from buried treasure chests (located with a treasure map) to build a Conduit. Nautilus Shells, however, are now renewable thanks to the Nautilus.

• Sponge: Sponges are great for removing water. They’re found only in Ocean Monuments as part of the structure. They’re also dropped by Elder Guardians, but those can’t be farmed.

World generation in Minecraft: limited blocks and ores

Beyond the fixed structures you can target for the items above, some materials are tied to specific biomes or to world generation itself. The Minecraft map is enormous—about 29 million blocks in every direction—but the following blocks are still finite, and you can’t craft them. Here’s what that includes:

• Calcite: An underrated white building block found only in amethyst geodes and Stony Peaks.

• Tuff: Like calcite, tuff appears only in certain places, such as caves or within iron ore veins. Some building blocks also generate as part of Trial Chambers. Unlike granite, andesite, and diorite, you can’t craft tuff.

• Ore blocks: While you can farm nearly all metals renewably, the natural ore blocks themselves are finite. You may not need them often, but you can use them for decoration by mining them with Silk Touch.

• Diamonds: You can farm other ores and metals, but not diamond ore. You can, however, trade for gear with villagers. Diamonds themselves are non-renewable and still rare.

• Netherite: The rare Nether resource is also non-renewable. Learn how to find Netherite (Farming Netherite in Minecraft: Best Methods & Tips for Armor and Tools) .

• Raw metals: Copper, iron, and gold are farmable, but the raw forms dropped from ores are not.

• Spore Blossom: Most flowers and flora blocks are renewable, but not the Spore Blossom. It only appears in lush caves, hanging from the ceiling. Break it by hand and use it as decoration.

Peaceful mode in Minecraft: these resources aren’t farmable

Some players prefer not to deal with monsters, making Peaceful perfect. However, several otherwise renewable resources become much rarer because they’re typically dropped by hostile mobs. If you want to learn more about the mode in general, check out our guide (Minecraft Peaceful Mode: Tips, limits, and hidden challenges) . It’s a whole new challenge.

• Coal: Can be dropped by Wither Skeletons.

• Copper: Part of the loot table for Drowned.

• Music discs: Some are only obtainable via specific interactions (e.g., skeletons killing creepers) or as rare loot—interactions and encounters that don’t occur on Peaceful.

• Prismarine Crystals: Otherwise renewable from Guardians.

• Resin: Tied to combat encounters and trials, so it isn’t available on Peaceful.

• Spider Eye: Unlike gunpowder, string, or bones—which you can fish up—spider eyes are only renewable via spiders and witches.

• Shulker Shell: Shulkers do spawn on Peaceful, but reaching the End is nearly impossible without hostile drops. And even then, you can’t replicate shulkers on Peaceful.

• Trident: Also dropped by Drowned.

• Ominous Bottle: Available only through hostile encounters to trigger raids or ominous trials, so not on Peaceful.

Conclusion: Secure limited resources in Minecraft wisely

Minecraft is famous for its large farms, some of which can automatically gather vital resources for you. But there are materials and items you simply can’t renew. Many appear only as chest loot in various structures, while others are part of world generation. And even though the world is huge, these items remain limited. If you play on Peaceful, a few of them become even harder to obtain.

Ready to hunt rare materials? Rent your own Minecraft server from us and play together with your friends. See who can find the most non-renewable resources, and keep them safe.