With all the new updates and Minecraft’s long history, it’s no surprise some features fly under the radar. Whether because they’re old or simply obscure, there are plenty of reasons why players never encounter certain mechanics. Not every item or block is equally useful either, so some things just get forgotten. Today we’re taking a closer look at exactly those points to make your gameplay more varied. Especially if you’re playing Minecraft without much prior knowledge, or returning after a long break, you’ll likely find a surprise or two.
1. Minecraft farming: Make crops grow faster without bone meal
When you want to speed up wheat, carrots, or potatoes, most players think of bone meal first. But there’s a game mechanic that boosts growth hands‑free: Plant crops in rows or a checkerboard pattern so each plant has fewer immediate crop neighbors. Crops that are completely surrounded by other crops grow more slowly; giving them breathing room improves their random tick growth chances. Empty or hydrated farmland between rows is best; mixing different crop types doesn’t add a special bonus by itself—the key is reducing adjacent competing crops.
Pro tips:
- Keep farmland hydrated (water up to 4 blocks away) and ensure light level ≥ 9 at night so growth doesn’t stall.
- Classic layout: 9×9 field with water in the center.
- Use a composter to turn surplus plant matter into bone meal.
2. Minecraft moon phases: Swamp spawn rates and black cats (Java)
Minecraft has 8 moon phases, which affect slime spawns in swamp biomes (Java Edition): During a full moon you’ll see many more slimes, and fewer at new moon—perfect for stocking up on slimeballs. About cats: Witch huts always have one black cat; as stray cats in villages, black cats are more common during full moon, though not exclusive.
Note: Slimes in slime chunks aren’t affected by moon phases; depth and light level determine those spawns.
3. Diamond mining: More diamond ore under lava and water (1.18+)
Since the Caves & Cliffs changes, diamond ore is most common around Y≈−59. Due to the air-exposure reduction, diamonds generate less often next to air but relatively more under lava or water. It’s worth scouting lava lakes at deepslate depths and exploring underwater caves.
Safety tips:
- Drink a fire resistance potion and use bucket placements (water/powder snow) for lava control.
- Build cobble bridges across lava and mine the edges methodically.
4. Biomes and flowers: Preset flower patterns in Flower Forest and Plains
Using bone meal on grass in certain biomes like Flower Forest, Meadow, and Plains produces fixed flower patterns. Each biome has a defined set and distribution—perfect for creating planned designs or color schemes.
Tip: Tall flowers (e.g., rose bushes) can be duplicated directly with bone meal.
5. Instant cooked meat: Use Fire Aspect smartly
With Fire Aspect on your sword, animals drop cooked meat when killed. This also works if they die to fire or lava (note: not via explosions/fireworks). A bow with Flame can also yield cooked meat if the killing blow leaves the target burning.
6. Cure zombie villagers: Faster with iron bars and beds
The basics are well known: Splash Potion of Weakness + Golden Apple on a zombie villager, then wait 2–5 minutes. Less known: You can speed up curing if, within a 9×9×9 area, there are up to 14 blocks of iron bars or beds. Each of these blocks cuts the remaining time by a percentage, up to the cap.
Tip: Protect the patient from sunlight and mobs; name tags prevent despawning.
7. Gold tools: Fastest mining speed vs. durability
Gold has the fastest tool speed—a gold pickaxe mines many blocks faster than netherite. The downside: extremely low durability and limited mining tier (a gold pickaxe can’t mine iron, redstone, or diamond ore). With Efficiency V and Unbreaking, gold can be situationally useful for soft blocks or short speed‑farming sessions.
8. Blast furnace and smoker: Smelt and cook the right way
Alongside the regular furnace, the blast furnace (for ores/metals) and smoker (for food) work at double speed. They consume fuel proportionally faster per unit of time but the same per item. XP per item is identical—perfect for quickly processing large amounts of copper, iron, or steaks.
9. Chickens from eggs: 1-in-256 for four chicks
Throwing an egg has a 12.5% chance to spawn one chick. Very rarely, four chicks at once will hatch—with a 1 in 256 chance per egg. Great for early chicken farms: Collect eggs with hoppers and automate the throws.
10. Craft andesite, diorite, granite: Recipes and tips
The decorative stones andesite, diorite, and granite generate underground—but you can also craft them:
- Diorite: 2× cobblestone + 2× nether quartz
- Granite: 1× diorite + 1× nether quartz
- Andesite: 1× diorite + 1× cobblestone
With quartz from the Nether and plenty of cobblestone, you can mass‑produce them quickly. For finer cuts, use the stonecutter (e.g., stairs/slabs efficiently).
Conclusion: Make use of hidden Minecraft features
Minecraft has plenty of features that may have been overlooked over the years but are still very practical. From moon phases and furnaces to unconventional farming tips, there’s a lot you can use in your next session. If you rent your own Minecraft server from us, you can wow your friends with these facts and maybe introduce them to a feature or two.
