How to Survive in Minecraft

Punch trees in a new world. Collect a decent number of logs, 20-30, more than enough for your first few days.

Convert some of the logs into wooden planks. Planks are used for many different crafting recipes and are one of the most basic items in the game. 16 logs make one stack of planks.

Create a crafting table. You are only able to craft so much in the 2x2 crafting grid in your inventory. You will soon need an upgrade to make other tools and items. Crafting tables are a necessity.

Mine a decent amount of coal. Coal is a basic fuel in the game and is abundant while mining. Alternatively, you can use coal to burn the logs you collected to make charcoal, which is a similar item to coal (both smelt 8 items each).You can also smelt with wood and charcoal and logs.

Make torches. Torches reduce mob spawns due to the increased light level, in addition to them making it easier for you to see and avoid mobs. Place torches around your settlement and dark areas such as caves to reduce the chance of running into mobs.

Build a shelter. Obtain easily collectable blocks like cobblestone, logs, and dirt if you are going for a quickly cobbled together shelter. Close your shelter up and light up the area inside and outside of it. Fill in corners as mobs can sometimes attack you through corners if they aren't closed up. If you still want to see outside of your house to keep an eye out for mobs, use fences or glass for windows to be able to see through your house. Mobs will not be able to look through fences and glass. If in hard mode, use an iron door instead of a wooden door so zombies cannot break into your house. If you do not have enough iron, you can put fence gates in front of your door to prevent access to your home should zombies break through.

Get lots of cobblestone or easily collectable blocks. The more the better. You will most likely build your first house out of cobblestone or wood and mostly cobblestone. It is an abundant material. The majority of Minecraft is made of it. In addition to making a shelter that will protect you from mobs, blocks can save yourself in sticky situations. You can block yourself in quickly when you are about to be cornered by a zombie horde or you can close off pockets of lava that spill from the ceiling unexpectedly when mining. You can also use blocks to help you climb out of water or lava and to catch yourself on the side of a cliff when falling.

Dig into hills if you are in a pinch. If you have no bed and need a safe place to wait out the night, dig into the ground or the side of a hill with a shovel and immediately block up the entrance with blocks before mobs can chase you in. Light up the area you have dug into with torches so you can see. You can create a one block sized window to be able to watch for when daytime arrives. If you are afraid of smaller mobs coming through this hole, you can block it back up and only dig it out temporarily when you need to check the time of day. Or you can block it with a fence so mobs can't get through while letting you continue to see out of it.

Carefully exit your home during mornings and check for creepers. Creepers are a mob that won't burn in the sunlight like zombies and skeletons. They can survive for quite a while come daytime. They are green in color and can be hard to spot in grassy areas. They don't make any sounds while walking or idling, so they can easily catch you by surprise. If one manages to get close to you, it will explode, harming or killing you and destroying nearby blocks. Rush out of your home and quickly check behind and around you and your house. Eliminate creepers as needed or distance yourself from them.

Obtain food. Food can significantly improve your chance of survival as full saturation is what allows you to heal. Hunt for animals. Animals will give you meat for food and resources. Cows give leather, which can be used to make armor and books. Sheep give wool, which is used to make beds and carpet. Chicken give feathers for arrows. These resources can help you create basic armor and provide you with arrows in the early game, before you get yourself a better source of arrows and stronger armor. Eat constantly when being attacked, but save food for when you really need it. For example, avoid eating whole steaks when you have only lost one hunger bar through running. It's a different story when mobs are attacking you as the loss of one heart can quickly turn into the loss of more.