Ores are the game’s building blocks; without them, you will not be able to make weapons, armor, or other equipment. That is why knowing which ones are the most useful Minecraft ores are essential.
Building in the game is at the forefront, and to build from scratch, you will need ores. Depending on the rarity, ores in the game can be the easiest and the most complex materials to acquire. Minecraft is centered around mining, so most of your time will go into finding these ores.
That is why, to acquire them, you will need to know two things: how rare they are and how to find them in the game. This guide will go through the rarest ones in the game and see what you can make out of those ores. It is crucial to know their use so you can go after the ones which provide lots of utility.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer’s opinion. It should not be taken as the final list.
The Best Ores in Minecraft Ranked by Usefulness
The usefulness of an ore is determined by the amount of uses it has. Some ores, like Iron, will have multiple uses in crafting armor, weapons, and other equipment, while others will have a single niche use. These niche items will occupy a space in the inventory without having utility, so it is better not to prioritize them even though they are rare.
This list has considered the ores’ rarity and usefulness, so there is a balance. New players might have a hard time finding the ores on the upper brackets of the list, but as they progress in the game, they will. Let us look at the list.
10. Copper
Copper is abundant during the game’s early stages, but it does not have that much utility because of its availability. It cannot be forged into armor or weapons, which justifies why intermediate players do not actively search for it. You can find copper by searching for it on the Y Levels ranging from 0 to 96.
In all essence, copper has limited potential in the game because, over time, it turns green. But that is not all; it can be used to make only two items, the Lightning Rod and the Spyglass, which are only situationally useful. The Spyglass has limited usability, while the Lightning Rod is helpful only to summon witches and zombie piglins. This one won’t be useful unless you want to farm the former mobs.
9. Quartz
Quartz is one of those materials you can actively hunt for and not regret wasting your time on later. The reasons are that you will need to first travel to the Nether to obtain it, and the second is that you will never run out of it since there is a lot of it spawning in the Nether. With Quartz, you can make multiple niche items like the daylight sensor, the observer, and the redstone comparator.
Each of these has a complex function and a niche use that can help the player, but aside from that, they do not help in making things that players are actively interested in, like weapons and armor. For that, you will need to skim through the upper brackets of this list.
8. Coal
Coal is a versatile resource that can help you achieve many things in the game. In essence, it is a fuel source, which is why it will always be helpful in the game. Not only is coal easy to find, but it is also a crucial component in making torches that will aid you no matter what stage of the game.
It is only lower than other ores because there is a replacement for it known as Charcoal. You can make Charcoal by smelting logs in a furnace. But that should not stop you from farming coal. You can find it almost anywhere, ranging from the tops of mountains to caves and oceans.
7. Emeralds
We know what you are thinking. Why are emeralds so low on this list? While emeralds are some of the most critical ores, you cannot use them as regular ore. Instead, it is only useable as currency when trading with the villagers. Although, if you have a surplus of these emeralds, you can get many fantastic items like diamond armor, weapons, and much more. We recommend you go on a farming spree at least once in a while for these ores.
You can also get enchanted books that will be useful no matter the stage of your Minecraft gameplay. Obtaining emeralds is a cycle since you can trade some of your farm produce and other items for it. That is why we recommend farming emeralds so you can access better weapons, armor, books, and other tools. Aside from trading with the villagers, you can also find emeralds in mountain biomes.
6. Gold
Previously, Gold didn’t have much utility in the game, but thanks to the Nether update, you can do much more with it. For example, if you are journeying toward the Nether for the first time, you can use Gold armor to make the Piglins neutral toward you. In addition, you can use Gold to trade with them as well. You can get rare items, such as the Ender Pearls, through these trades.
Gold tools mine faster than regular ones, but they have the least durability in the game, so you might be better off using the ore for other purposes. You can use Gold to make golden apples, color armor trims, upgrade netherite armor, make tools, trade with piglins, etc. Find Gold by digging in the low layers of the game, preferably Y 32 or below. Explore caves as well; they have a high probability of spawning gold ores.
5. Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli is one of those ores with few uses, but its niche use can be more beneficial than most other ores. The Lapis Lazuli is comparatively rare than other materials on this list because you can use it to enchant your armor, tools, and weapons. There are three levels to reach, so that you will require lots of Lapis Lazuli. That is why it is a good idea to stock up on these.
You can find Lapis Lazuli by searching the Overworld. Search village chests since you can get it from there most of the time. Search caves and ravines under the Y-32 depth. You can also find it in Woodland Mansions. We recommend farming it as much as possible.
4. Ancient Debris
Ancient Debris is a scarce ore, so finding it can be challenging. However, its usefulness is off the charts. Also known as Netherite, you can use it to make the best weapons and armor with the highest durability in the game. When you get these armor pieces, you will not replace them.
However, the worst part about this ore is that you can only access it once you are in the endgame stages. It has a few good uses. You can use it to make a loadstone, making navigating the Nether easier since you can pair it with a compass to explore. This one generates at the lowest parts of the Nether, so you will have to do some exploring. Start by searching out the Y-16 coordinates.
3. Diamonds
Ah, yes, diamonds. They are some of the best ores to farm and have a variety of uses. For a good reason, it has become a ritual for every advanced Minecraft player to build a diamond farm in Minecraft. One of the strongest ores to farm, diamonds will make your boss fights much more bearable in the game. These shiny ores are also a component of the enchanting tables, so they cannot be skipped if you want to advance to the higher levels of gameplay.
Diamonds are also the one that unlocks the Nether. So if you want to get that Netherite, you will need diamonds. Ancient Debris and diamonds are at the highest spots on the list because they are essential in endgame content, even though they have limited use. Not to mention, Diamond armor, tools, and weapons are some of the most durable ones to use.
You can set up a farm or try branch mining to find diamonds. Check out the video above for a detailed explanation.
2. Iron
There are only a handful of other things in the game that are much more versatile than Iron and for good reason. This one is useful initially and stays functional until the end. You can make weapons, tools, and armor with this one, but it is used for so much more than that. It is used to make buckets, minecarts, railroads, and more.
Iron will be essential in the game no matter where you are playing. That is why players should make it a priority to keep farming it. It is also a critical tool in building redstone contraptions, which are helpful in the endgame. You can find Iron by digging between Y 1 and Y 63 levels. Alternatively, you can make an iron farm like the one in the video above.
Honorable Mention
We have only one honorable mention in this list. Let us look at what it is.
Nether Gold
This Gold is essentially the same as regular Gold, but it can save you time. When you break open a Nether Gold ore, you will receive a gold nugget instead of a raw gold ore. This saves you the trouble of crafting nuggets. However, it would be best to watch for piglins since they protect this ore.
We recommend going to the Nether well-prepared to face these mobs so you can defeat them and mine this ore as well. Check out the video above to see where to find this gold ore variant.
1. Redstone
One of the best ores in Minecraft also has lots of uses and is the rarest. The Redstone ore is essential in making automated machinery in the game, easing your burden by a ton. You will find this ore deep underground, and farming is the key to getting started with good builds. This ore has excellent potential, making it one of the best.
In essence, with the help of this ore’s automation, you can fast forward the whole survival experience, making Redstone a game-breaking resource. Although automation in the game is only optional, it will help you progress rapidly in the game. To find Redstone, you must search villages, dungeons, strongholds, and mineshafts. Alternatively, try to mine them with the Fortune enchantment on your pickaxe.
Those are all the ores we think are the most useful in the game. If you liked this article, perhaps you’d like some of our others. Click here to check them out.
