10 biomes in the Overworld and Nether you’ll want to seek out in Minecraft survival mode

One of the biggest appeals of Minecraft is that all over the world there are different biomes featuring different climates, mobs, and even sometimes structures. These are ten rare or otherwise important biomes and variants to track down if you want to get the most out of your Minecraft survival experience.

Desert (Overworld)

This is the most basic Overworld biome on the list, but it is just as important as the more unique ones. It is the easiest way to collect cacti for a cactus farm, and important if you re trying to collect every color of dye, as cooking cacti is the only way to obtain green. It is also the easiest way to obtain sand if you want to build with sand or glass. It’s one easy to find biome that can give you a leg up on your adventure. It may include a desert temple or desert village.

Jungle & Bamboo Jungle (Overworld)

This Overworld biome is one of the rarer in the game and has five variants. It is also the only way to obtain cocoa to make cookies or brown dye. You will need to also bring home raw jungle wood or jungle saplings in order to make a cocoa pod farm. Jungle saplings have a lower drop rate than other saplings, so you may want to bring a tool with the fortune enchantment. There is also a chance of finding rare mobs such as parrots and ocelots, and if it is a Bamboo Jungle, you may also find pandas. You may also find a jungle temple.

Crimson Forest (Nether)

This Nether biome is the only one that spawns Hoglins, meaning if you are exploring the nether with little intent to come home, you will need to find a Crimson Forest in order to have a replenishable food source. While Hoglins are dangerous, you can subdue them with warped fungi or leads, and the crimson fungi can be used to breed them. The giant mushrooms there also act as a source of wood, allowing you to make or replenish your tools in a pinch.

Warped Forest (Nether)

If you find a Warped Forest biome in the Nether before the Crimson Forest, it is a great place to stock up on warped fungi to place down in the Crimson Forest and keep Hoglins out of your main path. If not, seek it out and bring them back. While both fungi can grow in both places, it’s way more common in their respective biomes. Warped Forests are also filled with endermen picking up blocks, so killing one holding a Warped Nylium block allows you to take it back to the Overworld without silk touch.

Badlands & Wooded Badlands Plateau (Overworld)

The Overworld’s Badlands biome has 6 subclasses and any of them will do, but Wooded Badlands Plateau gives you easy access to more wood. The Badlands are so desirable for two reasons. One: They allow you to stock up the decorative block ‘terracotta’ in its original state, as well in a few colors. Two: Gold Mines. Gold Mines are mineshafts that appear around ground level and are full of gold ore, which normally would only find at lower altitudes, and it’s filled with chests like a normal mineshaft.

Warm Ocean (Overworld)

If you are looking for a unique water-dominant biome, this is the one to find. You can find tropical fish in the Warm and the Lukewarm Oceans, but only Warm Oceans can also have coral reefs. It is one of the most colorful and unique places in the game, as well as an easy way to gather coral, as well as sea pickles, which otherwise can only be found on display in desert villages. Coral must be in water to survive, and sea pickles can only grow on living coral.

Basalt Delta (Nether)

This breathtaking Nether biome is the easiest place to find Magma Cubes. If you need magma cream for whatever potion making you are doing, this will be your regular spot to gathering ingredients. They are much more abundant than any Overworld location for Slimes and often come in giant sizes. You can also gather Basalt and Blackstone, two darker decorative blocks that are unique to the Basalt Delta biome outside of structures.

Mushroom Fields (Overworld)

This one is a shot in the dark. To say you should find it is a bit much, but it is the rarest non-variant biome in the game and a great find if you can track it down. It’s the only biome home to the rare mob the Mooshroom, in two varieties: red and the much rarer brown. They can be sheered like sheep for mushrooms, and mushrooms can be planted and grown in broad daylight on the Mycelium, this biome’s alternative to grass. No hostile mobs spawn in this biome, unless from a generator.