How to Find Ancient City in Minecraft: Ultimate Guide

Minecraft players are always on the hunt for new challenges and exciting discoveries. The quest to find ancient cities in Minecraft has become a thrilling adventure for many gamers. These underground structures, introduced in the 1.19 Wild Update, offer unique treasures, dangerous encounters, and opportunities for XP farming. By mastering the art of how to find ancient city in minecraft, players can unlock a whole new dimension of gameplay. This process involves exploring deep dark biomes, navigating treacherous environments, and overcoming formidable challenges to uncover the secrets of these enigmatic and valuable structures.

This guide provides a comprehensive roadmap to find ancient cities in Minecraft. It covers everything from understanding what these structures are and how to prepare for the search, to various methods for locating them and tips for safe exploration. Whether you’re playing on Java Edition or looking to find ancient cities in Minecraft Bedrock, this article will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to embark on your own underground expedition and face the challenges that await, including the fearsome Warden.

Understanding Ancient Cities in Minecraft

What are Ancient Cities?

Ancient cities are palatial structures introduced in Minecraft’s 1.19 Wild Update. These massive underground complexes are among the most dangerous and challenging structures to explore in the game. Spanning approximately 220 blocks on each horizontal axis, ancient cities are the largest structures in Minecraft.

The cities feature long corridors with gray wool floors and rugs made of blue, light blue, and cyan wool or carpet to prevent vibrations. Smaller ruins containing loot chests can be found off the main corridors. The center of the city showcases a frame resembling a warden’s head, constructed with reinforced deepslate blocks, which are unobtainable in Survival mode.

Ancient cities also contain unique elements such as soul lanterns, candles, and various forms of deepslate and sculk. Notably, sculk shriekers generate more frequently in ancient cities compared to regular deep dark biomes. Some structures within the city resemble other game elements, including pillager outposts, woodland mansion rooms, and mineshafts.

Where do Ancient Cities spawn?

Ancient cities are exclusively found in deep dark biomes, which typically generate beneath tall mountains. They never spawn under aquatic biomes like oceans, rivers, or swamps. The floor of an ancient city always generates at Y-level -51.

To locate an ancient city, players should follow these steps:

1. Find a mountain biome.
2. Dig down at the foot of the mountain to Y-level -51.
3. Start tunneling horizontally towards the mountain.
4. Explore the area between Y-levels -30 and -50, as ancient cities may generate within this range.

It’s important to note that not all deep dark biomes contain an ancient city, so players may need to explore multiple biomes before finding one.

Why find Ancient Cities?

Ancient cities offer numerous benefits and unique items that make them worth exploring:

1. Exclusive items: Ancient cities are the only source of echo shards, disk fragments for crafting the “5” music disk, and the Ward and Silence armor trims.
2. Rare loot: Players can find valuable items such as enchanted golden apples, “otherside” music disks, and diamond horse armor more frequently in ancient city chests than in other structures.
3. Unique blocks: Ancient cities provide access to sculk catalysts, allowing players to farm other sculk family blocks infinitely.
4. Enchantments: The Swift Sneak enchantment, as well as other useful enchanted books, can only be obtained in ancient cities.
5. Experience farming: Mining sculk blocks without Silk Touch yields large amounts of experience.
6. Nether-related items: Players can obtain soul-related blocks and basalt without visiting the Nether.
7. Mob-proof base potential: After removing all sculk shriekers, the city can be converted into a secure base, as hostile mobs cannot spawn there.
8. Warden farming: Certain sculk shriekers can be used to continuously spawn wardens for farming sculk catalysts or creating a mob switch.

Despite the numerous benefits, exploring ancient cities is extremely dangerous due to the presence of wardens, which can easily defeat players even in full netherite armor. Proper preparation and caution are essential for successfully navigating these treacherous underground structures.

Preparing for Your Ancient City Hunt

Before embarking on an expedition to find an ancient city in Minecraft, players should gather essential gear and items, apply recommended enchantments, and stock up on food and potions. Proper preparation is crucial for surviving the dangers that lurk in these underground structures.

Essential Gear and Items

To increase the chances of a successful ancient city hunt, players should bring the following items:

1. Multiple stacks of wool or carpets to block vibrations and build safe paths
2. Shears to quickly break wool, optionally enchanted with Efficiency V
3. A hoe to destroy sculk shriekers and sensors
4. Basic tools like pickaxes and other usual equipment
5. A spyglass to scout for sculk sensors and shriekers from a distance
6. An ender chest to safely store valuable loot
7. A bed to set a spawn point (but not too close to the ancient city)
8. Projectiles for distracting wardens
9. A boat for safe descent
10. Ender pearls for quick escapes
11. Elytra and firework rockets for swift getaways
12. Iron blocks and a carved pumpkin to create iron golems as distractions
13. Noise-making blocks like bells or note blocks, along with redstone components

Recommended Enchantments

While exploring ancient cities, having properly enchanted gear can make a significant difference:

1. Full set of netherite armor with Protection IV
2. Tools with Efficiency V for faster mining
3. Boots with Feather Falling for reduced fall damage
4. Weapons with Looting for better loot drops

Food and Potions

Proper sustenance and magical aid are essential for surviving the challenges of ancient cities:

1. A significant supply of high-quality food (e.g., cooked porkchops or golden carrots)
2. Night Vision potions to counteract the Darkness effect
3. Instant Health potions for quick healing
4. Golden apples or enchanted golden apples for rapid regeneration
5. Milk buckets to remove the Darkness effect (use cautiously, as drinking may alert nearby sculk sensors)

By carefully preparing with these items, enchantments, and consumables, players increase their chances of successfully exploring ancient cities and obtaining valuable loot. However, it’s important to remember that even with the best preparation, ancient cities remain extremely dangerous due to the presence of wardens and other hazards.

Methods to Locate Ancient Cities

Mining at the right Y-level

To find ancient cities in Minecraft, players should focus their search efforts at specific Y-levels. Ancient cities consistently generate around Y-level -51, with the top of the structure typically reaching Y-level -21. Armed with this knowledge, players can employ the following strategy:

1. Dig down to Y-level -51 at the foot of a mountain.
2. Start tunneling horizontally towards the mountain.
3. Explore the area between Y-levels -30 and -50.

It’s important to note that ancient cities spawn exclusively in deep dark biomes, which typically generate beneath tall mountains. They never appear under aquatic biomes like oceans, rivers, or swamps.

Exploring Deep Dark biomes

Deep dark biomes are the key to locating ancient cities. These biomes spawn anywhere below Y-level zero, making them ideal targets for exploration. Players can use the following methods to find deep dark biomes:

1. Look for large cave systems in unexplored areas.
2. Follow caves to the bottom of the world.
3. Search for the distinctive greenish-blue sculk blocks, which indicate the presence of a deep dark biome.

While not all deep dark biomes contain ancient cities, they are the only places where these structures can be found. Players should be prepared to explore multiple biomes before discovering an ancient city.

Using seed maps and commands

For players who want a more direct approach or are struggling to find ancient cities through exploration, there are alternative methods available:

1. Commands: Players with cheats enabled can use the “/locate ancientcity” command to find the coordinates of the nearest ancient city. This works in both Java and Bedrock editions.
2. Chunkbase: This website allows players to enter their world seed and game version to generate a map of their world. Players can then select which structures they want to locate, including ancient cities.
3. Ancient City Finder: This tool requires the player’s world seed to function. For single-player worlds, the app can fetch the seed from the savegame. Multiplayer server owners can provide the seed or players can use the “/seed” command if they have sufficient permissions.
4. Nether portal method: By creating a portal at the bottom of the Nether, players may emerge in a deep cave system in the Overworld, potentially near the Y-level where ancient cities generate.

It’s worth noting that 75% of all ancient cities spawn within 2,000 blocks of the player’s spawn location, increasing the chances of finding one relatively close by. Additionally, ancient cities generate more frequently under biomes with low erosion, such as mountain and hilly areas like Jagged Peaks and Cherry Groves.

Exploring Ancient Cities Safely

Exploring ancient cities in Minecraft requires caution and strategic planning. These underground structures are filled with valuable loot but also pose significant dangers. To navigate these treacherous environments safely, players should focus on three key aspects: avoiding Wardens, navigating sculk sensors, and collecting valuable loot.

Avoiding Wardens

Wardens are the most formidable mobs in ancient cities, with 500 health points and powerful attacks that can pass through blocks. To avoid encountering these dangerous creatures:

1. Sneak constantly: Hold down the crouch or sneak button while exploring to minimize noise.
2. Use wool blocks: Place wool blocks around sculk shriekers to prevent them from detecting vibrations and summoning Wardens.
3. Utilize Swift Sneak enchantment: If available, this enchantment allows faster movement while sneaking.
4. Create escape routes: Prepare wool pillars or tunnels for quick getaways if a Warden appears.
5. Employ distractions: Use iron golems or redstone contraptions to divert Wardens’ attention.

If a Warden does spawn, players can wait for it to despawn after about 60 seconds of remaining undetected.

Navigating Sculk Sensors

Sculk sensors detect vibrations and can trigger sculk shriekers, potentially summoning Wardens. To navigate safely around these hazards:

1. Use wool pathways: Create paths using wool blocks, which do not trigger sculk sensors when walked on.
2. Break sculk sensors: Destroy these blocks using an enchanted hoe for faster removal.
3. Place wool barriers: Surround sculk sensors with wool to prevent them from detecting nearby vibrations.
4. Avoid unnecessary actions: Refrain from placing or breaking blocks, as these actions create detectable vibrations.
5. Use Night Vision potions: These allow players to see without placing torches, which can trigger sensors.

Collecting Valuable Loot

Ancient cities contain numerous loot chests with valuable items. To collect these resources safely:

1. Locate chests carefully: Use the spyglass to spot chests from a distance without triggering sensors.
2. Isolate chest areas: Place wool blocks around chests to prevent sensors from detecting the opening sound.
3. Prioritize unique items: Focus on collecting echo shards, disk fragments, and Swift Sneak enchantment books.
4. Use an Ender Chest: Bring an Ender Chest to safely store valuable loot as you explore.
5. Be prepared for traps: Some chest locations may be surrounded by multiple sculk sensors and shriekers.

By following these strategies, players can explore ancient cities more safely and efficiently, maximizing their chances of obtaining valuable loot while minimizing the risk of encountering dangerous Wardens.

Conclusion

Ancient cities in Minecraft offer a thrilling adventure for players seeking new challenges and unique rewards. The quest to find these hidden structures has a significant impact on gameplay, providing access to exclusive items, rare loot, and opportunities to farm experience. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, players can boost their chances of locating and exploring these underground wonders safely.

To wrap up, the journey to discover ancient cities in Minecraft is as exciting as it is dangerous. With careful preparation, the right tools, and a strategic approach, players can navigate the perils of the deep dark biomes and uncover the treasures hidden within. This guide equips Minecraft enthusiasts with the knowledge to begin their own underground expeditions, face the fearsome Warden, and unlock a whole new dimension of gameplay.

FAQs

1. What is the best method to locate an Ancient City in Minecraft?
The most reliable way to find an Ancient City is by heading to the Deep Dark Biome and exploring Y-level -51. If you’re open to using cheats, you can enter the command /locate structure minecraft:ancient_city in the chat window to get the coordinates of the nearest Ancient City.

2. Where can you find an Ancient City in Minecraft?
An Ancient City is located deep underground, specifically at Y-level -51 in the Deep Dark Biome. This area often contains chests filled with rare items not easily found in other places.

3. How can you discover the Warden’s home, known as the Ancient City, in Minecraft?
To locate the Warden’s home, focus on mining at Y-level -51 and keep an eye out for Sculk blocks, which indicate proximity to an Ancient City. This level is also ideal for finding diamonds, making it doubly worthwhile.

4. How does the locate command help in finding an Ancient City in Minecraft?
If cheats are enabled in your Minecraft world, you can use the locate command by typing /locate ancientcity in the chat window. This command will provide the coordinates of the nearest Ancient City and can also be used to find other structures, such as Woodland Mansions, in both Java and Bedrock editions.