With so many different overworld biome types, Minecraft manages to ensure that players never get bored with the variety of areas they can explore. From cold biomes that are full of snow and ice to extremely hot biomes where almost no plant can survive the excruciating heat, there's a lot of options when it comes to choosing where you'd like to set up camp.
Of course, not all biomes are necessarily ideal for a survival run of Minecraft. Some biomes will provide a nice, welcome challenge, while others will help you get a quick start on resources and food. Much depends on where you actually spawn, but it usually doesn't take very long to walk from spawn to a different biome. Here's what to favor and avoid when looking for a home in a Minecraft world.
Updated December 17, 2021, by Justin Pietrodarchi: The Minecraft 1.18 update titled Caves and Cliffs is the most recent update to the game and has completely revamped caves and mountains. There are now two new cave biomes and six new sub-biomes for mountains, all of which can be found close to each other. While the oceans weren’t the focus of this update, the ocean floor still received some slight tweaks.
All of these changes improve Minecraft substantially and give players the ability to play survival mode in a completely different way. As a result, we've updated our list of some of the best biomes to include those in the 1.18 update for survival mode.
10 Lush Caves
The Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update introduced us to plenty of new things, but arguably the most beautiful new biome is the lush caves. These lush cave systems are incredibly large, making them a perfect place to set up your base in survival mode.
Once you have plenty of torches and some iron armor, you should be safe to go searching for a lush cave. Since you’ll be deep into a cave system, you won’t have a problem getting any resources. You might have an issue getting an animal farm going, but one quick water elevator to the surface can solve that problem.
9 Meadow
The meadow is a great biome to set up camp in survival mode because it has almost everything you need. There are plenty of animals, so you’ll never run out of food. There are even some cute bees who will leave you alone as long as you don’t destroy one of their hives.
The scenery in a meadow biome is gorgeous seeing as there are many different types of flowers, which makes it fun to simply walk around. The only downside to a meadow is that there aren’t many trees, so you’ll have to go elsewhere for wood.
8 Grove
The brand new grove biome has a lot of similarities to a taiga forest, but a grove is completely covered in snow and usually has more elevation. Groves have a fair amount of animals and spruce trees. It’s also not unusual for a grove to be near a cave or a mountain, meaning gathering resources won’t be a problem either.
There’s pretty much no downside to living in a grove other than the cold temperatures. If you don’t mind the snow, a grove is a perfect place to play survival mode.
7 Warm Ocean
It might sound like a bad idea to build an underwater base in survival mode, but if you want a challenge, the warm ocean is a great place to start. Warm oceans are typically found around deserts and badlands.
These oceans are as colorful as it gets due to all the coral reefs. There are sea pickles, but no kelp so the area isn’t a great source for food. As for the creatures in a warm ocean, you’ll find dolphins, squid, pufferfish, and the surprisingly useful axolotl among others.
6 Dripstone Caves
If you’re interested in role-playing as a caveman, then dripstone caves will be right up your alley. Filled with stalagmites and stalactites, dripstone caves are what most people think of when they hear the word “cave.”
Dripstone caves are some of the most dangerous caves in Minecraft, so you’re going to need to be prepared before searching for one. Thankfully, you can use the pointed dripstone block to your advantage by using it to protect your house. Players can do a surprising amount with dripstone, making these caves a solid biome for survival mode.
5 Mountains
Mountains are a popular choice, especially among ambitious builders who like to envision a gorgeous mountain house in the future. Depending on how far up you are, you'll be in the snowy slopes or frozen peaks sub-biome, but if the snow isn't your thing you can simply move to a lower mountain peak. There's a lot of high ground which also gives you a view of the surrounding lands.
Animals are usually in abundance in mountains, including llamas. For wood, however, you'll need to travel slightly lower, but that usually won't be an issue. The best part about mountains is all the surface coal you're likely to find, as well as emeralds and various cave systems that spawn throughout it.
4 Taiga
Taiga is one of the most common biomes, and has a few different variants. Whichever one you get doesn't really matter because they all generally have the same benefits of being wooded forests, which are great to start in. Wood is, after all, the first resource you'll want to get once you spawn in.
There's also a big chance of finding a taiga village with plenty of villagers to trade with, along with tons of different animals that tend to roam around, from wolves to pigs to cows. It's a very rich biome, and the unique home to foxes, which require a bit of special gameplay to tame and leash.
3 Plains
If food is a major concern, the best place to set up camp is a plains biome. They're extremely easy to travel through due to having a wide and open area. It's simple to build a house here and find the necessary flat ground to set up a bunch of crop and animal farms. Speaking of animals, they tend to be in abundance here.
Not only do cows, pigs, sheep, and chicken like to be here, but horses of all kinds, including donkeys, can also be found. This makes transportation even easier. Plus, plains biomes have a very high chance of spawning a village, so if you don't have time to build a home, finding a village is a great emergency option.
2 Savanna
The savanna biome is great for a number of reasons. It has the best of both worlds: the resources of a forest thanks to its trees and the animals of a plain thanks to its somewhat wide and open space. There are different variations of the savanna biome, some elevated and some vast plains like areas dotted with trees.
Savanna biomes also have a chance of spawning villages, so you'll have no shortage of resources here. There's plenty of space and ideal spots to easily build a house or start a farm, and there's also typically a ton of passive mobs around for some quick food.
1 Forest
The classic forest and all of its relevant variants is classic for a reason. It's the easiest way to start surviving in a Minecraft world, because of how much you have around you. There's plenty of wood to get all your tools immediately, and better yet, there's usually a lot of animals around as well.
The forest might not have any special structures like villages or temples, but it's a great starting location for any type of player. There are clearings to start building, and underground resources are plentiful as well. If you're lucky you might even find a spawner dungeon or a mineshaft underneath where you spawn.