This popular sandbox game, ideal for creativity, survival and those who love to build and explore, is filled with blocks and ingredients. For someone just starting out in Minecraft, it's one of the most overwhelming gaming experiences, even with the existence of the recipe book. With so much to do and create, even the simplest of things become difficult.
Paper is one of the most important resources in Minecraft. However, actually finding it, farming it and crafting paper isn't exactly done the way it is in the real world. For example, rather than using trees, players will need to find sugar cane. Here's a guide on how to make paper and what uses this material has.
10 Reasons To Craft Paper
Considering the fact that Minecraft is a survival game, some might wonder what utility paper could have. After all, items such as tools, armor and food might be more important in the long run. While this is true to a degree, it will be impossible to advance to the higher stages of the game if paper isn't crafted.
Paper essentially gives access to enchantments within the game. These powerful buffs to tools and armor will significantly reduce the difficulty of surviving in places like the Nether or the End. For this reason alone paper is an absolute necessity.
9 Places To Find Paper
While the most recommended way to get paper is to simply craft it, sometimes there's simply no such option available. It could be that the resources needed are not easily available in the world, which makes it difficult to acquire the ingredients quickly and early enough in the game.
If this happens, paper can always be found in most shipwrecks. Some wrecks are close enough to the surface of the water that they can be easily accessed without special water breathing potions. Paper can also be traded at a village, if one happens to be close enough to the player's spawn point.
8 Step 1: Find Sugar Cane
While paper can be found in a few locations randomly and traded for, the best and most cost-efficient option is to just go out and find the ingredients to make it. What's needed is sugar cane, a green type of plant that looks a lot like bamboo, but isn't actually three-dimensional like Minecraft's bamboo plants.
Sugar cane always grows next to a body of water, needing to have at least one adjacent water block nearby. Rivers, beaches and ponds are great places to scout for this plant, which can be broken down easily by just punching it. A fully grown plant will yield three pieces of sugar cane.
7 Step 2: Start A Sugar Cane Farm
In order to ensure there's a reliable source of sugar cane, a farm should be created as soon as the first bits of sugar cane are found. Keep in mind that in order to grow, sugar cane needs a block of water right next to it. It can grow on both dirt and sand, but can't be planted on a block that isn't in contact with water.
The easiest farm to build is to dig a trench of eight blocks and line both sides with sugar canes. This pattern can be repeated several times. Place one bucket of water at one end of the trench, which will cause the water to flow to the other end. Flowing water still counts as a water block, so the sugar cane will grow effectively.
6 Step 3: Craft Paper
Once a steady and reliable source of sugar cane has been made, it's time to actually start crafting paper. This requires three adjacent squares inside a crafting grid, so using the crafting grid in the player inventory isn't going to cut it. Paper needs to be crafted at a crafting table.
Place three pieces of sugar cane in a row on the crafting grid. It doesn't matter which row they're on, as long as they're arranged horizontally next to one another. This will yield three pieces of paper, one for each piece of sugar cane.
5 Make Banners (Part 1)
The first use for paper is to craft different types of banners. They can then be applied as banner patterns to give them a customized look. There are a few different types of banner patterns available, but keep in mind that some are only accessible in the Bedrock Edition, rather than the Java Edition.
To make a banner pattern, combine one piece of paper with either a Golden Enchanted Apple, a Wither Skull or vines. The pattern received from vines is only available for those playing on Bedrock Edition.
4 Make Banners (Part 2)
There are a few more banner patterns that can be made from various other ingredients. Some of these can be a bit difficult to acquire, such as the Creeper head, but they make for very cool and unique patterns.
Combine paper with a Creeper Head, bricks or an Oxeye Daisy in order to create a unique pattern. Keep in mind that the pattern received from combining paper and bricks is only available for those playing on Bedrock Edition.
3 Maps And Books
Paper can also be used to craft books, maps and a cartography table. Books are especially useful when it comes to enchanting, which will be discussed further below. Combine one piece of paper with three pieces of leather to acquire one book. To make a cartography table used to edit and copy maps, place four pieces of wooden planks with two pieces of paper on top in the crafting table grid.
To create a map, arrange eight pieces of paper around a compass on the crafting table grid. Once the map is activated by being held in the player's hand, it will start to fill out and show the player's current position. By placing maps in item frames, a massive world or area map can even be created.
2 Enchanting And Bookshelves
Perhaps the most important aspect of paper is its usage in enchanting. In order to get access to these powerful buffs that can be added to armor and tools, an enchantment table and an enchanting set up needs to be crafted. This requires 15 bookshelves in total, to have access to the highest level enchantments.
To craft a bookshelf, first craft three books. Place them horizontally in the middle row of the crafting table grid. Then add wooden planks in any of the remaining slots. For the enchanting table itself, place three obsidian blocks on the bottom row of the grid. On the middle row, place one diamond, one obsidian and another diamond. Finally, on the top row, center square, place one book.
1 Make Fireworks
The final use for paper is making fireworks. There are many different variations and colors to choose from, and a handy guide can be found here. Fireworks are mainly used for decoration purposes when personalized.
However, once the player finds an Elytra, fireworks become an essential part of flying. They can be used to keep the player's momentum in the sky while wearing an Elytra. To make a simple firework, combine one piece of paper with at least one, and maximum three, pieces of gunpowder. The higher the gunpowder charge, the longer the flight.