It has been nearly a full decade since Minecraft had its full release. In that time, we have seen at least 17 unique updates to the Java version of the game that have added various animals, crafting materials, mobs, mounts, and more items than we have time to cover. With each of these additions and changes, the game would shift ever so slightly and allow speedrunners to break out another unique tactic. While different strategies would be implemented across the various updates, the any percent goal was always the same. Reach The End and slay the Ender Dragon.
Speedrunners have been making quick work of games for years now. They only need a set of goals and will set off in a race to accomplish that goal as quickly as possible. Once The End to Minecraft had been discovered, the goal to the speedrun was found and the race was off. These are the fastest Minecraft speedruns spread across the primary glitch and glitchless categories.
Updated April 7, 2022, by Sam Reaves: Speedrunners have long played on the most optimal versions of their speed games. This can mean playing on the most recent patch and update, or it can involve playing on older versions. Down patching enables players to choose older updates that might allow a certain skip or glitch that is patched out in later versions. No speedrunning community exemplifies this difference between patch versions quite like Minecraft. Let's take an updated look at some of the constantly shifting fastest runs across glitched, glitchless, set and random seed, and various update playthroughs.
11 Glitchless In 11 Minutes 50 Seconds by Fe666
Glitchless Minecraft speedrunning has been in the spotlight quite a bit recently, thanks to a hefty amount of drama surrounding Youtuber, Dream, and his apparent cheating in his Minecraft speedruns. While this drama has brought with it negatively charged views on the speedrunning scene, it has also brought a massive influx of new speedrunners. They are opting to beat the game on version 1.16 and are doing so on completely random seeds.
Fe666's run consists of finding beds, obsidian, Blaze Rods, Eyes of Ender, and the End portal so they can defeat the dragon. One of the bottlenecks of a speedrun, like fe666's 1.16 glitchless run, is the drop rate of Blaze Rods, which are needed to create Eyes of Ender and find the end portal.
10 Glitchless In 11 Minutes 24 Seconds by nEmerald
Spawn location is crucial to any good speedrun. Emerald's run is no exception. Villages are a necessary part of the run as they house many of the items needed to continue to the next objective. Emerald managed to find one immediately and was able to quickly travel to the Nether. Once in the Nether, you have to find a Stronghold in order to kill Blazes and take their rods. These Blaze Rods are needed to build Eyes of Ender and find your way to the End portal once out of the Nether.
Emerald found a Stronghold quickly, but was underneath it, taking valuable time to build their way up to it. This flexibility is what runners commit to each run because every run has a chance to be the record.
9 Glitchless In 11 Minutes 15 Seconds by Couriway
A good seed, quick reflexes, and a run that almost did not exist helped move Couriway up to third place in the any percent glitchless 1.16+ leaderboard. He shaved three minutes off his previous best attempt, showcasing that seed alterations can change gameplay styles and outcomes.
Near the end of Couriway's run, they have issues placing and activating the beds to explode and kill the Ender Dragon. Thinking quickly on their feet, they bring out an axe, hit the dragon, dig another hole, place a bed, and finish the job with time to spare. Most runners might have called it a day after the bed mishap, but keeping a cool head helped secure this third place record.
8 Glitchless In 11 Minutes 7 Seconds by TheeSizzler
TheeSizzler is no stranger to going fast. They have held a world record or two across Minecraft's various speedrun categories so it makes sense they would be in second place or better on the leaderboard. Their skill is even further displayed by playing on the Normal difficulty, while most other runners play on Easy.
TheeSizzler's run is a good example of the wayfinding standard that has found its way into runs. Runners can hit F3 on their keyboard and bring up their in-game coordinates. Knowing the inner workings of the game and a process of deduction allows them to position themselves in proper places for portals and hopefully close to Strongholds.
7 Glitchless In 9 Minutes 36 Seconds by Brentilda
Brentilda managed to secure the first-ever glitchless and seedless sub-ten-minute run in Minecraft. They are a full minute and a half ahead of the second-place runner on the leaderboard, TheeSizzler, and are twice as fast as the best run in a similar glitchless category. Within the glitchless category, it does not get any better than this.
A perfect storm of good item drops, pigmen trades, wayfinding, and pure skill led to this unbelievable world record. With Minecraft rising up the ranks and becoming the most popular speedgame of all time, there is no doubt this record will be heavily contested in the months to come.
6 Glitched In 2 Minutes 45.7 Seconds by Benchbotch
Runner benchbotch brings us our first look at a glitched and seeded Minecraft speedrun. Two things largely differ these runs from the above glitchless. First, benchbotch is on a seeded run. This means they load up the same world every time and know exactly where key items are and what they need to do. Second, they have access to the various glitches within the game and can use them as they see fit. Beyond that, they simply need to execute the glitches, menuing, and gameplay better than anyone else to secure the best time.
In this case, they travel to the nether to travel back directly on top of the End portal. The skill gap between top runners is extraordinarily small as they have to have near-perfect inputs for approximately three minutes of uninterrupted gameplay. Runner benchbotch entered the Nether within a minute of the run beginning if that begins to prepare you at all for the glitched speedruns to come.
5 Glitched In 2 Minutes 45.2 Seconds by QuartixRu
Glitched speedruns have become so competitive that timing needed to be broken down by milliseconds. QuartixRu's run beat benchbotch's record by half a second and continued to display that more time could be squeezed out of this seemingly simple game.
Many of these glitched runs, QuartixRu's included, use pausing to brainstorm at key moments, which also pauses the in-game timer. Runners can also quit out to avoid fall damage in Minecraft, which is a similar tactic used in games with quick save and quick load features.
4 Glitched In 2 Minutes 42 Seconds by ClimbingSum34
ClimbingSum34's run continues to use the same seed as other glitched category runners, showcasing the superiority of the seed that has been found. It has a village packed with beds, obsidian, and the sole pickaxe that runners pick up during the run.
Beds, for those not familiar with Minecraft speedrunning, are the primary source of damage against the Ender Dragon. Beds explode if used in the End. Runners, including ClimbingSum34 abuse this in every category of any percent to slay the beast and watch the credits roll.
3 Glitched In 2 Minutes 40 Seconds by Ningkaiyang
Before Ningkaiyang's run begins, you can see them doing what many other runners do before they officially begin. They practice building Nether portals since the run can hinge on how quickly you can build the two of them necessary for completion. It is this sheer dedication that high-level runners exhibit that sets them apart.
Ningkaiyang's run is slightly different during his fight with the Ender Dragon as he acquires and uses a sword to finish off the last sliver of health. This is a bit slower than placing another bed and using it to finish the task.
2 Glitchless In 2 Minutes 23 Seconds by Ax3roth
Ax3roth's run might just be the peak of this glitchless and set seed. It acts as an excellent showcase of the intentional platforming, quick menuing, and thought-out resource management that goes into a fast-paced show like this. Bunnyhopping is key to fast movement and your character's momentum, meaning that the entire run is spent hitting the jump button and maneuvering around obstacles at high speed.
After a decade of some gamers never evening reaching the End of Minecraft, there are those who beat it in mere minutes and perform this feat a hundred times each day. Ax3roth shows just how far a game can be pushed when a group commits to learning how it works inside and out.
1 Glitchless In 2 Minutes 3 Seconds by Rayoh
Ax3roth's glitched run that seemed to be the fastest seed possible was obliterated shortly after it was set last year. Nearly two dozen new players have exceeded this record and gone on to set their own. The world's fastest Minecraft completion is currently held by Rayoh, with a blistering run of 2 Minutes and 3 seconds.
In the time that it takes you to warm up your breakfast burrito, Rayoh will have entered the End and slain the Enderdragon with a quality selection of explosive beds. Roll credits.