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I still use "left to the depth, right to the light", but I specifically place them on the wall. Any torch placed on the floor is only there to light up the place.
The important thing is this: I ONLY place torches on the wall to signify direction. If there's no wall for me to place down a torch, I'm gonna place down a block of cobblestone just so I can place a wall torch. This has the added benefit of also working in the Nether.
Being very strict about this system has saved me countless times where I would've gotten lost otherwise.
Yeah, I've always done this too, works really well, I'd never equated "left to the depth, right to the light" but yes, that's how I've always done it. Fair play.
Same, it doesn't matter the direction you use as long as it's consistent... Lol at the idea that you'd need a mnemonic to remember the difference between your right and left
I usually do the opposite, I find it faster to place a torch on the right
And if the torch is on the left my brain thinks it looks funny and I know I’m headed back the right way
Okay this is clever! I should start doing this as wel. I did do pillars in the Nether but a wall is more directional and the added torch is super useful.
Same. I also wall off dead ends when everything has been mined out of it. I have a decent memory so I haven't needed to use the torch path yet, but lets see what happens when I go in deeper into the caves.
I did get lost in the nether once though. Should have used cobble stone instead of torches to mark my path. And written down the coordinates.
I use that strategy to clear mineshafts. Problem is when they intersect. Earlier I found 4 mineshafts all intersecting each other and it was impossible to look for dead ends because they always looped back on themselves. So I began using colored wool to mark sections and then if I ran into a room with colored wool it meant that I already had a path to that and could close that second connection.
I have yet to encounter a mineshaft but I'll keep the wool thing in mind. I just need to find sheep. I think I have too many animals that nothing else can spawn.
You shouldnt need it with normal mineshafts, but this one was literally 4 mineshafts intersecting, counting the big central rooms where every mineshaft starts from.
I'm the opposite, I light up walls to keep the bad guys at bay. I'll add 3 torches where to make a turn. Especially in mines, or overhead of a "doorway". I've also attached 3 sands or dirt to signify I've fully explored a section of cave
This is the exact system and phrase I use to remember it!
Something else I do as well in large caverns with many paths is to make small pillars out of something visible like granite or dripstone blocks - short, one block pillars at the bottom that get longer as you go up and out of the path that leads back to my base.
Don’t worry about finding an exit, you can just mine yourself a staircase out. And as for getting lost, not all those who wander are lost, just run around and find a dark area you haven’t been in yet and then find another and another.
I always keep at least 2 sticks, at least 3 iron and a crafting table with me. Worst case scenario i can craft a fresh iron pick to pillar my way up to the surface. The crafting table is especially useful if you dont have silk touch so you can combine all the raw ore in your inventory into their raw block form for better inventory management. Better to have a stack of raw iron blocks than several stacks of raw iron ore.
I use a stack of sticks and cobblestones and carry a crafting table with me until I get full enchanted diamond equipment. Iron pickaxe for valuable ores in deepslate caves only. Save me tons of iron.
Yeah I thought this was common knowledge. Logs are the most compact form. You should always have logs, thats all you need. Logs and food.
With logs you can:
- make crafting table
- make sticks
- make torches
- make tools
- use tools to get any ore or stone
- use stone to get furnaces
- make charcoal
- get iron (mine iron with made tools, mine coal with made tools or made charcoal)
- make any better tool with iron
- make buckets
- make armor/shield
I already use the sticks for extra torches, i just keep 2 sticks solely for a pickaxe if i need it. Worst case scenario, i bring logs with me anyways. I just hate crafting a crafting table a dozen different occasions so i always keep one on me. Plus i use the crafting table to combine ores into their blocks counterparts for more inventory.
Same. Mid-late game, I'll just bring an "adventure box" shulker chest to keep stuff like that in. Crafting table, brush, spare bed, milk bucket. That sort of thing.
i remember when i went to nerd pile up, didnt realize inwas in a mountain, and my pick broke at some point. had to mine cobble for like 10 mins with my hands 😭
> not all those who wander are lost
This is the biggest thing now. If I go caving, I make sure to be ready for a long haul. Chances are, if I’m lost, I’ll find a mineshaft and can make myself all the gear (iron pick) to get out relatively fast
Whenever possible I try to wall dead ends. Although for big and spacious caves that isn't possible, fortunately I don't get lost easily because I can just remember where's the entrance. Take a screenshot or write down your coords in chat for easy access, that too help a lot.
Until you have intersecting mineshafts that loop onto each other, making declaring things as dead ends / pointless extra connections very difficult. I found FOUR intersecting ones earlier and am still working on clearing it. I have started bringing colored wool or other colored blocks to mark paths that way if I run into some it means i already have a path there and can close ofd the loop.
If there are multiple paths that are connected simply cover the less convenient ones, eventually you'll get rid of loops and dead ends, plus it saves time when you need to be there often. They may cause confusion, not gonna deny it, but nothing that a bit of order when mining cannot fix.
I tend to inspect cave paths thoroughly all the time to know what paths i need to wall.
> fortunately I don’t get lost easily because I can just remember where’s the entrance
Videogames are great for developing spacial sense/memory. Especially games like Minecraft. I feel that my great spacial ability is due to playing so much Minecraft. I can point to my house from anywhere at any time. I know exactly where my car is. I can easily visualize every room of a building from any other room, the entire layout, and where it is relative to me.
This is just another reason why videogames arent as bad as people think. Its much better than watching tv. You are actually engaging and doing something.
You sure? At minimum they tell me in which direction I should be going and if for some reason i can't find the entrance I can always dig a path towards the exit
Coordinates are flawless outside of caves. But when you're in a deep and complex cave it's not going to tell you "turn right here". Just speaking from experience lol
I put down cobblestone and place a torch on the side that points to the way out. It really helps in mineshafts at the intersections when I've torched everything.
Ha, that's my go to as well. Usually cobblestone but sometimes its whatevers around. Especially at those mineshaft intersections.
I do it on the floor of big caves too so I know which way was out!
I have a terrible sense of direction!!
Wool is nice and bright and contrasts with the dark colours in the cave. I put two blocks of wool on/in the floor next to each other. One colour closer to the exit.
You can use any colours that suit you, but I use light blue to go further into the cave (representing adventure) and orange to leave the cave (representing home). I thought about green/red but I thought the green wouldn't contrast well in a lush cave.
It also gives you the chance to use other colours if you want to mark something e.g. I used a trail of white wool to get to a skeleton spawner before I set up a proper entrance.
And you can set up a simple wool farm with two sheep, and you'll have plenty of wool for your markers.
But the thing is I don’t need a memory aid for my current system, so creating a new memory “aid” would only end up confusing me when I’m in the depths and trying to remember if this world has my old system or my new system. I’m good with how I do it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I am pretty sure that what I described IS your current system: place torches on the right right going down into a cave, see them on the left while leaving. You could also use "Right is right" (implying that left is wrong) if you have trouble with the concept that you place torches on the right as you enter a tunnel in order to have them on the left while leaving.
I use the scompass too, but really only for the nether if I feel like it. (I think scompass is the right spelling, but idk cause I've never seen it spelt before)
Invented by Skizzleman, now on Hermitcraft. You stack two cobblestone with a torch on top and a torch on the side, pointing in the direction of the exit.
What i do if i get really lost inside a cave, i just dig up to the surface in a pillar 😂 obviously in a well lit area so mobs wont spawn and try to kill you as you pillar up.
I make a path of a different material than what is in the cave. And I make stairs.
Drives my boyfriend nuts he just wants to run around and explore while I'm falling behind meticulous making my paths and stairs. Lol
There are some good suggestions in the threads. It amazes me that all people settled on torches on the right for returning. I remember sailing on the Chesapeake with my FIL. The buoy system (to keep in the channel) was red on the right going upstream. Or Red Right Returning.
Mine was a block on the floor or at intersections with a torch on the side of the block facing the way I came. Torches on walls or floor are for light!
Although I'm liking the pick a specific side on the way down to reverse to get out!
I don't do anything to prevent getting lost. Some caves are just too full of twists and turns that tips don't always help. I just end up making my own exit.
Usually I just get lost and then figure it out, but when I need path markers cobblestone or concrete powder with torches pointing toward the exit work great.
if you dont play modded i'd get a lot of wool or cerpet of diff colors and place them as i go (diff color is id you have a specific place you wanna remember or route you wanna take) and then you could put down signs to remind yourself whats for what
I really just run out of torches and never bring extra coal so my expeditions are always cut short 😭 I never find coal, either, when so deep, so that’s another issue.
Same here. I'll inevitably get lost, at some point decide enough is enough, and come up out of the next access to the surface I find. With rockets and elytra in an ender chest, home is never too far away.
Personally, I just carry a stack of signs with me. Not only can I use those to point to the exit, I can also use them to leave notes for myself, like "dead end", "unexplored", or "gravel ceiling, don't mine".
Torches on he right as i go
Torch on the ground at intersections
3 torch means dead end ( or blocked across if im low on torches)
Plus sign means this is the exit
Redstone marks where i mined diamonds ( though i haven't checked the spawn rules for diamonds since caves and cliffs so i don't know if the chunk matters anymore)
Bread crumbs basically. I make a big border around where I first got into the cave then I do the torch trick and once I start going different directions I just place 2 block tall wool or log. Each direction is a different block though so I know what trail leads to what
An impeccable sense of direction apparently.
Learning a ton of new methods in this thread.
I can wander in an abandoned mineshaft, leave zero torches and find my way out without issue.
This game scratches my tizzys _juuuust_ right
I have a torch system that I use.
The way back to the entrance is three torches across. When I explore down into the branches of a cave and come back up I remove the extra torches and place a cobblestone block and put a torch on top of it so I know I've been there already
I've never gotten lost in all the years I've been playing Minecraft
Write coordinates of your base, then it's easy to find home and getting lost isn't really a problem, just dig up.
For common paths I make signs and stick them on the wall in visible places. [ <---Home--< ]
I make a bunch of signs and write a little blurb with >, <, or ^ to point to the way out. If I don’t have signs I use the 3 block trick some others have mentioned to “point” to the way out
I most of the time remember where I come from. It's typically when I go through multiple cave types in one go that it becomes hard. Then I just dig out
I dig a shaft all way to bedrock and make tunnels to caves I found for easy in and out safety. The shaft coords is vital to remember in case of emergency exits.
I place torches anywhere, and block off explored areas so that the torches path has no bifurcations. No full blocking off, you explored an area, stick 3 cobblestone blocks near the main torch path meaning that direction is not relevant.
This way, I end up with a single torch path at any given time, no worry about direction or whatever, just go back.
Then, don't save on torches, place them close so the path is pretty obvious. I place torches every 3-4 blocks.
If there is a drop with no staircase (eg I go down a waterfall), I make some sort of sign (eg a 2x2 torch square or put a line of torches on the wall etc).
I remember, one time I used buttons. I had used bamboo buttons for mine, and my friend had stone buttons. (deeplsate cave so its still visible dw)
But the idea was that torches went everywhere, but the buttons only go towards the exit. Then put like a ring of buttons if there's multiple ways to go and put a mark where the exit is.
Idk. I did it once and we never used it again. Our method rn is pure memory.
I always place torches on the right, and every time I come to a fork, I mark the path to the exit with a double torch. Then when I leave, I follow the torches on the left and any double torches. You can also just mine out but I don’t like that.
In addition to torches, I build a nice looking well-lit doorway at the place I entered the cave and mine away a little bit of the nearby stone/deepslate so it's visible from a bit further away.
I late game i don't care anymore, since i have elytra and my coords i can mine up and fly to my base.
In early game i put torches in the direction of where i'm coming from, so when i want to go back i can just follow the direction that the torches are titled to
Sometimes I'll set three torches in a pattern where they point back the way I came so I can follow them out. This is also good to indicate where I have to go up or down, if needed. It uses up more torches but they stand out from ones that I'm plopping down for lighting.
I carry a stack of some block that will stick out from the surrounding. For caves I typically use wood, in the nether I use stone. I then put the block down, put a torch on top of it and a torch on the side toward the exit (on two sides if I need to go diagonal). Then I space them so when I get to a block, I can see the next one. It's not cost efficient, since it uses a lot of torches, but it works once I have enough resources to do it.
I've always used signs. Now we can make colored glow signs so that helps. I also leave chest behind me.
I just had a new idea though. Remove blocks in the shape of arrows. If you don't want to use a sign. In case you run out of torches or something.
I use off colored blocks on the ground pointing from whence I came. So cobble stone in the deep with three blocks in a line and one more to indicate left/right. I also put down candles towards the main exit
I always, no matter how big or small, place a torch on the side of a block ((not a wall, not the top of the floor, the side of the floor if its going down or up is okay)) FACING the direction I am going as I explore the cave. it goes through a lot of torches but can always find the exit, whether its a linear little cave or convoluted ravine mineshaft combo.
\>the way my brain works when navigating anywhere in any context is simple:
1. go to start location
2. keep going until i get to a landmark i recognize
3. turn
4. repeat step 2 until i end up at a new landmark
5. turn
6. repeat step 4 until i get bored
7. turn around and repeat step 2 until i return to start location
\>alternate system for more complex caves:
1. build a signpost telling me where to go
I have a good direction sense, so I light an area by placing torches on the ground, and put an excessive amount of torches on the wall around the egress point(s) back home.
In general, though, I just keep track of the exit's direction while making an area safe(er) with torches and light the walls for redundancy. If I get lost and encounter an area with no torches, I turn around and look for the wall torches.
Oh I still use “torches on the right is the right way out,” as I’d put it, I just put double torches (or more) near entrances and try to ignore floor torches when it comes to navigation. Not perfect but it works enough.
Man, this isn’t necessarily towards you OP, but it’s amazing how many don’t problem solve more with this game. Are people really still intimidated by it?
Torch on right. Arrow of torches like \^ at major routes. Pillar of wood with torch on top in huge rooms. Wall off rooms with row of wood as you go. I try to always use wood so it's easier to see, cobble blends in.
I do the one side thing as well- if it’s a huge area without a wall, I use a block or two of dirt (in stone areas) and put a torch on the corresponding side.
I either use cobblestone or dirt and place a torch on it on the way into a cave so I can find my way back up, or I just use night vision potions if I don’t feel like carrying a lot of torches with me and dig a staircase back up. Depends on the cave, if I’ve gone in it before, if it’s one of those huge caves or a smaller one, etc
I also always use coordinates. I play on bedrock so I have the coordinates on the top left of my screen at all times. I make note of the coordinates of my base, the cave entrance and where I am so that’s also very helpful.
If I’m going into a cave it’s to explore and I’ll always go in with enough supplies to dig my way out. If I’m mining then I just stick to strip mining with a staircase going directly down.
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I still use "left to the depth, right to the light", but I specifically place them on the wall. Any torch placed on the floor is only there to light up the place. The important thing is this: I ONLY place torches on the wall to signify direction. If there's no wall for me to place down a torch, I'm gonna place down a block of cobblestone just so I can place a wall torch. This has the added benefit of also working in the Nether. Being very strict about this system has saved me countless times where I would've gotten lost otherwise.
Same. Best ways. I also do DOUBLE TORCH if it is exit.
I make an arrow out of torches if it's 1x2 or hidden exit.
Same. Makes them much easier to find.
Shoot I just throw down 10 or so at an exit
Yeah, I've always done this too, works really well, I'd never equated "left to the depth, right to the light" but yes, that's how I've always done it. Fair play.
Red Right Returning, from boaters safety class in 8th grade, 1982
I actually do the opposite, right to depth, left tl surface lol
"I went right in, and then I left."
Yeah the torches are held in my right hand and it just feels right to have them on the right.
Yep "I left to go home"
Same, me and my buddies say "left to leave"
Same, it doesn't matter the direction you use as long as it's consistent... Lol at the idea that you'd need a mnemonic to remember the difference between your right and left
Wow, rude.
If you say so, sorry if you were offended
I wasn't, it's just how i learned it from a tutorial way back on pocket edition
Word, the right-side preference is what OG Let's Players like Ethos and X were doing when I first started so it just stuck
Bro thinks he's smart because he used the word "mnemonic".
If only there was a mnemonic that helped with reading comprehension
I usually do the opposite, I find it faster to place a torch on the right And if the torch is on the left my brain thinks it looks funny and I know I’m headed back the right way
Okay this is clever! I should start doing this as wel. I did do pillars in the Nether but a wall is more directional and the added torch is super useful.
Same. I also wall off dead ends when everything has been mined out of it. I have a decent memory so I haven't needed to use the torch path yet, but lets see what happens when I go in deeper into the caves. I did get lost in the nether once though. Should have used cobble stone instead of torches to mark my path. And written down the coordinates.
I use that strategy to clear mineshafts. Problem is when they intersect. Earlier I found 4 mineshafts all intersecting each other and it was impossible to look for dead ends because they always looped back on themselves. So I began using colored wool to mark sections and then if I ran into a room with colored wool it meant that I already had a path to that and could close that second connection.
I have yet to encounter a mineshaft but I'll keep the wool thing in mind. I just need to find sheep. I think I have too many animals that nothing else can spawn.
Moss blocks also work well for this and are cheaper
You shouldnt need it with normal mineshafts, but this one was literally 4 mineshafts intersecting, counting the big central rooms where every mineshaft starts from.
That’s crazy. I use signs if the place is too crazy for my torch on the left trick.
I like diorite for that if I can, because it's so easy to spot in Nether Wastes biomes
Wow this is a really good idea! I always put 2 torches to signify my direction but it’s so wasteful.
This man crafts mines. Torches on the right on the way in.
I'm the opposite, I light up walls to keep the bad guys at bay. I'll add 3 torches where to make a turn. Especially in mines, or overhead of a "doorway". I've also attached 3 sands or dirt to signify I've fully explored a section of cave
This is the exact system and phrase I use to remember it! Something else I do as well in large caverns with many paths is to make small pillars out of something visible like granite or dripstone blocks - short, one block pillars at the bottom that get longer as you go up and out of the path that leads back to my base.
If I don’t have a wall or if I got lower in the cave in a really stupid unclear way, I make arrows out of cobblestone lit with torches.
Oh, that's a good way to do it.
Don’t worry about finding an exit, you can just mine yourself a staircase out. And as for getting lost, not all those who wander are lost, just run around and find a dark area you haven’t been in yet and then find another and another.
My number.... 3 ig rule of mining is to save enough pick durability to nerd pole to the surface
I always keep at least 2 sticks, at least 3 iron and a crafting table with me. Worst case scenario i can craft a fresh iron pick to pillar my way up to the surface. The crafting table is especially useful if you dont have silk touch so you can combine all the raw ore in your inventory into their raw block form for better inventory management. Better to have a stack of raw iron blocks than several stacks of raw iron ore.
I use a stack of sticks and cobblestones and carry a crafting table with me until I get full enchanted diamond equipment. Iron pickaxe for valuable ores in deepslate caves only. Save me tons of iron.
I carry a stack of logs. I can make sticks, torches wood/cobble tools, stripped logs for markers and so much more if needed.
Yeah I thought this was common knowledge. Logs are the most compact form. You should always have logs, thats all you need. Logs and food. With logs you can: - make crafting table - make sticks - make torches - make tools - use tools to get any ore or stone - use stone to get furnaces - make charcoal - get iron (mine iron with made tools, mine coal with made tools or made charcoal) - make any better tool with iron - make buckets - make armor/shield
Stealing this
Save 2 inventory spaces and just bring a stack of planks
I already use the sticks for extra torches, i just keep 2 sticks solely for a pickaxe if i need it. Worst case scenario, i bring logs with me anyways. I just hate crafting a crafting table a dozen different occasions so i always keep one on me. Plus i use the crafting table to combine ores into their blocks counterparts for more inventory.
Same. Mid-late game, I'll just bring an "adventure box" shulker chest to keep stuff like that in. Crafting table, brush, spare bed, milk bucket. That sort of thing.
Why not logs instead of planks?
i remember when i went to nerd pile up, didnt realize inwas in a mountain, and my pick broke at some point. had to mine cobble for like 10 mins with my hands 😭
Staircase ends at the top of a mountain
lol that can happen but you’ll get out eventually
> not all those who wander are lost This is the biggest thing now. If I go caving, I make sure to be ready for a long haul. Chances are, if I’m lost, I’ll find a mineshaft and can make myself all the gear (iron pick) to get out relatively fast
Til you die and then cant find your stuff..
Whenever possible I try to wall dead ends. Although for big and spacious caves that isn't possible, fortunately I don't get lost easily because I can just remember where's the entrance. Take a screenshot or write down your coords in chat for easy access, that too help a lot.
Walls is also the way to not get lost in mineshafts.
Until you have intersecting mineshafts that loop onto each other, making declaring things as dead ends / pointless extra connections very difficult. I found FOUR intersecting ones earlier and am still working on clearing it. I have started bringing colored wool or other colored blocks to mark paths that way if I run into some it means i already have a path there and can close ofd the loop.
If there are multiple paths that are connected simply cover the less convenient ones, eventually you'll get rid of loops and dead ends, plus it saves time when you need to be there often. They may cause confusion, not gonna deny it, but nothing that a bit of order when mining cannot fix. I tend to inspect cave paths thoroughly all the time to know what paths i need to wall.
That’s what I’ve been doing, you need the extra blocks for it because some of the loops are just too long that you cant tell its a loop.
> fortunately I don’t get lost easily because I can just remember where’s the entrance Videogames are great for developing spacial sense/memory. Especially games like Minecraft. I feel that my great spacial ability is due to playing so much Minecraft. I can point to my house from anywhere at any time. I know exactly where my car is. I can easily visualize every room of a building from any other room, the entire layout, and where it is relative to me. This is just another reason why videogames arent as bad as people think. Its much better than watching tv. You are actually engaging and doing something.
This, yes!
Coordinates don't really help in caves.
You sure? At minimum they tell me in which direction I should be going and if for some reason i can't find the entrance I can always dig a path towards the exit
Coordinates are flawless outside of caves. But when you're in a deep and complex cave it's not going to tell you "turn right here". Just speaking from experience lol
I put down cobblestone and place a torch on the side that points to the way out. It really helps in mineshafts at the intersections when I've torched everything.
Ha, that's my go to as well. Usually cobblestone but sometimes its whatevers around. Especially at those mineshaft intersections. I do it on the floor of big caves too so I know which way was out!
i do the same thing
i just don't worry about it! i'll find my way home one way or another.
I have a terrible sense of direction!! Wool is nice and bright and contrasts with the dark colours in the cave. I put two blocks of wool on/in the floor next to each other. One colour closer to the exit. You can use any colours that suit you, but I use light blue to go further into the cave (representing adventure) and orange to leave the cave (representing home). I thought about green/red but I thought the green wouldn't contrast well in a lush cave. It also gives you the chance to use other colours if you want to mark something e.g. I used a trail of white wool to get to a skeleton spawner before I set up a proper entrance. And you can set up a simple wool farm with two sheep, and you'll have plenty of wool for your markers.
I also use wool! One brightly colored piece to show which door leads back to the surface! But I like your double block method lol
It’s been years since I played, but I used to stack 2 cobblestone and place a torch on the side that would lead back out
I put torches to my right going down, I didn’t know about the rhyme when I started and at this point that’s how I do it I can’t change lol
Just make up a new memory aid: Left means Leaving.
But the thing is I don’t need a memory aid for my current system, so creating a new memory “aid” would only end up confusing me when I’m in the depths and trying to remember if this world has my old system or my new system. I’m good with how I do it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I am pretty sure that what I described IS your current system: place torches on the right right going down into a cave, see them on the left while leaving. You could also use "Right is right" (implying that left is wrong) if you have trouble with the concept that you place torches on the right as you enter a tunnel in order to have them on the left while leaving.
Putting them on the right is easier. The side doesn’t really matter as long as you stay consistent.
I use the “skumpass” (spl?)
I use the scompass too, but really only for the nether if I feel like it. (I think scompass is the right spelling, but idk cause I've never seen it spelt before)
The compass?
Invented by Skizzleman, now on Hermitcraft. You stack two cobblestone with a torch on top and a torch on the side, pointing in the direction of the exit.
What i do if i get really lost inside a cave, i just dig up to the surface in a pillar 😂 obviously in a well lit area so mobs wont spawn and try to kill you as you pillar up.
I make a path of a different material than what is in the cave. And I make stairs. Drives my boyfriend nuts he just wants to run around and explore while I'm falling behind meticulous making my paths and stairs. Lol
There are some good suggestions in the threads. It amazes me that all people settled on torches on the right for returning. I remember sailing on the Chesapeake with my FIL. The buoy system (to keep in the channel) was red on the right going upstream. Or Red Right Returning.
Mine was a block on the floor or at intersections with a torch on the side of the block facing the way I came. Torches on walls or floor are for light! Although I'm liking the pick a specific side on the way down to reverse to get out!
i put my torches on the left when i enter, so on the way back i can find the *right* way home
I don't do anything to prevent getting lost. Some caves are just too full of twists and turns that tips don't always help. I just end up making my own exit.
My pigeon brain
I’ve been using 3 torches to form an arrow, follow the arrows
I place signs down and write directions on them to guide me
Usually I just get lost and then figure it out, but when I need path markers cobblestone or concrete powder with torches pointing toward the exit work great.
I place sand blocks with a torch on the side facing the way I've come in. It's saved me getting lost on countless occasions
I use waypoints
Find tnt works well for the tight gaps and glowstone bricks for open areas
if you dont play modded i'd get a lot of wool or cerpet of diff colors and place them as i go (diff color is id you have a specific place you wanna remember or route you wanna take) and then you could put down signs to remind yourself whats for what
I don’t, just dig up when you’re done and go home
I just raw dog those caves. Got the mental map of a D&D Minitaur in this noggin'.
I usually don’t bother… dig until I’m full on space, then staircase back up wherever and then go back to base
I give up on that and just explore until my inventory is full and dig up until the surface at which point I just use coordinates to get back home.
I really just run out of torches and never bring extra coal so my expeditions are always cut short 😭 I never find coal, either, when so deep, so that’s another issue.
Bread crumbs with polished diorite
I explore until I get severely lost, or full inventory. Then staircase up and out.
Good visual memory. But even if you get lost you can dig up.
S'compass
I put torches up, but I still manage to get lost, lol. So I just go with it.
Same here. I'll inevitably get lost, at some point decide enough is enough, and come up out of the next access to the surface I find. With rockets and elytra in an ender chest, home is never too far away.
I just got finished exploring a relatively small cave system, in the desert. Came out in an entirely different spot than I went in to it from. Lol.
I will put lights in an arrow symbol to where my stairs are in the middle of a big room. Then I place a row of lights at the actual stairs or tunnel.
Personally, I just carry a stack of signs with me. Not only can I use those to point to the exit, I can also use them to leave notes for myself, like "dead end", "unexplored", or "gravel ceiling, don't mine".
I make little pillars and put torches on them
Yolo that shit. I eventually get lost and dig straight up to FREEDOM!
Torches on he right as i go Torch on the ground at intersections 3 torch means dead end ( or blocked across if im low on torches) Plus sign means this is the exit Redstone marks where i mined diamonds ( though i haven't checked the spawn rules for diamonds since caves and cliffs so i don't know if the chunk matters anymore)
Honestly getting lost is half the fun for me.
That trick with the torches, and also sometimes I just get lost and staircase my way out.
Bread crumbs basically. I make a big border around where I first got into the cave then I do the torch trick and once I start going different directions I just place 2 block tall wool or log. Each direction is a different block though so I know what trail leads to what
An impeccable sense of direction apparently. Learning a ton of new methods in this thread. I can wander in an abandoned mineshaft, leave zero torches and find my way out without issue. This game scratches my tizzys _juuuust_ right
I have a torch system that I use. The way back to the entrance is three torches across. When I explore down into the branches of a cave and come back up I remove the extra torches and place a cobblestone block and put a torch on top of it so I know I've been there already I've never gotten lost in all the years I've been playing Minecraft
I have very good sense of direction, I literally just remember the entire cave. It's to the point where I only use torches to stop mobspawns.
i don't get lost in caves because i don't go caving. all of the minerals/ores you can find in caves you can get from villagers
Bro here playing tradecraft
you get the tools Made from the Minerals, but the villagers arent exactly going to trade out diamonds
I use dig into the rock and put in diorite arrows in the holes (3 blocks) pointing the way out. they are easy to see against the darker rock.
Write coordinates of your base, then it's easy to find home and getting lost isn't really a problem, just dig up. For common paths I make signs and stick them on the wall in visible places. [ <---Home--< ]
Signs. I also block off cleared passages
I make a bunch of signs and write a little blurb with >, <, or ^ to point to the way out. If I don’t have signs I use the 3 block trick some others have mentioned to “point” to the way out
I most of the time remember where I come from. It's typically when I go through multiple cave types in one go that it becomes hard. Then I just dig out
I don’t I explore for a while then when I have enough I make a portal and find my way home from there
I dig a shaft all way to bedrock and make tunnels to caves I found for easy in and out safety. The shaft coords is vital to remember in case of emergency exits.
I place torches anywhere, and block off explored areas so that the torches path has no bifurcations. No full blocking off, you explored an area, stick 3 cobblestone blocks near the main torch path meaning that direction is not relevant. This way, I end up with a single torch path at any given time, no worry about direction or whatever, just go back. Then, don't save on torches, place them close so the path is pretty obvious. I place torches every 3-4 blocks. If there is a drop with no staircase (eg I go down a waterfall), I make some sort of sign (eg a 2x2 torch square or put a line of torches on the wall etc).
I remember, one time I used buttons. I had used bamboo buttons for mine, and my friend had stone buttons. (deeplsate cave so its still visible dw) But the idea was that torches went everywhere, but the buttons only go towards the exit. Then put like a ring of buttons if there's multiple ways to go and put a mark where the exit is. Idk. I did it once and we never used it again. Our method rn is pure memory.
torch always faces the exit
I torch the floor as I go and block off any dead ends.
Mine up, carry torches for gravel
Jackolanterns placed at junctions, facing the way I came in.
I always place torches on the right, and every time I come to a fork, I mark the path to the exit with a double torch. Then when I leave, I follow the torches on the left and any double torches. You can also just mine out but I don’t like that.
In addition to torches, I build a nice looking well-lit doorway at the place I entered the cave and mine away a little bit of the nearby stone/deepslate so it's visible from a bit further away.
Red stone torch arrows at major junctions. I’m really stupid and will forget any other method.
I late game i don't care anymore, since i have elytra and my coords i can mine up and fly to my base. In early game i put torches in the direction of where i'm coming from, so when i want to go back i can just follow the direction that the torches are titled to
Make giant flashing arrows with light blocks and redstone, just to be safe
I usually place/break easily recognizable block to mark any important location and place some signs indicating directions whenever I get the chance.
In places where multiple paths branch off, I use 2 torches next to each other to signal the main path back, to differentiate from side paths.
Torches on the right!
I had dirt, seeds, and wood in a shulker I keep in my echest. Worst case scenario: I live in the cave now
Sometimes I'll set three torches in a pattern where they point back the way I came so I can follow them out. This is also good to indicate where I have to go up or down, if needed. It uses up more torches but they stand out from ones that I'm plopping down for lighting.
It's RIGHT way home, you have LEFT home.
I carry a stack of some block that will stick out from the surrounding. For caves I typically use wood, in the nether I use stone. I then put the block down, put a torch on top of it and a torch on the side toward the exit (on two sides if I need to go diagonal). Then I space them so when I get to a block, I can see the next one. It's not cost efficient, since it uses a lot of torches, but it works once I have enough resources to do it.
i just place torches as i go so i know that i have explored where there are torches
Usually I make sure there’s a lava pool somewhere or make a lava pool then make a rhyme like ’lava up to the surface, torches down to the caves
I place a block that stands out with one torch on top and one on the side facing the way I came
I use a double torch to mark an entrance/exit or I'll make an arrow to point where I need to go.
I don't, Hee hee hee hoo I have become the cave nome-
I've always used signs. Now we can make colored glow signs so that helps. I also leave chest behind me. I just had a new idea though. Remove blocks in the shape of arrows. If you don't want to use a sign. In case you run out of torches or something.
I use off colored blocks on the ground pointing from whence I came. So cobble stone in the deep with three blocks in a line and one more to indicate left/right. I also put down candles towards the main exit
That’s the neat part, you don’t
I break down the cave into walls. No matter how much it takes I just build walls and take things chunk by chunk.
Dirt arrows. Every time there’s a split in a cave I make a 3 piece dirt signpost that points the way back
I always, no matter how big or small, place a torch on the side of a block ((not a wall, not the top of the floor, the side of the floor if its going down or up is okay)) FACING the direction I am going as I explore the cave. it goes through a lot of torches but can always find the exit, whether its a linear little cave or convoluted ravine mineshaft combo.
My memory of where I’ve been in Minecraft is very good, it’s awful anywhere else but in Minecraft I excel
\>the way my brain works when navigating anywhere in any context is simple: 1. go to start location 2. keep going until i get to a landmark i recognize 3. turn 4. repeat step 2 until i end up at a new landmark 5. turn 6. repeat step 4 until i get bored 7. turn around and repeat step 2 until i return to start location \>alternate system for more complex caves: 1. build a signpost telling me where to go
I also place a line of torches in front of any small crevice I entered through so I don't lose it.
I just plop torches everywhere and run around until I find my way out. I do drop a dirt block at cave branches that are dead ends.
Oh that makes sense. I covered half my house in moss so I definitely have enough. And I definitely have enough bone meal.
Download horion and use “breadcrumbs”
I have a good direction sense, so I light an area by placing torches on the ground, and put an excessive amount of torches on the wall around the egress point(s) back home. In general, though, I just keep track of the exit's direction while making an area safe(er) with torches and light the walls for redundancy. If I get lost and encounter an area with no torches, I turn around and look for the wall torches.
Oh I still use “torches on the right is the right way out,” as I’d put it, I just put double torches (or more) near entrances and try to ignore floor torches when it comes to navigation. Not perfect but it works enough.
Man, this isn’t necessarily towards you OP, but it’s amazing how many don’t problem solve more with this game. Are people really still intimidated by it?
Torch on right. Arrow of torches like \^ at major routes. Pillar of wood with torch on top in huge rooms. Wall off rooms with row of wood as you go. I try to always use wood so it's easier to see, cobble blends in.
Good sense of direction/memory OR just digging up and out when I'm done
I do the one side thing as well- if it’s a huge area without a wall, I use a block or two of dirt (in stone areas) and put a torch on the corresponding side.
I just point all my torches toward the way I came. I'll place a block if I need to
I either use cobblestone or dirt and place a torch on it on the way into a cave so I can find my way back up, or I just use night vision potions if I don’t feel like carrying a lot of torches with me and dig a staircase back up. Depends on the cave, if I’ve gone in it before, if it’s one of those huge caves or a smaller one, etc I also always use coordinates. I play on bedrock so I have the coordinates on the top left of my screen at all times. I make note of the coordinates of my base, the cave entrance and where I am so that’s also very helpful.
Torches, dig up, uses coordinates
If I’m going into a cave it’s to explore and I’ll always go in with enough supplies to dig my way out. If I’m mining then I just stick to strip mining with a staircase going directly down.
I put blocks down but I still get lost lol
Torches but sometimes I’ll bring dirt or sand and place it down
I don't, I just dig straight up
I put down signs and the exit tunnel has 3 vertical torches on the right hand side.
Wow I didn't realize so many people were so methodical about this. I always just dig out when I'm done lol
I don't, I just explore until I run out of torches then dig up and figure out where I am in the surface
I take a picture with my phone of the coordinates so I can come back easily
Acacia wood just tons of it bright orange wood in dark gray colors pretty hard to miss
I make 2 tall cobble with 1 on the side with a torch as an arrow to point the way out. Kind of an inverted L.
Honestly, I either write down the coords for the opening of the cave, or I just jump into lava.
I put a bed outside the cave and use it to set my spawn point. Once I'm done in the cave I kill myself (we have keep inventory on)