How to Survive the First 100 Days in Hardcore Minecraft: A Day-by-Day Strategy Guide

Hardcore Minecraft is unforgiving. One mistake — a creeper blast, a missed jump in the Nether, or simply forgetting food — can end your world forever. The challenge is not only about surviving but about progressing strategically so that by Day 100, you are well-established, armored, and capable of thriving indefinitely.

This guide provides a tactical day-by-day plan for the first 100 days in Hardcore Minecraft, broken down into 10 sections of 10 days each. Each phase emphasizes gathering resources, building defenses, fighting mobs, exploring dimensions, and steadily upgrading gear.

Days 1–10: Establishing the Basics of Survival

The first ten days are about securing food, shelter, and safety. Every decision in this phase determines whether you’ll survive past the first night.

Day 1: Spawn and First Priorities

Punch trees immediately and craft a wooden pickaxe.
Get 20–30 logs to last through early crafting.
Locate surface stone for tools. Upgrade quickly to stone pickaxe, axe, and sword.
Kill nearby animals for food, or collect berries if in taiga.

Tactical Goal: Before nightfall, you need a shelter. A dugout into a hillside works fine for Day 1.

Day 2–3: Expanding Essentials

Collect at least 30 coal or charcoal for torches.
Dig down to Y=11–-59 for iron (avoid caves until armored).
Smelt iron tools: pickaxe, sword, bucket, shield. The shield is priority #1 against skeletons.
Kill sheep for a bed to skip nights (safer than fighting).

Day 4–5: Food and Farming

Craft a hoe and plant wheat seeds near water.
Hunt cows and breed at least two pairs (cows > pigs due to leather).
Expand food base with fishing rod or berry bushes.

Tip: By Day 5, you should always carry 20+ food before caving.

Day 6–7: First Exploration Runs

Carefully explore surface caves for more iron.
Craft full iron armor by Day 7.
Light up cave entrances near your base.

Day 8–10: Base Foundations

Begin building a starter house above ground, fortified with fences and torches.
Craft multiple furnaces, storage chests, and a farm plot.
Start mapping the area — keep note of villages, lava pools, and structures.

End of Day 10 Tactical Checkpoint: You should have full iron armor, shield, stone or iron tools, renewable food, a safe base, and knowledge of your surrounding biome.

Days 11–20: Securing Resources and Villager Interaction

By this point, the basics are covered. Now you must start securing long-term survival assets.

Day 11–12: Iron Expansion

Mine aggressively for more iron (aim for 40–50 pieces).
Craft an anvil and keep backup armor.
Collect gravel for flint — useful for arrows and Nether flint & steel.

Day 13–14: Village Operations

Locate a village within 1000 blocks.
Secure villagers in houses by placing blocks at doors.
Start trading: get a Fletcher (sticks → emeralds) and Librarian (bookshelves).

Day 15: Nether Preparation Step One

Collect at least one bucket of lava.
Gather diamonds (at least 3 for pickaxe). If not yet, continue strip mining.
Prepare gold armor for piglins.

Day 16–17: Food and Animal Expansion

Expand farms (potatoes, carrots, wheat).
Breed cows heavily for leather/books.
Build a fenced animal pen — important for safe food supply.

Day 18–20: Upgrade into Diamond Gear

Mine until you find at least 9–12 diamonds.
Craft diamond pickaxe, sword, and one armor piece (chestplate first).
Gather obsidian for Nether portal.

End of Day 20 Tactical Checkpoint: Full iron armor (some diamond upgrades), a secured base with villagers, renewable farms, and obsidian ready for Nether access.

Days 21–30: First Nether Entry and Stronger Gear

The Nether is both a death trap and a necessity. This phase introduces Nether travel cautiously.

Day 21–22: Entering the Nether

Light your portal near base.
Step through carefully and immediately build a cobblestone shelter at spawn.
Note biome: safe areas are Nether Wastes or Crimson Forests; Soul Sand Valleys are deadly.

Day 23–24: Resource Collection

Mine Nether quartz (XP).
Collect glowstone for potions.
Kill piglins for gold trades (fire resistance potions are lifesaving).

Day 25: Fortress Hunt Begins

Carefully explore using cobblestone bridges.
Locate Nether Fortress; mark paths with torches.
If blaze spawners found, retreat for now unless well-geared.

Day 26–27: Overworld Progress

Return and enchant gear with villager trades or enchanting table.
Aim for Protection II iron armor and Sharpness sword.

Day 28–30: Blaze Battle Prep

Gather extra food, potions, and arrows.
Craft multiple shields.
Plan fortress raid for blaze rods.

End of Day 30 Tactical Checkpoint: Enchanted gear, blaze location secured, renewable emerald source via villagers. You’re now advancing toward the Eye of Ender stage.