Gold is one of those resources that may not hold much value for many players. For a long time, there wasn’t much you could do with it, but now there are great uses for gold bars and possible recipes you absolutely need to incorporate into your Minecraft world! Gold not only looks stylish but can do a whole lot more. It’s not the best choice for tools and defense, but it’s much more important in trading. We’ll show you all this in detail today, along with a guide for a simple gold farm in the Nether.
Collecting Gold in Minecraft: Valuable or Unnecessary?
Gold is a really nice thing! And you’d surely love to have a lot of it in your chests. However, there isn’t much you can do with it, as it’s very soft and not really suitable for weapons and tools. But gold offers other options, mainly related to trading. There are also a few tasty recipes!
Piglin Bartering in Minecraft: How It Works
Piglins are some of the inhabitants of the Nether and are crazy about gold! Always wear at least one piece of gold armor, or they’ll attack you.
You can barter with Piglins, which is probably one of the best uses for your excess gold. Simply throw them a gold ingot and they’ll give you an item from their inventory in exchange. This is always random, but each item has a certain probability. You can repeat this as often as possible and even build a trading station. We have an article about it if you want to learn more. (Bartering with Piglins in Minecraft: Guide & How to Build an Automatic Farm)
The best items are:
- Obsidian
- Nether Quartz
- Gravel
- Ender Pearls
- Potion of Fire Resistance
- Soul Speed Enchantment
Villager Trading in Minecraft: Trading Gold for Emeralds
You can also use gold for regular trading with villagers. The Cleric will accept three gold ingots and trade them for one emerald. If you have enough reputation, you can even reduce this price! The Farmer, on the other hand, accepts golden carrots and trades three of them for three emeralds. So having enough gold is also a valid method to collect some emeralds for trading with villagers.
Golden Food in Minecraft: The Best Recipes with Gold
Speaking of golden carrots, there are actually some great recipes with gold. They may be a bit expensive, but they are among the best foods you can make.
The three golden foods:
- Golden Apple
- Golden Carrot
- Glistering Melon Slice
Gold Tools in Minecraft: Why They’re Not a Good Choice
Although gold, like many other ores, can be found underground, it is not suitable for tools, weapons, and armor. As in real life, gold is a very soft material, so it breaks quickly. This mechanic also exists in Minecraft, as the durability of gold tools is very low. It’s even worse than wood! So stay away from all practical items made of gold that have durability. It doesn’t help that gold mines faster than diamonds. Repairing them simply isn’t worth it.
The only armor you should craft from gold is for the Nether. One piece is enough to prevent attacks from Piglins. But you can also obtain gold armor pieces without having to craft them yourself.
Building a Minecraft Gold Farm: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
If you want to trade gold ingots, you’re probably wondering if there’s a better method than mining. You will find a lot of gold in caves or in the mesa, but mining everything by hand is not very practical.
Fortunately, there is a monster in the Nether that drops both gold ingots and nuggets upon death. These are the zombified Piglins (formerly Pigmen), which you should not confuse with regular Piglins. Zombie Piglins are half-skeletal and appear in the Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, and on Nether Fortresses. They are neutral mobs, meaning they won’t attack you unless provoked.
There are some large and complex gold farms, but they’re not necessarily needed and very complicated. Moreover, you would need to access the Nether and go through Bedrock, which is also difficult. Today, we’ll show you a simple variant that you can build at the beginning of a world or server. We’ll take advantage of the mechanic that causes Zombie Piglins to attack you when provoked.
Building Materials
- Building materials
- 6 slabs
- 5 hoppers + chest
- 6 trapdoors
- 7 ladders
- Bow and arrow
Step-by-Step: Building a Simple Gold Farm in Minecraft
Find a location where many Zombie Piglins spawn. A Nether Wastes biome is probably your best choice! Dig a hole in the ground with the dimensions 3x4x4.
At the bottom of the hole, on one of the short sides, place five hoppers in a U-shape, all leading into a chest. Above the hoppers and the chest, place slabs so that items can fall through, but Zombie Piglins cannot attack you. Then build a wall of 6 building blocks above it to create a pit. You can use ladders to climb in and out of the hole.
Now surround the pit and the ladder access with a two-block-high wall. The Zombie Piglins will fall in from the front, and you can climb down the ladder to kill them.
Finally, place the six trapdoors at the top edge of the pit. These will trick the Piglins into thinking they can walk over the hole, causing them to fall to their doom!
You can now lure the zombified Piglins with a well-aimed shot using a bow and arrow. All nearby Zombie Piglins will be alerted and try to kill you. Slip down the ladder and wait for all the monsters to fall into the pit. Kill them there with your sword to collect gold nuggets, gold ingots, and rotten flesh!
You can repeat this process as often as you like. Keep looking up to attract new Zombie Piglins with a shot from your bow. They should respawn fairly quickly. The gold farm may not be very fast, but it’s beginner-friendly and easy to build.
Conclusion: Farming and Using Gold Efficiently in Minecraft
Gold may not be the best choice for your armor and weapons, but in trading, it’s unbeatable! On one hand, you can trade it with villagers for emeralds, and on the other hand, you can barter with Piglins in the Nether for items. And there are some really cool things to get! Use a simple gold farm to take advantage of this and obtain exciting items. Rent your Minecraft server and collect enough gold ingots with your friends to keep the bartering alive.
