Highlights
- Shears: Cheap alternative to silk touch for picking up plant-based blocks and cobwebs without destroying them.
- Spyglass: Provides a better zoom function than modded options and is more accessible to players without mods.
- Flint and Steel: Essential for Nether travel as it can quickly relight a Nether portal if it loses connection to the Overworld.
While items and tools made of diamond, netherite, or other rare materials usually get the attention of most players in Minecraft, a select number of the less popular tools have distinct capabilities for survival. Items that some players even write off entirely indeed have a solid, if niche, use, making them solid cheap options early on or even in general for Minecraft usage.
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From least to most usable, the five most underappreciated tools in Minecraft can be used at any point during a playthrough, whether at the start of a world or well into its lifespan. Even with items that are highly valued for a certain job, their less-appreciated functions definitely shine through.
5 Shears
Obtain Wool, Plants & More Without Destruction
- Crafting Ingredients: Two Iron Ingots
Most iconic as the tool used for snipping sheep once or twice for a bed, the shears are valuable for those invested in detailed buildings and especially those without a specific enchantment on their tools. Since access to the enchanting table is limited early on, and specific enchanted books are even harder to come by, having the relatively cheap shears is a great alternative for silk touch.
While shears can only pick up plant-based blocks and cobwebs without destroying them, being able to move these early on or without needing silk touch for them at all is extremely valuable for an item made out of only two iron ingots.
4 Spyglass
See Further Away With Clarity
- Crafting Ingredients: One Amethyst Shard, Two Copper Ingots
Upon its initial debut, many players were quick to notice that the spyglass' functionality was just that of an unmodded, vanilla OptiFine zoom. On the surface, that comparison is accurate, but thankfully for the spyglass, it's ever so slightly more effective than the competition.
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The spyglass may have one function, but it does that function well. It zooms in far further than the modded option, and while the spyglass does take up a highly valued inventory slot as opposed to the modded zoom, the spyglass is more accessible to players who don't play with mods, as well as simply being the better zoom.
3 Flint And Steel
Create Fire On The Go, A Necessity For Nether Travel
- Crafting Ingredients: One Flint, One Iron Ingot
The flint and steel is perhaps most well-known as an item players use once to light a Nether portal, and then never touch it again. Beyond being a possible igniter for TNT and creepers, flint and steel are usually left behind at the base at some random level of durability. However, for players that frequent the Nether, holding onto flint and steel is a must.
While there are several ways to prevent a Nether portal from turning off, when the portal does lose connection to the Overworld, it can be disastrous if not fixed promptly. Usually the work of ghasts, this problem can turn deadly rapidly, and certainly even worse if the ghast is killed before it lights the portal again. Having a spare flint and steel on hand is a perfect backup for this situation since few other things in the Nether can light a Nether portal in a timely manner.
2 Fishing Rod
Drag Mobs & Loot Ocean Items
- Crafting Ingredients: Two String, Three Sticks
The value of the fishing rod is well-known among Minecraft players, who understand the kind of treasures this simple tool of wood and string can pull up from the watery depths. Of course, the fishing rod does exactly what is expected of a fishing rod, but for some players, it can be a great in-between before obtaining the ever-so-coveted lead.
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Despite being a highly useful and convenient tool, leads are only available to players with access to a swamp, as they require the shockingly rare slime ball. Even then, the nights when large enough slimes spawn are limited to the phase of the moon, with some nights not even offering slimes. While not a perfect replacement, the fishing rod does offer another way to pull mobs around in specific directions, offering a means of making do until a lead becomes available.
1 Hoe
Farm Food & Destroy Shriekers
- Crafting Ingredients: Two Sticks, Two Wooden Planks/Cobblestone/Iron Ingots/Gold Ingots/Diamonds
For most players, the hoe is hardly a necessity at all, and certainly something that can be crafted out of whatever random, unwanted supplies fill up chests. Players that tend to explore the world and fight mobs especially aren't interested in the farming utility of the hoe. But in the most dangerous area of the game, however, the hoe proves a useful ally.
When sneaking through the Deep Dark, the constant presence and threat of shriekers can deter most veteran players. This is where the hoe proves to be useful, as it is the specific tool that breaks these alarms the fastest. While it doesn't guarantee to destroy all the shriekers nearby before a warden spawns, the hoe can certainly remove a vast majority of the potential hazards.
