How to find Minecraft Diamonds in 1.21
Here are the best places to go mining for Diamonds in Minecraft
Want to know how to find Minecraft Diamonds in 1.21? Minecraft generates new worlds via 'seeds', in which resources like Diamonds are usually randomly generated. It is, however, possible to farm Diamonds and develop Minecraft Diamond levels by following the techniques listed below.
Within this guide, we'll tell you how to find Diamonds in both 1.21 and earlier versions of Minecraft as well as the best practices for mining them so you can kit yourself out with the shiniest weapons and armour in the game as quickly as possible.
In this guide:
- How to find Diamonds in Minecraft
- How to find Diamonds in Minecraft 1.17 and earlier
- Best method for mining Diamonds in Minecraft
- Other ways to get Diamonds in Minecraft
How to find Diamonds in Minecraft
To find Diamonds in Minecraft, you need to dig down below Y-level 16. The deeper you go beyond Y-level 16, the more common Diamonds become. So the best way to find lots of Diamonds is to mine just above the Bedrock layers (Y-level 59).
If you don't find any at first, don't despair! Diamonds have a low spawn rate, so just keep exploring the deepest caves you can find and you're likely to come across Diamonds for all your crafting needs.
Your Y-level measures how deep you are in your Minecraft world. To know what Y-Level you're on, hit F3 on the keyboard to bring up the coordinates display. The second number next to "XYZ" is your current Y-level.
When a Minecraft world is first generated, any Diamond that's about to be placed next to an open air block has a chance of not spawning. What this means is that Diamonds have a slightly lower chance of spawning in caves.
However, it's still much quicker to explore caves than to strip-mine through endless blocks of stone, so there are pros and cons to both methods. Most players will tell you to just strip-mine until you hit a cave, then explore the cave fully before continuing to strip-mine.
So, in summary: to find Diamonds quickly, head as far down as you can go until you hit Bedrock, then start strip-mining! (More info on strip mining below).
How to find Diamonds in Minecraft 1.17 and earlier
If you're playing on Minecraft version 1.17 or earlier, then the rules for finding Diamonds are slightly different. You can find Diamond Ore in every Overworld biome between Y-levels 1-15. They spawn most often at Y-levels 5-12, so if you want to maximise your chances of finding Diamonds, stay between these two levels.
No matter what version of Minecraft you're playing on, Diamonds will spawn in small veins of up to 9 blocks at a time, although very occasionally you'll find larger veins that are made up of multiple veins touching each other. So even at the right levels, Diamonds are pretty rare.
Best method for mining Diamonds in Minecraft
Diamond Ore can only be mined with an Iron Pickaxe or better. The best method for mining Diamonds in Minecraft 1.21 is to dig down to Y-level -57 and dig a long 2-block-tall tunnel in any direction. Then start to mine out to either side in more 2x1 tunnels, leaving a 2-block-wide gap between each new tunnel.
Once you're satisfied you've strip-mined all Diamonds on that level, repeat the whole process at level -53. If you dig in this way at both level -57 and -53, then you'll be able to see all Diamonds that spawn between levels -58 and -51. This gives you the highest concentration of Diamonds without intermittently running into blocks of Bedrock that may otherwise hinder your strip-mining progress.
If you're playing on Minecraft 1.17 or earlier, you can use this exact same method but using levels 6 and 10.
While mining, it's a good idea to keep a Water Bucket with you, because pockets of lava are fairly common at these levels, especially around level -54. Remember also to bring plenty of torches to light your way and prevent mobs from spawning in your tunnels. Alternatively you could light your way using Night Vision potions - though this won't prevent mobs from spawning.
Other ways to get Diamonds
Other than strip mining as mentioned above, there are a few other key ways to both get Diamonds in Minecraft and to maximise your Diamond yield. The following methods are worth considering when exploring a new seed.
Use Enchantments
Whilst mining for Diamonds, we recommend using a Fortune Enchantment on your pickaxe to maximise the amount you'll get from a Diamond Ore.
Fortune I gives a 33% chance to double your drop, Fortune II gives a 25% chance to multiply drops by 2 or 3 and Fortune III can multiply drops by 2, 3, or 4 (by 20% each).
To increase the odds of a higher level Enchantment, you can place bookshelves around an Enchanting Table (making sure there is at least one block of air between them). You can also trade with villagers. Librarians in particular are more likely to stock rarer Enchantments.
Loot Chests
You may find Diamonds within chests inside villages, shipwrecks and other structures throughout the Overworld. As is true of most things in Minecraft this is randomly generated, however, so it will mostly be luck-dependant. The following amounts of Diamond have the chance to be located within chests at the following locations in the Java edition of Minecraft:
- Bastion Remnant: 2-6 Diamonds, 15.8% chance.
- Buried Treasure: 1 Diamond, 46.9% chance.
- Desert Pyramid: 1-3 Diamonds, 6.3% chance.
- End City: 2-7 Diamonds, 21.2% chance.
- Jungle Temple: 1-3 Diamonds, 12.8% chance.
- Mineshaft: 1-2 Diamonds, 8.9% chance.
- Nether Fortress: 1-3 Diamonds, 19% chance.
- Shipwreck: 1 Diamond, 14.1% chance.
- Stronghold: 1-3 Diamonds, 7.1% chance.
- Village (Toolsmith Chest): 1-3 Diamonds, 9.9% chance.
- Village (Weaponsmith Chest): 1-3 Diamonds, 16.2% chance.
The only major difference between the above calculations and the Bedrock spawn rates is an 8.9% chance to find 1-2 diamonds in Bastion Remnants and a 59.9% chance to find 1-2 Diamonds within a Buried Treasure Chest.
Brush Away Suspicious Sand
Suspicious Sand was implemented along with other archaeology materials with the Trails and Tales update. Suspicious Sand is an extremely fragile block that can be broken if dropped from a height or interacted with tools other than a Brush.
When brushed, Suspicious Sand has a 12.5% chance to drop a Diamond. Although, you're much more likely to get Pottery Sherds. Suspicious Sand can be found in rooms under Desert Pyramids, within Warm Ocean Ruins and at the bottom of Desert Wells. You can get a Brush by crafting a Feather with a Copper Ingot and Stick.
If you're struggling to find Diamonds in Minecraft even after reading this guide, you may want to check out our best Minecraft texture packs list, because some of these packs may help with visibility. You can also check out our list of the best Minecraft seeds for certain world spawns that have easy access to Diamonds. Elsewhere there's our best Minecraft shaders list, to help improve the lighting of your worlds.