Minecraft: Best Ways To Get XP Fast

In Minecraft, leveling up is crucial for securing and maintaining high-quality gear, especially with enchantments like Mending in play. Accumulating enough experience points is essential for optimizing and preserving your equipment. Yet, gaining levels can often be a monotonous and time-consuming endeavor. To combat the tedium and speed up the process, players have devised several efficient strategies for rapid XP accumulation.

This article will guide you through some of the most effective and straightforward methods for farming experience in Minecraft, allowing you to level up quickly without the usual grind. Whether you’re looking to enchant your latest gear or simply boost your experience reserves, these tips will help you achieve your goals faster and with less effort.

#19: Harnessing XP from the Deep Dark

The Deep Dark biome presents a lucrative opportunity for XP farming in Minecraft. While sculk blocks yield a modest single XP point each, sculk catalysts are far more rewarding, providing a substantial 20 XP per block—comparable to defeating a Piglin Brute but with considerably less risk. By using an enchanted hoe, players can insta-mine these blocks efficiently, rapidly accumulating experience points.

To ensure a safe harvesting session, it’s crucial to neutralize any shriekers first to avoid inadvertently summoning the Warden, which could complicate your farming efforts.

For those who prefer a less risky approach, consider using a silk touch tool to collect the blocks and set up a dedicated sculk farm. This method allows you to reap all the XP benefits without exposing yourself to the dangers typically found in the Deep Dark. A practical example of this is the sculk farm designed by Wattles, which demonstrates how to maximize XP gain while minimizing risk.

#18: Conquering the Wither

Battling the Wither, one of Minecraft’s formidable bosses, might seem like a lucrative way to gain experience due to the challenge it presents. However, the actual reward for defeating the Wither is surprisingly modest, offering only 50 XP. The real prize lies in obtaining the Nether Star, essential for crafting beacons, rather than its experience yield.

To summon the Wither, you’ll need three wither skeleton skulls, which are themselves challenging to collect due to their low drop rates. The fight with the Wither can be particularly grueling, not only because of the boss’s robust attack patterns but also due to the environmental damage and withering effect it causes, which can complicate the battle and its aftermath.

While each victory over the Wither does grant you 50 XP, unless you’re specifically aiming to create multiple beacons, this method is not the most time-efficient for leveling up. It’s worth weighing the effort against the rewards when considering this as a strategy for XP farming.

#17: Vanquishing the Ender Dragon

The Ender Dragon stands as the ultimate boss in Minecraft, marking not only the game’s climactic battle but also the gateway to continued adventures, as its defeat opens access to The End—a new realm ripe for exploration.

Successfully navigating the End Portal and defeating the Ender Dragon is a significant achievement and one that comes with a substantial reward. Initially, slaying the Ender Dragon yields an impressive 12,000 XP, showering players with experience orbs that can be collected by anyone in the vicinity. This makes the first victory not only a thrilling challenge but also a lucrative one for leveling up.

For those looking to face the dragon more than once, the Ender Dragon can indeed be re-summoned. However, subsequent defeats of the dragon provide considerably less XP, offering just 500 XP per kill. This diminishing return means that while repeat battles can be a fun and engaging way to test your skills, they are less effective for serious XP farming.

If you’re gearing up to tackle this formidable foe, consider consulting a detailed guide on defeating the Ender Dragon to optimize your strategy and ensure success in your quest to conquer Minecraft’s most iconic adversary.

#16: Leveraging a Grindstone

Grindstones serve a dual purpose in Minecraft, allowing players to strip unwanted enchantments from items and to repair items by merging two of the same type. This tool is not only practical for managing your gear but also provides a unique method for gaining experience.

To use a grindstone, simply place your enchanted weapon or armor into it. Removing enchantments this way not only cleanses the item but also converts these enchantments into XP. The amount of experience gained varies depending on the nature and level of the enchantments removed.

Additionally, when you combine two similar items in the grindstone to repair them, the resultant item receives an increase of five percent of its maximum durability. This utility makes the grindstone an essential tool for both maintaining your equipment and efficiently managing your inventory while incrementally boosting your experience levels.

#15: Utilizing a Bottle O’ Enchanting

A Bottle O’ Enchanting is a handy item in Minecraft that, when thrown, releases experience orbs. Each bottle dispenses between three and eleven XP, making it a quick source for boosting your experience levels. These bottles can be found in various loot locations, including shipwreck treasure chests, buried treasures, and chests at Pillager outposts. Additionally, engaging in trade with Villagers can also yield these valuable bottles.

While a single bottle may not offer a tremendous amount of XP, accumulating and using them in larger quantities can provide a significant and rapid boost to your experience levels. This method is particularly useful when you need a quick increase in XP, whether for enchanting new gear or preparing for a big build. Bottles O’ Enchanting are especially effective when used strategically to supplement your XP gains from other sources.

#14: Earning XP Through Advancements

In Minecraft’s Java Edition, completing advancements not only marks your progress but also rewards you with experience points, an often-overlooked benefit. Each advancement completed offers a specific amount of XP, incentivizing players to pursue these milestones actively.

For instance, achievements like “Return to Sender,” “Great View From Up Here,” “Sniper Duel,” “Bullseye,” and “A Complete Catalogue” each grant 50 XP. More challenging advancements like “Two Birds, One Arrow” reward 65 XP, while “Arbalistic” offers 85 XP. High-tier achievements, such as “Subspace Bubble,” “Uneasy Alliance,” “Cover Me in Debris,” “A Furious Cocktail,” “Hero of the Village,” “Monsters Hunted,” “Two by Two,” “A Balanced Diet,” and “Serious Dedication,” reward a generous 100 XP.

For even greater gains, completing “Hot Tourist Destinations” and “Adventuring Time” will net you 500 XP each. The pinnacle of advancement challenges, “How Did We Get Here?” awards a substantial 1000 XP. These advancements encourage continuous gameplay and exploration, providing significant XP boosts that can aid in leveling up and enhancing your Minecraft experience. So, keep tackling these challenges, and enjoy the accumulation of XP as you progress through the game.

#13: Venturing Into Bastion Remnants for XP

The 1.16 Nether update dramatically enhanced the thrill of exploring the Nether in Minecraft by introducing vibrant new biomes and formidable new mobs. Among these additions, Bastion Remnants stand out as particularly intriguing structures that offer unique challenges and rewards.

Located within these remnants are Piglin Brutes—aggressive creatures wielding axes and guarding their treasures. While confronting a Piglin Brute can be daunting due to their high damage output and aggressive behavior, they are also a valuable source of experience. Each Piglin Brute defeated yields 20 XP, making them a worthwhile target for those looking to boost their levels.

Equipping yourself properly and strategizing your approach to these encounters can turn a potentially deadly fight into a rewarding expedition. So gear up, plan your tactics, and delve into the nearest Bastion Remnant to claim the experience points awaiting in the heart of these perilous structures.

#12: Establishing Nether Roof Farms

Reaching the Nether Roof in Minecraft, though not a simple feat, offers significant strategic advantages that make the effort worthwhile. The top of the Nether is covered in bedrock, creating an environment where hostile mobs cannot spawn naturally. This feature provides a safe zone for travel and is ideal for constructing a network of Nether portals without the usual risks associated with the Nether.

Moreover, the unique conditions of the Nether Roof allow for innovative farming techniques. Since the bedrock layer itself prevents mob spawning, players can manipulate spawn mechanics by building platforms from spawnable block types directly above the bedrock. This setup enables precise control over the spawn rates of creatures such as Piglins and Pigmen, facilitating the creation of highly efficient XP and resource farms.

These farms can significantly enhance your gameplay by providing steady streams of experience points and other valuable resources, making the challenging task of accessing the Nether Roof immensely rewarding. Whether you’re looking to boost your XP quickly or gather resources in a secure location, developing farms on the Nether Roof can be a game-changing strategy.

#11: Crafting a Simple Enderman Farm in The End

For those daunted by the prospect of constructing large-scale farms, there are efficient, small-scale alternatives that yield considerable returns. One effective method involves setting up a makeshift Enderman farm in The End, but first, you’ll need to unlock this dimension by defeating the Ender Dragon after locating a Stronghold.

Once in The End, you can easily set up a farm that provides continuous XP and Ender Pearls. The process involves building a platform just two blocks high—too short for Endermen to fit under. Position yourself beneath this canopy and gaze at the Endermen to draw their attention. Although they’ll rush toward you, they won’t be able to reach you under the platform, allowing you to safely eliminate them and collect the drops.

This setup is straightforward yet effective, requiring minimal resources and offering a safe way to farm. Remember, if you need to leave the safety of your platform to provoke the Endermen, make sure to quickly return to your protected spot to avoid taking damage. This simple farm is an excellent way for players to gain XP and pearls efficiently without the need for complex structures.

#10: Setting Up an AFK Fishing Farm

Fishing in Minecraft is not only a peaceful and rewarding activity, but it also serves as an excellent method for accumulating XP. Beyond experience points, fishing provides a variety of useful items including food, treasure, and occasionally rare enchantment books, making it a multifaceted approach to resource gathering.

To maximize efficiency and ease, consider creating an AFK fishing farm—a staple for any productive Minecraft base. This setup involves a simple mechanism that allows you to continuously fish without constant manual input. By using a mechanical setup that keeps your mouse button pressed down, you can automate the fishing process.

Implementing a macro can further enhance this setup, enabling you to gain XP, reel in fish, and uncover treasure even while away from your keyboard. An AFK fishing farm not only simplifies your resource gathering but also ensures a steady influx of experience points and valuable items, making it a must-have for both new and seasoned players aiming to optimize their gameplay.

#9: Developing a Piglin Bartering and Gold Farm

Piglin bartering in Minecraft offers an efficient pathway to acquiring a diverse array of valuable items and serves as an excellent source of XP. An innovative way to leverage this mechanic is by setting up a combined Piglin bartering and gold farm. This system not only yields a variety of items but also enhances your experience gains.

The concept revolves around utilizing a gold farm, where you can collect gold from defeated mobs. This gold is then used as currency for bartering with a Piglin, which you can keep securely trapped within the farm setup. As you kill mobs for gold, you simultaneously gather XP, making the process doubly beneficial.

The items received from bartering with Piglins can be incredibly useful, ranging from potions and ender pearls to fire charges and obsidian. By integrating mob management and resource trading into a single automated setup, this type of farm not only simplifies resource gathering but also maximizes the efficiency of your efforts, providing substantial rewards in both materials and experience points.

#8: Establishing and Managing Animal Farms

Animal farming in Minecraft, though often overlooked, is a highly effective and rewarding method for accumulating XP. By strategically breeding and managing populations of livestock, players can continuously harvest experience points.

Setting up extensive animal farms allows you to systematically breed animals and then cull the herds to manage their numbers. This process not only yields significant amounts of XP but also provides a steady supply of food resources. Furthermore, the byproducts of your farming—such as leather and feathers—can be used or traded, adding another layer of utility to this activity.

In addition to the direct benefits of animal farming, maintaining crops to feed your animals enhances this cycle. These crops can then be used as trading goods with villagers, which not only bolsters your food supply but also garners additional XP through trade interactions. This symbiotic system of breeding, harvesting, and trading forms a comprehensive circle of life in Minecraft, making animal farming a multifaceted strategy for growth and sustainability in the game.

#7: Leveraging Villager Trading for XP

Trading with villagers in Minecraft is an underrated yet effective method for gaining experience. While each trade might only yield up to six XP, the cumulative effect can add up quickly, especially when engaging in frequent transactions. Moreover, trading offers additional benefits beyond just XP.

Establishing a well-organized villager trading hall allows you to access a variety of items, including enchantments, armor, and other essentials that can significantly enhance your gameplay. This setup not only streamlines the trading process but also maximizes the gains from each interaction with the villagers.

The main challenge in optimizing villager trading is the need to acquire ample resources and items to unlock and sustain a broad range of trades. This effort, however, can also be advantageous as it provides opportunities to accumulate more XP through resource gathering and item crafting. Therefore, building a thriving trade system with villagers is a dual benefit strategy—bolstering your resource pool and steadily increasing your experience points.

#6: Maximizing XP Through Smelting

While smelting in Minecraft might seem like a mundane task, it actually serves as a valuable method for accruing experience points. Engaging in the smelting process can yield a significant amount of XP, especially when you choose your materials wisely.

Smelting various items, such as ores, food, or blocks like sand and cobblestone, not only contributes to your inventory but also rewards you with XP once you remove the finished products from the furnace. Sand and cobblestone, in particular, are abundant and easy to gather, making them ideal for mass smelting operations.

By converting sand into glass, you not only stock up on a useful building material but also create trading goods for villagers, potentially opening up additional XP opportunities through commerce. Similarly, smelting cobblestone into stone provides essential materials for construction projects, further enhancing your gameplay and XP gains. This method efficiently turns basic resource processing into a profitable XP-earning activity, leveraging routine smelting into a strategic advantage.

#5: Engaging in Nighttime Monster Hunts

For players seeking a more adrenaline-fueled method to gain experience in Minecraft, venturing out for nighttime monster hunts can be an effective strategy. This approach is particularly advantageous in wide-open biomes, such as deserts and plains, where visibility is high, and obstacles are minimal, allowing for better maneuverability and quicker enemy spotting.

However, this method comes with its own set of risks. The danger of encountering multiple hostile mobs is significant, and stepping out without the appropriate armor or weaponry could lead to a swift demise. Losing your life in the game not only sets back your progress but also strips you of any accumulated experience points, making this tactic suitable primarily for those confident in their combat skills.

If you’re up for the challenge, nighttime monster hunting can be an exhilarating way to rapidly accumulate XP. Just ensure you’re well-prepared with sufficient gear, and perhaps even potions, to increase your chances of surviving the night’s perils and reaping the rewards.

#4: Capitalizing on Spawners

In Minecraft, discovering spawners can significantly boost your ability to farm experience points efficiently. These spawners, which continuously generate specific types of mobs, can be turned into highly effective XP farms if managed properly. However, the utility of spawners can vary depending on the type of mob they produce.

Spider spawners, for instance, are less desirable due to spiders’ ability to climb walls and escape containment easily, making them tricky to farm. On the other hand, skeleton spawners are among the best finds. Skeletons provide valuable drops like bones and arrows, in addition to XP, and are easier to manage compared to spiders.

In the Nether, Blaze spawners are particularly lucrative for XP farming, given Blazes drop a good amount of experience and Blaze Rods, which are essential for brewing and crafting. However, farming Blazes requires robust preparation and suitable gear due to their challenging combat abilities.

If a spawner is not in a convenient location or if you’re in need of a quick XP boost, destroying a spawner can also yield up to 43 XP. While this is a one-time gain, it can be beneficial if the spawner is of a less useful mob type or difficult to harness effectively.

#3: Constructing a Mob Grinder

For those looking for a reliable method to accumulate both experience points and mob drops, building a mob grinder is a time-tested solution. This device efficiently corrals mobs into a controlled area where they can be easily dispatched, allowing you to collect XP and valuable resources like bones, string, and gunpowder.

However, constructing a mob grinder is not a small undertaking. These systems often require the creation of large towers or complex trapping mechanisms that necessitate considerable amounts of materials and thoughtful design. The setup involves strategic placement to ensure high spawn rates and efficient funneling of mobs into the “kill zone.”

While building a mob grinder can be resource-intensive and time-consuming, the payoff in consistent XP and resource gains can make it well worth the effort. If you’re prepared to invest the time and materials needed to set up a mob grinder, the returns can significantly enhance your Minecraft experience, making it an excellent project for those committed to long-term gameplay advancements.

#2: Setting Up a Bamboo and Cacti XP Farm

Among the various XP-generating methods in Minecraft, the bamboo and cacti smelter stands out for its simplicity and effectiveness, earning it the nickname “XP bank” among players. This farm operates on a brilliantly efficient loop that uses bamboo as a renewable fuel to smelt cacti into green dye, continuously generating XP without any input needed once set up.

The key to this system is its self-sustaining nature. Bamboo, which grows rapidly, serves as an endless fuel source for the furnaces, while the cacti, also quickly regenerating, are converted into dye. As the farm runs, it accumulates vast amounts of XP in each furnace. When you eventually collect the dye from the furnaces, you’re not just retrieving a product but also tapping into a substantial reserve of experience points accumulated over time.

This setup is ideal for players looking for a low-maintenance method to gain XP while also producing useful materials. Setting up a bamboo and cacti smelter is straightforward and can provide immense returns, making it a top choice for efficient and effective XP farming in Minecraft.

#1: Optimal Mining for XP

Mining remains the most straightforward and one of the safest strategies to rapidly accumulate experience in Minecraft. When setting out to mine for XP, it’s crucial to target specific ores that yield experience immediately upon mining, such as redstone, coal, lapis lazuli, diamond, and emerald. These ores provide instant gratification in the form of experience points, unlike iron and gold which require smelting.

Among these, Nether quartz stands out as the most lucrative, offering a substantial 3.5 experience points per ore, making it the most rewarding single ore to mine in terms of XP. However, as it is only found in the Nether, mining quartz comes with increased risk from the hostile environment and mobs that inhabit this dimension. Following Nether quartz, redstone is the next most beneficial ore due to its abundance and decent XP yield.

Post the caves and cliffs update, the dynamics of mining have shifted slightly, particularly for new players. Exploring mountain biomes presents a safer, albeit less traditional, mining approach. These biomes are now rich in coal and iron, which are exposed on mountain surfaces and can be mined with minimal risk compared to the deeper, more dangerous cave systems. While traditional cave mining and strip mining remain viable for finding valuable ores like diamonds near bedrock, the introduction of more expansive cave systems increases the likelihood of encountering hostile mobs.

For players looking to maximize safety and efficiency in gaining XP, focusing on surface mining in mountainous areas and selective deeper mining when necessary can yield substantial rewards without the heightened risks associated with extensive underground exploration.

Conclusion

Efficiently gathering XP in Minecraft is crucial for enhancing your gameplay, enabling you to enchant and repair items effectively. The strategies outlined—from innovative farming setups like bamboo and cacti smelters to classic methods like mining and monster hunting—offer a range of options tailored to different playstyles and goals. Whether you prefer the safety of automated farms or the thrill of venturing into the Nether for quartz, each method provides valuable opportunities to accumulate XP quickly. By choosing the approach that best suits your needs and preparing accordingly, you can streamline your XP acquisition and enjoy a more rewarding Minecraft experience.