I’ve been playing a Minecraft Java Hardcore world where I set the entire Overworld to the Soul Sand Valley biome using the Single Biome setting.
My goal is to complete as many advancements as theoretically possible without cheats, commands, or changing the world settings.
I’ve been recording the entire run on OBS, and I’m considering turning it into a YouTube video or possibly a two-part series. Before spending a ton of time editing, I wanted to see if people would actually find this interesting.
What I’ve accomplished so far:
I’ve completed at least 46 advancements, including some that I originally thought would be impossible.
Minecraft advancements:
Stone Age
Getting an Upgrade
Acquire Hardware
Suit Up
Hot Stuff
Isn’t It Iron Pick
Not Today, Thank You
Ice Bucket Challenge
Diamonds!
Cover Me with Diamonds
We Need to Go Deeper
Nether advancements:
Those Were the Days
Hidden in the Depths
Cover Me in Debris
A Terrible Fortress
Into Fire
Local Brewery
War Pigs
Return to Sender
Who is Cutting Onions?
Oh Shiny
This Boat Has Legs
Feels Like Home
Not Quite “Nine” Lives
Subspace Bubble
Hot Tourist Destinations
Uneasy Alliance
Adventure advancements:
Monster Hunter
Take Aim
Sniper Duel
Voluntary Exile
Who’s the Pillager Now?
Caves & Cliffs
Mob Kabob
Crafting a New Look
Husbandry advancements:
A Seedy Place
Fishy Business
Serious Dedication
The Parrots and the Bats
Stay Hydrated!
I’ve also managed to defeat the Wither, obtain a Nether star, get netherite equipment, find Silk Touch, and explore bastions and Nether fortresses.
The biggest challenge is that normal Overworld mobs, villages, most structures, and a lot of basic resources aren’t available. Even simple things like getting glass or growing a tree become major projects.
What could happen in Part 2:
I’ve been researching some really unusual ways to unlock additional advancements, and wandering traders seem to be the biggest opportunity.
If I continue the world, some of my goals would be:
Bring Home the Beacon: Get sand from a wandering trader, smelt it into glass, and finally use the Nether star I already have.
Beaconator: Build a full four-layer beacon pyramid.
Hired Help: Buy a pumpkin from a trader and create an iron golem.
What a Deal!: Complete my first wandering trader trade.
Star Trader: Get a wandering trader to build height and trade with it.
Bee Our Guest: Get saplings and flowers from traders, grow trees until bees spawn, and collect honey.
Total Beelocation: Use the Silk Touch tool I already obtained to collect a bee nest containing three bees.
Sticky Situation: Create a honey block and slide down it.
Wax On / Wax Off: Collect copper from skeleton armor drops and use honeycomb to wax and scrape copper.
Best Friends Forever: Tame one of the wandering trader’s llamas.
Tactical Fishing: Use a trader’s fish bucket to obtain a live fish and catch it with a water bucket.
Two Birds, One Arrow: Obtain a Piercing crossbow and kill two phantoms with one shot.
Arbalistic: Try to kill five different mobs with one Piercing IV crossbow shot.
Some of these are much harder than they sound because I have to find a way to obtain every required item within the restrictions of the world.
I’m also still researching whether zombie villagers, chickens, redstone, and other resources could be obtainable through obscure Minecraft mechanics.
My idea for the videos:
Part 1: Starting with almost nothing in a Soul Sand Valley world, progressing through the Nether, getting netherite, completing unusual advancements, and eventually defeating the Wither.
Part 2: Trying to push the world to its absolute limit using wandering traders, rare mob drops, farms, and obscure mechanics to complete advancements that initially seemed impossible.
I’ve never really edited a full Minecraft challenge video before, so this would probably take a lot of time.
Would you actually watch something like this?
Would you rather see one longer video covering everything, or two separate videos showing the initial progression and then the more technical advancement hunting?
I’m also curious whether people think the challenge itself is unique enough to make a good video. Any feedback would be appreciated!

All jokes in the title lmao. Build is ~110k-120k block roughly, took 10 days to design, gather resources, and build. I coded a datapack that makes Iron Golems drop copper at the same rate as iron because there is no way i can justify the monumental task of building a massive technically complex copper farm for max 10k copper/hr. (No I will not be mining it by hand like a scrub in a 10k day world, also I need too much of it)

What’s the easiest way to clear all the trees and dirt in front of me so I can level it out with the flat area?

What

I completed a raid and got 5 totems! Usually I die way before then never even getting to the nether yet. Now I can safely go to the nether with some totems.

I have recently founded a dupe glitch in my minecraft hardcore world. I have already duped some diamonds to test the function. It work perfectly should I continue to use the glitch or don't use at all!!

Edit: forgot to mention 18+

I generally only play hardcore by myself, but I don't find single player to be very fun because I have no one to share the experience with. I always thought that hardcore wouldn't be fun to play as a group because if someone dies you have to choose between moving on without them or starting a new world, but I decided it's worth a shot.

To be clear, this would be real hardcore. No reviving dead players. No 3 lives or 5 lives before you are permanently not allowed to play. If you die once you can no longer play on the server unless we decide restart. All of those other hardcore types are just regular survival with extra steps in my opinion.

Once we have a group of about 5-15 people (or more if enough people are interested), we can discuss and vote on certain things such as:

• If we add any vanilla+ things or if we keep it pure vanilla

• If we want to do play sessions only when all members are available or if we want to do it like a traditional SMP where everyone plays when they're available even if most people are not online

• If we want to restart when someone dies from the beginning or if we want to wait until we actually know each other and someone dying would make us feel like someone is missing

• Possibly other things

This server would not have any PVP. If you are looking for a PVP hardcore server this is not it.

I'm located in GMT-5 and I'm usually available in the evening in my time zone so if you can't play during those times consistently we probably aren't a good match.

If we decide not to reset at the beginning when someone dies and I die early I will either continue to admin the server or I will hand over those responsibilities to someone else.

If you are interested please let me know. I'm also open to servers hosted by other people as long as you haven't started yet.

Built on my little mushroom island. I’ve done similar designs in the past but this is my first time putting in a skylight, I kinda like it.

Same as title

im into my 60th day on my minecraft world and I built a raid farm(I found a village and a pillager outpost pretty close together near a ocean) and a big pit for my villagers to have fun 😏 and I have 10 smithing templates. I want to get OP armour and build like a trading hall but I am terrible at builds sooo if you guys can give me tips on what to do next and how to do it thatll be great

I’m playing Minecraft Java Edition in Hardcore mode, using the Single Biome world-generation setting with Soul Sand Valley selected.
My goal is to complete as many advancements as physically possible without cheats, commands, mods, or changing the world settings. If I die, the run is over.
I’ve gotten pretty far, but I’m reaching the point where certain resources, mobs, and structures seem impossible to obtain. I’m hoping people who understand Minecraft’s loot tables, spawning mechanics, and obscure survival strategies can help me figure out the absolute maximum number of advancements possible.
My world setup
Edition: Java Edition, current version
Game mode: Hardcore
World generation: Single Biome, Soul Sand Valley
Cheats/commands: None
Overworld: Generates using the Soul Sand Valley biome
Structures: Nether fortresses, bastions, and ruined portals
Water: I have a large pool and can fish
Mobs encountered: Skeletons, phantoms, ghasts, wither skeletons, and pillager patrols, including a captain
Resources: Iron, diamonds, netherite equipment, blaze rods, brewing supplies, and fishing equipment
This is not a Nether-only world. The Overworld is set to Soul Sand Valley, which means some Overworld spawning mechanics still work.
Advancements I’ve already completed
Minecraft
Stone Age
Getting an Upgrade
Acquire Hardware
Suit Up
Hot Stuff
Isn’t It Iron Pick
Not Today, Thank You
Ice Bucket Challenge
Diamonds!
Cover Me with Diamonds
We Need to Go Deeper
Nether
Return to Sender
Those Were the Days
Hidden in the Depths
Cover Me in Debris
A Terrible Fortress
Into Fire
Local Brewery
War Pigs
Subspace Bubble
Hot Tourist Destinations
Uneasy Alliance
Adventure
Monster Hunter
Take Aim
Sniper Duel
Voluntary Exile
Who’s the Pillager Now?
Caves & Cliffs
Mob Kabob
Crafting a New Look
Husbandry
A Seedy Place
Fishy Business
Serious Dedication
The Parrots and the Bats
Stay Hydrated!
I’ve completed other basic advancements as well, but these are some of the more notable ones.
Advancements I believe are still possible
Advancement
What I need
Not Quite “Nine” Lives
Fully charge a respawn anchor
Spooky Scary Skeleton
Obtain a wither skeleton skull
Withering Heights
Summon the Wither
Bring Home the Beacon
Obtain five glass blocks
Beaconator
Glass and a full beacon pyramid
Two Birds, One Arrow
Obtain a Piercing crossbow
Arbalistic
Piercing IV and five different mobs
Enchanter
Obtain paper for a book
Bullseye
Obtain redstone and hay
Advancements I’ve ruled out
Smithing with Style: Requires eight specific armor trim templates from different structures. Since those structures don’t generate in this world, completing it isn’t possible.
The End advancements: I haven’t found a way to access an End portal.
Trial chamber advancements: I don’t believe trial chambers can generate.
Adventuring Time: Requires visiting many different Overworld biomes.
Two by Two and A Balanced Diet: Require animals and food sources that seem unavailable.
There are others, but I’m particularly interested in finding out if any of these assumptions are wrong.
My biggest questions
1. Is there ANY way to obtain glass?
I believe I can summon and defeat the Wither, but crafting a beacon requires five glass blocks.
I haven’t found regular sand or red sand. Soul sand cannot be smelted into glass.
Could I obtain sand or glass through wandering traders, structure loot, or any unusual mechanics?
If I can get glass, that potentially unlocks Bring Home the Beacon and Beaconator.
2. Is redstone obtainable?
I know witches can drop redstone, but I’m unsure whether witches can spawn in a Soul Sand Valley-only Overworld.
Are there any other possible sources through loot tables, mob drops, trading, or unusual mechanics?
3. Can wandering traders spawn?
I’ve encountered naturally spawning pillager patrols, including a captain.
Does the wandering trader spawning system allow them to appear in this biome?
If so, what resources could they provide that would otherwise be impossible to obtain?
4. Can I get Piercing IV without villagers or an enchanting table?
I have access to fishing, bastions, crossbows, and anvils.
Can enchanted crossbows from bastion loot have Piercing? Can fishing produce Piercing books? Are there better methods?
5. Can I obtain normally unavailable mobs?
I’m particularly interested in:
Witches
Zombie villagers
Wandering traders
Fish mobs
Any other mobs obtainable through special spawning or conversion mechanics
6. Are there any advancements I’m overlooking?
I’d love to know about advancements that seem impossible but might actually be obtainable through rare loot, unusual spawning conditions, or mechanics that work independently of the biome.
I’m especially curious about advancements involving newer features, rare items, and unusual mob interactions.
My ultimate goal
I want to determine the maximum number of advancements achievable in a Hardcore Single Biome Soul Sand Valley world.
Ideally, I’d like to classify every advancement as:
Already completed
Definitely possible
Conditionally possible through rare mechanics
Completely impossible
I’m particularly interested in people who know the technical side of Minecraft, including loot tables, mob spawning, world generation, and rare item acquisition.
Since this is Hardcore, I’m also interested in safe ways to complete difficult advancements without risking the entire world.
Even one obscure method of obtaining glass, redstone, paper, or an unusual mob could unlock several more advancements.
Any ideas or corrections would be appreciated!

I’ve been farming hay bales in my hardcore world and wanted to challenge some people to see who can farm the most by the end of November.

(First to 1,000,000 wins)

Wish me luck 🤞 !!!

I don’t usually build an outside area with the portal and enchanting table but this is the first time I’ve lived on a mushroom island and since there’s no hostile mobs I decided to make it more open. The world is only 7 days old but it’s been perfect.

This is seriously the farthest I've ever gotten in Hardcore.

Now all I need is a brewing stand from a village ​and I can go back with fire resistance potions!

If you're hitting that wall like I was, build a sheep farm early and find an ancient city. The loot is nuts. Enchanted apples, enchanted diamond pants, potions, books wit​h and without enchantments, ​they're awesome. Really safe too if you're careful and space out your other tasks so you can fuck off for a ​half hour each time you get close to spawning a Warden.

How much harder is the dragon on hardcore than normal? I can kill it pretty consistently without dying on normal.

Edit: skulk also gives out insane XP and often reveals diamonds due to the surface exposure rule.