Minecraft is one of the most famous adventure games known by the entire world now. The players are allowed to explore worlds by themselves and create endless things and make use of them just like in real life.
Gunpowder, among those other items, has many different uses in Minecraft. They range from crafting TNT to be used as an explosive to creating splash potions and fireworks for decorative purposes. In order to create gunpowder you should know what you need first and then how to use the gunpowder effectively, once you have it. This article includes everything you need to know about Gunpowder in Minecraft.
How to Find Gunpowder in Minecraft?
By killing Creepers
To get gunpowder from a creeper, you have to kill it before its explosion point. Each creeper is capable of giving you none, 1 or 2 gunpowder units in total. You have to have a certain set of tools to do this and even some skill.
You can kill a creeper by injuring it with cactus. To do this you should place a cactus right behind you when you find a creeper chasing you. By knocking against or brushing past the cactus, the creeper gets injured. Sometimes a cactus can injure it more than once. You need to continue this until its health is over. You may use the sword to finish the business when it is hurt enough. The normal combinations are as follows:
Thirteen hits from cacti with a single sword cut at last.
Twelve hits from cacti with a single diamond sword cut at last.
Another way to fight the creepers off is to fight them underwater. This is advantageous because, even though they explode underwater, it will not harm you. So you can lure the creeper to deep water and kill it with a sword blow while you remain fully submerged. Try your best to kill it before it explodes because it is only then that you will get the gunpowder you are seeking for.
If you are brave enough, you can kill the creeper by fighting it face to face. You may first put all your valuables in a chest, as a precaution, and then pick up your sword. Bring it to an open flat ground, sprint and strike it with the sword. When it gets knocked backwards, the explosion gets cancelled. Now sprint back and keep distance from the creeper and repeat the same attack. Three such blows will kill the creeper and give you the gunpowder.
Next way is to lure the creeper to fire. When it is chasing you, you may bring it to a flammable ground, turn back and light it up with a flint and steel. The creeper will burn down to death leaving you the desired reward.
If you have enough distance between the creeper and yourself, you can try shooting it with a bow and arrow. This is very safe and works well too. Bow and arrow can be created with killed skeletons for bows, by killing spiders and breaking cobwebs for strings and a flint, a stick and a feather for an arrow.
If you have an ocelot bodyguard near you, the creepers will not approach. These are cat-like animals and can be found in jungles. But you need to tame them to get them to stay with you. You can do this by offering it a lot of fish which will eventually turn it to a cat that will stay with you, tamed. So with the ocelot, you can go and kill the creepers as they will not attack you.
By killing witches
Witches are formed if lightning strikes a villager. These characters are available only from version 1.4.2 and onwards of Minecraft PC version and are not available in the pocket edition. Killing a witch gives you many items, out of which gunpowder is one. However, the probability of you getting gunpowder from the death of a witch is only 0.16.
Witches are often found around witch huts. These are wooden structures built near swampy grounds and are not easy to find. However, with the help of a mapping mod, the search will be quicker.
Then you may set a trap in front of the hut with a small pit dug and cover it for it to fall inside. Now stay back and watch until the witch comes. Keep your bow and arrow ready to fire to its death.
The witch will be throwing potions at you. If they are struck by 3 fully stretched arrows, they will die. But be careful, they can heal themselves with magic. You may need some extra bows too.
By killing Ghasts
Ghasts are highly dangerous as they can throw fireballs at you from quite a distance. But on the plus side, they can give you gunpowder at a rate of 66% just like the creepers. In fact, gunpowder is not the only reward for killing a Ghast.
Form a Nether portal using obsidian and fire. This can lead you to the underworld but is not recommended until you are well equipped. You should have diamond armour, a bow and as many arrows as possible.
When you enter the Nether, you can find Ghasts as white monsters with tentacles, floating in the open areas. A good way to hide from its fireballs is a glass wall. You can kill a Ghast with 3 perfectly aimed arrows and avoid it near lava. You can then collect the gunpowder easily. Remember to get cover when the fireballs are fired. You can also deflect them with your sword.
By looting chests
Gunpowder is randomly available in chests too. You can open them and see because opening them is anyway advantageous; as though it won’t always give you gunpowder, it has much more to offer.
Chests are usually found in dungeons. So locate the dungeons available in your world and find them. You may also mine your land to come across them.
To chase away the monster spawners at the dungeon entrance, you can place a torch there. This will keep them away and let you through inside.
Chests can be found inside walls and near them. So dig in and see whether you are lucky to get one. When you do, destroy it with your sword. This will give you everything it has to offer.