Introduced back in the summer of 2020, the Nether update completely changed this fiery area in Minecraft. With the addition of new biomes and blocks, a whole new world was available for exploration.

In addition to new biomes, we were also introduced to netherite. This is the strongest material in the game but can be difficult to find. Netherite comes from ancient debris, a rare ore that takes a while to find. In this guide, we are going to go over the best ways to mine for ancient debris and get your own netherite.

Where Can You Find Ancient Debris?
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Ancient debris can generate in any biome at pretty much every level. Although you can find ancient debris close to the roof of the Nether, it is the most common between Y=8 and Y=22. Between these levels, you can find chunks of between one to three ancient debris.

This ore will replace blocks of netherrack, basalt, and blackstone that are not exposed to the surface. This means that you will never find ancient debris while just passing by; it requires a bit of mining to get to. If you do find some ancient debris, it can only be mined with diamond or netherite tools.

Ancient debris is rare and can take a while to find. Next, let's take a look at the best way to find ancient debris.

Using TNT To Find Ancient Debris
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Using TNT is the most efficient way to mine ancient debris. Unlike every other block in the Nether, ancient debris is blast resistant. This means that the block will not be destroyed when TNT explodes near it.

To mine using TNT, create a strip mining tunnel in the Nether between Y=8 and Y=22; TNT creates a huge explosion, so aim for a mining tunnel around Y=15 to cover the area above and below the tunnel.

With your strip mining tunnel complete, place TNT on every other block. In the image above, you can see TNT placed in the tunnel. After you have placed all the TNT, make sure there is room for you to run. As mentioned above, TNT creates a huge explosion that can easily kill you. If you have room to run away from the explosion, it's time to get started!

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Using a flint and steel, ignite the TNT closest to you and run away. After a few seconds have passed, the TNT will explode, causing a chain reaction down the strip mining tunnel. Wait for all the TNT to finish and head back towards the tunnel. Now, you should see a giant cavern in place of the small strip mining tunnel; if any ancient debris is in the area, it will be exposed.

Remember, the Nether is full of lava; there is a chance that your explosions created lava waterfalls. Try to avoid these areas when you are navigating in the area. If there is ancient debris near lava, try to carefully mine it. Ancient debris does not burn in lava, so if it drops in, don't worry. Ideally, you should try to collect it without touching the lava. If you have good armor with full health, it's okay to dip into the lava to grab the debris. You will be on fire for a little, but it shouldn't kill you.

How To Craft TNT
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To mine for ancient debris using TNT, you will need to have a supply of gunpowder and sand. Crafting one block of TNT requires five gunpowder and four blocks of sand, assembled as seen in the image above.

Sand is fairly simple to get; you can find it near any shore or in a desert biome. Gunpowder is a little more difficult to obtain. It drops from creepers, ghasts, and witches. To increase the amount of gunpowder dropped from these mobs, you should use a sword enchanted with Looting.

Alternatively, making a creeper farm will provide a steady supply of gunpowder. Creeper farms are large and take a lot of material to make, but are definitely worth it. There are several creeper farm designs online, including this design from Shulkercraft, which is simple and extremely productive.

Tools Enchanted With Efficiency
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If you don't have TNT, you can still mine for ancient debris! Using a pickaxe enchanted with Efficiency, you can quickly mine through netherrack to find ancient debris.

In general, netherrack mines very quickly. With a diamond pickaxe, it will take 0.1 seconds to mine. If your pickaxe is enchanted with Efficiency, then you can completely destroy entire walls of netherrack in less than a second.

Although this isn't as quick as using TNT, it is still a good way to clear entire areas in search of ancient debris.

Crafting Netherite Ingot
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Now that you have ancient debris, it's time to craft netherite. Prior to making a netherite ingot, you will need to smelt the ancient debris in a furnace. To do this, simply place your ancient debris into the furnace with some coal; after a few seconds, netherite scraps will be produced. With these scraps, you can craft netherite ingots.

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To craft a netherite ingot, you will need the following materials.

Four Gold Ingots
Four Netherite Scraps

As you can see, this recipe requires four netherite scraps, which is a lot. This means that you will need to find four ancient debris to make one ingot.

After you have an ingot, you can upgrade your tools. To upgrade tools and armor, you will just need one netherite ingot. Head to a smithing table, combine your diamond tool or armor with the netherite ingot, and you're done! Remember, netherite ingots can only upgrade items that are diamond quality.