With some of the recent updates that have come out to Minecraft there have been some really cool huge additions made to the game and Ancient Cities are one of them, but they aren’t that easy to find. So in this article you’ll get some insight on how to navigate the Deep Dark to help you to find this rare structure.
The Wild Update that came to Minecraft added loads of new features as I mentioned above, many of which are actually centred around the Deep Dark biome. As you may have already realised from the name of this biome, it is quite a scary area to be in and is famous for its vast, yet uncommon, Ancient Cities within them. It is definitely worth looking for these Ancient Cities because they contain quite a few exclusive items.
Getting to these Ancient Cities is just the beginning of your adventure though, but fear not because hopefully at the end of reading this article you’ll be a lot more confident in your adventuring abilities.
What Exactly is The Deep Dark Biome?
The Deep Dark biome is a new type of biome that is generated deep under the surface and as you could’ve guessed from its name, its main characteristic is that it has no natural lighting whatsoever. Another thing that you’ll notice about these biomes is that they’re largely made up of sculk blocks and this is the only biome where Ancient Cities can generate.
It is important to note that actually finding the Deep Dark biome is the initial step to finding an Ancient City so make sure that you’re able to recognize if you’re in one or not. These biomes tend to generate around the Y level -52, so if you are in this area then just keep a look out for any sort of sculk.
Finally, if you are inside of a Deep Dark biome then you want to be extra careful here because the Warden isn’t limited to spawn in Ancient Cities, which means that setting off a Sculk Shrieker anywhere in the Deep Dark biomes can summon a Warden! So when you find yourself in these dark scary locations then be aware of how much noise you’re making and make sure to steer clear of any Sculk Sensors or Shriekers.
What Exactly Is An Ancient City
Ancient Cities are essentially just types of structures that you’ll find generated within the Deep Dark biomes. These structures are pretty rare, so not every single Deep Dark biome will have one and what’s more is you won’t even know if you’ve found one till you’re actually standing in it because the Deep Dark biomes are so dark.
These Ancient City structures take up huge areas within sculk-lined caverns and are primarily made up of a material called Deepslate. As you know, there is no natural light down here at all so these cities have instead been lit up with soul lanterns as well as the occasional torch here and there, there are even unlit candles scattered all around the structures. Other materials that you may be able to find within the Ancient City include dark oak planks as well as wool.
Although each Ancient City may look a little different from one another the centrepiece is always going to be a large structure that looks like a portal, completely made up of reinforced Deepslate. This area is completely surrounded by two large walls and has an altar-like area with a bunch of candles in front of it. Then you’ll also find a kind of main road that is covered by a tunnel that runs from the outside of the city all the way to the portal in the centre.
Don’t waste your time trying to figure out how to activate this portal though because it cannot be activated in any way. However, even though this portal isn’t really useful there are other reasons as to why these Ancient Cities are desirable. A big reason as to why people try to find these Ancient Cities is because of the exclusive loot that you can find here, not only this but you also have easy access to sculk blocks of course. These sculk blocks have two benefits that you can make use of, the first is that they are a great way to farm and store XP and the sculk sensors actually enable the creation of wireless redstone contraptions.
Tips for Finding Ancient Cities in Minecraft
As you know, for a lot of rare structures in Minecraft there are special types of maps that you can use to lead you to them, but sadly there are no direct ways to try and locate an Ancient City. The only thing that you can do is mine your way down to the -52 Y level and continue mining at this level until you find a Deep Dark biome and then you’ll just have to hope that it also has an Ancient City in it. Luckily you won’t have to travel too far in order to find an Ancient City because 75 percent of them will always spawn within 2,000 blocks of your spawn location.
What Biomes Do These Ancient Cities Appear Underneath?
Deep Dark biomes as well as Ancient Cities will usually generate underneath biomes that have low erosion, which are the biomes typically with mountainous and hilly areas, such as Jagged Peaks and Cherry Groves. It is important to know that Deep Dark biomes and Ancient Cities will never generate underneath oceans, rivers or swamps, so don’t waste your time checking here.
So, if you happen to stumble upon a very tall mountain that stretches way past all of the surrounding area then it would definitely be a good idea to try and mine underneath it.
Locating An Ancient City Using Cheat Codes
If you’re someone who doesn’t want to put in all that hard work of looking for these Ancient Cities then you can instead play with cheats on, in order to use the /locate command to find an Ancient City a lot easier. Here is the exact command that you can use to find an Ancient City: /locate structure minecraft:ancient_city. Now once you’ve written in this command you’ll get a set of coordinates back for exactly where you can find the city. Then if you further don’t even want to walk and then mine to these coordinates you could also use teleport, which is a separate cheat code.
Ancient City Loot
These Ancient Cities have been absolutely filled with chests scattered everywhere, containing valuable items. Below, is a list of some of the notable loot that you would usually be able to find in an Ancient City, as well as its chance of appearing in the chests there.
| Special Loot | % Chance Of Spawning In Chests |
| Potion of Regeneration | 35.9% |
| Enchanted Book | 23.2% – 35.9% |
| Disk Fragment | 29.8% |
| Echo Shards | 29.8% |
| Amethyst Shard | 23.2% |
| Glow Berries | 23.2% |
| Sculk | 23.2% |
| Candle | 23.2% |
| Bottle o’ Enchanting | 23.2% |
| Sculk Sensor | 23.2% |
| Music Disk (13/cat) | 16.1% |
| Enchanted Diamond Hoe | 16.1% |
| Diamond Horse Armor | 16.1% |
| Enchanted Diamond Leggings | 16.1% |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 8.4% |
| Music Disk(otherside) | 8.4% |
| Ward Armor Trim Smithing Template | 5% |
| Silence Armor Trim Smithing Template | 1.2% |
The three most common and important items that a lot of players will venture down into the Deep Dark biomes for include Swift Sneak books, echo shards and music disc shards.
There are a few various enchanted books that you may find in the Ancient Cities but the books that most players are dying to get their hands on are the Swift Sneak books. This enhancement reaches a tier of three, exclusively designed for leg attire. It amplifies your mobility while in a stealthy posture. This proves beneficial for swiftly traversing past Sculk Sensors discreetly and for being able to build without falling off things.
You may also come across echo shards, which serve as components for crafting the Recovery Compass. Unlike a conventional compass, this useful tool directs you to the exact spot that you had most recently died, which as you can imagine, will make it a lot easier to get a hold of your inventory that you dropped upon your death.
Then the final item that players come down here for are music disc shards. Once you’ve been able to successfully collect nine of these shards you’ll be able to use them to craft the music disc “5”, which is sort of a spooky track and “11”, which kind of sounds like the audio of someone who activates some sort of portal before the Warden arrives and kills them.
Final Words
In the depths of Minecraft’s enigmatic Deep Dark biome lies the allure of Ancient Cities. These cryptic structures offer a host of exclusive treasures, adding intrigue to your gaming adventures. Whether you choose to explore the shadows or opt for quicker solutions, the rewards within these cities make the journey worth your while. So, embrace the challenge, and may your encounters in the Deep Dark prove both exciting and fulfilling. Happy mining!
