DonutSMP Ancient Debris Mining Guide — Find It Fast

Ancient Debris is the rarest mineable resource in Minecraft and one of the most valuable items on DonutSMP. Sells for ~947k coins per unit on /order. Here's how to find and farm it efficiently.

Where Ancient Debris spawns

Ancient Debris only generates in the Nether, between Y=8 and Y=119, with peak frequency at Y=15.

That means you mine at sea level in the Nether. Y=15 is the most efficient single level — set up a tunnel system at that Y and mine outward.

The 3 main mining methods

Method 1 — Beds (fastest, most dangerous)

Use beds to explode through Netherrack at Y=15. Each bed explosion clears a 5x5x3 area instantly, exposing any Ancient Debris in the radius.

Setup:

• 32+ beds (any color)
• Full netherite armor with Blast Protection IV (critical — beds do massive damage)
• Stack of obsidian for emergency shelters
• Slow Falling potions

Method:

1. Mine a 1-block tunnel forward at Y=15
2. Place bed at the end
3. Stand back, shoot bed with bow
4. Bed explodes, clearing 5x5x3 area
5. Walk into cleared area, mine any exposed Ancient Debris
6. Repeat forward

Yield: 8-15 Ancient Debris per hour with practice.

Risk: A bed explosion in lava = instant death + lost gear. Always have a way back to safety.

Method 2 — TNT (safer, slower)

Same as bed mining but using TNT instead. Less damage to you but lower yield per blast.

Yield: 4-8 Ancient Debris per hour.

Method 3 — Manual mining

Just dig with a Netherite/Diamond pickaxe (Fortune doesn't affect Ancient Debris). Slow but zero death risk.

Yield: 2-4 Ancient Debris per hour.

Selling Ancient Debris

Most players sell on /order — list 16-32 at a time, sell out within hours.

The "process to Netherite" play

Better than selling raw debris:

1. 4 Ancient Debris + 4 Gold = 1 Netherite Ingot
2. Netherite ingots sell at 3.7M coins each on /order
3. Effective per-Debris value: ~925k coins (similar to raw)
4. Plus: you save crafters paying premium for finished ingots

If you're patient: process to ingots. If you need cash now: sell raw.

Daily yield math

Skilled bed mining: 1-2 hours/day = 10-20M coins/day = ~600M/month.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Mining at Y=11 thinking it's optimal (it's Y=15)
• ❌ Forgetting Blast Protection IV armor (beds 1-shot you)
• ❌ Pillar-jumping in Nether (Ghasts kill you mid-jump)
• ❌ Mining without water bucket (no MLG = falling deaths)

Frequently Asked

Does Fortune work on Ancient Debris? No — Ancient Debris drops as a block regardless of Fortune. Use Efficiency V for speed.

Can I bed-mine in safe-zones? PvP zones in Nether prohibit some exploits. Check server rules.

What's the cheapest way to get Netherite if I don't want to mine? Buy Ancient Debris on /order at ~900k each, craft into Netherite yourself. Cheaper than buying finished Netherite ingots.

Buy DonutSMP coins to skip mining → · Netherite kit setup guide →