Games

Most Difficult Minecraft Gameplay Challenges

Published

1 week ago

December 14, 2024

Christoph Rediske

minecraft 16 best gameplay challenges for veteran players

Summary

Table of Contents

Minecraft offers endless creativity through mods, enticing veteran players with new challenges and experiences.
Challenges like the Galacticraft Playthrough and Speedrun add depth to gameplay for seasoned players.
New mods like Scape and Run: Parasites and Hermit Chunk Challenge offer unique and tougher challenges.

Minecraft offers players no end to their creativity with constant updates and mods that allow almost anything to happen. It features a survival mode many players adore, but it’s the creative aspect that draws most into the game. Many have reconstructed epic scenes and locations from various other games and movies with great precision and detail.

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When a player becomes a veteran at Minecraft, they may feel like there’s nothing left to do until the next update comes out. However, plenty of challenges make this game exciting for even the most long-term player. These challenges offer a new experience that can put a whole new outlook on the game.

Updated on December 13, 2024, by Gregory Louis Gomez: Minecraft is one of those games that simply has an ungodly lifespan. If players aren’t just playing the game as it was intended for years on end, they’re going out of their way to modify it in new and creative ways to elicit a fresh experience. Veteran players in particular are constantly on the lookout for ways to spice up their gameplay, such as modded worlds, popular tasks and goals, and more. With all of this in mind, we’ve decided to add a few more entries to the ever-expanding list of challenges for longtime Minecraft players.

19 Galacticraft Playthrough

Start a Space Race of Your Very Own in Minecraft

Minecraft allows players to do many things; climb the tallest mountains, explore the deepest oceans, and even travel between dimensions. The only thing it doesn’t do is let you build a rocket and go to space, though that is where the Galacticraft mod comes in. This mod adds a ton of new resources and craftable tools and machines that can take you to the moon and beyond, where you will find new structures, loot, and mobs unlike anything else in the base game. Galacticraft is great because not only is it comprehensive in and of itself, but it can be paired with a wide array of mods that can make this challenge easier or harder depending on what the player is looking for.

18 Speedrun Challenge

Beat the Game as Fast as You Possibly Can

Minecraft Steve looking over the horizon

One of the more popular challenges Minecraft players have gotten into recently is to beat the game as quickly as humanly possible. All this means is getting to the End and killing the Ender Dragon, though doing this as quickly as possible can be deceptively challenging.

The level of challenge may fluctuate based on how fast the player wants to beat the game, meaning the better the time the harder it can be. This requires an intimate knowledge of both the game’s basic mechanics, as well as knowledge of exploits, in order to save time and maximize efficiency of play.

17 Zombie Apocalypse

Try to Survive Against the Horde of the Undead

Difficulty: Hard – Severe

Minecraft has its standard zombies, but they aren’t the biggest threat that the game has to offer, generally speaking. With mods, however, players can turn Minecraft into a true zombie survival game and ratchet the difficulty up immensely. Whether it’s just turning up the number of zombies to overhauling their looks and behavior to make them more terrifying, the zombie apocalypse challenge offers players a much more stressful way to play the game than they may be used to.

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As there’s no single zombie apocalypse mod, players are encouraged to tailor their experience to their liking. They can find mod packs dedicated to zombie survival or just make one themselves. To facilitate their ideal apocalyptic experience.

16 Scape and Run: Parasites

You Will Not Survive

Difficulty: Hard – Severe

One of the most horrific mods one can download for Minecraft is Scape and Run: Parasites. This mod adds a whole new family of enemies to the game that not only infects a wide variety of other mobs, but the landscape itself. The parasite threat also continuously evolves over time, increasing in numbers, lethality, and complexity.

Put simply, the longer one plays this mod, the harder it becomes to survive each day, making it perfect for a long-term survival world. This mod is currently only available for Minecraft version 1.12.2 but is continuously updated with new features.

15 Herobrine Challenge

Go Toe to Toe With Minecraft’s Deadliest Enemy (Sort of)

minecraft-herobrine-stream-video-recovered

Difficulty: Moderate – Hard

While it’s true that Herobrine has never officially been in Minecraft (despite every update saying it “removed him”), he has always been a fan favorite due to the lore surrounding him and the creepypasta in which he originated. Mods have allowed players to add him to their game in many different ways, any one of which would make for an interesting challenge for veteran players looking to spice up their gameplay experience.

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Some of these mods can result in some serious scares, though that’s certainly part of the fun for many. A great example is the Legend of Herobrine Mod, which adds a whole host of spooky additions and changes to the game along with the titular cryptid himself.

14 Survival Island Challenge

Survive the Full Duration of the Playthrough on a Single Island

screenshot of an area with a beach in Minecraft

In this challenge, players will begin their game on an isolated island. Their entire playthrough is isolated to this one patch of land they cannot expand or leave, making it more difficult than regular survival mode. All resources will need to be obtained on this island.

Additionally, players will need to find a way to the Nether and the End without leaving said island. The goal is still to beat the Ender Dragon, which is entirely possible if they use the right strategy, though likely a reasonably difficult one and highly dependent on what seed the player is using for their map.

13 Nuclear Apocalypse Survival

Brave the Irradiated Ruins of the Overworld

For all the Fallout or STALKER fans out there, this challenge is for you. There are many mods that can transform Minecraft into a nuclear hellscape, with all sorts of environmental hazards and mutated beasts to experience. There are plenty of mods and mod packs that would allow one to achieve this, many of which have been mentioned on this list, but generally, you’d need mods that add things like radiation, mutants, and either a custom-themed map or something like the Lost Cities mod, which can add explorable ruins to the overworld.

12 Hermit Chunk Challenge

How Fast Can You Defeat the Ender Dragon When Everything is Provided?

screenshot showing low health in Minecraft

The Hermit Chunk Challenge requires players to download and use a mod that allows them to start the challenge. The mod spawns players on a 16×16 chunk of land that, surprisingly enough, has everything they need for survival. It includes a cave, lava, rare ores, and wood.

Despite its small size, players can still access the Nether and the End. The game’s ultimate goal is still the same: to defeat the Ender Dragon. Players must be quick-witted and think on their toes to survive using this mod.

11 Nomad Challenge

Live the Rough Life of a Hunter Gatherer in Minecraft

screenshot overlooking the landscape in Minecraft

As the name implies, players must constantly be on the move in the Nomad Challenge. They are not allowed to create a home base where they return night after night to rest. Spending the night in a hut is permitted, but only if they destroy it in the morning when they wake up.

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Additionally, using chests is forbidden in this challenge. A nomad would not have a storage chest as they would only take what they can carry, so players must plan accordingly to determine what they will take with them. They have 27 storage slots, nine hotbar slots, four armor slots, and one off-hand slot where they can place things, totaling 41 slots. While this may seem decent, it can fill up pretty quickly, leaving players in a bind.

10 Skyblock Challenge

Make the Most Out of Very Little to Complete This Minecraft Challenge

The Skyblock Challenge requires a mod and is one of the classic Minecraft challenges. Players will be spawned on a small patch of earth floating in the sky. It has a tree and a chest with survival items. There’s nothing, and really no room for anything else.

The goal is to build outward until players find other Skyblock Islands. Mistakes are commonly made, requiring restarting the game. The simplest mistake can result in having to go back to square one. After they’ve built out sufficiently, they’ll be able to challenge the Ender Dragon. When the boss is successfully defeated, the challenge is complete.

9 Hardcore Mode

Put Everything on the Line for this Minecraft Challenge

Minecraft Hardcore Mode slain my Enderman in house

For those who have already been through everything the game has to offer, they can take things up a notch with Hardcore Mode. However, this setting can be very frustrating because players can put a lot of work into their world only to lose everything permanently when they die. That’s right. Death is permanent, and the world is erased.

A collage of different mobs roaming a Minecraft world at night

Minecraft: Mods That Make Your Game Scarier

Who says Minecraft can’t be a horror game? With these mods, this otherwise laid-back title becomes downright terrifying.

As players may suspect, the difficulty level is set to Hard and cannot be changed. They should have all the information about this setting before turning it on to avoid upsets while playing. It’s definitely not something for beginners to try to tackle.

8 City Construction Challenge

Build a Bustling City in Your Minecraft World

Players who want to sit back and take their time moving through the game will enjoy the City Construction Challenge. The goal of this challenge is for players to find a village and befriend all who live there. Then, they’ll need to help build the town into a city with all the features a city has, including a protective wall and grander buildings.

This challenge will take quite a while to complete. When the city is fully grown and thriving, the challenge is complete. Building trust and relationships with the villagers will take significant time and dedication.

7 Pacifism Challenge

Violence of any Kind is Strictly Off the Table

This is a challenge that may be perfect for players with kind hearts. There is no attacking anyone or anything of any kind throughout the playthrough. This includes hostile mobs and animals for food. So when players are being attacked, they’ll have to find ways to quickly escape danger without harming their foes.

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Planting crops will be their primary source of food. Hunting is not an option, as injuring cows and similar animals is forbidden to complete the challenge successfully.

6 OneBlock Survival Challenge

How Far Can You Get With Only One Block?

screenshot overlooking a basecamp in Minecraft

The OneBlock Survival mod can be downloaded on the Minecraft marketplace for free. Though it spawns players on a single block, however, this one block can be mined repeatedly. Over time, the mined materials increase in value, and from it, they can create an entire world to play around in.

They’ll have to continuously mine and build, but eventually, they’ll have their own made-from-scratch creation. There are other patches of the world to find as well, where the player may interact with NPCs and slay enemies.

5 Mod Pack Challenge

Download a Random Mod Pack and See What Happens

Minecraft is one of the most moddable games around, and by extension, is one of the most modded by players. There are countless websites dedicated to hosting mods for the game that do all sorts of things. One of the things players like to do, however, is to compile a bunch of mods and upload them as a single package.

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Each mod works together in order to create a new experience, which could be anything from a survival horror overhaul to a recreation of Portal. To check out some of these mod packs, head over to curseforge.com.

4 Single Biome Challenge

Survive the Whole Playthrough in Just One Biome

Players can provide themselves with a challenge by changing their world to one biome and attempting to survive. They can make it even more difficult by making it a barren biome that is difficult to survive in, like a desert or badlands biome.

When creating a new world, they’ll need to change the setting under “More Options” to “Single Biome.” This will allow them to choose which biome they want the game to generate.

3 Role Play Challenge

Experience Minecraft as a Specific Type of Character

Given that Minecraft features a completely black slate character for the player to inhabit, role-playing is extremely easy to do, though it is a bit limited without the aid of some mods. With mods, however, players can play the game in certain specialized ways that they normally wouldn’t, such as a mage, a warrior, or maybe just a simple farmer.

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One could even download a skin of their favorite characters from other games and role-play as one of them in a themed world to match. Imagine recreating the world of The Last of Us and playing as Joel, or playing a character within Middle-earth for example.

2 Sky Factory Challenge

Building a Whole New World From the Ground Up

Sky Factory is a massive mod pack for Minecraft that adds a ton of new things to create that can turn the game world upside down and inside out. Though it spawns the player on a single tree floating in empty space, this tree provides everything the player will need to slowly but surely expand and create a whole ecosystem of their own.

After a while, it will seem as if the player has amassed so much power that they may even inadvertently destroy their world with it if they aren’t careful. Sky Factory can be downloaded for free on curseforge.com.

1 100 Days Challenge

Can You Beat the Game in 100 Days Without Dying?

This challenge allows players to take Hardcore Mode up a notch. They’ll need to beat the Ender Dragon while playing Hardcore Mode in 100 in-game days or less. This ramps up the difficulty, turning the game almost into a speed run. Time-counter mods can be installed to assist with counting the days.

Players should be warned that it’s not advisable to engage the Ender Dragon too early, as death is permanent. Waiting until the last minute will allow for the most preparation.

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Minecraft

Platform(s): 3DS , Android , iOS , Nintendo Switch , Nintendo Wii U , PC , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , PS Vita , Xbox One , Xbox 360
Released: November 18, 2011
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty