How to Build a Minecraft Building on an Existing Natural Structure - For Dummies

A Minecraft building doesn’t have to stand on its own — lots of interesting structures build from their surroundings. For example, you can build a fortress inside a cave or a city around a mountain. Plus, using your surroundings as part of your building can save you a ton of building time because you’re taking advantage of the thousands of blocks that have already been placed for you.

For example, check out these little houses built in an Extreme Hills biome with ladders and stairwells connecting them. This unusual arrangement looks like something out of a fantasy book — and the building process was definitely easier than building a structure of our own and planting houses in it.

If you want to create a building on an existing natural structure, follow these steps:

1. Decide how much of the building can fit inside the natural structure.

   If you want to build on a mountain, see how much you can put in or around the mountain without extending too far out. Or, if you want to build in a cave, decide how much of the structure should fit inside the cave. Remember that the structure isn’t limited to these boundaries — you’re simply deciding where to start. You can change things later.

2. Dig out the landscape to make way for your buildings.

   If your mountain or forest or another structure begins to look too porous, stop digging for now — your creation may end up blotting out the landscape rather than working with it.

3. Construct any large buildings that tie together the theme of the structure.

   This includes giant bridges, large buildings, and transportation systems that go throughout the natural structures.

4. Create the rest of your buildings.

   While you work, step back every once in a while to make sure that the buildings still fit in with the landscape.

5. Decorate the interiors of your buildings.

   After the outside looks good, all you have to do is finish up the details.

Every biome supports different building styles — a desert may lend itself to a temple, for example, or a Jungle biome may be a good location for a tree house. Work wherever you like.