The Looting Age in Minecraft - For Dummies

You reach the Looting Age in Minecraft early in the game — sometimes, even parallel to reaching the Wooden Age. You begin by slaying enemies for loot, and by using the loot to improve your crafting repertoire. Many more items then become available to you, as listed in the table.

All tools increase the amount of damage you inflict. The sword and bow are the most powerful, but an axe still fares well in combat. Shovels are the weakest.

Items in the Looting Age Item How to Obtain It Description Arrow By killing skeletons; crafted from 1 flint, 1 stick, 1 feather (makes 4) A type of ammunition used with bows and dispensers Bed Crafted from 3 wool, 3 planks Can be right-clicked during nighttime to sleep, skipping the night and allowing you to reappear by the bed if you die
(You cannot sleep while monsters are pursuing you.) Bone By killing skeletons A useful item for taming wolves; can be crafted into bone meal or white dye Bone meal Crafted from 1 bone (makes 3) Can right-click grass while holding this strong fertilizer to grow a patch of tall grass and flowers
(Right-click any immature crop to grow it.) Book Crafted from 1 leather, 3 paper Can be used to make a book and quill, a bookcase, or an enchantment table Book and quill Crafted from 1 feather, 1 ink sac, 1 book Lets you write in the book or read a signed book by right-clicking while holding it Bookshelf Crafted from 3 books, 6 planks An expensive decorative item that serves as a buffer for the enchantment table; returns 3 books when broken Bow Crafted from 3 string, 3 sticks A powerful weapon that’s useful throughout the game
(As long as you have arrows in the inventory, you can hold the right mouse button to charge the bow, and release it to fire.) Carrot Rarely, by killing zombies Can be eaten or farmed; also used to make golden carrots Egg Occasionally laid by chickens Thrown when you right-click while holding it, occasionally spawning a baby chicken where it lands; also used to craft cake and pumpkin pie Ender pearl Sometimes, by killing endermen An ingredient for an eye of ender, which helps you find the Stronghold; if you throw the pearl by right-clicking, teleports to where the pearl lands but incurs damage Feather By killing chickens A useful ingredient for arrows; also used to make the book and quill Fermented spider eye Crafted from 1 spider eye, 1 sugar, 1 brown mushroom The key ingredient in negative potions Fishing rod Crafted from 2 string, 3 sticks Lets you cast its bobber by right-clicking while holding it; can be right-clicked again — if the bobber floats in the water for a little while and then suddenly dips — to pull out a fish Gunpowder By killing creepers (without exploding them) An explosive material used to craft TNT, fire charges, and splash potions Ink sac By killing squids Used as black dye or as an ingredient for the book and quill Item frame Crafted from 8 sticks, 1 leather Can display an item (when mounted on the wall) when you right-click it while holding the item; rotates when you right-click it again Leather By killing cows Useful for making books and leather armor Leather cap, tunic, trousers, boots Crafted from 5, 8, 7, or 4 leather, respectively The weakest armor that negates a good amount of damage Painting Crafted from 8 sticks, 1 wool Can be placed by right-clicking a wall; measures up to 4 blocks wide by 4 blocks tall Poisonous potato Obtained (rarely) instead of a normal potato Can be eaten but causes poison damage; no real use for it Potato Rarely, by killing zombies Can be eaten or farmed; a low-profit food item unless cooked into a baked potato Pumpkin pie Crafted from 1 pumpkin, 1 sugar, 1 egg An effective food item — reliable if you have several pumpkins and eggs Raw beef By killing cows Essentially the same as raw porkchop Raw chicken By killing chickens A weaker food source that can sometimes poison you when eaten raw, draining the food meter; should be cooked before eating! Raw fish Obtained by fishing Restores a tiny segment of the Hunger bar and can be used to tame ocelots in the jungle Raw porkchop By killing pigs A basic food item that isn’t effective unless you cook it Rotten flesh By killing zombies A fairly useless item and volatile food source; however, heals wolves when fed to them; sometimes, village priests exchange an emerald for it Slime block Crafted from four slimeballs A bouncy block that sticks to other blocks when pushed with a piston. Additionally, sends anything that is on it flying if pushed by a piston Slimeball Dropped by slimes in the swamp A gooey item, used to make sticky pistons and magma cream Spider eye By killing spiders A potion ingredient, a poisonous food, and an ingredient of a fermented spider eye String By killing spiders or breaking cobwebs A useful ingredient in making bows, fishing rods, and tripwire lines TNT Crafted from 5 gunpowder, 4 sand When set off by redstone or fire, sizzles and then causes a large block-destroying explosion; affected by gravity when activated Wool By killing or shearing sheep; crafted from 4 string A decorative block used for beds and paintings; can be colored with dye