If you think you’re a Minecraft master, RLCraft will quickly prove you wrong. This modpack is a hardcore survival experience where staying alive is incredibly difficult, and even getting a single piece of wood can be a deadly challenge. In classic Minecraft, it’s simple — you walk up to a tree, hold down a button for a few seconds, and you’ve got a block of wood. In RLCraft, that logic doesn’t work — here, you might die before you even figure out how to get your first log.
First, create a Flint Hatchet
To craft a Flint Hatchet, combine 1 Plant String, 1 Flint Shard, and 1 Stick in your inventory — this will give you a makeshift tool that allows you to chop down your first tree. Below, you’ll find instructions to help you gather all the necessary materials.
1. Get 1 Flint Shard
The first step is to find gravel, which can be found near lakes, rivers, or beaches. You need to keep breaking it until you get a piece of flint. Then, take the flint in your hand and hit it against a hard block like stone or cobblestone — the material will shatter into smaller pieces, creating flint shards.
2. Get 1 Stick
Next, you’ll need to get a stick. The easiest way is to break tree leaves, which have a chance to drop one. You can also find dead bushes and break them for sticks, or search chests in a nearby village — they often contain some basic materials.
3. Get 1 Plant String
The final step is to get something to bind your gathered materials together. To do this, craft a Flint Knife using the stick and flint shard you collected earlier. Then, use the knife on tall grass to obtain plant fiber. Combine three plant fibers in your inventory crafting grid to create one plant string.
4. Create a Hatchet
The final step is to craft a hatchet — in your inventory crafting grid, combine 1 plant string, 1 flint shard, and 1 stick to create a makeshift tool for chopping down trees.
Chop down your first tree
Find a nearby tree from which you want to gather wood. Then, use your previously crafted Flint Hatchet on it — you’ll notice that the tree doesn’t break block by block like in regular Minecraft. Instead, the whole tree falls to the ground, leaving only the stump behind.
At this point, you’ll see a stump along with a few wood blocks and sticks. To collect them, simply right-click on them.
In RLCraft, you can’t just put a log into the crafting table to get planks — it doesn’t work that way. Place a wood log on the ground and, while holding your hatchet, right-click on it. After hitting it, the log will break apart into planks, which you then need to pick up from the ground.
When you gather your first piece of wood with your own hands, you’ll feel something no other modpack can give you — the true satisfaction of survival. Even a simple log becomes a symbol of progress — and now, with a few planks in your hand, you can begin building your very first base.
