Minecraft Dungeons is an excellent action RPG with a bright future. The accessible title builds on the traditions set by Diablo and other similar games. And while it's easy to play, it can be tough to master on the higher difficulties, and you'll need the right gear and right builds to match your playstyle.
We're still going through the endgame ourselves, and uncovering more and more awesome gear combinations as we go. We thought we'd start sharing some of our favorite builds so far, to help give you ideas on what kind of gear you might want to hunt for later in the game.
For more ideas, browse our massive list of Unique armor and weapons, and our Artifacts list.
Minecraft Dungeons
Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Main
- Unlock all Minecraft Dungeons levels
- All Minecraft Dungeons Unique Gear
- All Minecraft Dungeons Weapons
- All Minecraft Dungeons Armor
- All Minecraft Dungeons Enemies
- Best Minecraft Dungeons Builds
Best Minecraft Dungeons melee builds
Melee builds are all about standing toe to toe with the most powerful mobs, shrugging off huge amounts of incoming damage while wielding a large claymore or hammer. You could also play something a little more nimble and agile, dealing rapid damage more rogue-style, wielding daggers, or fist weapons. Most melee builds will need some type of melee-range mitigation, whether through the defense-boosting Iron Hide Amulet, or the area-stun Shock Powder. All melee builds benefit from the Light Feather too since it grants you a gap-closer on a short cooldown that also stuns mobs wherever you land.
Berserker warrior
Warrior playstyles will vary heavily based on what weapons and armor you want to use. For less tanky, more damage-heavy warrior archetypes, you'll want to use mail that increases your damage. Typically, the Mercenary Armor and Highland Armor come with very similar stats, offering mitigation and damage boosting properties.
You'll want to take whichever matches your playstyle in terms of enchants. Any enchant that gives you additional protection in melee range, damage boosts, or life steal effects are good picks to have to survive the onslaught. If you find that you're too squishy, you could pick the Iron Hide Amulet instead of something more damage-oriented, like the Death Cap Mushroom. For ranged, I find anything with Gravity helps pull mobs into your death radius, but you could also take something high-damage like Exploding Crossbows for those times you absolutely need a ranged attack.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Whirlwind | Living up to the fierce moniker, Whirlwind is a double-bladed axed birthed from a vicious storm. It casts shockwaves, throwing enemies back, with a spin attack for added effect.○ Casts Shockwaves○ Spin attack | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Highland Armor | This is the ultimate tool for a melee damage-dealer, giving you speed boosts after a dodge roll, allowing you to weave around enemies and slap them while they're still turning. ○ Gain speed after dodging○ 35 percent damage reduction○ 30 percent melee damage bonus | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Firebolt Thrower | Playing with fire grants this crossbow some powerful traits, with arrows exploding on impact, and the chance of a chain reaction. When the stars align, a few shots clears the dungeon floor.○ Chance of Chain Reaction○ Explodes on Impact | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
Combat rogue
Rogue builds revolve around attack speed, and typically use the Spider Armor Unique set. While squishy, players using this loadout will deal massive amounts of damage extremely quickly, able to defeat mobs within the stun window of a Shock Powder blast or Light Feather roll out.
You could either opt for a hit-and-run style tactic using the Ghost Cloak to escape when things get too rough, or more of a stand-your-ground approach, if you manage to find fast weapons that have the Radiance or Lifesteal enchants for rapid self-healing. For ranged weapon, you could go with whatever has worthwhile enchants to help you drain life or mitigate your enemies. Thematically, the rapid-fire Auto Crossbow makes a good pick for a speedy rogue.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Nightmare's Bite | A rapid-attacking pair of sickles ideal for rogues. It also spawns poison clouds, stacking with Life Stealing-type enchants for tons of self-sustain.○ Spawns poison clouds○ Dual wield | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Spider Armor | The Spider Armor is a rogue's best friend, providing a passive lifesteal aura on attacks, alongside bonuses to damage.○ +3 percent lifesteal aura○ +25 percent melee attack speed | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Auto Crossbow | Function over form, this creation of the Arch-Illager cranks up the fire rate far beyond alternatives. That rate also increases as you shoot, rewarding those who hold down the trigger. Ideal for targeting large groups of hostile mobs.○ High Firerate○ Firerate increases upon firing | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
Best rogue builds for Minecraft Dungeons
Best Minecraft Dungeons archer builds
Archer builds revolve around ranged attacks primarily. You'll want to keep enemies at bay, using defensive Artifacts like the Ghost Cloak to avoid being attacked and to reposition. Artifacts like the Torment Quiver work well with Souls-oriented builds and armor sets, while the Fireworks Arrow and Flaming Quiver will be the bread and butter of non-Souls archery builds.
Frosty archer
This is the build I'm personally using currently, as a fan of some of the Souls-based abilities and archery playstyles in general. This build works well with any ranged soul-based weapon, including the Feral Soul Crossbow, and the Voidcaller. The Frost Bite armor gives a bonus to souls received from attacks, as well as a cute snowball companion that will hit a random target with a stunning snowball.
With this build, I use Soul Healer artifact and the Cowardice enchant, which adds a damage bonus for being at full health. Soul Healer is also useful in general for healing any incoming damage. This isn't the most tanky build, but it revolves primarily around the Torment Quiver artifact to push enemies away. I also use the Ghost Cloak to escape from bigger packs and Geomancer traps, allowing myself to quickly reposition for more swirly Torment Quiver shots.
For melee, I use the Frost Scythe purely for aesthetics, but the slow on it is helpful to keep mobs at bay. You could also use the Eternal Knife for extra souls, or something like the Jailor's Scythe to put chains on mobs, keeping them at bay. My Frost Scythe luckily has the Chains enchant already, making it extra useful in this regard.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Frost Scythe | Become the frosty Grim Reaper with this cold-blooded scythe, characterized by its crystalized detailing throughout. Swiping enemies causes a slowing effect, with added soul gathering to fuel your abilities.○ Slows mobs○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Feral Soul Crossbow | This soul-sucking crossbow balances power and speed, with a massive bonus crit chance based on your current Soul gauge meter.○ Souls critical boost○ +2 Souls Gathering | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Frost Bite | This spooky-looking archery armorset spawns a floating snowball that slaps a nearby enemy every few seconds with a hefty stun.○ Spawns a snowy companion○ +100 percent souls gathered○ +30 percent ranged damage | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
Best Minecraft Dungeons caster builds
Caster builds ultimately revolve around either Evocation Robes or Soul Robes, based on your preferred playstyle. Evocation Robes give bonus reductions to Artifact cooldowns, which helps with trickster-style builds using the Love Medallion or Golem Kit. Soul Robes boost your Artifact damage, though, turning you into a super glass cannon with huge burst damage.
Soul weaver
My preferred caster playstyle as of writing is a Soul-heavy build using the Soul Dancer Robe Unique. This Soul Robe grants additional mitigation, providing a flat 30 percent chance to avoid all damage, which can be nice for a glass cannon damage dealer. Active mitigation isn't supremely necessary on this build, since you'll be shredding things into pieces using the Harvester explosion in close range, and the Corrupted Beacon at range. Still, some active mitigation enchants can help further, such as Weakening on your weapon, or a Snowball enchants on your armor to stun nearby melee attackers.
Soul-draining crossbows and bows will help you regain your Soul gauge, while weapons like the Eternal Knife help you get souls on-hit, rather than on-kill, which is crucial when fighting single large bosses or mobs like the Redstone Golem.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Eternal Knife | This stabby weapon is ideal for Souls-oriented players who want to power Souls-based artifacts. It grants so many extra Souls you won't know what to do with them all!○ Chance to gain souls○ Thrust attack○+2 Soul gathering | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Soul Dancer Robes | Arguably the best magic-oriented armor in the game, the Soul Dancer Robes grants you a bit of protection alongside a big damage boost to artifacts like the Corrupted Beacon.○ 30 percent chance to negate attacks○ +100 percent souls gathered○ +25 percent artifact damage | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Feral Soul Crossbow | This soul-sucking crossbow balances power and speed, with a massive bonus crit chance based on your current Soul gauge meter.○ Souls critical boost○ +2 Souls Gathering | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
What builds are you using?
Minecraft Dungeons has tons of possibilities owing to its large list of enchants, artifacts, and equipment pieces. We'd like to hear what sort of builds you're using to tackle Apocalypse difficulty! Let us know in the comments, and let us know what kind of builds you'd like to see us try and set up.
Minecraft meets Diablo
Minecraft Dungeons is an upcoming action RPG set in the blocky worlds of Minecraft! Team up with three friends and get your dungeon crawl on.
