Minecraft Forums

Notice: This thread is advice and tips for Minecraft newbies. Feel free to add your own ideas on using a water bucket!

Sup guys, Chikka Bow Wow here.I just finished some grocery shopping at the local Generally Store for a gross of eggs (Omelette night in the Wow family household is a crazy affair) and received a bucket to carry them all in. Personally, I'm happier having this bucket on hand then all these eggs, because once you fill this thing with water, you've practically become Superman. Today I'm going to teach you about many ways to use this versatile tool.

But first I'm going to eat this egg like an apple, as is customary in my country.

Use 1: Scale walls like some kind of spider man.

So you're exploring your world, looking for a suitable place to build your masterpiece. Always on the lookout for materials, you spot a vein of coal.Right up there on the cliff face.

And wouldn't you know it, you left all your blocks at home as to not be bogged down by the excess inventory.But what you do have is your trusty water bucket.Climbing a shear cliff with a water bucket couldn't be simpler, here's how it's done.

Step 1: Jump and empty the bucket against the wall as high as you can reach.

Step 2: Swim up your newly-made waterfall to your destination.


But suppose the ledge you're trying to reach is higher that you can place a water bucket under. No problem! Just continue on with these steps, as long as you can place your water on the cliff higher than where you started, you can scale the wall forever.

Step 3: As you approach where you placed the water, point your cursor so that you are looking up and at a block in the cliff wall above where the water source currently is.

Step 4: right as you start to crest over the top of the waterfall, collect the source back in the bucket and quickly empty it back out onto a higher block.Click the spoiler tag to see steps 3 and 4 in action!
You can also move horizontally along walls using this method. Be sure to empty the bucket close to the waterfall each time so that the flow instantly reconnects. I recommend practicing this on peaceful until you get the hang of it.

Use 2: Use as a ladder.

Hey you. Over there. With the sticks. What are you doing, making a ladder? Wasting 7 sticks for 2 ladders? What are you, some kinda likes-wasting-sticks man?Quit wasting your sticks and quit wasting your time. Simply pour water over a drop that you'd like to climb up and down often and BOOM.

Where would you even put ladders on a floating island?

*Note from x_SMIFFYY: You will climb a waterfall slower if the water is against a solid block, as that creates a stronger downward current. Also, you can climb a waterfall without being inside it the whole way, so you can climb without worrying about drowning.

Use 3: Traverse lava.

You may already know that water flowing over a pool of standing lava will create obsidian. Continuously pouring water over a lava lake will turn a dangerous magma pool into a cool obsidian pathway, but if you're smart about it, you can time pouring and scooping just right to create a narrower pathway across the lava before the water can spread out all the way, allowing you to keep the area lit without wasting torches. This also keeps the lava accessible to you in case you want to come back and fill it in with gravel later on (you know, searching for diamonds or whatnot in the lake bed).

Use 4: Escape lava.

EUUUERAAAGH OH GOD, OH GOD LAVA, THIS BURNS! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN EVEN?

Whoa there friend, don't lose your mind before you lose your life and inventory! You're a super human with a super water bucket, remember?Make sure you're not crouching/sneaking (if you're sneaking, you'll see a little thumbnail of your character in the top corner.)Your chances of making it through this are better if the lake is shallow. You've probably hit the bottom, so swim up and toward the nearest block you can jump, and spam that water bucket as best you can. Water will serve the dual purpose of converting lava to obsidian and extinguishing the flames on you, giving you a better chance at surviving this unfortunate lava incident than you'd have without one.

Use 5: Pad your falls.

Now, given what you've learned in uses 1 and 2 already, this seems kind of silly. But let's say you find yourself falling unexpectedly from a great height and you just happen to have your water bucket equipped. If you empty your water bucket onto the ground right before impact, you have a chance of not taking damage/taking less damage.This is high risk and unreliable, so I wouldn't recommend using this technique to make those crazy stunt videos like the kiddos enjoy making these days.

Use 6: Hold mobs at bay.

Running from a creeper? Lay down some water. The current will push the two of you away from each other. Simple!

Use 7: Explosion-proofing.

Speaking of creepers, did you know that creeper explosions cannot propagate through water? If a creeper gets the drop on you while you're building, quick! Throw a bucket of water down! The water will absorb most, if not all, of the explosion and save you the time and effort of repairing.

Use 8: Clear out a cave in front of you.

Water is particularly useful if you're exploring a cavern that's leading downward quickly. Pour some water down, any hostile mobs will be washed to the bottom, allowing you safely light the place up.Note that this does not work if mobs have already noticed you and are in chase mode, they will fight the current.

Use 9: Build upside down!

"Sir, I think your gravity is leaking."

If you're building a floating structure or an upside-down structure, water makes the best scaffolding to attach to the underside of your buildings. Simply pour the water out for use as a ladder and begin attaching blocks to the underside as needed. You can also use your water pillar to build a pillar down to get started on a solid-surface scaffold.

Use 10: Mow the lawn.

Clearing out a flat section of tall grash and brush so you can build? Don't waste your time weed-whacking, just pour a bucket of water! As the water spreads, it will destroy the overgrowth. Bonus: you can collect dropped seeds and flowers this way too.
Urban_Blackbear also notes that water will clear snow away quickly as well, but you will not be able to harvest snowballs using water.
Water can also help clear spiderwebs out from spawner halls in abandoned mineshafts, and M0ng0M0nkeyMatt notes that water can rip up minetracks from the corridors as well.

Use 11: Farm!

Remember when you had that old piston get-up on your semi-automatic wheat farm? With dispensers now able to dispense liquid (And as of TU10, suck the liquid back up), all you need now is dispensers and our good pal, Mr. Water Bucket. Simply place them at the end of a row of wheat, and when you're ready to harvest, activate the dispensers!

Use 12: Make an infinite well.

This is the oldest trick in the book and is invaluable to you if you plan to start a farm of any sort, especially underground. dig a pit, 2x2 and 1 deep, and then empty 2 buckets of water into opposite corners to create a source that will never run dry.

Use 13: Go fishing!

Got an infinite well now? Craft yourself a fishing rod and go fishing in it. Easy source of food to keep your hunger satiated.

Use 14: Catch your breath!

Need a breath of air? If you're drowning and are near a wall (or at the bottom of the lake and have 2 blocks to build up into a small pillar), simply empty your bucket against the wall and then scoop it back up to create an air pocket with which to breathe. Don't rely on this so heavily, however, sometimes on the Xbox edition, the game doesn't register a quick gulp of air properly, you may drown regardless.

Use 15: Mine ores safely around lava!

Have you ever mined a diamond ore, only to watch the diamond pop out and splash into a pool of lava you didn't even know was hiding under it? The pain caused by this experience is immense. It can ruin a man, drive him mad, haunt his nightmares for years to come. You can avoid this by pouring water around ores before you mine them. Block pops, water flows into the lava and converts it to obsidian, your prize comes to rest safely. No PTSD, no therapy required.

Use 16: Get "When Pigs Fly" achievement!
Use a channel of water to force a saddled pig off a cliff easily, as illustrated in this guide!

Use 17: Enderman-proof!

Enderman taking blocks off of your house? Why are you building a dirt house? Anyway, make a moat around it, and they won't get close. Enderman getting in your way in a cave, or aggro'd by you looking at it? Lay down a bucket of water, and an Enderman will teleport away and lose aggro on contact with the water. This is especially handy in The End. Forget pumpkin vision, just keep throwing down water and you're safe to look around all you want!


***

So those are just some of my many favorite uses for a water bucket. Try using one more often if you don't already, it'll quickly become one of those essential items that you always want to have on you.Have fun, +1 if this helped you. Thanks to everyone who contributed their own tips!