Buzz
Having a Minecraft map ready can drastically change your gaming experience, particularly in multiplayer or survival modes. Luckily, crafting a map is quite simple. You can even expand it after creation! This article will guide you through creating, using, and expanding maps in Minecraft, including the resources you'll need and how to combine them to craft your map.
What You Need to Know
- You'll need a crafting table and a furnace to make a map.
- Before creating a map, gather resources like sugar cane, iron ore, redstone, and fuel.
- Return to the crafting table anytime with additional resources to expand your map.
- Players cannot create treasure maps but can find them. Search near shipwrecks for buried treasure maps.
Steps
Create a Map
Ensure you have a crafting table and a furnace. You'll need the crafting table to make the map and its components, and the furnace will be used to craft the compass that accompanies the map.
- If you're in creative mode, search for the map in the search bar.
Gather resources. To create a map, you'll need the following items:
- Sugar Canes - You need 9 sugar canes. These are light green plants typically found near water.
- Iron ore - You need 4 iron ores. These are gray blocks with orange specks. You can mine iron ore with at least a stone pickaxe.
- Redstone - You need a stack of redstone. Redstone is found at level 16 and below, so you'll need to dig deep to find this resource. It appears as gray stone with red speckles.
- Fuel - Anything that burns will work. You can use 4 wooden planks, a block of charcoal, or coal.
Open the furnace. Right-click (on PC), press the left trigger (on consoles), or tap (on mobile devices) the furnace to open it.
Smelt iron ingots. Add iron ore to the top slot of the furnace interface, then place fuel in the bottom slot. The furnace will start automatically.
Move the iron ingots to your inventory. Select the iron ingots, then choose an empty slot in your inventory.
- On the mobile version of Minecraft, tapping an item moves it to your inventory.
- On the console version, select the item and press Y or the triangle button to transfer it to your inventory.
Open the crafting table. Simply select the crafting table to proceed.
Craft a compass. Place the redstone stack in the center slot of the crafting table, then position iron ingots in the slots directly above, below, to the left, and to the right of it. The compass icon will appear.
- On mobile, tap the sword-shaped "Equipment" tab on the left side of the screen, then tap the compass icon.
- On consoles, select the "Equipment" tab, locate the compass icon, and press A (Xbox) or X (PS).
Move the compass to your inventory. Select the compass, then choose your inventory.
Create 9 sheets of paper. To do this, place 3 sugar canes in each of the bottom-left, middle, and right slots of the crafting grid.
- On mobile, tap the "Items" tab with the bed icon on the left side of the screen, then tap the white paper icon.
- On consoles, select the "Items" tab, choose the paper icon, and press A or X.
Add paper to your inventory.
Craft a map. Place a compass in the center slot of the crafting table, then fill each remaining empty slot with a piece of paper (8 sheets in total). A brown paper icon will appear, representing the map.
- On mobile devices, tap the "Equipment" tab and select the map icon.
- On gaming consoles, navigate to the "Equipment" tab, choose the map icon, and press A or X.
Move the map to your inventory. Now that the map is crafted, you can start adding details to it.
Using the map
Carry the map with you. Select the map from the equipment bar at the bottom of the screen to do this. The map will initially be blank, but you can fill it in by exploring the world while holding it.
- The map won't update automatically unless you carry it while moving around.
- Remember, you can't create a treasure map in Minecraft. To find gold, you'll need to locate a treasure map.
Access the map screen. Right-click, press the left trigger, or tap and hold the screen (on mobile devices). The map will appear immediately after this action.
- On mobile devices, you can also tap Create Map if the option appears at the bottom of the screen.
- Wait a moment for the map to populate with information the first time you use it.
- The map will begin to align with the direction you're facing. North is always at the top of the map.
Explore while using the map. You'll see the world displayed on the map from a top-down perspective. The first map you create has a 1:1 scale relative to the real world, so each pixel on the map represents a block in the game.
- If you move around while holding the map, you'll notice the edges start to fill in with data.
- The initial map is fully populated when no empty space remains. The map won't automatically display additional areas, so you'll need to expand the map to see more.
Locate the player's position. Your location is marked by a white oval icon on the map.
- If you create a map without a compass (only in Bedrock Edition), you won't see the marker.
Mark locations on your map. In the original version of the game, you can place the map on any banner you find or create. These banners will remain marked on your map. You can also rename the banners to better identify their locations.
- Create a banner at the crafting table using 6 wool and 1 stick.
- Marked banners will stay on your map even if the banner is destroyed, until you revisit the area to update the map and reflect the destroyed banner.
- In Bedrock Edition, you can place the map inside an item frame to achieve the same effect.
Duplicate the map. Create another empty map and place it in the top-left corner of your inventory. Put the map you want to copy in the bottom-left corner, and a new copied map will appear on the right. You can then drag the new map into your inventory.
Expanding the map
Learn how to expand your map. The initial map has a default size; you can increase its size up to 4 times (each time doubling the scale) to create a more detailed world map.
- Note that map expansion is not available in the Legacy Console Edition of Minecraft, which includes versions for Xbox 360/One and PlayStation 3/4.
Prepare additional paper, if needed. You’ll need 8 sheets of paper for each zoom level (up to 32 sheets total). If you don’t have at least 8 sheets, craft more before proceeding.
Open the crafting table. Simply select the crafting table to begin.
- If you’re playing Minecraft on a mobile device, you’ll need to use an anvil for this step.
Place the map in the center. Click on the map, then click on the center slot of the crafting table.
- On mobile devices, tap the far-left slot on the anvil interface, then tap the map.
Arrange paper around the map. Click on the stack of paper, then right-click each empty slot surrounding the map at least once.
- On mobile devices, tap the center slot of the interface, then tap the paper.
Move the newly displayed map to your inventory. You’ll see a yellow map icon appear on the right side of the crafting interface; click on it, then click on your inventory.
- If you add two or more sheets of paper to each crafting slot, you can expand the map to create a larger version.
- On mobile devices, tap the newly displayed map in the far-right slot to transfer it to your inventory.
Repeat this process up to three times. By placing the enlarged map in the center of the crafting table and adding more paper around it, you can zoom out the map further. After the first expansion, you can repeat this process three more times.
Use the map to add world information. By using the map while exploring, the locations in the world will gradually populate the map.
Tips
- You can create wall maps by placing item frames on walls, selecting a map, choosing the frame, and repeating the process with maps of other world regions.
- Maps can only be used in the Overworld (main world) and are not functional in The Nether (underground realm) or The End (final dimension).
- If you create a map in The Nether, it will appear entirely black. Craft the map at a portal, and the portal will display at the center. Use the player marker to determine your position relative to the portal.
- You can also find maps in the chests of Cartographers in village structures.
Warnings
- If you are killed by a mob (living creature) or other causes, the map will drop along with other items in your inventory. Always exercise caution when exploring and updating your map.
