The Best Level To Mine On (Tested)

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by zardgyer, Nov 18, 2012.

  1. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    There's always been this age old question, what is the best level to mine on? I have tested these variables by mining from levels 20 down to level 6, and the results show below. The area was in a controlled enviroment, taking into account the mining shafts and lava of a regular mining area. This test was a 100x100 area, with a 1% margin of error, so the numbers may be off slightly, but the results are still clear. A Silk Touch I Efficiency V Unbreaking III was used throughout the test.
    The Best Level To Mine On is 11.
    Be skeptics all you want, but 2 tests and the minecraft wiki don't lie.
    Results From My Test:

    Best level to find Diamonds:7
    Best level to find Lapis Lazuli: 8,9
    Best level to find Redstone:11
    Best level to find Gold: 19
    Best level to find Iron:14
    Best level to find Coal:6
    Best level to mine on for ECC values: 11
    Logikable's Test:
    Best level to find Diamonds:9,10
    Best level to find Lapis Lazuli: 13,12
    Best level to find Redstone:6,10
    Best level to find Gold: 10,19
    Best level to find Iron:6,10,11
    Best level to find Coal:6,20
    Best level to mine on for ECC values:11
    The Minecraft Wiki's Test:
    Best level to find Diamonds:11,12
    Best level to find Lapis Lazuli:12,13
    Best level to find Redstone:6,11
    Best level to find Gold:6,15
    Best level to find Iron:6,12
    Best level to find Coal:6,17
    Best level to mine on for ECC values:11
    Note: The minecraft wiki's graph has not been updated since January 2012. Therefore, it's data is unreliable.
    Here are my final results in a spreadsheet:
    [​IMG]
    The "Redstone-4.5 per ore. Lapis 6.0 per ore" is the average amount of redstone and lapis lazuli received per ore. Just to reiterate:

    Here is the minecraft wiki graph that I used:
    [​IMG]


    These may be hard to read (try viewing it in full screen by clicking on the picture), but the 4 best levels by far are 11-14, which means the best level to mine at, is when your y is 11. You'll be able to view ores on 11,12,13, and 14.

    The Best Level To Mine On is 11.
     
    #1 zardgyer, Nov 18, 2012
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2013
  2. Fleetfooter

    Fleetfooter Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-President ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2012
    Messages:
    531
    Trophy Points:
    27,340
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +84
    Well then I know where I'm mining tomorrow xD
     
  3. _TANSTAAFL

    _TANSTAAFL EcoLegend
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLegend ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ Prestige ⭐ I ⭐ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2012
    Messages:
    1,860
    Trophy Points:
    56,990
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +1,426
    This is so, so far from statistically significant. You need a lot more data before you can draw any conclusions whatsoever.
     
  4. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    It's a 100x100 area therefore has a margin of error of 1%.

    The numbers will not be spot on averages, but you can get the jist of it :p
     
    #4 zardgyer, Nov 19, 2012
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2012
  5. Ketzui

    Ketzui Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-Mayor ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2012
    Messages:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    25,155
    Ratings:
    +0
    What _TANSTAAFL is saying is that your sample size is too small. A 100x100 area is too small of an area to make a statistically significant claim. You would need to mine several areas of the same size on multiple servers to make any data collected statistically relevant. Were talking a few hundred different servers.

    Your error percentage is off as well. It would be a 0% error if the entire world were 100x100 and you mined the entire world to bedrock. A 1% error would be a 102x100 world where you mined 100x100 to bedrock.
     
  6. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    Alright thank you Ketzui, I understand that my margin of error is off as well as the numbers and averages will be but
    After all, the numbers do show 4 rows that are worth more in ECC than other rows by quite a bit. Since these numbers are off slightly, 12 could be considered another good level to mine on.

    Plus I spent 15-20 hours on this and I REALLY don't want to try a bigger sample size >.<
     
    #6 zardgyer, Nov 19, 2012
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2012
  7. snowbleie

    snowbleie Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-President ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2012
    Messages:
    726
    Trophy Points:
    28,190
    Ratings:
    +110
    D: you actually tested it???

    GURL YO CRAZZYYY!!!!
     
  8. mattybillo1

    mattybillo1 Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-President ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Messages:
    529
    Trophy Points:
    27,440
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +117
    It is stupid to judge off own experiences simply search the minecraft wiki to find exact generation for correct statistics.
     
  9. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    [​IMG]
    The minecraft wiki backs up my statements. As you can see, most ores peak or nearly peak at levels 10-14.
     
  10. mattybillo1

    mattybillo1 Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-President ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2012
    Messages:
    529
    Trophy Points:
    27,440
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +117
    Correct it partially backs up the statement about best level to mine at, but I personally checked right now and minecraft wiki says the best levels for lapis is between 13-16, so personal research is never exact unless you mining infinity block which is impossible. You have to analyse the generation code or get the minecraft wiki to do it for you.
     
  11. _TANSTAAFL

    _TANSTAAFL EcoLegend
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLegend ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ Prestige ⭐ I ⭐ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2012
    Messages:
    1,860
    Trophy Points:
    56,990
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +1,426
    I want to apologize for my earlier skepticism... I did not realize just how much mining you did. Great data and I agree. Just from my anecdotal experience, I like 10, 11 and 12.
     
  12. icondigi

    icondigi FuryFudge Lover
    Mayor ⛰️⛰️ Ex-EcoLegend ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ Prestige ⭐ II ⭐ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2012
    Messages:
    2,123
    Trophy Points:
    78,060
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +2,466
    Zard You Should Be rewarded For this :D -----^
     
  13. rockboy2000

    rockboy2000 Mayor
    Mayor ⛰️⛰️ Ex-Tycoon ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2012
    Messages:
    1,344
    Trophy Points:
    50,410
    Gender:
    Male
    EcoDollars:
    $0
    Ratings:
    +310
    I got a reward for him, *slaps zard*
     
  14. Netsui

    Netsui EcoLeader
    EcoLeader ⛰️⛰️⛰️ Ex-Mayor ⚒️⚒️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    May 11, 2012
    Messages:
    2,348
    Trophy Points:
    45,360
    EcoDollars:
    $0
    Ratings:
    +274
    Mine at 6 up to 20, you'll do fine.
     
  15. zGrubermeister

    zGrubermeister Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-President ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2012
    Messages:
    128
    Trophy Points:
    25,650
    Ratings:
    +4
    The best way to have gone about this would have been selecting, let's say, 10 chunks at random and then mining them methodically as you did. Good effort though and thanks for posting the data.
     
  16. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    I'm planning to redo the data according to Minecraft averages from the wiki, as Mattybillo1 actually does bring up a lot of great points. I'll just translate those averages into ECC prices and see which levels are the most profitable.
     
  17. JacksonML

    JacksonML Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-Mayor ⚒️⚒️

    Joined:
    May 21, 2012
    Messages:
    304
    Trophy Points:
    26,120
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +25
    This is a possibility but what if Andrew/KHobbits decided to alter the generation code to change the spots? Again, the Minecraft Wiki backs up his data.
     
  18. zardgyer

    zardgyer Most Slappable ECC User
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2012
    Messages:
    2,530
    Trophy Points:
    45,740
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +509
    I tested this in single player so that would be a problem...
     
  19. D0rc

    D0rc Builder
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLeader ⚜️⚜️⚜️

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    1,598
    Trophy Points:
    32,290
    Ratings:
    +110
    You are still missing a few things.

    Personally, I mine at level 12. (feet level 12, not head level.) There is one statistic you completely forgot about - it's not all about how much of something good you find, but also how much bad you find. In other words - lava. This isn't even considering silverfish blocks, I have not studied those at all since they started randomly generating in caves, I'm not sure about them.

    Lava spawns most frequently at levels 10 and below, which I've learned from tons of experience and the Minecraft wiki itself. Having your feet on level 11 would therefore cause lots of lava to spawn in lakes below you, causing you to frequently have to stop and build across, not to mention how dangerous it is to do so. It's an extreme inconvenience, really. Diamonds also spawn most frequently at levels 8-16 (your statistics for more on 7 is just luck - I'm going off of Minecraft code here, which I sadly lack proof for. Your method of going level by level is also inefficient, since veins tend to be two levels high.) therefore 12 is dead in the middle for them, although this assumes you want diamonds more than anything else.

    The exact calculations/math/whatever behind it is complicated, and would also require testing in more than one area. In my personal opinion, if it's diamonds you want, 12 is the best level, but as for any other ores, I have no clue, but I'm fairly sure 11 will spawn too much lava for you to want to touch them anyway. :p
     
    #19 D0rc, Jan 8, 2013
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2013
  20. _TANSTAAFL

    _TANSTAAFL EcoLegend
    Builder ⛰️ Ex-EcoLegend ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ Prestige ⭐ I ⭐ Premium Upgrade

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2012
    Messages:
    1,860
    Trophy Points:
    56,990
    Gender:
    Male
    Ratings:
    +1,426
    Well, if you go lower and run into lava, you have to build stairs to climb up over it. Seems just as inconvenient. Also, when you're lower, your veins can spawn into bedrock costing you money.