The Divining Rod[]
Materials needed: 1 stick, 8 cobblestone, 1 charcoal, 1 iron ingot, 1 redstone, 1 coal, 1 diamond
Now, mining is important, but it's hard to find diamonds. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a device that told you where diamonds were? Meet the Divining Rod.
The divining rod comes in three tiers. The first is made with a stick and 8 low covalence dust. The next is made with the first tier and 8 medium covalence dust, and the last is made with the second tier divining rod and 8 high covalence dust.
Low Covalence Dust is made from 8 cobblestone and a charcoal, Medium from an iron and a redstone, and High from a diamond and a coal.
To use the divining rod, rightclick while holding it. Once you get to Tier 2, it will tell you the EMC value of the three highest types of blocks it found. Generally, the higher the level, the better the ore. Diamond is worth 8192.
The Philosopher's Stone[]
Materials needed: 1 diamond, 4 redstone, 4 glowstone
The Philosopher's Stone, among other things, can transmute materials. It is made with 4 redstone and 4 glowstone alternating around a diamond.
It can turn 8 iron into one gold, 4 gold into one diamond, and back again.
It can also turn 4 charcoal into coal and the reverse. It's particularly useful early on to turn mined coal into charcoal, which is very useful.
Now use your new tools to mine some resources and get ready for the next part.