Mining Minecraft · FAQ · Ores
Is Y=11 still where diamonds live?
You open the debug screen and an old video says dig at Y=11. In a modern world, that height is the wrong neighborhood. Diamonds live in deep deepslate. The wiki says they show up most often around Y=−58 and Y=−59.
Busiest heights
Y=−59 / −58
Deepslate diamond ore shows up most often here, according to the wiki.
Old habit
Y=11
Classic pre–Caves & Cliffs habit. Wrong for modern worlds.
Y=11 is the old neighborhood, and diamonds live much lower now
You open the debug screen (F3) and watch the height number, called Y. An old video told you to dig at Y=11. You branch out through stone, and the diamonds do not show.
That advice is leftover from before the world got deeper. In a modern world, diamond ore lives much lower, in deepslate, the dark stone near the bottom. The public wiki says the busiest heights are about Y=−58 and Y=−59.
That is a long drop from the old habit. Y=11 is still ordinary stone. The busiest spots now sit in deepslate, about 70 blocks lower.
Where players aim vs the old myth
Illustration only. Relative bars (20 vs 100), not counted ore per chunk. Those heights come from the wiki, not my Java count.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Old habit Y=11 | 20 |
| Modern Y=−59/−58 | 100 |
Where to dig in Survival
A common habit matches the deepslate heights: strip or branch around Y=−59 to −54. Use an iron pick or better. Light the tunnel. Watch for lava.
Fortune multiplies how many diamonds drop when you break the ore. It does not change where the ore spawns.
How I calculated it
These heights come from the public wiki tables, not from counting ore in a world. Minecraft Wiki Diamond Ore, natural-generation section (saved 2026-08-12). The wiki says diamond shows up most often at Y=−58 and Y=−59. I also point to a measured Java count of 1,024 chunks (I counted diamonds in 1,024 chunks), so this is not wiki-only.
The wiki lists four Overworld batches:
| Batch | Y range | If it touches open air |
|---|---|---|
| 7 blobs of 1–5 / chunk | Y=16 → −63 | 50% skip if next to air |
| 1 blob of 1–23 every 1/9 chunks | Y=16 → −63 | 70% skip if next to air |
| 4 blobs of 1–10 / chunk | Y=16 → −63 | Never if next to air |
| 2 blobs of 1–10 / chunk | Y=−4 → −63 | 50% skip if next to air |
Source: Minecraft Wiki. Diamond Ore · Natural generation (pull 2026-08-12). Skips when next to air make caves look stingier than flooded caves.
Sources
- Minecraft Wiki. Diamond Ore · Natural generation.
- Ore Y-level FAQ.
Quick answers
Best Y for diamonds now?
Deep deepslate. The busiest heights are about Y=−58 / −59. Many players mine a short tunnel about −59 to −54. My 1,024-chunk Java dig found more total ore in Y=−54…−50 than in −59 plus −58 put together.
Why do old guides say Y=11?
That was pre–Caves & Cliffs height. New worlds use expanded depth and rewritten ore features.
More: Ore FAQ
