The best Minecraft builds can help inspire your own creations, big or small. Let’s face it, after ten years or even ten days in the infinite worlds of Minecraft, it can be hard to think up new and incredible ideas. Luckily, dedicated artists and architects have produced a dizzying array of cool builds for your viewing pleasure.
Some of the ideas below have taken years to build and might not be something you could consider in your own time, but something here might trigger a flash of inspiration to get you going in your own single-player worlds or Minecraft servers. Alternatively, it’s just mind-blowing to see some of the astounding stuff that can be accomplished in one of the best PC games of the decade. This list will take you to Middle-earth, Tamriel, and even the RMS Titanic while still having you home in time for tea. Just as you’ll find in our selection of the best Minecraft seeds and Minecraft skins, this collection of the best Minecraft builds has something for every kind of player.
The best Minecraft builds are:
The Titanic
As a historical icon, there are many Minecraft mega builds of the Titanic out there, but we love a tutorial, so this remarkable ten-part walkthrough from Richlarrousse is our favourite. Not that we’ll ever find the time to follow it in our own world, but we can dream.
This RMS Titanic is built entirely in vanilla Minecraft too, so while you’ll want to be respectful of textures, you could always chuck some nice Minecraft shaders in your world, to make the water it sits in more realistic, and really stun with your version of the historic ship.
Minas Tirith
For all the real-world architecture that serves as inspiration, there’s plenty in the realm of high fantasy that also tickles the imagination. Take this fantastic Minas Tirith render, for example, which is as beautiful as it is imposing.
It was posted to reddit by u/Cornbass and, alongside their appreciation, the community also proffered their suggestions: “Now set yourself on fire and jump off.”
Minecraft Middle-earth
The only thing that could impress us more would be if someone started work on a Minecraft build that encompassed the whole of Middle-earth itself, all those famous locations from the… wait, what? Are you serious?
Excuse us; we’ve just been informed that this Middle-earth project is underway, and, despite it being unfinished, it’s already one of the best Minecraft servers you can visit. You can apply to participate in the build if you think you’re up for the challenge.
WesterosCraft
No collection of magnificent Minecraft builds would be complete without something inspired by Game of Thrones. Here’s just one small section of the enormous and awe-inspiring WesterosCraft server.
Pictured above is the city of Sunspear, rendered with a particularly attractive and very reflective sea surface. Don’t forget to check out the brilliant work done on King’s Landing in Minecraft, too.
Consilium
Sticking with the fantasy theme a bit longer, there’s the Dwarven City of Consilium, by Creolucis, whose construction is so magnificent that it’s difficult for us to pick just one picture that shows off just how awesome a Minecraft map it is. It’s not only enormous but the dictionary definition of grandeur.
Adamantis
How does an epic Minecraft mega build of sixty million blocks sound? The boundaries were really pushed back by jamdelaney1, who spent three months creating the expansive city of Adamantis. This gargantuan metropolis reaches up to the side of a hill and is decorated with enormous doors, reflecting pools, and vast colonnades.
Mage’s College of Meridia
Adamantis calls to mind the Mages College of Meridia, a cool Minecraft build put together last year by Block Fortress, which took its cues from Skyrim’s College of Winterhold. Perhaps it even out-magics the Minecraft Pottercraft server.
The Shining maze
Why not lose yourself in Minecraft by literally losing yourself? This labyrinth was created by Redditor u/Chris-P and is basically a Minecraft maze from The Shining. The hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic couldn’t be recreated due to its nonsensical layout, but this is impressive enough, especially considering it was apparently created in survival mode.
New Port Notch
In recent history, New Port Notch has become one of the most well-known Minecraft projects out there – so much so it spawned its own subreddit. The towering city is the work of just two players: LG193 and ThatDutchLad. It’s so large you’ll need its bespoke subway system just to get around.
Crafting Azeroth
Then there’s Crafting Azeroth, the ongoing project to recreate the entirety of the World of Warcraft in 1:1 scale within Minecraft. It sounds like folly – a madman’s dream, really – but it’s progressing remarkably well. It is helped by the fact that it’s partly automated using voxelization, but it’s still incredibly impressive, especially when experienced from inside the map itself.
Mondstadt
Built on a 1:1.15 scale, this impressive build took the Skyblock Squad over 400 hours to complete. From Mondstadt’s iconic windmills to its monumental Statue of the Seven, this faithful recreation of the main Genshin Impact city will impress even the most casual fan of the anime game. This larger-than-life rendition includes interior spaces such as the Favonius Cathedral nave and Diluc’s bar, the Angel’s Share.
Starry Night
You don’t have to be an art historian to recognize the inspiration for this particular build. Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night is considered by many to be the most beloved painting in the world. You can find it on t-shirts, travel mugs, and bedspreads, so it was only a matter of time before we’d find it in Minecraft too.
In a single month, ChrisDaCow matched each and every one of Van Gogh’s brushstrokes with his own Minecraft texture packs to create this staggeringly faithful replica. Their desire to recreate the famous post-Impressionist 2D painting on a 3D canvas offers a whole new way of looking at this iconic artwork. It’s beautiful, and we have to admit, a little terrifying viewing it in 3D like this. It’s hard not to envision the eponymous starry night as an eldritch horror looming over Van Gogh’s imaginary village.
Elden World
The 2022 Game of the Year Elden Ring has elevated the Souls series to mainstream status, ushering in a new wave of fans. SeriousCraft’s Elden World is as much of a love letter as it is a project in its own right. While it is an adventure map, first and foremost, it still belongs on this list as an impressive recreation of The Lands Between.
The six-kilometre map boasts over 20 different dungeons, including Stormveil Castle, and even includes its very own Erdtree. If you’re looking to play 15 hours of Elden Ring outside of Elden Ring, this build has got you covered.
A tribute to H.R. Giger
H.R. Giger’s iconic biomechanical designs are the bedrock for Ridley Scott’s Alien movie franchise, inspiring books, films, and of course, video games, including 2022’s Scorn. Everbloom Games, a team of professional Minecraft builders, have put together a sprawling tribute to Giger’s work, and it’s as unsettling as you can imagine.
Between the vast atriums cloaked in shadow and a fully realized space jockey nestled in its cockpit, these blocky reconstructions manage to capture the spirit of Giger’s work like never before. In space, no one can hear you simp.
The Cyberpunk Project
While it’s not a one-to-one reproduction, The Cyberpunk Project takes heavy inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, which it gladly wears on its sleeve. Bathed in neon, the skyline of this sprawling metropolis is taken up by towering mega skyscrapers and colossal holograms.
The Cyberpunk Project is the brainchild of Elysium Fire and is so immense it’s in danger of causing crashes on older rigs. If that doesn’t qualify for top-tier Minecraft mega build status, we don’t know what will.
Novigrad
Elysium Fire is also responsible for another dizzyingly detailed mega-build. Like The Cyberpunk Project, Elysium Fire’s Novigrad isn’t a replica of the Novigrad that you may know from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the team takes plenty of inspiration for crafting the build’s medieval streets and elegant castle spires. We have to admit, as much as we enjoyed exploring its namesake Geralt of Rivia, this version of Novigrad includes a hand-built harbor that puts its predecessors to shame.
And there you have it, the best Minecraft builds the genius architects of Mojang’s world could rustle up – and we’re sure more will pop up with the new blacks coming with the Minecraft 1.2o release date. If you’ve been inspired to start your own server, check out our Minecraft hosting guide to start playing the building game with your pals. Alternatively, you can stick to Adventure Mode and stumble upon your own ready-made Minecraft village – just be sure to keep an eye out for the many Minecraft mobs roaming the land. If you fall afoul, you may need a recovery compass to retrieve your lost items.