A little while back the ever industrious Aaron declared that he was going to go after one of the many under water ocean monuments that dot the oceans. I have noticed a few these temples in my own explorations, but haven’t done more than wave in passing. I have managed to make water breathing potions, but haven’t actually used one yet.
Then this week I rendered a copy of the world into the map format and, in looking around, found where Aaron had apparently started on his project.
Island with underwater link
He said he had put a portal to the location in our portal network in the roof of the nether, so I went out there to see what he had done.
As it happened, I wandered through the nether and into the portal just in time to catch a sunrise over Aaron’s project. Very pretty.
Such nice colors
Of course, this being an Aaron settlement, there had to be some PETA-enraging animal practices in the vicinity.
Crowded chicken farm
Anyway, after noting his use… efficiency… I went on to see what he had done with the ocean monument. The entrance was nice and dry.
The top of the Ocean Monument
The glassed in top section gave it an airy feel, and you were still able to observe the guardian fish that are found around such sites.
Who’s a big,mean fish…
They were actually able to zap me when I was outside of the structure, but inside and behind the glass, all they could do was leer at me.
Inside was also quite spacious, and well lit by sea lanterns and torches.
Inside the Ocean Monument
It was quite a sight. Later, when I caught Aaron online, I had to ask the obvious question: Was this whole thing full of water when he started?
As it turns out, yes, the whole thing was filled with water and, after building the retaining wall around the top, he drained the whole thing. He described the process as “a bit of a chore.” The large rooms were reported to be especially fun.
He did say that if he got really bored, he might wall off the whole structure so we could farm it for materials. Right now doing so runs the risk of the sea rushing back in.
So that is our new vista in Minecraft. I’ve been on something of a Diablo III binge for the last week so haven’t been on the server as much as usual. But I still have some projects in mind.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
As you likely have some librarians’ trades max ed out look for ones with books of aqua affinity, respiration, and depth strider. The first two you should be able to combine onto a helm. The latter two make you ridiculously water worthy (better underwater vision, much longer time to drown, and speedy). The three of them are great for underwater work. You can place doors on the ocean floor, they’ll create a usable pocket of air if you want to build up from the ocean floor, no need to swim up for air regularly while working.
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Aaron might be just a wee bit OCD. And there is a wee bit of water in the Pacific.
But I do applaud his efforts. I cleared out an underwater temple once and that was just about enough to satisfy me for this lifetime.
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Perhaps I missed it, by do you use any mods on your server? Just wondering if things like water pumps would have helped.
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@rcurrie – It is Vanilla Minecraft, so everything has to be done the hard way.
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Thanks TAGN, I love reading your Minecraft exploits. Inspired me to fire up the launcher, Vanilla this time, and dive back in. The Overviewer tool is sweet! Thanks again.
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