Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: The basic tools the player can acquire come in multiple tiers based on your materials, and they include the pickaxe, the axe, and the shovel, for mining, respectively, stone-type, wood-type, and dirt & sand-type blocks. The fourth tool is the hoe, which is a little different — it is mostly used later, as part of farming, but can also be used to more quickly break some lightweight blocks such as leaves. swords are similar to tools, and come in the same tiers, but these are used for attacking animals or monsters rather than breaking blocks. The six tiers are Wood, Stone, Gold, Iron,Diamond, and Netherite, but for the first day you are limited to wood, stone, and possibly iron. Higher tier tools break blocks faster and last longer, and swords do more damage. For pickaxes in particular, many blocks require a minimum tier for you to collect them: Wooden pickaxes can collect stone and coal ore, but iron ore requires at least a stone pickaxe, and more advanced ores (again, unlikely on your first day) require at least an iron pickaxe. Gold is a special case; it probably isn't relevant for your first day, but don't make gold tools, swords, or armor — they are weak and fragile. If you happen to find golden items in chests, you can use them as long as they last.