The best Minecraft Dungeons builds

Mojang's Diablo-like offers you the chance to create pretty powerful Minecraft Dungeons builds, and I've put together some of my favourites. Unlike other ARPGs that let you hang on to your powerful gear, Mojang's bombastic and breezy dungeon crawler encourages you to switch your setups constantly. Combining different gear options, weapons, artifacts, and enchantments is easy, and it's a big part of the game. 

I've tried and tested a few different builds which you can find below, some of which focus on early-game items so as many of you can recreate them as possible. Each Minecraft Dungeons build will have a list of items needed and a small bit of info about how it all works together so they're as easy as possible to replicate.

Whether you're playing solo and looking to hold your own alone with a high-damage setup, or you need to share the burden with a group of mates in co-op, these builds will make your quest against the evil Arch-Illager much simpler and more fun to complete. So, without further ado, here are the best Minecraft Dungeons builds.

The best Minecraft Dungeons builds

The Heavy Hitter

• Melee Weapon: Claymore / Gauntlets
• Armour: Mercenary Armour
• Ranged Weapon: Heavy Crossbow
• Artifacts: Boots of Swiftness, Shock Powder, Death Cap Mushroom

This build has weapons that can deal a huge damage in one hit. The Claymore and Gauntlets pack a great punch and push enemies back, the Mercenary Armour gives an extra boost to your damage, and the Heavy Crossbow shoots out powerful shots. 

This combination can slow you down, so I've coupled it with Boots of Swiftness and Purple Mushroom to give you that all-important speed injection. Shock Powder paralyses your enemies, giving you can get an extra powerhouse hit on a particularly tough enemy.

The Healer

• Melee Weapon: Any weapon that has healing enchantments
• Armour: Mystery Armour
• Ranged Weapon: Sabrewing
• Artifacts: Love Medallion, Totes of Shielding, Totem of Regeneration

This build feels like the Paladin class in DnD. My chosen bow and armour both heal you and the rest of the party, as does a weapon equipped with healing enchantments. The Totem of Healing heals your allies and activates the Totem of Shielding first to keep them out of harm's way. The Love Medallion turns hostile mobs into allies, giving your party some time to while away the cooldown on their healing potions. 

Speed Demon

• Melee Weapon: Daggers
• Armour: Evocation Robe / Ember Robe
• Ranged Weapon: Rapid Crossbow
• Artifacts: Boots of Swiftness, Light Feather, Iron Hide Amulet

This Minecraft Dungeons build is all about speed. Both the daggers and the crossbow have been picked based on how quickly they help you initiate attacks, along with the pacey Evocation Robe. Boots of Swiftness also make you faster, while the Light Feather pushes back enemies as you go. To complete the build I chose the Iron Hide Amulet for an increase in defence. Those mobs won't know what hit them, only a gush of wind as you speed past them.

Soul Collector

• Melee Weapon: Spirit Knife / Soul Scythe)
• Armour: Soul Robe
• Ranged Weapon: Soul Bow
• Artifacts: Lightning Rod, Harvester, Corrupted Beacon

This build emphasises the collection of souls from your fallen enemies and using them to fuel your artifacts. Spirit Knife and Soul Bow grant you extra souls when you defeat enemies, with the Soul Robe collecting 100 percent of them. Artifacts are all powered by the souls you've collected, and you'll get a new bar below the artifact one to show how much of their soul resource pool they've used. 

The Lightning Rod hits nearby enemies with lighting and the Harvester unleashes a joyous explosion of souls. The Corrupted Beacon is one of the most powerful artifacts in the game and unleashes a devastating beam of damaging energy.

Animal Lover

• Melee Weapon: Any melee weapon
• Armour: Spelunker Armour
• Ranged Weapon: Hunter's Promise
• Artifacts: Tasty Bone, Wonderful Wheat, Totem of Regeneration

This isn't the most powerful build, but it's definitely the cutest. It allows you to create a small, but loyal, army of animals that can attack enemies with you. Any melee weapon can be used with this build, so pick what you like. The Spelunker Armour gives you a little bat friend who attacks enemies, and the Tasty Bone and Wonderful Wheat let you summon a wolf and llama, respectively. The Hunter's Promise bow lets you control which mob your beast buddies attack, letting you go all-in on a boss or a particularly tricky enemy.