Scrambling around trying to build a base is always the highest priority on Minecraft's survival checklist. If you're like me, your first base was probably a haphazardly thrown-together oak block box with enough space for a bed, crafting table, and my blocky body to squeeze into. But Minecraft bases have become much more than that, and builders have been experimenting with all kinds of impressive designs like huge underground lairs, epic treehouses, or grand stone fortresses.
There have been plenty of spectacular Minecraft builds, but one design that continues to blow my mind are ocean bases. In short, the water physics in Minecraft are hard to grapple with. The way water flows and fills spaces is pretty confusing and thinking about how the current of one water block is affected by its four horizontal and vertical neighbours is headache-inducing.
That's why it's always impressive to see ocean builds. The engineering and design that have gone into building them is made more amazing by the manipulation of Minecraft's water physics. The risk of having one block break when your build is surrounded by water is always there, but the results are worth it. Slap some realistic Minecraft texture packs and shaders on your game, and you've got an amazing base surrounded by crystal clear water.
A tremendous amount of effort goes into planning an ocean base—underwater or not—and it's something that should be celebrated, so I've listed a couple of my favourites below. If you're keen to build an underwater ocean base yourself, I would start by getting some Minecraft house ideas first and work your way up from there.
Minecraft ocean bases
SheepGG's tutorial shows how to build a cozy underwater base made from glass, stone, and oak wood. The interior is lovely too, with lots of plant life and crops. They've also chosen to build in one of Minecraft's coral reef biomes, making it extra gorgeous.
Reddit user FreePaleontologist69 has built an entire city in the middle of the ocean. This ocean build's design is super sleek and its open-top means you can gaze at the stars above you.
I love the way ManDooMiN has built their base into the side of a slope. It's a small two-floor base and the tutorial is easy to follow, making it perfect for beginners who want to try their hand at underwater base design.
Jaypeeg01's ocean base looks like a Legend of Zelda temple. They've built the surrounding walls with translucent blue blocks, making it look like the ocean has created a wall to protect what's inside—a great idea.
Reddit user Frank_de_bot's base was built in Survival, which adds to the effort and makes it potentially even more impressive than a 'regular' underwater build. The several dome-like buildings are connected through several walkways and plenty of glass means you can gaze out into the surrounding murky world.
This underwater base created by ItsMarloe is another small and cosy design which also hides a brilliant entrance system. The entrance is a trap door that lets in a pillar of water than you can swim down, but instead of it flooding your lovely build there's a drain right under the entrance the water disappears into.
Random Steve Guy's crystal-clear underwater base is completely made out of glass and it's incredible to behold. It's a simple design, but the contrast of the dark underwater biome against the lamps that they've put around the outside of the build is perfection.
Minecraft Today's base is another cosy underwater build. It has a sleek modern design to it, with a cute rooftop garden connecting to the land. But, the best detail is the single block of water they've left standing above the building where underwater plants can grow.
TheNeoCubest's underwater survival base has two handy entrances. There's an external ladder that goes to the surface or a door that opens straight into the water, allowing you to swim out. The square design is super slick and coupled with the windows letting you look out into the sea makes it a great ocean Minecraft base.
