Seed: Octagona

Special Achievements

• Spelunked! Higher than 8 out of 10 in caves.

Rating

• Beginner
• Intermediate
• ++ Advanced ++
• Expert
• Suicidal Expert

Spawn and Version

Spawn: -4.73.0
Version: XBL 1.1.1 (equiv Beta 1.7.3)

Seed Score MH 3.7 DW 2.9 C 8.7 W 3.7 SP 2.5 VR 3.5 AF 5.5     30.5

Etymology

So, I found this seed name on 552 gaming. Basically, the name of this seed is the word "Octagonal" spelled wrong. No word on who spelled it wrong first, but I'm pretty sure 552 needs an editor. "Octagonal!" is one of the random phrases on the Minecraft menu screen and means "eight-sided".

If you play this one, bear in mind the "O" in "Octogona" is capitalized.

My Review

So, I picked up this seed because I was planning on refuting it. The list it is traveling around on is posted on 552 gaming and then got wrapped into a bigger list that someone else ripped off on se7ensins. It talks about cacti and sand and a pretty grassy land bridge by your spawn and I was like, "this thing has got to suck". Well, it's just your average, ordinary Minecraft level -- unless, of course, you happen to find the super terrific mega cave complex. Then, it's something quite spectacular. The only reasons to play this level are to 1) visit the nether, and 2) attempt to conquer the labyrinthine train-wreck cave system I found. Without either of those, the rating on this level would be in the teens.

And I say, "I found", by the way, because not a single review of this seed mentioned an awesome cave. Not one. So suck it. The top-side could be a great seed for beginners, but this cave is suicidal. So I averaged the two and decided this level is for advanced players.

Can't Miss

There are no less than eight entrances to the massive cave complex located in the north by northwest quadrant of the center of the map. My entrance of choice because it was almost a straight drop down to the good stuff was at -167.19.-226. I set up base camp at the top and then built stairs down the dead drop until I reached platform #1 (there are three platforms before the lava).

The caverns are full of waterfalls that help facilitate your descent, but there are also cross-paths and circular passages that cause confusion. I used 64 torches before even making it to platform #3 and as I write this, I have used a total of 200 torches and there are still black side paths and alternate caverns that I haven't even touched yet. I focused only on getting down to lava, finding diamonds, and then digging up obsidian so I could see what the nether looked like.

For the love of James Lipton, people, label your cave!!! Attempting to remember where you are and how to get back out will leave you a raging headache.

The Nether

The nether on this level is quite spectacular, however navigating around is a huge pain. Firstly, I spawned on a shelf in the middle of the sky full of soul sand. So I'm already wondering around at 1 mph jumping up and down to pick up speed (like that works). Secondly, this thing is completely floating in mid air, so getting down to have a look around was an epic feat of engineering.

The nether itself is full of shelves and is wide open and full of interesting things to see. There are plenty of glow stone formations, towering lava falls that pour from ceiling to floor, and I also found a quadruple lava fall on the far side of the nether from where I spawned. But getting to it is going to require you to build bridges... big time bridges.

Video: This Old Seed, Ep5

This seed appears in episode five of my rockin' Xbox Minecraft seed tourism series, "This Old Seed". In this video, I hunt down diamonds and lapis lazuli in the depths of this crazy cave.

From the Cave Complex

• [-100.21.-208] x7 gold
• [-129.14.-216] x2 lapis lazuli, x6 red stone, x12 coal
• [-155.13.-214] x4 diamonds
• [-179.12.-208] x4 diamonds, x12 gold, lots of red stone
• [-181.19.-217] x5 diamonds
• [-198.15.-223] x4 diamonds
• [-197.12.-210] x4 diamonds
• [-214.15.-253] x3 lapis lazuli, x2 lava lakes
• [-199.12.-256] x2 diamonds
• [-241.14.-234] x3 diamonds, x5 gold
• [-166.24.-235] x2 lapis lazuli

Items of Interest

• [-167.19.-226] my entrance to the epic cave complex
• [-90.69.-48] a flat desert valley with a small waterfall
• [-271.73.-69] a low-hanging large land bridge
• [-261.75.148] a huge collapsible sand formation
• [-279.69.238] large land bridge and small floater on the south end of the palisade

Images

So, since the cave is all that matters on this level, the cave is what you'll get. This is a view from the first platform looking down at the second platform after I lit the whole thing up. When you first get here, it's just blackness full of drops to serious injury. At right, I did find this nice super-flat valley up top while I was looking around. If you were in the mood to plunk down a town here, this would be the place to do it.

The shot in the nether is a view of the terraces hanging over the lava sea.