Summary
Minecraftoffers players no end to their creativity withconstant updates and modsthat allow almost anything to happen. It features a survival mode many players adore, but it’s the creative aspect that draws most into the game. Many have reconstructed epic scenes and locations from various other games and movies with great precision and detail.
When a player becomes a veteran atMinecraft, they may feel like there’s nothing left to do until the next update comes out. However, plenty of challenges make this game exciting for even the most long-term player. These challengesoffer a new experiencethat can put a whole new outlook on the game.
Updated on July 18, 2025, by Gregory Louis Gomez:Minecraft is one of those games that simply has an ungodly lifespan. If players aren’t just playing the game as it was intended for years on end, they’re going out of their way to modify it in new and creative ways to elicit a fresh experience. Veteran players in particular are constantly on the lookout for ways to spice up their gameplay, such as modded worlds, popular tasks and goals, and more. With all of this in mind, we’ve decided to add a few more entries to the ever-expanding list of challenges for longtime Minecraft players.
19Galacticraft Playthrough
Start a Space Race of Your Very Own in Minecraft
Minecraftallows players to do many things; climb the tallest mountains, explore the deepest oceans, and even travel between dimensions. The only thing it doesn’t do is let you build a rocket and go to space, though that is where theGalacticraftmod comes in. This mod adds a ton of new resources and craftable tools and machines that can take you to the moon and beyond, where you will findnew structures, loot, and mobsunlike anything else in the base game. Galacticraft is great because not only is it comprehensive in and of itself, but it can be paired with a wide array of mods that can make this challenge easier or harder depending on what the player is looking for.
18Speedrun Challenge
Beat the Game as Fast as You Possibly Can
One of the more popular challengesMinecraftplayers have gotten into recently is to beat the gameas quickly as humanly possible. All this means is getting to the End and killing the Ender Dragon, though doing this as quickly as possible can be deceptively challenging.
The level of challenge may fluctuate based on how fast the player wants to beat the game, meaning the better the time the harder it can be. This requires an intimate knowledge of both the game’s basic mechanics, as well as knowledge of exploits, in order to save time and maximize efficiency of play.
17Zombie Apocalypse
Try to Survive Against the Horde of the Undead
Minecrafthas its standard zombies, but they aren’t the biggest threat that the game has to offer, generally speaking. With mods, however, players can turnMinecraftinto a true zombie survival game and ratchet the difficulty up immensely. Whether it’s just turning up the number of zombies to overhauling their looks and behavior to make them more terrifying, the zombie apocalypse challenge offers players a much more stressful way to play the game than they may be used to.
As there’s no single zombie apocalypse mod, players are encouraged to tailor their experience to their liking. They can find mod packs dedicated to zombie survival or just make one themselves. To facilitate their ideal apocalyptic experience.
16Scape and Run: Parasites
You Will Not Survive
One of the most horrific mods one can download forMinecraftisScape and Run: Parasites. This mod adds a whole new family of enemies to the game that not only infects a wide variety of other mobs, but the landscape itself. The parasite threat also continuously evolves over time, increasing in numbers, lethality, and complexity.
Put simply, the longer one plays this mod, the harder it becomes to survive each day, making it perfect for a long-term survival world. This mod is currently only available forMinecraftversion 1.12.2 but is continuously updated with new features.
15Herobrine Challenge
Go Toe to Toe With Minecraft’s Deadliest Enemy (Sort of)
While it’s true that Herobrine has never officially been inMinecraft(despite every update saying it “removed him”), he has always been a fan favorite due to the lore surrounding him andthe creepypasta in which he originated. Mods have allowed players to add him to their game in many different ways, any one of which would make for an interesting challenge for veteran players looking to spice up their gameplay experience.
Some of these mods can result in some serious scares, though that’s certainly part of the fun for many. A great example is theLegend of HerobrineMod, which adds a whole host of spooky additions and changes to the game along with the titular cryptid himself.
14Survival Island Challenge
Survive the Full Duration of the Playthrough on a Single Island
In this challenge, players will begin their game on an isolated island. Their entire playthrough is isolated to this one patch of land they cannot expand or leave, making it more difficult than regular survival mode. All resources will need to be obtained on this island.
Additionally, players will need to find a way to the Nether and the End without leaving said island. The goal is still to beat the Ender Dragon, which is entirely possible if they use the right strategy, though likely a reasonably difficult one and highly dependent on what seed the player is using for their map.
13Nuclear Apocalypse Survival
Brave the Irradiated Ruins of the Overworld
For all theFalloutorSTALKERfans out there, this challenge is for you. There are many mods that can transformMinecraftinto a nuclear hellscape, with all sorts of environmental hazards and mutated beasts to experience. There are plenty of modsand mod packsthat would allow one to achieve this, many of which have been mentioned on this list, but generally, you’d need mods that add things like radiation, mutants, and either a custom-themed map or something like theLost Citiesmod, which can add explorable ruins to the overworld.
12Hermit Chunk Challenge
How Fast Can You Defeat the Ender Dragon When Everything is Provided?
The Hermit Chunk Challenge requires players to download and use a mod that allows them to start the challenge. The mod spawns players on a 16x16 chunk of land that, surprisingly enough, has everything they need for survival. It includes a cave, lava, rare ores, and wood.
Despite its small size, players can still access the Nether and the End. The game’s ultimate goal is still the same: to defeat the Ender Dragon. Players must be quick-witted and think on their toes to survive using this mod.
Live the Rough Life of a Hunter Gatherer in Minecraft
As the name implies, players must constantly be on the move in the Nomad Challenge. They are not allowed to create a home base where they return night after night to rest. Spending the night in a hut is permitted, but only if they destroy it in the morning when they wake up.
Additionally, using chests is forbidden in this challenge. A nomad would not have a storage chest as they would only take what they can carry, so players must plan accordingly to determine what they will take with them. They have 27 storage slots, nine hotbar slots, four armor slots, and one off-hand slot where they can place things, totaling 41 slots. While this may seem decent, it can fill up pretty quickly, leaving players in a bind.
10Skyblock Challenge
Make the Most Out of Very Little to Complete This Minecraft Challenge
The Skyblock Challenge requires a mod and is one of the classicMinecraftchallenges. Players will be spawned on a small patch of earth floating in the sky. It has a tree and a chest with survival items. There’s nothing, and really no room for anything else.
The goal is to build outwarduntil players find other Skyblock Islands. Mistakes are commonly made, requiring restarting the game. The simplest mistake can result in having to go back to square one. After they’ve built out sufficiently, they’ll be able to challenge the Ender Dragon. When the boss is successfully defeated, the challenge is complete.
