After you die in Minecraft, your loot disappears. But collecting all those items in your inventory takes an awful lot of time. Obviously, gamers don’ like the idea of their items going to waste. So, many players are looking for a way to extend the amount of time they have before their items disappear.
How can you prevent items from despawning in Minecraft?
After you die in Minecraft, all the items dropped on the ground will automatically vanish after five minutes. To prevent your inventory items from disappearing after your death, don’t load the chunk that you died in, use the keepInventory cheat or a command block to set the item’s age to -32768.
Don’t load the chunk you died in
Refrain from loading the chunk that you died in. Keep in mind that the five-minute timer won’t change if you don’t load that chunk. If you’re not in the same dimension as your death spot, the time won’t run. If you can’t go to another dimension, at least try to go as far away from your death spot as possible until you are ready to reclaim your items.
Well, the bad news is that if you’re playing multiplayer mode, the other players could trigger chunks to load and this will automatically launch the five-minute timer.
Use the keepInventory cheat
You can also use the /gamerule keepInventory true cheat to prevent your Minecraft items from despawning after you die. If you’re playing the game in single-player mode, you’re allowed to cheat.
As a matter of fact, if it’s a single player game, you’re not technically cheating. Well, you’re not using an unfair advantage against other players. You’re only using a special command to prevent your inventory items from vanishing.
If you don’t like the idea of using the keepInventory option, you can rush to reclaim your lost items before they disappear. Unfortunately, your effort may lead to more frustration, especially when you’re not able to save your favorite items.
Use special commands to stop specific items from despawning
You can use a command block to set the item’s age to -32768. The command no longer produces any effects if the item is picked up and then dropped again.
Additionally, you can also add arbitrary custom NBT data to that item. The difference is that the NBT data will be preserved across multiple drop-and-pickup cycles.
Use can use the command below to combine the two options:
/execute as @e[type=item,nbt={Item:{tag:{noDespawn:1b}}}] run data merge entity @s {Age:-32768}
Use Mods
Alternatively, you can also use mods to store your items into a chest when you die. For example, you can use the DeathChest mod. If you’re playing multiplayer, you can talk to the player who admins your world and check if it’s possible to use mods to keep your items safe.
Use a hopper or mobs to collect the items
You can also try to use a hopper to collect the dropped items. Or you can use mobs to pick up the respective items and prevent them from despawning.
Tips to avoid dying and losing precious items in Minecraft
- Use beds as often as possible in the Overworld. In this manner, you’ll respawn near your death spot. By the way, keep in mind that beds don’t work in other dimensions.
- Should you die in the Nether and respawn in the Overworld, first collect resources and equipment and then return to the Nether. The timer will start running only when you return to Nether.
- Of course, this piece of advice only applies if you’re playing in single player mode. In LAN, if another player is in the Nether, the five-minute timer still runs.
- Store unnecessary items in a container. Carry only the items you know you’ll need for your current tasks.
- If you notice that a dangerous situation is developing, use the inventory chest and stash your valuable items into it.
- Upgrade your shield, armor and weapons as often as possible.
- Explore with attention and care when you’re in dangerous areas (underground). Don’t dig straight down.
- Collect everything you can. It doesn’t matter if you have plenty of items in your inventory. Gather as many mined materials as possible but use them prudently. You don’t really need to make diamond tools, most iron and stone tools should do just fine.
If you’ve got other tips you’d like to share with us, hit the comments below.