Minecraft: 8 Tips To Improve Your Parkour Skills

 HIGHLIGHTS 

• Set a dedicated sprinting hotkey for more precise platforming sections in Minecraft parkour courses.
• Create momentum even from confined spaces with running starts by practicing carefully timed button presses and second jumps.
• Adjust your positioning for different jumps in Minecraft parkour to make them easier and improve your performance over time.

Excelling in Minecraft has always required diverse knowledge and a skill set to match. Parkour is necessary because, depending on where you are or which specific areas you're trying to reach, there are situations where it's preferable to reach destinations through jumping instead of using or destroying blocks. Tunneling or otherwise deploying blocks can become rather time-consuming, after all (as intriguing as it is to delve into the world of different block combinations).

As a result of this movement-based phenomenon, parkour has grown into an entire game mode for all kinds of servers, where players attempt to complete increasingly difficult and impressive series of jumps (some of which were previously thought to be impossible). If you're looking to improve your parkour prowess and perhaps ultimately reach that competitive level, these tips will point you in the right direction.

 8  Set A Dedicated Hotkey For Sprinting

A Sprinting Button Makes Precise Platforming Sections Much Easier
By default, Minecraft requires the player to double-tap in order to run.
Separate walk and run buttons provide more precise control over your character.

While not every parkour jump requires sprinting, a lot of them do. This is because, as ever, momentum is a mechanic that allows your character to cover longer distances. You can double tap your "W" key (or joystick 'forward' on console) every time you want to sprint if you want, but over time, that becomes increasingly cumbersome.

Instead, it's much more efficient to set up a dedicated hotkey or button you're comfortable with, so that you only need to tap once every time you need to sprint. Don't overthink your choice, just play around with this setting until you find what works best for you. Open the options menu to reallocate your controls, then see what you think.

 7  Running Starts Are Possible In Cramped Spaces
You Won't Always Be Afforded Ample Running Space
You can create lots of momentum, even from a single block.
Practicing this technique, involving carefully timed button presses and a second jump, will help you immensely.

Virtually every parkour course you're running through will eventually make you do a jump that requires bridging a large distance or gap, but from a limited starting position, sometimes as short as a single block. For newcomers to Minecraft's parkour element, these may look all but impossible. After all, isn't gathering momentum the key to making the longest jumps?

You might be surprised to hear that you can actually build momentum linearly, even when starting from a platform that consists of only a single block. It'll take some practice, but in this order, try:Jumping.
Holding your forward movement button.
Hitting your sprint button the moment you start moving in midair.
Jumping a second time, just as your first jump ends.



 6  Different Jumps Require Different Positioning
Give Those Buttons Brief, Gentle Taps
Some jumps are made easier with specific positioning.
Try to get into the habit of recognizing how different jumps 'work' and adjusting accordingly.

Whether it's a ladder jump, head-hitter, neo, seemingly impossible distance, or any other type of jump you happen to be attempting, succeeding might just come down to playing with your positioning.

While there's no simple solution to positioning that will work in every scenario, some examples can include holding the sneak button or Shift key and backing up as far as possible before sprinting, jumping from the corner of a block rather than a flat edge for maximum distance, or jumping from a specific part of a block to beat particular jumps, like head-hitters.

 5  The Game Version You're Playing On Matters
Play On The Version That Feels Best To You
Game versions objectively change how far or how little you move.
Version 1.8 allows for the most fine-tuned control.

While Minecraft's movement has largely remained unchanged throughout its history, there is an objective difference in how much your character moves (especially when doing brief taps of your movement buttons or keys) between version 1.8 and versions 1.9 or higher.

This is why you sometimes see parkour courses with levels that offer two different paths, with signs that specify which version of the game that specific route is designed for. If you prefer moving shorter distances with each key tap, go with version 1.8, and if you want more distance per tap, go with versions 1.9 or higher. If you've wondered how the game version can possibly make a difference to the platforming feat you're trying to perform, this is the reason.

 4  Enabling Step Assist Might Help
Tinkering In The Settings Menu Can Ease Some Frustration
This setting can make seemingly impossible jumps possible.
It takes a lot of practice to achieve consistent results when using this setting.

Step Assist, or Auto-Jump, is a feature that you'll turn on to automatically climb blocks if certain conditions are met. You can, however, manipulate this setting. It seems complex and difficult to understand, but all it really does is effectively trick the game into making you climb blocks that you're falling towards. In intense platforming challenges where split-second advantages are key, this can be the difference between success and failure.

It can be incredibly difficult to develop consistency around this setting, so it's recommended that you persevere if you don't notice and improvement in your parkour prowess immediately. Regardless, it's absolutely worth a shot to turn this setting on and see if you notice a difference after a few hours of gameplay.

 3  Get Involved With The Community And Servers
Give Yourself More Of An Incentive To Keep Playing
Parkour servers offer both a sense of community and opportunities to learn.
Many parkour veterans are happy to lend you some help.

There are all kinds of Minecraft servers and communities you can check out and become a part of. The advantage of becoming a regular in a parkour server is figuring out who the best or most knowledgeable players are, and asking for advice or learning specific tips from them.

While it's important to take any advice with a grain of salt, you'll probably find plenty of other players who are happy to help you improve, or encourage you to keep going when you're stuck on a particular level, course, or jump. It stands to reason that a player who has devised fiendish courses laden with tricky jumps will also know very well how to tackle such jumps themselves, and joining up with fellow players has long been central to the Minecraft experience.

 2  Consider Mods To Help You Keep Track Of In-Game Ticks
For The Most Serious And Consistent Parkour Enthusiasts
Minecraft updates every 50 milliseconds, 20 times a second.
Specific mods can help you refine your consistency when engaging in parkour.

Minecraft, like virtually every other game, runs on a gameplay loop that constantly updates to account for in-game changes and variables, like player location. Minecraft's gameplay loop updates every 50 milliseconds, increments Mojang calls Ticks.

This means that every second, 20 Ticks occur. Depending on when you start a jump, the game might not update in time to reflect what you're seeing on your screen, thus causing you to miss a jump you "should've" made. If you want ultimate consistency, instead of using the debug menu, you could download a mod that makes it easier to monitor in-game Ticks. The Server Tick Monitor by Ruuubi is one tool that may help.

 1  Practice, Practice, Practice
It Really Does Make Perfect
Consistent, progressive practice is the key to improvement.
Be smart about practice, and take breaks if you need to.

You're going to have to put in time and effort to improve and get to where you want to be as a Minecraft parkour fan. The important thing to remember, though, is to tackle this in a productive manner.

If you're stuck on a particular jump or series of jumps for a long time, like double neos or something even harder, it's completely natural to become frustrated. This state, however, probably won't be productive or help you learn. Take breaks, enjoy some pressure-free play in Minecraft's creative mode, and remind yourself that improvement isn't a race. Note, too, that parkour in the game can cater to all skill levels, and that you don't necessarily have to challenge the most difficult parkour content out there.