Minecraft Parkour: Everything you need to know

Most Minecraft minigame servers offer a handful of parkour gamemodes each too, so it's clear how big of a thing parkour has become.

If you’re still not entirely sure what Minecraft parkour entails and you’re keen to learn more, be sure to keep reading as we’ve got everything you need to know. Movement basics, block types, and advanced jumping techniques are the main things we’re going to take a look at, and we’ve even got a list of our favourite Minecraft parkour servers at the end of the article.

Now, without further ado, let’s first jump into talking about the basics of movement in Minecraft parkour which you’ll need to be aware of if you want to succeed.

The basics of movement in Minecraft parkour

Minecraft has three main types of movement, all of which affect your speed differently. These are outlined below, with the last two being the most important ones on Minecraft servers with parkour:

· Walking: This is the default movement type and isn’t super useful for parkour

· Sprinting: Sprinting is faster than walking and allows you to jump further. You can hold the jump key while sprinting to go even faster, too.

· Shifting: Shifting is the slowest of the three movement types and allows you to get right to the edge of a block without falling off.

Sprinting is crucial in Minecraft parkour for getting over large gaps while shifting comes in handy for lining up jumps and sticking landings. Be sure to take advantage of both. Additionally, for harder jumps, you'll need to learn how to strafe properly.

Strafing is a sideways movement, most commonly used in Minecraft parkour to adjust your position in mid-air. Certain jumps will require you to strafe around blocks and corners, which is tough, but definitely doable with enough practice. More on that later, though, as next we'll have a quick look at the different types of blocks you’ll come across in Minecraft parkour.

Ladders, fences, and slippery ice

Simple parkour courses use regular blocks, but many creators like to incorporate special blocks like ladders, fences, and ice into their course designs to make things more interesting and challenging for players. In this section of the article, we’ll talk a little bit about each of these special blocks and how best to approach them.

Ladders

Ladders have been around in Minecraft since the beginning and are heavily incorporated into many Minecraft parkour courses. They’re typically placed around corners on the sides of blocks, forcing players to awkwardly strafe around without falling off.

The key thing when it comes to ladder parkour is to always shift at the end of your jump, as landing on the face of a ladder while shifting will help you control your movement and stay in place. If you ever see a ladder in a parkour course, the first thought to come to your mind should always be to shift when you make contact with it. Shifting too late will result in you missing the ladder while shifting too early will slow you down too much mid-jump, so timing is crucial.

Fences

Fences are interesting because even though they look like they’re only a block tall, they’re actually 1.5 blocks in height, so you'll need to adjust for this when jumping onto them. Fences also have a very small collision box, making them very challenging to land on. The best advice we can give is to aim for the centre of the fence and shift as soon as you land on it, as that'll help you not overshoot and fall off the course. Other blocks that are similar to fences include walls, fence gates, and glass panes, so be sure to take a similar approach with those.

Ice

Ice blocks are occasionally used in parkour courses because their slipperiness gives players extra speed, making it possible to perform extra long jumps. Take extra care when running on ice, as it's easy to lose control!

An upcoming parkour block in 1.17…

Parkour has become so ingrained in the core gameplay of Minecraft to the point where a new block was created by the developers with parkour specifically in mind. This upcoming block is called the dripleaf and collapses after 1 – 2 seconds of being stood on, which is going to add a whole new time-sensitive element to parkour courses and make them more challenging. Be on the lookout for this new block when it arrives in the Minecraft 1.17 update this summer.

Advanced jumping techniques

Now that we’ve given you a general overview of the Minecraft parkour landscape, let’s talk about two advanced techniques you’ll need to master if you plan on taking on the more difficult parkour courses out there.

Neo jumps

Neo jumps involve jumping from one block to another, with a two-block tall tower blocking your way. These are some of the hardest jumps to pull off in Minecraft, but they're 100% possible with enough practice. The best way to approach this kind of jump is to find a good line-up that works for you and attempt to strafe around the tower while in mid-air. There are plenty of video tutorials online for these kinds of jumps, so be sure to have a watch of them if you're keen to learn more.

Headhitters

Headhitter jumps are ones where you have a block directly above your head, preventing you from jumping normally. They're tough but can be performed by pressing your sprint key a fraction of a second before you hit your jump key. The timing is incredibly precise, but it can be mastered with enough practice, so keep at it.

More about Minecraft Parkour Servers

Well, that’s a wrap! We hope you’ve found our Minecraft parkour guide useful and are keen to get out there and try some of the jumping techniques yourself. If you don’t know where to start, join the minecraft parkour server and start your sprinting adventure.

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