The 301 Challenge

Since the 404 can no longer be found, it's time to move on - permanently.

1. Explanation

The 301 Challenge is a successor to the popular 404 Challenge from the Minecraft Beta. It is a vanilla Minecraft map accessed by typing 301 in as the seed used to generate the map. The map was choosen for its high similarity to the original map, but is intended for Minecraft 1.10.2 and up (any version after the 1.9 combat update should work, as of this writing, but only 1.10.2 has been tested).

Due to changes in world generation since the seed was discovered, using 404 as a seed no longer generates the correct map for the original challenge - so in order to play it you must use one of the beta versions of Minecraft that the seed was intended for, or use a 3rd party map edior to place the 404 landscape in a modern version, neither solution is ideal, so the 301 was created as an alternative. Both 404 and 301 are HTTP status codes, which is both convenient and extremely surprising considering the similarity of the maps and the number possible Minecraft seeds that exist (2^64 or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 seeds).

The purpose of the 301 Challenge is to recreate the original challenge on a new map with new mechanics. We have updated the rules to account for differences in mechanics since the original in an attempt to maintain the difficulty of the original, which was largely lost due to the introduction of hunger, the creation of enchantments, and — specific to the 404 challenge — the ability to craft pumpkin seeds, among many other things. You should go into the 301 expecting the same or greater level of difficulty, and a similar playstyle, but slightly different rules.

Like the original map, the 301 Challenge starts you in close proximity to an extremely large cave system and several pumpkins. You'll also have access to nearly every other reasouce in the game in the area around the spawn. Gather what you can before nightfall, then make your way into the cave, perhaps never to be seen again...

Your new home...

The Cave Entrence

(Click for Details)

2. Setup Instructions

These instructions will show you how to setup and generate the world, and turn on "Ultra Hard Core Mode" (UHC Mode) which prevents health regen via hunger.

To generate the world...

  1. Ensure you're playing on Minecraft 1.10.2 or later
  2. On the menu screen, click Singleplayer
  3. Click Create New World
  4. Name the world whatever you want
  5. Ensure the Game Mode is Survival
  6. Click More World Options...
  7. Enter 301 in the Seed field
  8. Ensure Allow Cheats is On (needed to use commands)
  9. Click Create New World

The world will load and you will start in a small plains clearing, in between a roofed forest and a normal forest.

To set up the game rules...

Press the / key and type... 

/gamerule naturalRegeneration false

This will disable natural health regeneration. You will only be able to regenerate health by crafting or finding golden apples, or from healing potions dropped by witches you manage to kill.

3. The Rules

  1. If you die it's over, make a new world and start again! You'll do better next time I'm sure...
  2. You have until night fall to gather supplies. Spend your time wisely! Once night hits you MUST venture into the hole, never to return to the surface again! From this point onward you should never set foot outside of the cave, though you can pass near open air areas so long as you remain underground (don't go anywhere a zombie wouldn't stand at noon).
  3. You can gather any resource you find top side, but venturing into any other caves is not allowed. Sunlit caves are allowed.
  4. Once you enter the cave you must be out of view of the entrance before you set up a base. You'll quickly find a small room with branching paths - you must make it at least this far.
  5. Normal torches may be crafted, but not placed. You can use them for making Jack-o-Lanterns. Your light sources are limited to Lava, redstone torches, jack-o-lanterns, and flint n' steel. If you manage to get enough Glowstone off witches to make a block then you can use that too (or a redstone lamp) - you deserve it!
  6. You may not ever plant pumpkin seeds. Only naturally spawning Pumpkins may be used for Jack-o-Lanterns.
  7. Going to the nether is prohibited.
  8. No trading with villagers
  9. Play on normal difficulty if playing solo, if doing a co-op play on hard. You may play on a harder difficulty for a higher score if you are using a scoring system or are just a masochist. :)
  10. You must turn off natural health regeneration (enable cheats, type "/gamerule naturalRegeneration false").
  11. Only mine ores that are is visible. If you see an ore, you can mine it and the blocks around it to see if you got all of it. No branch/strip mining allowed. If you accidentally run across an ore while clearing a space it's fair game, but you cannot go looking for ores in a place you would not otherwise be digging - it's perfectly valid to attempt to mine into a nearby cave system if you hear lava / water / mobs nearby.
  12. Follow the spirit of the challenge, don't cheat, don't tunnel everywhere, don't cower in fear in your base and never explore the cave, and don't make a mob farm to grind out enchants / arrows / etc. If you trivialize it you might as well just play normal Minecraft!

Curious as to how these compare to the original rules? You can find them here: The 404 Challenge

4. Beating The Challenge

At it's heart, the 301 Challenge is an Ironman challenge like it's predacessor, and as such you should theoretically die long before you could ever "beat" the challenge (by reducing the threat level of the cave to such an extent that it's no longer a challenge and there's nothing left to explore).

However, it has happened before.

The 301 cave is much larger than the 404 cave, and more brutal in some ways. For this reason I've created an official victory condition: On the far side of the map, past the abandoned mineshaft, there is an underground ravine which has an opening to the surface. If you can make it to this opening you may exit the cave system and return to the surface world, having survived the challenge - you absolute madman. You don't have to leave if you find it, but if you need an end point make your way here and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. I will go on record saying that I do not think anyone will ever make it here legitimately - prove me wrong!

The Victory Cave

The Victory Cave

5. Credits & Acknowledgements

A great deal of thanks is due to the people who have helped me test and refine the rules:

  • Breon (Reddit) (Twitch): For suggesting many rule improvements and beta testing the map on stream.
  • BlueCyann (Reddit): For his feedback help beta testing the map and rules.
  • Neoxx (Minecraft Forums): The person who, as far as I can tell, came up with the original challenge.

And a very special thanks to Guude Boulderfist, for inspiring me to even look for a new seed, contribuiting to the rules, sharing his experiences at trying to setup something similar, and for letting us all share in his laughter. Hopefully we'll see a few videos of him trying out this map soon!