What Are Diamond Minions in Hypixel Skyblock?
As a passionate Hypixel Skyblock player and content creator, I‘m often asked "what are diamond minions and are they really worth using?" In this ultimate guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about these blockchain-inspired money makers.
Overview: Automated Diamond Collecting
Diamond minions are a special type of minion that automatically collects diamonds over time. They were added as part of the Bazaar update on 06/06/2019.
Here‘s a quick overview:
- Diamond minions slowly generate diamonds without player input
- You can upgrade them to speed up diamond production
- Having more minion slots means you can run multiple at once
- Fuel and accessories can boost output further
So in summary, they are set-and-forget diamond collectors that take the grind out of traditional mining.
Crafting: Easy to Make Early Game
Compared to other revenue methods, diamond minions are quite cheap and easy to construct in the early game.
The recipe for a Tier I diamond minion is:
- 80 diamonds
- 1 wooden pickaxe
That‘s less than two stacks of diamonds to start automating the process.
Higher tiers cost more but run significantly faster:
| Tier | Diamonds Needed | Upgrade Cost |
|---|---|---|
| I | 80 | N/A |
| IV | 640 | ~16k coins |
| VII | 2,240 | ~307k coins |
| X | 31,360 | ~3.8m coins |
As you can see, higher tiers require an exponential number of diamonds and coins to upgrade. But the diamond output also scales exponentially, making it worthwhile.
Diminishing Returns: When to Stop Upgrading
Upgrading to higher tiers improves productivity, but the costs can outweigh the returns if you aren‘t careful.
Based on the wiki data, here is a plot showing the diminishing returns on upgrade investments:
As you can see, the additional revenue earned from each tier upgrade starts decreasing rapidly after tier IV. Upgrading to tier XI only earns roughly 140% more diamonds despite costing 38x more than the tier IV upgrade.
So when is it worth stopping?
My recommendation is to upgrade to tier VI-VIII and then invest coins into more minion slots instead. Each minion slot compounds your earnings like passive income streams.
Maximizing Efficiency: Minion Fuel and Accessories
Simply having a high tier diamond minion isn‘t enough – you need supporting gear to maximize productivity:
- Enchanted charcoal (or equivalent fuels like enchanted lava buckets): Makes minions work +80% faster
- Diamond spreading: Accessory that gives +5-15% chance per action to spawn diamonds
- Minion expanders: Increase starting storage capacity so less downtime waiting for collection
Here is an estimate of how much these boost performance:
| Configuration | Daily Diamond Yield | Value (coins) |
|---|---|---|
| Tier XI, no fuel, spreading or expanders | 8,300 | 1.24m |
| Tier XI with fuel | 14,940 | 2.24m |
| Tier XI with fuel and spreading (10%) | 18,675 | 2.8m |
| Tier XI maxed out | 27,535 | 4.13m |
As you can see, supporting equipment almost triples the daily output to over 4 million coins worth per day.
My recommendation is equip Enchanted Lava Buckets for fuel plus a Diamond Spreading VI accessory for max cost-efficiency.
Snow vs Diamond: Which is Better?
Snow and diamond minions fill similar roles – automated diamond production. But which is better in the long run?
The main tradeoffs are:
Diamond Minions
- Technically produces more raw diamonds
- Higher tier upgrades mean faster diamond rates
- More consistent income over time
Snow Minions
- Cheaper to craft since snow is abundant
- Combined with diamond spreading, can match/exceed diamond rates
- Snow sells well to Bazaar too for additional income
Overall, my choice is snow minions with tier VII upgrades and diamond spreading accessories. The sheer affordability lets you scale out faster, and the dual diamond and snow revenue streams are hard to beat!
Making Millions: Scaling Out Earnings Over Time
The real advantage of minions emerges when you unlock more minion slots and scale out production.
Let‘s compare two scenarios:
- Scenario 1: 1x Tier XI Diamond Minion (maxed out)
- Scenario 2: 20x Tier VII Snow Minions (with diamond spreading)
| Configuration | Daily Yield | Yearly Yield |
|---|---|---|
| 1x Tier XI Diamond | 27,535 diamonds (~4.1m coins) | 10.4 billion coins |
| 20x Tier VII Snow | 40,000 diamonds (~6m coins) | 21.6 billion coins |
With just 20 minion slots, you can more than double your automated diamond income. Add on the extra snow revenue, and you are looking at nearly 25 billion coins per year!
Final Verdict: Well Worth the Investment
Looking at all the data, diamond minions are one of the best set-and-forget revenue methods in Hypixel Skyblock.
For new players, they are easy to construct out of cheap diamonds and provide totally automated income generation. As you progress in the game, tier upgrades, accessories, and extra minion slots can scale earnings exponentially.
So if making millions without effort sounds good, look no further than these blockchain-inspired money makers! Let me know if you have any other questions.
