How best to look for Terra Preta?

[Brynn Bernstein]

I'm looking for terra preta in my world, so far I've gotten as far out from spawn as I can run without dying (about 3,000 blocks, since I like to play with no death penalty I find it's a fast way to explore) but so far I haven't seen even a single deposit and I'm starting to get super frustrated. While I'm exploring, I keep an eye on every hillside, but I can't say I've been perfectly accurate by any means. Obviously there's no way to tell from the map either, an I'd rather not feel forced to use a mod or datapack (although in a few more hours of seeing nothing I may be ready to give in on that), and I've reached the point of seriously considering digging up literally every soil block in a plains biome near my base methodically to make sure I'm not missing anything. Any advice? Do I just need to make satellite bases so I can get even farther away from my home? I have bronze age tech if that helps, I haven't found any translocators or anything.

[RobinHood]

Look on the map, the darker green the landscape, the greater the probability. Otherwise, hills are always good because of the slopes. Forest can also have terrapreta. But watch out for the wolves.

Hiking in winter is also good, so you can see the contrast between snow and black even better. I also find most of the seeds in winter, because carrots, beets, rye etc. are green 'spots' in the snow.

In winter, watch out for patched and repaired clothing, make linen fabric and click & drag (after clicking Key C) of your toy figures to the clothing. Or / and always take firewood and a torch with you in winter, if you still get cold.

 

btw. I never look specifically for Terapreta, I find it by the way when I go hunting, collecting seeds, looking for ruins. Otherwise explore the landscape.

Edited April 12, 2021 by RobinHood

[Saricane]

Searching specifically for terra preta can be a waste of time. You'd better consider to explore your world, and when you're in a dirt landscape, try to climb on a high hill, because terra  preta can be spotted on a very long distance. It's usually small deposit (I don't remember to have found a deposit larger than 50 squares). Don't waste time and energy to dig randomly around your base, you'll find nothing this way.

It seems that temperate climate is a bit too cold for this kind of dirt. On a standard world, i had to walk more than 7000 units to the south to find some deposits, in more tropical biomes.

 

[Rufkut]

I agree with Saricane that your better off exploring. I did the same thing as you, going to put to specifically search for it but never found it until I did regular exploring and came across it. Now I have more than I need. Medium fertility soil is not bad, you may use that until you run across it. Also, it’s definitely spawnable in a temperate or even dry area, because that’s where I found mine, not in the tropics.