There is a simple version of decent minecraft seeds and a complete version. Both are here, in that order.
The result is consistent once the inputs are, which is less obvious than it sounds. The simplest explanation that accounts for what you are seeing is usually the correct one.
Short version
Do the straightforward version first; it solves this for most people, and the detailed section exists for when it does not.
When to stop optimising
Where two methods both work, prefer the one with fewer places to go wrong. Most pages on decent minecraft seeds either assume too much or explain too little. If a step feels pointless, it is usually there to prevent a failure you have not hit yet.
Understanding the reason behind a step lets you adapt it when your situation differs. Checking the result immediately costs seconds and saves the most common kind of wasted time.
Doing it faster once you know the method
Where opinions differ, the disagreement is normally about priorities rather than facts. Following the steps for decent minecraft seeds without understanding them works until something changes, and something will. Terminology differs between communities more than the underlying behaviour does.
What most guides get wrong here
The steps are boring on purpose; the interesting version is the one that fails half the time. If the first attempt fails cleanly, that is more useful than one that half-works. A change that works but that you cannot repeat has not really solved anything. The complicated explanation and the simple one usually describe the same thing at different zoom levels.
There is a point where further refinement stops being worth the time, and it arrives early. The second time takes a fraction as long, which makes the first attempt worth doing carefully.
Edge cases worth knowing
The margin for error is wider than it appears, so a slightly imperfect attempt still counts. Doing this properly once is faster than doing it approximately three times. A method that works for everyone is usually slower than one tuned to your situation, and worth it anyway. Where a guide and the game disagree, the game is right and the guide is old.
- Check the known-issues list first.
- Try it once without shortcuts to see the full behaviour.
- Write down what worked, in case you need it again later.
- Back up your save if the game gives you the option.
- Confirm the result immediately rather than later.
- Set aside enough time to finish, since stopping halfway causes most of the confusion.
Related things worth knowing
Patch notes are dull and they are also the fastest way to find out what changed. People searching decent minecraft seeds are usually stuck at one specific moment rather than confused generally. The useful answer is usually one sentence long, and everything else is the reasoning behind it.
Anything presented as a hidden trick is normally just a step that a popular guide left out. It is worth knowing which part of this the game actually enforces and which part is convention.
What goes wrong most often
- Reading only the summary and missing the condition it depended on.
- Doing everything right and then not checking whether it actually registered.
- Assuming a step took effect without checking.
- Following the detailed method when the simple one would have done.
- Skipping the preparation step because it looks boring, then repeating the hard part four times.
Common questions
Does this apply to every version?
The steps target the current release. Older versions usually behave the same way, though menus may sit in different places.
What should I do if I get stuck partway?
Note the exact step, then re-check the one before it. Almost every report of being stuck traces back to a skipped precondition.
Why do other guides say something different?
Most of them describe an earlier version, and a few describe a method that worked once and was never re-tested.
If you take one thing away about decent minecraft seeds, make it the preparation step; everything after it becomes much easier.