Minecraft in the Playground

[danzibr]

Yeah, mob farm's my go-to. Depending on the mobs, you could use splash potions to make the killing go faster. Off to the side, have some chicken coops automate dispensing eggs in to a compact area, so you have a chicken spawner, too. Maybe a little tree farm and a wall of furnaces so that you can knock down trees for endless charcoal production while you wait for mobs to spawn and chicks to grow.

If you can trap villagers so they aren't always running all over the place, and are lucky enough to score a good amount of Librarians and Farmers, cycling back and forth selling and buying items works as a passive investment, too.

When I don't have the infrastructure to do any of those... Nether Quartz Ore is somewhat easy to find, and drops an okay amount of experience.

My preferred method is to set up a giant villager trading hall, create an iron farm, and then trade iron ingots to the armorers, toolsmiths, and weaponsmiths.

A melon farm and farmer villagers will also work in a pinch.

Thanks for the responses, folks! You bring some light into this dark world.

Your comments make me realize... I was looking for a one-stop shop, a magic pill. I realize now that's not the way to go, the solution is several not-so-magical pills, then divide your attention among them.