About

The Real Issue With Copper is a series of memes based on a Reddit post about copper being a useless resource in Minecraft. The post was made by u/SCP_FUNDATION_69420 to the /r/PhoenixSC subreddit in early July 2025 and includes a graphic explaining how a resource between iron and diamond would be more useful than copper, which falls between stone and iron in terms of utility. The post gained over 35,000 upvotes in two weeks and inspired memes across other subreddits following the same format, but with references to other subjects.

Origin

On July 3rd, 2025, Redditor u/SCP_FUNDATION_69420 made a post to the /r/PhoenixSC^[1] subreddit, a subreddit for Minecraft YouTuber Phoenix SC, titled, "My issue with copper's uselessness." The post contains a graphic that details how, in OP's opinions, copper is a useless resource in Minecraft as the time it takes to upgrade from stone to iron is already fast enough, making copper, which falls between stone and iron, pointless. In the post text, the user suggests a resource between iron and diamond would be more useful. The post gained over 36,000 upvotes and 1,700 comments in two weeks.

Do we really need a 4th worse-than-iron resource? We have wood/leahter, stone, gold, and now copper. Copper tries to fit a niche that does NOT exist. It's "better" than stone but in the time you smelt 24 copper you would've already found enough iron for armor and tools.

You know what we don't have? ANYTHING between iron and diamond, where you'll spend most of your time.

Idk make amethyst-infused iron the way Netherite works, amethyst is rare to find but when you find it, you have a lot (and at this point it's only use is decoration). Make Lapis armor that's way cheaper to enchant or something. Add ANYTHING to the mid-late game, because rn this is the most tedious part of the whole game.

Spread

The post went viral, inspiring similar posts on other gaming-related subreddits, many of which are parodies of the original.

For example, on July 8th, 2025, Redditor u/RealHyperinon posted a version of the meme to the /r/HypixelSkyblock^[2] subreddit titled, "The real issue with Skyblock, garnering over 2,300 upvotes in eight days. That same day, Redditor u/bir3 posted a version of the meme to the /r/Terraria^[3] subreddit that gained over 19,000 upvotes in the same span of time.

On July 13th, Redditor u/Tiny-Background6885 posted a version of the meme to the /r/Frieren^[4] subreddit about the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, making a point about the 50-year gap in events for Frieren between Himmel's death and meeting Fern, garnering over 5,500 upvotes in three days.

On July 15th, Redditor u/4u6r3yy posted a version of the meme to the /r/Undertale^[5] subreddit about Undertale's Genocide Route, garnering over 3,000 upvotes in under 24 hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References