Sure, coal was easier to find, but charcoal is renewable, and I like that.
Even ignoring that, 8 logs becomes 7 charcoal, and planting is trivial, so its just faster to farm trees in the long run. Coal is for villagers that demand it, specifically, in early trades.
Now for smelting I like bamboo, you can fully automate it. Technically you can fully automate kelp now too with the crafter, but bamboo is easy. Just break it like sugarcane and funnel it to your furnace directly, done.
I’ve always used charcoal.
Sure, coal was easier to find, but charcoal is renewable, and I like that.
Even ignoring that, 8 logs becomes 7 charcoal, and planting is trivial, so its just faster to farm trees in the long run. Coal is for villagers that demand it, specifically, in early trades.
Now for smelting I like bamboo, you can fully automate it. Technically you can fully automate kelp now too with the crafter, but bamboo is easy. Just break it like sugarcane and funnel it to your furnace directly, done.