4 best light sources to add to your Minecraft builds

Modified Jan 23, 2025 10:13 GMT

There are several light-emitting blocks that players can use to decorate their Minecraft bases (Image via Mojang Studios) — There are several light-emitting blocks you can use to decorate their Minecraft bases (Image via Mojang Studios)

In Minecraft, you can create safe houses or bases to keep all the resources you have found, build farms, and simply live in a secure place away from the wilderness and monsters. These bases must always be well-lit to avoid hostile mob spawns. Hence, you will need lots of light-emitting blocks to cover the area.

Here is a list of some of the best light sources to use in your Minecraft builds.

List of 4 great light-emitting blocks for your Minecraft builds

1) Lantern

A lantern is one of the best and easily craftable light-emitting blocks (Image via Mojang Studios)

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A lantern is one of the simplest yet most beautiful light-emitting blocks in Minecraft. You can easily craft this block using one torch and eight iron nuggets. Once crafted, you can either place the lantern on a full block or hang it from the ceiling of a full block. When hung, a small chain appears on top of the block. You can create beautiful lamp posts around your Minecraft builds with the help of these light blocks.

It is, of course, a massive step up from simple torches that might not look the prettiest. The lantern emits light level 15, which is the strongest light source in the game. It can be spaced pretty generously because of its strong light source.

2) Sea Lantern

A sea lantern is a full block that emits bright white light in Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

Sea lantern is another great light-emitting block that you can use to decorate your base. It can either be crafted using prismarine shards and crystals or be found generating in Ocean Monuments and Ocean Ruins. Once it is placed, it can only be obtained using a silk-touch enchanted pickaxe.

As the picture shows, a sea lantern is one of the cleanest-looking light blocks that emit bright white light. It emits light level 15, which is also the strongest in the game and can be placed in unique ways to decorate a space.

3) Redstone lamp

Redstone lamp can be configured to automatically turn on and off (Image via Mojang Studios)

A redstone lamp is a unique light block made from four redstone dust and one glowstone block. Since it is a redstone-powered block for it to work, you can use it in various unique ways. The block can automatically turn on and off according to day and night cycles with the help of a daylight detector. It can become a street lamp or indoor lamp of sorts that automatically turns on when it is nighttime.

Additionally, this can also be used in various other redstone contraptions to show whether they are working or not. Pairing it with a sculk sensor can also make it into a lamp that detects sounds and automatically turns on.

Also Read: Minecraft fans want Mojang to add dye-able redstone lamps

4) Candle

The candle is a beautiful block that can create a darker ambiance inside a building (Image via Mojang Studios)

Candle is a relatively new light block in Minecraft that is much dimmer than any other block on this list. Because of that, however, it can create some unique dim ambiance effects in a build. You can craft these blocks using one honeycomb and one string.

A total of four candles can be placed on one block and will look like they have different heights. When placed, they will not be lit by default but can be ignited using flint and steel. Each candle emits a light level of 3, and all four of them only emit 12, making them a relatively dim light source that can work wonders in various builds.

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Edited by Ripunjay Gaba