Echo Shard and Recovery Compass in Minecraft snapshot 22w14a: Everything players need to know

Echo shards and recovery compass are brand new items added to the Minecraft snapshot 22w14a. Mojang did not announce them at any of the Minecraft Live events. These will be added as part of the new Deep Dark biome in the upcoming 1.19 The Wild Update.

The Minecraft snapshot 22w14a finally adds a new Mangrove Swamp biome to the game, including mangrove trees and naturally generated mud blocks. These snapshots allow game developers to fine-tune the update and remove any bugs or issues before releasing the final update.

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Everything there is to know about Echo Shard and Recovery Compass in Minecraft snapshot 22w14a

How to obtain these items

Both the new items added with Minecraft snapshot 22w14a are not only confined to creative mode inventory but can be found and crafted naturally in the world as well.

1) Echo Shards

The shard can be found in Ancient City chests (Image via Mojang)

The Echo Shard is a new item that resembles the amethyst shard but is black and dark aqua. These items can occasionally be found in chest loots in the Ancient Cities. Players can venture deep into the Deep Dark biome, find one of these structures and look for these shards.

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2) Recovery Compass

Crafting recipe for the new compass (Image via Mojang)

Once players have the shards in the Minecraft snapshot 22w14a, they can craft a second new item called Recovery Compass. This item can be crafted on a crafting table with the help of eight shards and one normal compass.

The shards will be placed all around the compass to craft. This special compass will have a silver and blueish body with a blue needle that will spin randomly or point in one direction.

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Using the special compass

If players die, the compass will point towards the last location (Image via Mojang)

In the Minecraft snapshot 22w14a, the recovery compass essentially points towards the block where the player has last died. This is a great tool that can help players reach the area where they last died to collect all the valuable dropped items.

Compass pointing towards the death point (Image via Mojang)

If a player has not yet died in that world, the compass will spin randomly. Compass will keep pointing to the last location even after the player has explored the area and gathered all the items and will only update if the player dies again.

It is recommended that players keep this compass safe near their respawn anchors so that they don't lose the compass after their death.