'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Minecraft's beacons were introduced in the 1.4.2 update for Java Edition and went through plenty of revisions over the years before reaching their current state. While they're costly to craft in Survival Mode, beacons are capable of bestowing incredibly beneficial effects within a certain range depending on the pyramid constructed underneath the player's beacon block(s).
Since there's much more to them than meets the eye, it's worth examining beacon blocks in Minecraft more closely, including how they're made, how they work, and other points of note.
How to craft beacons in Minecraft
Chart New Territories with the ultimate Minecraft Seed Generator!
To craft a beacon in Minecraft, players will need three specific resources: glass blocks, nether stars, and obsidian blocks. Specifically, players will need five glass blocks, three obsidian blocks, and one nether star. Crafting or finding these resources should be pretty easy except for the nether star, which will require a battle with one of the game's deadliest foes.
Trending
Players can find a breakdown of the required resources below:
- Glass Blocks: Crafted by smelting sand blocks in a smelter. It can also be purchased from journeyman-level librarian villagers by trading emeralds.
- Nether Stars: Dropped by defeating the optional Wither boss. Once the Wither is killed, one nether star is guaranteed to drop.
- Obsidian Blocks: Can be found naturally generating in ruined portals, woodland mansions, and some underwater ruins as well as on the End's main island and as part of end ships. Moreover, obsidian can be created by pouring water over lava.
Beacons can be assembled with the resources above when using a crafting table block or the new 1.21 crafter. The recipe for beacons requires the nether star in the center grid slot, the three obsidian in a horizontal row on the bottom of the grid, and glass blocks in the remaining slots.
Using beacon blocks in Minecraft and how they work
Simply placing a beacon block in Minecraft won't be enough to activate it. A beacon must meet two criteria to be used as intended.
Specifically, a beacon requires unobstructed access to the sky (though glass and bedrock blocks from the Nether ceiling don't count against this). It must be placed atop a pyramid made from iron, gold, emerald, diamond, or netherite blocks.
The blocks used from those listed above to build the pyramid are purely cosmetic and don't influence the power or range of the beacon block(s). However, the size and dimensions of the pyramid do determine the status effects that beacon blocks can generate and the range with which they can do so.
Below, you can find the correlation between pyramid dimensions and the power level beacons access:
It's also possible to expand the size of a pyramid to allow for multiple beacon blocks to be active on a pyramid at the same time. In Minecraft: Java Edition, it's possible to combine primary powers by selecting one in the left panel of the beacon UI, selecting a level II option in the right panel (with a level 4 pyramid), and then selecting a second power in the left panel.
Keep in mind that to activate different effects for beacons in Minecraft, players will need to interact with the beacon block and supply it with either an iron ingot, a gold ingot, a diamond, an emerald, or a netherite ingot. The material will be consumed, and the effect will be activated. However, the items will need to be consumed again to change the active effects.
Any power effects provided by beacons in Minecraft will remain active until players move out of the range of the beacon providing the power, starting a countdown until the effect is removed. This can easily be re-applied when players move back in range of the beacon. This means the placement of a beacon pyramid is key to using it effectively.
Explaining the powers created by beacons in Minecraft
As a beacon gains levels from the size of the pyramid beneath it, it will unlock access to new effects in Minecraft. These effects are divided between five Primary Powers and one Secondary Power. They are cumulative, so a level 4 pyramid will unlock all of them without excluding others.
The following effects are available to activate in beacon blocks:
- Speed: Increases a player's movement speed and zooms out their field of view (FOV).
- Haste: Increases a player's mining and attack speed.
- Resistance: Decreases incoming damage from nearly every source.
- Jump Boost: Increases a player's jump height.
- Strength: Improves the melee damage output of a player regardless of the weapon they're using.
- Regeneration (Secondary Power): Restores player health over time.
Final notes on beacons in Minecraft
In addition to the information listed above, the following points are worth keeping in mind when using beacons:
- Stained glass panes can be placed over beacon beams to change their color.
- Beacons can be used as light source blocks, as they emit a light level of 15.
- Beacons cannot be pushed or pulled by pistons or sticky pistons.
- Beacons can conduct redstone signals and be waterlogged at the same time in Bedrock Edition.
Because of their usefulness, beacons are worth building as quickly as possible. Sure, they take time to construct and utilize, but the benefits are certainly worth the effort.
Uncover new worlds with our Minecraft Seed Generator!
