Top 5 uses of a lightning rod in Minecraft 

Lightning rods are one of the many items added to the game in Minecraft 1.17, which was the first part of the Caves and Cliffs update. To make a lightning rod, players will have to collect three ingots of the latest ore in the game, copper.

While the update has been out for quite some time now, many players may still be unclear on what this block is used for. This article will go in-depth about how players can use lightning rods in the game.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Minecraft: How to use a lightning rod properly

5) Intercepting lightning strikes

A lightning strike hits a lightning rod (Image via Minecraft)

One of the foremost purposes of the lightning rod in the game is to intercept and divert any lightning strikes that make their way to the ground. This happens because the rod attracts the lightning and makes it land on itself rather than other flammable strike points around the area.

This can be a massive benefit for a base that has a large amount of wood, leaves, wool, and other flammable materials in its build.

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4) Redstone signal

Like many blocks in the game, lightning rods can emit a Redstone signal. This allows these blocks to be a part of many Redstone circuit designs. One of the most creative methods to utilize a lightning rod as part of a Redstone circuit is to make an automated farm activated via lightning hitting a rod.

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3) Mob transformation

If a lightning strike is redirected by a lightning rod and a mob is in its immediate radius, the lightning strike can hit that mob and, in certain cases, turn them into a different mob or a variation of that mob.

For example, if a redirected lightning strike hits a pig, it becomes a zombified piglin. Creepers turn into charged creepers; villagers turn into witches, and red mooshrooms into brown mooshrooms.

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2) De-oxidation

Cut copper and oxidized cut copper (Image via Minecraft)

Mounting a lightning rod on the base of copper blocks is a common build technique that many players use.

This can serve to be quite a creative move as if the copper block used within the build is oxidized and struck by lightning redirected by a lightning rod, as this event removes the oxidization effect from the copper block.

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1) Channeling

The chanelling enchantment in Minecraft (Image via Minecraft)

Tridents are some of the rarest and most effective weapons in the game due to their ability to function as both ranged and melee weapons. Players can obtain them from drowned mobs in the oceans.

Tridents can be imbued with the Channeling enchantment, which allows players to summon a lightning strike on any surface, provided the weather in the game is a thunderstorm at the moment.

If a player throws the trident on a lightning rod during this period, a lightning strike will be summoned on the rod, activating its capabilities.