Crafting and Utilizing a Beacon in Minecraft

Minecraft offers a vast array of in-game items and abilities, creating a seemingly boundless universe for players to explore. Within this expansive realm, players encounter numerous biomes, enchantments, and potions, each adding depth to the gaming experience. Amidst this diversity, one entity stands out: the formidable Minecraft beacon. Despite its potential to rival even the most powerful mods, the beacon remains a criminally underutilized tool. Yet, unlocking its capabilities requires mastering a challenging crafting process. Fear not, for we are here to guide you through every aspect of beacons, from their creation to their utilization across both Minecraft Java and Bedrock editions. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of crafting and employing a beacon in Minecraft.

Creating and Employing a Beacon in Minecraft (2022)

Crafting and using a beacon involves several steps. To simplify, we’ve divided our Minecraft beacon guide into easily navigable sections. Refer to the table below to find your topic.

What is a Beacon in Minecraft and How Is It Useful

In Minecraft, a beacon is essentially a light-emitting block. However, unlike standard light sources, beacons possess additional powers. Players typically encounter beacons for the first time in The End realm, where they serve as the primary healing source for the Ender Dragon.

When activated, a beacon grants status effects to nearby players. These effects include speed, jump boost, haste, regeneration, resistance, and strength, benefiting multiplayer experiences and boss fights.

Materials for Crafting a Beacon

Unlike crafting a boat in Minecraft, making a beacon is more complex. You’ll need:

• 5 glass blocks
• 3 obsidian blocks
• A Nether star

Obtaining Glass Blocks

To obtain glass blocks, you can either break and collect them with a tool enhanced by Silk Touch enchantment or follow these steps to craft glass in Minecraft.

1. Begin by gathering sand blocks, which are easily breakable. Consider collecting red sand blocks instead of regular ones. We require a total of 5 sand or red sand blocks for our recipe.

2. Now, smelt the sand blocks. Place them in a standard furnace along with any fuel. Within moments, the sand will transform into glass.

Alternatively, you can trade emeralds with villagers for glass blocks. Typically, they offer 4 glass blocks for a single emerald, provided you locate a village with suitable trades and professions.

Acquiring Obsidian Blocks

Obsidian poses a challenge to mine in Minecraft, often found where lava and water sources converge. It may also appear as loot in some chests, but crafting it is a more accessible option.

1. Prior to obsidian production, acquire a diamond pickaxe for mining. This requires combining 3 diamonds with 2 wooden sticks via a crafting table in Minecraft.

2. Create an iron bucket using 3 iron blocks following this recipe on your crafting table. The bucket facilitates obsidian creation.

3. Seek out lava and water sources. Lava is typically found underground or as a lavafall on the ground, whereas water sources are more readily available.

4. Equipped with the bucket, right-click on the lava to collect it and take it to the water source. Use multiple buckets to save time. Once at the water source with lava, right-click on the water to drop it. Now, mine the obsidian blocks using our diamond pickaxe.

How to Obtain a Nether Star

Generally, obtaining a nether star involves killing a Wither. However, locating a Wither isn’t straightforward. Unlike other mobs, you can’t find it or access it through a portal. Let’s begin by spawning the Wither in Minecraft.

1. To spawn a Wither, gather 4 soul sand or soul soil blocks and 3 Wither skeleton skulls from the Nether realm. Create a Nether portal using obsidian blocks and activate it with “flint & steel”.

2. In the Nether, locate soul soil or soul sand, which can be identified by blue soul fire. Mine these blocks like dirt in the overworld. We need 4 soul sand or soil blocks to summon the Wither.

3. Locate a Nether fortress, a common spawn site for Wither Skeletons. Eliminate Wither Skeletons until acquiring 3 Wither Skeleton Skulls, noting not all Wither Skeletons drop skulls.

4. To summon the formidable Wither, gather 4 blocks of soul sand or soul soil, along with 3 Wither Skeleton skulls. The Wither is a potent Minecraft boss capable of flight and inflicting substantial damage. Equip the best bow enchantments prior to summoning. Beginners may require multiple attempts to defeat the Wither, but it yields a Nether Star upon demise.

Minecraft Beacon Crafting Recipe

With all necessary materials gathered, crafting a Beacon becomes a straightforward task. Simply open the crafting table and proceed. However, activating and leveling up the beacon within Minecraft presents a more arduous journey. Stay engaged until the end to grasp all essential details.

Begin by placing three Obsidian blocks in the bottom row of the crafting table. Position the Nether Star centrally. Complete the construction by situating glass blocks in the top row and flanking the Nether Star. Your Minecraft beacon is now ready.

Disassembly and Retrieval of a Beacon

To efficiently relocate a placed Beacon, mastering its dismantling and retrieval is essential. Utilize any tool available in-game to dismantle it, bearing in mind the ensuing explosion necessitates caution. Typically, players opt for TNT explosions to dislodge the Beacon, minimizing associated risks.

Activating a Beacon in Minecraft

• Ensure no obstructing blocks shield the Beacon from the sky to maintain its light emission. Transparent materials such as glass are permissible atop the Beacon.
• Activation of a Minecraft Beacon mandates its placement atop a pyramid structure, where the pyramid’s height dictates the Beacon’s power output.

Let’s delve into the second rule and grasp the concept of beacon pyramids in Minecraft.

Understanding Beacon Pyramids

Beacon pyramids, as implied by the name, are tiered structures crafted from blocks. There are four distinct types, each varying in height. Higher pyramid tiers equate to increased power and broader coverage. However, additional levels necessitate more blocks. Notably, any absent blocks within a pyramid render the beacon inactive.

Pyramid Variants

Types are categorized based on the block used or the size of the pyramids. The size of the beacon pyramid significantly impacts the power boosts you receive. The smallest is 9 blocks, while the largest can have 164 blocks. Let’s explore their differences.

Level 1 Beacon Pyramid

This minimum Beacon pyramid is one floor tall. Create it by placing 9 blocks in a 3 x 3 square shape. Then, place your beacon on the center block to activate it. A basic pyramid provides speed and haste boosts. Speed allows faster movement, while haste speeds up mining. Together, they facilitate rapid resource gathering for pyramid advancement.

To craft desired blocks, you need 81 units of the specified material—e.g., for 9 Iron blocks, you’ll require 81 iron ingots. The effects of a level 1 Beacon extend approximately 20 blocks in all directions.

Level 2 Beacon Pyramid

Next, we introduce a two-tier beacon pyramid. Here, the upper tier remains a 3 x 3 square, while the lower layer expands to 5 x 5. The level 2 pyramid demands 34 blocks, totaling 304 materials. At this level, additional enhancements complement the existing ones.

New power boosts now include jump and resistance. Jump boost increases jump height, while resistance reduces incoming damage. Both help evade mobs and win fights, with a range of 30 blocks.

Level 3 Beacon Pyramid

The 3-floor pyramid requires 83 material blocks, crafted from 747 materials. Each layer follows a pattern: the uppermost is a 3 x 3 square, the middle a 5 x 5, and the lowermost a 7 x 7. This level is popular among players.

Adding to prior enhancements, this pyramid level bestows a strength boost, augmenting the damage inflicted by each strike on any target within a 40-block range, doubling the base level.

Level 4 Beacon Pyramid

Constituting the pinnacle of the beacon pyramid, this stage demands a substantial number of blocks: precisely 164, crafted from an impressive 1476 materials. The benefits of this level extend across a radius of 50 blocks, affording the player a regeneration II effect, accelerating health recovery.

The lowest level of this pyramid is a 9 x 9 square. Above it sits a Level 3 pyramid. The second layer from the bottom is a 7 x 7 square, followed by a 5 x 5 square, and finally, a 3 x 3 square for the topmost layer. Due to the numerous blocks involved, constructing this pyramid is one of the most time-consuming tasks in survival Minecraft.

Types of Beacons Based on Material

Knowing the various beacon pyramid levels opens up many options for construction. Pyramids can be made using iron, gold, diamond, emerald, or netherite blocks. Furthermore, combinations of these materials are also viable, and the beacon will still operate efficiently.

The function of the beacon pyramid remains unaffected by the choice of blocks. For players, the blocks used are primarily for aesthetics, occasionally influenced by material availability. Therefore, feel free to experiment when constructing a beacon pyramid.

Maximizing the Minecraft Beacon

Now that you understand beacon creation in Minecraft, let’s explore its functionalities and how to utilize them effectively.

As you’re aware, each tier of the beacon pyramid grants additional powers. However, these boosts require manual activation. Here’s how:

1. Approach the beacon emitting light and right-click or use the secondary action button.

2. The beacon features its power menu, displaying primary powers that escalate with each level on the left side, while the right side hosts the secondary power, regeneration, triggered upon constructing a level 4 pyramid.

3. To utilize these powers, players can activate one primary power at a time at an amplified level, or opt for level 1 while concurrently activating regeneration. Selection of the desired power for activation is achieved by simply clicking on them.

4. Once you are okay with your selection, activate your boosts. Feed the Beacon one of the following: iron ingot, gold ingot, diamond, emerald, or netherite ingot. Place it in the empty block below the power columns and click the green tick mark button to activate. You can change the power or activate multiple ones by repeating the process with different powers separately.

At the base level, effects last for 9 seconds, with an additional 2 seconds per pyramid level. These boosts reapply every 4 seconds within the pyramid’s range. Outside the range, players receive 5-17 seconds of the boost.

Unlike boosts, the beam doesn’t directly impact players, but it can be useful for locating your house in Minecraft or for aesthetic purposes. You can change beam colors by placing stained glass or glass panes on top of the beacon. The beam’s color changes according to the color of the glass blocks on top. You can create multi-colored beams by combining stained glass.

You can achieve this by stacking differently colored stained glass. However, note that the colors will blend somewhat, producing unique colors based on the sequence of your glass placement.

Beams work in the Nether and penetrate through bedrock. However, using any non-transparent or translucent block stops them. In the Java edition, they’re visible from 1342 blocks away with a render distance of 16 chunks. Minecraft Bedrock edition maxes out at 64 blocks. Vertically, they reach the upper edge of the world at 1048 block height.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do you create a beacon in Minecraft?

To create a beacon in Minecraft, you need 5 blocks of glass, 3 obsidian blocks, and a Nether star.

Q. How many blocks do you need for a beacon?

For a basic Level 1 beacon pyramid, you only need 9 blocks, while the Level 4 pyramid requires 164 blocks and a beacon in Minecraft. You can construct a pyramid with iron, gold, diamond, emerald, and netherite blocks. Discover the steps to create one and more about pyramids in this article.

Unlock Special Powers with a Beacon in Minecraft

Now equipped with the knowledge to construct and utilize a Beacon in Minecraft, be cautious of the formidable Bedrock Wither, potentially mightier than the impending Minecraft 1.19 update’s frightening Warden. However, with top-tier Minecraft armor enchantments, this threat should be mitigated. Activating the beacon may seem intricate, but our Minecraft ore distribution guide streamlines material acquisition. Even if you opt out of employing a beacon in survival skirmishes, it remains pivotal for implementing elite Minecraft house designs. Share with us in the comments below which beacon pyramid variant you intend to integrate into your Minecraft realm.