Overview
A beacon projects a continuous status effect over everything inside its radius, and it is the closest thing Minecraft has to a permanent buff you own rather than drink. It only works sitting on a pyramid of iron, gold, emerald, diamond or netherite blocks, and the size of that pyramid decides everything. One layer of 9 blocks gives a 20-block radius and a choice of Speed I or Haste I. Two layers, 34 blocks, add Resistance and Jump Boost and extend the radius to 30. Three layers, 83 blocks, add Strength and reach 40. Four layers, 164 blocks, reach 50 blocks and unlock the second slot, which either upgrades your chosen effect to level II or adds Regeneration I. The pyramid can mix materials freely — a layer of iron under a layer of gold works exactly as well as a pure one — so build it from whatever you have most of. The beacon needs an unobstructed column of sky above it, though transparent blocks such as glass, water and stained glass do not block the beam, which is what makes coloured beacon beams possible. Activating or changing the effect costs one ingot, gem or block of any beacon material.
Permanent Haste II under a mining base cuts block-breaking time by nearly a third, and Regeneration plus Resistance under a build site removes most of the risk from working at height. It is also the standard way to mark a base visible from hundreds of blocks away.
Minecraft classifies Beacon as a light-emitting block. Beacon is made at a crafting table. Hardness 3 puts it in the middle of the pack for mining speed.
It drops as the same block you mined. It emits light level 15 — bright enough on its own to stop hostile mobs spawning nearby. Because it is transparent it does not block light.
A full stack holds 64. It is crafted from Glass, Nether Star, and Obsidian. Nothing on the crafting grid is made from it.
How to get it
Craft a beacon from 3 obsidian, 5 glass and 1 nether star. The nether star is dropped only by the wither, which is summoned from 4 blocks of soul sand and 3 wither skeleton skulls.
Tips
- Put stained glass anywhere in the beam's path to colour it; stacking several colours blends them into a new shade.
- Haste II from a 4-layer beacon plus an Efficiency V pickaxe lets you instant-mine stone, which changes tunnelling completely.
- The pyramid can be any mix of the 5 valid block types, so start with iron and upgrade the top layer later.
- Use the beacon calculator to work out exactly how many blocks each level costs before you mine.
Version notes
Netherite blocks were added to the list of valid pyramid materials in 1.16. The block itself and its effect tiers are unchanged in 1.21.4.
Properties
Beacon resists blasts at 3, which usually is not enough when something explodes nearby. Light passes through it, and it emits at level 15. 64 fit in a slot — a full stack.
- Transparent
- Yes
- Required tool
- Any
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Beacon
Drops
Mined with any, Beacon drops itself.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get Beacon in Minecraft?
Beacon is crafted from Glass, Nether Star, and Obsidian.
What tool do you need to break Beacon?
No specific tool is required — Beacon can be broken by hand.
Is Beacon blast resistant?
Beacon has a blast resistance of 3, so an explosion nearby will destroy it.
How many Beacon fit in one stack?
Beacon stacks to 64, which puts 3,456 of them in a double chest.
