Tools
Beacon Pyramid Calculator
How many blocks each pyramid layer takes, what the whole thing costs in ingots, which powers unlock at each level and how far the effect reaches.
A beacon is the single largest resource commitment in Minecraft, and the number that stops most people is not the Nether Star — it is the pyramid underneath. A full four-level pyramid takes 164 blocks, which is 1,476 ingots. In iron that is a weekend with a decent farm. In diamond it is 1,476 diamonds. In netherite it is 5,904 ancient debris, which is not a project so much as a life choice.
The good news is that beacons are useful long before the pyramid is finished. A single 3×3 layer — nine blocks — already gives you Speed I or Haste I over a 20-block radius, and Haste I alone transforms any large mining or clearing job. Each further layer adds powers and pushes the range out another 10 blocks. Most players build level 1 immediately, live with it for a while, and expand as iron accumulates.
Pick a level and a material below and you get the block count for each layer, the running total, the ingot cost, the effect radius, the effect duration and exactly which powers become available. The beacon does not care whether the layers match, so you can mix materials freely — the calculator prices a single-material build as the upper bound.
Level 4 is the full pyramid
Any mix of these five works; the beacon does not care
Layers, top to bottom
| Layer | Size | Blocks | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top (under beacon) | 3×3 | 9 | 9 |
| Layer 2 | 5×5 | 25 | 34 |
| Layer 3 | 7×7 | 49 | 83 |
| Layer 4 | 9×9 | 81 | 164 |
164 × Block of Iron = 1,476 Iron IngotsThe cheapest option by a wide margin once you have an iron farm.
Powers available at level 4
- Lv 1Speed I · Haste I
- Lv 2Resistance I · Jump Boost I
- Lv 3Strength I
- Lv 4Regeneration I (secondary slot only) · Upgrade the primary power to level II · Or run a second power alongside the first
You also need one Beacon on top: 3 Obsidian, 5 Glass and 1 Nether Star from the Wither. Activating a power costs a single Iron Ingot, Gold Ingot, Emerald or Diamond dropped into the beacon menu — one item, not one per level.
How this works
How the pyramid is counted
The pyramid is built downward from the beacon. The first layer is a 3×3 square directly beneath it, then each layer below is two blocks wider on each side and must extend at least one block past the layer above it on all four sides:
- Level 1 — 3×3 = 9 blocks, total 9
- Level 2 — 5×5 = 25 blocks, total 34
- Level 3 — 7×7 = 49 blocks, total 83
- Level 4 — 9×9 = 81 blocks, total 164
Every block in every layer must be one of the five valid materials: iron, gold, emerald, diamond or netherite. They can be mixed in any pattern. Because each of those blocks is crafted from nine of its ingot or gem, the ingot cost is simply the block count times nine — 164 × 9 = 1,476 for a full pyramid.
Range and duration
The effect radius is level × 10 + 10 blocks: 20, 30, 40 and 50. That radius is horizontal from the beacon, and it extends from the beacon’s own layer down to the bottom of the world and up to the build limit, so a beacon at Y=0 still reaches you on the surface if you are within the horizontal radius. While you stand inside it, the beacon reapplies its effect every four seconds with a duration of 9 + level × 2 seconds, which is what gives you the few seconds of grace after you walk out of range.
What each level unlocks
- Level 1 — Speed I or Haste I
- Level 2 — adds Resistance I and Jump Boost I
- Level 3 — adds Strength I
- Level 4 — unlocks the secondary slot: either upgrade your chosen primary power to level II, or run Regeneration I alongside it. You cannot run two different level II powers.
A worked example
A level 3 iron beacon. Layers of 9, 25 and 49 blocks give 83 blocks. At nine ingots each that is 83 × 9 = 747 iron ingots, or about 11.7 stacks. It projects Speed, Haste, Resistance, Jump Boost or Strength at level I over a 40-block radius, with a 15-second effect duration. Adding the fourth layer nearly doubles the cost to 1,476 ingots for one extra power slot and 10 more blocks of range — which is why level 3 is where a lot of perfectly good beacons stop.
Requirements beyond the blocks
The beacon itself costs 3 Obsidian, 5 Glass and 1 Nether Star, and the Nether Star comes only from killing the Wither. The beam needs a clear line of sight to the sky — any solid block above it in that column blocks it, though glass, stained glass and other transparent blocks are fine and will tint the beam. Activating or changing a power costs one Iron Ingot, Gold Ingot, Emerald or Diamond, dropped into the beacon’s payment slot. That is a single item, not one per pyramid level, and it is the same price whatever you choose.
Where we are less certain
The block counts, ingot costs, ranges and power unlocks are exact and long-stable. The effect duration formula (9 + level × 2 seconds) is the one figure here we would not stake much on — it is rarely documented, it has changed at least once historically, and it makes almost no practical difference because the beacon reapplies the effect continuously while you are in range. Treat it as indicative rather than exact.