How to Make and Power a Beacon
Craft a beacon from a Nether Star, 3 Obsidian and 5 Glass, then set it on a pyramid of 9, 34, 83 or 164 mineral blocks for tiers 1 to 4.
The only rare ingredient is the Nether Star. Everything else is ordinary blocks, although a full pyramid of them is a long mining or farming project. Once the beacon sits on at least one complete layer, one ingot or gem switches on a power for every player nearby.
The beacon recipe
Craft it on a crafting table. Fill the top row with Glass, put Glass, the Nether Star and Glass across the middle row, and fill the bottom row with Obsidian. The beacon recipe page shows the grid.
- Glass must be plain Glass. Stained glass and Tinted Glass are not accepted. Smelt Sand or Red Sand to make it (Glass recipe).
- Obsidian only drops when you mine it with a Diamond Pickaxe or Netherite Pickaxe.
- The Nether Star comes from the Wither, which always drops exactly one. Looting does not add more.
Summoning the Wither takes three Wither Skeleton Skulls on a T of Soul Sand or Soul Soil. The Wither fight guide covers the build, arenas and gear. When a player kills a Wither Skeleton, it drops its skull 2.5% of the time, rising to 3.5%, 4.5% and 5.5% with Looting I, II and III. A charged Creeper's explosion also drops a skull from a Wither Skeleton it kills, one head per explosion. A Wither Skeleton farm collects them in bulk.
The star is immune to explosions, so the Wither's blasts cannot destroy it. Lava, fire, cactus and the void still can, and a star dropped by the Wither despawns after 10 minutes on the ground.
Pyramid sizes and cost
Each tier adds a square layer under the one above it. The beacon sits on the centre block of the 3×3 top layer.
| Tier | New layer | Total blocks | Iron Ingots | Range | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3×3 (9) | 9 | 81 | 20 blocks | Speed, Haste |
| 2 | 5×5 (25) | 34 | 306 | 30 blocks | Resistance, Jump Boost |
| 3 | 7×7 (49) | 83 | 747 | 40 blocks | Strength |
| 4 | 9×9 (81) | 164 | 1,476 | 50 blocks | Secondary power |
The ingot column assumes Block of Iron, at 9 ingots per block. Five blocks count: Block of Iron, Block of Gold, Block of Diamond, Block of Emerald and Block of Netherite. You can mix them in any arrangement. The type is purely cosmetic, so a Block of Diamond does nothing a Block of Iron doesn't.
Every layer must be complete, corners included, and centred under the beacon. If one corner is missing, the beacon drops to the last complete tier. Plan for all four layers from the start: dig the pit or leave room for the 9×9 base, even if you only fill the top layer now. The beacon calculator shows the block count and range for each tier. Your first working beacon earns the Bring Home the Beacon advancement, and a full tier-4 pyramid earns Beaconator.
Choosing powers
| Power | Tier | Level I effect in Java Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 1 | +20% movement speed |
| Haste | 1 | +20% mining speed, +10% attack speed |
| Resistance | 2 | 20% less damage taken |
| Jump Boost | 2 | Higher jumps; falls count one block shorter for fall damage |
| Strength | 3 | +3 melee damage (1.5 hearts) |
| Regeneration | 4 | Heals 1 health point every 2.5 seconds |
Tiers 1 to 3 give one primary power at level I. Tier 4 adds a secondary slot, where you pick either Regeneration I or the level II version of your primary. You cannot have a level II primary and Regeneration from the same beacon.
Haste II is the usual pick for a mining or building base. With an Efficiency V Diamond Pickaxe or Netherite Pickaxe, it breaks Stone instantly. For what each effect does outside a beacon, see every status effect explained.
Activating and paying
- 1.Check that the beam is showing. If it isn't, the 3×3 top layer is incomplete or something opaque sits above the beacon.
- 2.Open the beacon and put one payment item in the slot: an Iron Ingot, Gold Ingot, Emerald, Diamond or Netherite Ingot.
- 3.Click a primary power. At tier 4, also pick the secondary.
- 4.Click the green checkmark. The item is consumed and the power starts.
Changing powers later costs another item. If the pyramid is damaged, the powers switch off or weaken to the tier still standing. Repair it and the original powers come back without a new payment. Breaking the beacon block itself is different: the dropped item keeps only a custom name, so a moved beacon has to be paid for again.
Range and duration
The effect area is a box around the beacon. It reaches 20, 30, 40 or 50 blocks out to each side by tier, the same distance downward, and upward past the top of the world. A tier-4 beacon at Y=64 reaches down to about Y=14, so it will not cover a deepslate mine far below it.
Powers are reapplied every 4 seconds with a duration of 9 seconds plus 2 per tier: 11, 13, 15 or 17 seconds. That is why a buff lingers briefly after you walk out of range. Beacon powers only go to players, so pets, horses and villagers get nothing.
What blocks the beam
The beam stops at any fully opaque block. Glass and stained glass let it through. Tinted Glass is see-through but blocks the beam like a solid block. Bedrock is the one opaque exception, so a beacon below the Nether ceiling works once you clear the Netherrack and any other opaque blocks between it and the bedrock.
You can bury the pyramid under a floor laid level with the beacon. If you roof the room over, make the blocks directly above the beacon glass. Stained glass or stained glass panes placed above the beacon colour the beam, and several colours stacked in the column blend together.
Two level II powers at once
One beacon gives one level II power. For more, build a second beacon on the same pyramid. Beacons can share mineral blocks, and a combined pyramid does not need to be symmetrical. Two tier-4 beacons side by side sit on layers of 4×3, 6×5, 8×7 and 10×9, which is 188 blocks against 328 for two separate pyramids. Set one to Haste II and the other to Speed II or Resistance II. If you want healing instead, set the second beacon to Resistance I with Regeneration I.
What to build next
Gathering 164 blocks is the long part. An iron farm produces Iron Ingots on its own once it is running, which makes it the practical source for a Block of Iron pyramid.