To set up a beacon in Minecraft, craft it with 5 glass, 3 obsidian, and 1 Nether Star; place it on a centered pyramid of accepted mineral blocks; keep its beam path clear to the sky; then open its interface, pay with an ingot or gem, and choose a power.
Craft the beacon
You need 5 glass, 3 obsidian, and 1 Nether Star to craft a beacon. The Nether Star is obtained by defeating the Wither, as described in Minecraft’s beacon article.
Build the pyramid and place the beacon
Make the base from iron, gold, emerald, diamond, or netherite blocks. You can mix these materials: the choice does not change the beacon’s range or effect strength. Center each layer beneath the next, then place the beacon on top.
A beacon can activate on a pyramid with one or more tiers. A complete four-tier pyramid uses 164 blocks in four centered layers:
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- Bottom layer: 9×9 blocks
- Second layer: 7×7 blocks
- Third layer: 5×5 blocks
- Top layer: 3×3 blocks
Netherite is an accepted base material. Minecraft’s Java Snapshot 20w07a notes say netherite blocks can be used as a beacon base and netherite ingots as fuel; Bedrock 1.16.0 notes also establish support for netherite blocks. These notes establish compatibility, not a stronger effect from using netherite. See the Java Snapshot 20w07a notes and Bedrock 1.16.0 notes.
Keep the beam path clear
The beacon needs an unobstructed path to the sky. An opaque block in the beam column prevents activation. Glass, water, leaves, slabs, and bedrock are among the blocks the cited beacon reference identifies as allowed. If the beacon does not light, inspect the full column above it for an opaque obstruction.
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Pay for and choose a power
- Open the beacon interface.
- Place an iron ingot, gold ingot, emerald, diamond, or netherite ingot in the payment slot.
- Select an available power, then confirm the choice.
Power availability depends on pyramid size. The cited beacon reference lists the following effect radii and durations by tier; these are reference mechanics, and edition differences apply, particularly in Bedrock.
| Pyramid tier | Horizontal effect radius | Reported duration |
|---|---|---|
| One | 20 blocks | 11 seconds |
| Two | 30 blocks | 13 seconds |
| Three | 40 blocks | 15 seconds |
| Four | 50 blocks | 17 seconds |
At four tiers, the primary-power options listed by the reference are Speed, Haste, Resistance, Jump Boost, and Strength. The secondary choice is either Regeneration I or upgrading the selected primary power to level II; one beacon cannot use both secondary options at once. The reference mechanics and tier details are documented in the beacon reference.
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Fix a beacon that will not activate
- No beam: Check the column above the beacon for an opaque obstruction. Glass, water, leaves, slabs, and bedrock are allowed according to the cited reference.
- Incorrect pyramid: Confirm the layers are complete, centered, and made of accepted mineral blocks.
- Beam appears, but no power is active: Open the interface, add a payment item, select a power, and confirm.
- Upgrading an active beacon: A higher tier increases its range, but to use a level-II power you must select that upgrade in the interface.
Java 1.21.5 beam-rendering note
Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.5 changed how far beacons and their beams render: they can render beyond 16 chunks up to the client’s render distance, and beams render up to 2,048 blocks high rather than 1,024. This is a rendering change, not an increase to the beacon’s gameplay effect radius. See the Java Edition 1.21.5 notes.
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