You’ve finally done it. You spent hours grinding in the Nether, dodging blazes, and decapitating Wither Skeletons until three rare skulls finally dropped. Then you summoned the Wither, nearly leveled a desert biome fighting the thing, and snatched that glowing Nether Star from the ground. Now it sits in your inventory. But if you think the hard part is over, you’re in for a surprise. Figuring out how to make a beacon Minecraft builds require is one thing; actually getting the damn thing to light up and give you those sweet status effects is a whole different level of resource management.
Most people just slap the star on a crafting table and wonder why nothing happens. It's basically a fancy paperweight until you build a literal monument of wealth underneath it.
Honestly, the beacon is the ultimate "I’ve made it" flex in survival mode. It isn’t just about the light beam that shoots into the sky, though that’s great for not getting lost. It’s about the Haste II. If you’ve ever tried to clear a mountain or dig out a massive underground base without Haste II, you’re basically playing the game in slow motion. Let’s get into the actual mechanics of how this works, the stuff the wiki doesn’t always make obvious, and how to avoid the mistakes that leave your beacon dark.
Crafting the Physical Beacon Block
First, let's talk shop. To get the block itself, you need more than just the star. You need glass and obsidian. Specifically, five blocks of glass, three blocks of obsidian, and that one Nether Star.
Open your crafting table. Put the Nether Star right in the center. The three obsidian blocks go along the bottom row. Fill the rest of the empty slots with glass. Boom. You have a beacon.
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But here is the kicker: placing it on the ground does nothing. It’s a dead block. To activate it, the beacon needs two things: a clear view of the sky and a pyramid base made of mineral blocks. And when I say "clear view," I mean it. If there is even a single solid block—even a leaf or a piece of dirt—directly above it, the beam won't sprout. Fun fact: you can actually use tinted glass or colored glass if you want to change the beam color, but most solid blocks will kill the connection instantly.
The Mineral Pyramid: What You Actually Need
This is where the grind gets real. You can’t just use cobblestone. You need "wealth" blocks. We’re talking Iron, Gold, Diamond, Emerald, or Netherite blocks.
Don't waste your Diamonds or Netherite on this unless you are playing on a creative server or you’re just showing off. Most players use Iron because it’s the easiest to farm with an iron golem farm. Gold is a solid second choice if you’ve got a Piglin-based farm in the Nether.
- Level 1 Pyramid: A 3x3 square of blocks. This gives you the basic range and the first tier of powers (Speed or Haste).
- Level 2 Pyramid: A 5x5 base with the 3x3 on top. This adds Resistance or Jump Boost.
- Level 3 Pyramid: A 7x7 base, then 5x5, then 3x3. This adds Strength to the mix.
- Level 4 Pyramid: This is the big boy. A 9x9 base, 7x7, 5x5, and 3x3. This is the only way to unlock the secondary power, which is usually Regeneration or Level II of your primary power.
To fully power a beacon to Level 4, you need 164 blocks of mineral. That is 1,476 individual ingots. See why I said use Iron?
Why Haste II is the Only Reason to Care
If we’re being real, most of the beacon effects are kind of "meh" once you have high-level enchantments. Speed is okay, but you’ve probably got a horse or an Elytra. Jump Boost is mostly annoying. Strength is cool, but Sharpness V on a Netherite sword handles most mobs anyway.
Haste II is the god-tier effect.
When you combine a Level 4 beacon set to Haste II with an Efficiency V gold or diamond pickaxe, you achieve what the community calls "Insta-mining." You literally walk through stone and it vanishes instantly. No delay. No swing animation. Just a path opening up in front of you. This is how players build those massive mega-bases or clear out entire chunks for slime farms. Without knowing how to make a beacon Minecraft style, you're stuck clicking every single block like it’s 2011.
Range and Limitations
A full-sized pyramid doesn’t cover the whole world. It reaches about 50 blocks out from the center. If you wander too far, the effect lingers for about 11 to 17 seconds and then vanishes.
If you’re working on a massive project, you’ll find yourself constantly moving the beacon. It’s a pain. Pro tip: Always carry a silk touch pickaxe to move the glass and a regular one for the blocks, or you’ll be there all day.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Beam
I’ve seen this on so many multiplayer servers. Someone spends days building a pyramid, and the beam just won’t turn on. Usually, it’s one of three things.
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First, check the sky. Even if you are deep underground, you need a 1x1 shaft all the way to the surface. Bedrock in the Nether will block it, which is why beacons are famously tricky to use in the Nether unless you break the ceiling (which is technically an exploit).
Second, check the corners. The pyramid must be solid. You can't hollow it out to save blocks. Well, technically you can leave the very inside hollow if you're clever, but it's risky and often breaks the logic if you misplace one block. Just fill it in.
Third, did you actually feed it? Once the beam is active, you have to click the beacon UI and put in a "tribute." This can be one Iron Ingot, one Gold Ingot, one Diamond, one Emerald, or one Netherite Ingot. You select the power you want, click the checkmark, and then it starts working. You don't have to keep paying it; one ingot lasts forever unless you change the power.
Multi-Beacon Setups: The Pro Move
If you want all the powers at once, don't build six separate pyramids. That’s a massive waste of resources. Instead, share the bases.
You can build a large rectangular base (like a 10x11 or similar) and place multiple beacons on the top 3x3 area. They can share the foundation. This saves hundreds of blocks. A "6-beacon" setup is the gold standard for end-game bases. It looks intimidating, but it’s actually more efficient than building them individually.
Technical Nuances and Bedrock vs. Java
There are some slight differences depending on which version you’re playing. In Minecraft Java Edition, the beacon beam is a bit more demanding regarding what blocks it can pass through. In Bedrock, sometimes you can get away with certain non-solid blocks that Java would reject.
Also, keep in mind that the Wither fight is significantly harder on Bedrock Edition. He has more health, a dash attack, and spawns Wither Skeletons. If you’re playing on a console or phone, don't just jump into the fight thinking it’ll be easy. You need the star to even start the beacon process, and on Bedrock, that star is earned in blood.
The Role of Emeralds
If you happen to live near a village and you’ve mastered trading, Emeralds are actually the easiest way to build your pyramid. One fletcher selling sticks for emeralds can net you stacks of blocks in an hour. It’s way faster than mining for iron if you don’t have an automated farm set up yet.
Actionable Steps for Your First Beacon
If you're staring at your screen wondering where to start, follow this sequence. It’ll save you the headache of backtracking.
- Set up an Iron Farm first. Don't even think about a beacon until you have a steady flow of iron. You need 1,476 ingots for a full pyramid. Mining that by hand is a nightmare you don't want.
- Fight the Wither in a controlled environment. Go deep underground or way out into the ocean. Use the "Bedrock Ceiling" trick in the Nether if you want to cheese the fight, but if you're doing it legit, bring Smite V on your sword and plenty of Strength II potions.
- Craft the Beacon block using 3 Obsidian (bottom), 1 Nether Star (middle), and 5 Glass (rest).
- Clear the vertical path. Look up. If there's a mountain above your base, you're digging a hole.
- Choose Haste. Seriously. Unless you’re building a boss-fight arena, Haste is the only effect that fundamentally changes how you play the game.
The beacon is more than a light. It's a tool that turns the world into your playground. Once you can insta-mine, the scale of your builds will go from "modest house" to "imperial city" real fast. Just make sure you don't forget to put that final ingot in the UI, or you'll be standing there wondering why you're still mining at a snail's pace.