You've probably spent hours diving into cold ocean ruins or punching sand around shipwreck sites just to find a Buried Treasure Map. You follow the "X," dig up a chest, and among the gold bars and iron ingots, there it is: a pulsing, blue, grapefruit-sized orb. It doesn't stack. It doesn't do anything when you right-click. Most players just toss it into a "miscellaneous" chest and forget it exists. Honestly, that's a huge mistake. Knowing how to use heart of the sea in minecraft is basically the difference between struggling to breathe underwater and becoming the literal king of the ocean.
It’s rare. Like, really rare. You can’t craft it, you can’t farm it from mobs, and you won’t find it in a desert temple. It only exists in Buried Treasure chests.
Why you actually need this thing
Minecraft's oceans used to be boring. Just endless gravel and the occasional squid. But since the Update Aquatic, the floor of the sea is actually worth exploring. The problem is the drowning mechanic. Even with Respiration III on a diamond helmet, you’re eventually going to run out of bubbles. Door-breathing is a cheap hack that Mojang has mostly patched out in various versions, and magma blocks are annoying because they pull you down and hurt your feet.
The Heart of the Sea is the core component for a Conduit. Think of a Conduit as an underwater Beacon, but way better. It gives you "Conduit Power," which stops your breath bar from dropping, gives you night vision underwater, and increases your mining speed so you aren't swinging your pickaxe in slow motion.
Crafting the Conduit (The only way to use the Heart)
You can't just place the Heart of the Sea on the ground. If you try, nothing happens. You’ve gotta surround it with Nautilus Shells. You need eight of them.
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Finding shells is the grindy part. You’ll see Drowned zombies swimming around clutching them; if you kill them, they might drop one. You can also get them from fishing, though it's a "treasure" catch, so bring a Luck of the Sea rod. Or, if you’re lazy and have spare emeralds, the Wandering Trader occasionally sells them for five emeralds a pop.
Open your crafting table. Put the Heart of the Sea right in the dead center. Fill every single other slot with a Nautilus Shell. You’ll get a small, cage-like block that looks like it’s holding a miniature star.
Building the frame: Don't mess this up
This is where people get frustrated. A Conduit won't work if you just plop it down in the water. It needs a specific cage made of "prismarine" type blocks. You can use standard Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, or Sea Lanterns. Dark Prismarine works too.
You need to build a 5x5 square frame. The Conduit has to be in the exact center of that 5x5 area. To get the full effect, you actually need three of these 5x5 rings—one on each axis (X, Y, and Z).
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- Start with a vertical 5x5 ring.
- Add a horizontal 5x5 ring through the middle.
- Finish with a final vertical ring that crosses the first one.
Basically, it looks like a hollow sphere made of squares. If you do it right, the Conduit in the middle will open up. The blue orb starts spinning, and the "eye" in the center opens. Suddenly, your screen gets bright, your bubbles turn into a blue icon, and you can see everything like it's daytime.
The hidden offensive power
Most players forget that a fully powered Conduit (one with the maximum amount of prismarine blocks—42 blocks total) is actually a weapon. If a Guardian or a Drowned gets within eight blocks of the Conduit, the Conduit will literally zap them to death.
It’s a passive defense system. It deals about 4 hearts of damage every two seconds. If you’re building an underwater base, this is essential. It keeps the area clear of annoying mobs while you're busy decorating or farming sea pickles.
Range and Limitations
The range depends on how many blocks are in the frame. Minimum activation requires 16 blocks, giving you a 32-block radius. A full 42-block frame gives you a massive 96-block radius. That’s enough to cover a whole coral reef or a massive sunken city.
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But remember: it only works in water. The second you step onto dry land or even into a 1-block deep puddle that isn't connected to the "source" water around the Conduit, the effect disappears. It’s strictly for the merfolk lifestyle.
Practical Steps for Your Next Session
If you’ve got a Heart of the Sea sitting in a chest, stop ignoring it. Grab your shovel and find a shipwreck to get the shells you're missing.
- Scout for a Monument: You need Prismarine. The easiest way is to raid an Ocean Monument. Use invisibility potions to get in, mine the blocks, and get out.
- Pick your spot: Find a deep ocean biome. Building a base near a Trench or a Coral Reef makes the effort worth it.
- The "Hollow Box" Method: If the triple-ring build is too confusing, just think of it as building a 5x5x5 hollow box and leaving the middle of each side open.
- Silk Touch is your friend: If you ever want to move your base, use a pickaxe with Silk Touch to get your Sea Lanterns back whole, otherwise they'll just drop crystals.
Once the eye opens, you’re basically playing a different game. No more panicking about the surface. No more murky darkness. Just you and the ocean, completely under your control.
Next Steps for Success:
Verify you have exactly 42 blocks of Prismarine or Sea Lanterns before starting the build to ensure you hit the maximum 96-block range. If the Conduit isn't activating, check for any "non-water" blocks like torches or signs inside the 5x5 area—everything inside the frame must be source water or flowing water for the Heart to "beat."