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Template:BlockTileEntity

Beacons! No, not "bacon", but a beam of light to pimp your castle with!

The Pretty Scary Update promo poster

Ash Davis Mojang avatar

It’s quite the exhausting build in survival mode - but since when have pyramids been the cheap architectural option?

Ash Davis[1]

A beacon is a unique block that projects a light beam skyward and can provide status effects to players in the vicinity.

Obtaining

A beacon can be mined successfully with any tool, or with bare hands.

Block Beacon
Hardness 3
Breaking time (secs)
Default 4.5

Crafting

Ingredients Crafting recipe
Glass +
Nether Star +
Obsidian
Nether Star

Usage

Beacon blocks can function as light sources, emitting a light level 15. Like other light sources, they will melt snow and ice. They cannot be pushed by pistons.‌[Java and Legacy Console editions only]

When "activated", beacon blocks provide two unique functions:

  • An aesthetic landmark beam reaching into the sky, which can be visible from far away.
  • Powers, which give players status effects within a certain range.

Activation

The beacon base can be made of the different mineral blocks combined.

The beacon base can be made of the different mineral blocks combined.

In order to activate a beacon, the beacon must adhere to the following requirements:

  • Beacons require an unobstructed view of the sky, though bedrock and transparent blocks (including water, lava, slime, glass, enchanting table, and other beacon blocks) will not count as obstruction.
  • The beacon is on top of a pyramid constructed from iron blocks, gold blocks, emerald blocks, and/or diamond blocks.

Pyramids

File:Beacon Pyramid Arangements 12w32a.png

The four possible pyramid arrangements when using the beacon block. From left to right the pyramid structure decreases in complexity.

Pyramids are the structures required to activate beacons. There are four possible pyramid heights. The more levels a pyramid has, the more powers will be available to choose from, and the wider its affected vicinity will be. The type of mineral block used to build the pyramid is entirely cosmetic and has no functional effect. Several different block types can be mixed without affecting functionality. If the pyramid is damaged so that the beacon is deactivated, it will "remember" the powers it was set for, and will reactivate once the pyramid is repaired with no additional resource cost. This applies to piston-altered pyramids as well.

A single Beacon Pyramid
Level Mineral Blocks Materials Layers
1 9 1 stack + 17 3×3, Beacon
2 34 4 stacks + 50 5×5, 3×3, Beacon
3 1 stack + 19 11 stacks + 43 7×7, 5×5, 3×3, Beacon
4 2 stacks + 36 23 stacks + 4 9×9, 7×7, 5×5, 3×3, Beacon
Efficient beacon

This six-Beacon pyramid provides all six effects from a single structure using the fewest possible mineral blocks.

Multiple beacons can make use of the same specific mineral blocks below them. Combined pyramids do not need to be symmetrical. The image to the right shows a 6-beacon (2 by 3) pyramid. It requires a total of 244 mineral blocks, with a base layer of 10 by 11.

Multiple Beacons Pyramid (enables all buffs)
Level Mineral Blocks Minerals Layers
1 20 2 stacks + 52 4x5, 2x3 Beacons
2 62 8 stacks + 46 6x7, 4x5, 2x3 Beacons
3 2 stacks + 6 18 stacks + 54 8x9, 6x7, 4x5, 2x3 Beacons
4 3 stacks + 52 34 stacks + 20 10x11, 8x9, 6x7, 4x5, 2x3 Beacons

Beam

A beam appears from a beacon if the beacon is activated, extending from the beacon block up to Y=255. The beam is visible from roughly the same distance as a single ordinary stack of blocks. If a render distance of 16 chunks is set, the beam of light is visible from up to 255 blocks away.

The color of the beam may be changed by placing blocks of stained glass (or stained glass panes) anywhere above the beacon block. The beam will change colors according to the colors of glass placed above it: the first block will set the beam color, while each additional block will set the color by averaging the red, green, and blue components of the current beam color and the block color. The color values are the same as those for the corresponding dye. Oddly enough, Beacon beams cannot go through most blocks, but can go through bedrock and end portal blocks.

Powers

See also: Status effect
File:WIP Block GUI.png

The GUI shown when pressing use on the block.

Once the beacon is emitting a beam, it can then be fed 1 iron ingot, 1 gold ingot, 1 emerald, or 1 diamond, in order to provide powers (status effects) to players who remain within a certain range. This is done through the beacon's GUI, which is displayed by pressing use while looking at the beacon block. The item used has no effect on the powers provided.

In the GUI, place the item to be fed in the empty slot shown, and choose a primary power by clicking one of the choices displayed. Beacons sitting atop 4-level pyramids will also display secondary power choices, one of which can be clicked to provide a second simultaneous boost. When the Done button (green check mark) is clicked, the item will be consumed and the power will be activated. To set a beacon to different powers, another gem/ingot must be consumed.

The five primary powers are:

  • Speed I: Increased movement speed.
  • Haste I: Increased mining and attack speed.
  • Resistance I: decreased nearly all incoming damage (2-level pyramid required).
  • Jump Boost I: Increased jumping distance and height (2-level pyramid required).
  • Strength I: Increased melee damage (3-level pyramid required).

Secondary powers are available with a 4-level pyramid:

  • Regeneration I: Regenerates health.
  • Increase the primary power to level II.

It is also possible to combine two different primary powers (both level I) by selecting a primary power then clicking the level II button and then clicking another primary power before clicking Done.‌[Computer Edition only]

Every four seconds, the selected powers are applied with a duration of 9 seconds, plus 2 seconds per pyramid level, to all players in range. Thus, when powers are changed or a player travels outside the area-of-effect, the powers will persist for 5–9 seconds, or 13-17 seconds with a full pyramid.

Range

The beacon forms a squared affected area around itself, the size of which depends on the pyramid size. The affected area extends range blocks (see the table below) from the beacon block horizontally and downward and range + 256 blocks above, except on console, where its vertical range is the same as its horizontal range.

The distance from the player to the beacon block does not affect the intensity of the status effect.

Pyramid size Effect range Effect duration
1 level 20 11
2 levels 30 13
3 levels 40 15
4 levels 50 17

Data values

A beacon has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block. The beacon's block entity ID is beacon.

  • Block entity data
    • Tags common to all block entities
    •  CustomName: Optional. The name of this beacon in JSON text component, which appears when attempting to open it, while it is locked.
    •  Lock: Optional. When not blank, prevents the container from being opened unless the opener is holding an item whose name matches this string.
    •  Levels: The number of levels available from the pyramid. Immediately changes to the correct value if modified using commands. Note that this is also always 0 if the beam is blocked.
    •  Primary: The primary effect selected, see Potion effects for IDs. Set to -1 when no effect is selected. Cannot be set to an effect which beacons do not normally use, otherwise immediately changes back to -1. Although Regeneration cannot normally be chosen as the primary effect, setting this value to 10 works and even allows Regeneration II to be chosen as the secondary via the normal beacon GUI.
    •  Secondary: The secondary effect selected, see Potion effects for IDs. Set to -1 when no effect is selected. Cannot be set to an effect which beacons do not normally use, otherwise immediately changes back to -1. When set without a primary effect, does nothing. When set to the same as the primary, the effect is given at level 2 (the normally available behavior for 5 effects). When set to a different value than the primary (normally only Regeneration), gives the effect at level 1.

Video

Beacon/video

Achievements

Template:Load achievements: Unknown achievement. Achievement title not found on page Achievement

Advancements

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
Advancement-plain-rawBring Home the Beacon
Construct and place a Beacon Withering HeightsBe within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it has become powered.nether/create_beacon
Advancement-oval-rawBeaconator
Bring a Beacon to full power Bring Home the BeaconBe within a 20×20×14 cuboid centered on a beacon block when it realizes it is being powered by a size 4 pyramid.nether/create_full_beacon
Advancement-fancy-rawHow Did We Get Here?
Have every effect applied at the same time A Furious CocktailHave all of these 27 status effects applied to the player at the same time: The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects may be applied to the player, but are ignored for this advancement.
This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
nether/all_effects

History

release
1.4.212w32aFile:Beacon Revision 1.png Added the "Work in Progress" block.
12w34aRemoved the beacon from the creative inventory.
12w36aThe "Work in Progress" block is now called "Beacon", can be found in the creative inventory, and is craftable.
File:Beacon Revision 2.png The texture was changed.
12w38aFile:Beacon Revision 3.png The texture was changed again. The beacon beam changed from a semi-transparent smooth beam (which conflicted with water transparency), to a pattern with 0% transparency.
12w40aBeacon The texture was changed again, and the beacon beam changed again.
1.513w05aEffect range increased from 16/24/32/40 blocks to 20/30/40/50 blocks.
Beacon effects extend up to the world height limit (Y=256).
1.6.113w23aWith the regeneration effect being nerfed slightly, the same effect produced from the beacon did too.
1.7.213w36aThe player can achieve the Beaconator achievement by placing a beacon on a level-4 pyramid of specific mineral blocks.
1.814w29aNow displays the cracking animation.
August 5, 2014Dinnerbone tweets a screenshot containing a colored beacon beam. The color appears to change when the beam passes through stained glass.
14w32aBeacon light changes as it goes through stained glass.
August 7, 2014Dinnerbone tweets that the beacon beam can now pass through blocks that only block light slightly.
14w32bBeacon beams show if going through a block that doesn't completely block light rather than partially block light. This allows beacon beams to go through water and lava.
Beacons in the Nether and the End only check for blocks and render the beam up to the world height (Y=127).
1.8.2pre5Bedrock no longer obstructs beacon activation or beams.
Beacons in the Nether and the End check and use the full build height (Y=255) rather than the world height (Y=127).
1.915w31aBeacons generate naturally in end ships.
15w32cBeacons no longer generate in end ships, being replaced by pumpkins.
15w47aA new tag, PaymentItem, stored the sacrifice item within the beacon's block entity data (until 15w49a).
Beacons would no longer drop their contents when broken or when the interface is exited (until 15w49a).
Beacons were made able to interact with hoppers (until 15w49a).
15w47bEffect duration now increases with pyramid level (formerly was a constant 9 seconds).
15w49aRemoved the PaymentItem tag (introduced in 15w47a).
Beacons once again drop their contents when broken or when the interface is exited (as they had before 15w47a).
Beacons can no longer interact with hoppers (as they had since 15w47a).
1.1116w32aChanged block entity ID from Beacon to beacon.
1.1317w47aPrior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 138.
18w19aBeacons now produce sounds.
Pocket Edition Alpha
0.16.0build 4Added beacons.
Bedrock Edition
1.2build 1Beacon beams now change colors when shining through stained glass or stained glass panes.
1.5beta 1.5.0.4Beacons now produce sounds.
Legacy Console Edition
TU19CU7 1.12 Patch 1Added beacons.
TU25CU14 1.17 Beacon beams now change colors when shining through stained glass or stained glass panes.
TU31CU19 1.22 Patch 3Nerfed vertical range of beacon to match horizontal range.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.3.12Added beacons.

Issues

Issues relating to "Beacon" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

  • The texture of the beacon is 16×16, but only renders the 10×10 area in the center.
  • Beacon beams can't go through most blocks, but can go through few blocks such as bedrock and end portal blocks.
  • It is possible to see the beacon beam on the bottom of an activated beacon. This was initially reported as a bug, but the resolution was "won't fix", despite a fix being provided.[2]

Gallery

Pre-1.4

Official release

References

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