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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

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.

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

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

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. 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. There are four possible pyramid heights. 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.

Level Mineral Blocks Stacks of Blocks Minerals Stacks of Minerals Layers
1 9 blocks 81 minerals 1 stack + 17 minerals 3×3, Beacon
2 34 blocks 306 minerals 4 stacks + 50 minerals 5×5, 3×3, Beacon
3 83 blocks 1 stack + 19 blocks 747 minerals 11 stacks + 43 minerals 7×7, 5×5, 3×3, Beacon
4 164 blocks 2 stacks + 36 blocks 1,476 minerals 23 stacks + 4 minerals 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.

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.

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 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.

Every four seconds, the selected powers are applied with a duration of 9 seconds 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.

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.

Pyramid size Effect range
1 level 20
2 levels 30
3 levels 40
4 levels 50

Block entity

  • 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

History

r
1.4.212w32aFile:Beacon Block old.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 Block old2.png The texture was changed.
12w38aFile:Beacon Block old3.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 Block 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.
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).
1.8.21.8.2-pre5Bedrock 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).
u
1.915w31aBeacons generate naturally in end ships.
15w32cBeacons no longer generate in end ships, being replaced by pumpkins.
Legacy Console Edition
TU19CU7 1.12 Added beacons.
TU25CU14 1.17 Beacon beams now change colors when shining through stained glass or stained glass panes.

Issues

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

Trivia

  • The player can leave a resource in the beacon block without clicking "Done".
  • The texture of the beacon is 16×16, but only renders the 10×10 area in the center.

Gallery

Pre-1.4

Official release


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