Desert temples, or desert pyramids[Java Edition only], are structures found in deserts that resemble Egyptian pyramids.
Generation
Desert temples naturally generate in desert biomes. Desert temples always generate with their floor at y=64. This may cause the desert temple to be partially buried.
Structure
Inside view of a desert temple.
Desert temples are constructed from sandstone (all 3 variants), orange and blue terracotta, sandstone slabs, and sandstone stairs.
In the center of the temple's ground floor is a single block of blue terracotta. Underneath this terracotta is a 'booby-trapped' hidden chamber with four chests that can each contain very valuable loot. The trap consists of a stone pressure plate (located directly under the blue terracotta), connected to a 3x3x1 grid of TNT.
Preview of the 4 hidden chests with the TNT Trap under the desert temple.
Desert temples look yellow on maps, similar to sand and sandstone, but with a distinctive shape.
Loot
In Java Edition, each desert pyramid chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:
| Item | Stack Size [A] | Weight [B] | Chance [C] | Avg. per chest [D] |
Avg. # chests to search [E] |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4× | 4× | 1× | 2–4× | 4× | 1× | ||||
| Nothing[F] | 1 | — | 1 | 15⁄232 | — | 6⁄7 | 88.3% | 1.051 | 1.1 |
| Bone | 4–6 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Rotten Flesh | 3–7 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Gunpowder | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Sand | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| String | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Spider Eye | 1–3 | — | — | 25⁄232 | — | — | 28.7% | 0.647 | 3.5 |
| Enchanted Book[G] | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Saddle | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Gold Ingot | 2–7 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.873 | 5.5 |
| Iron Ingot | 1–5 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.582 | 5.5 |
| Emerald | 1–3 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.388 | 5.5 |
| Iron Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.194 | 5.5 |
| Dune Armor Trim Smithing Template | — | — | 2 | — | — | 1⁄7 | 14.3% | 0.286 | 7.0 |
| Golden Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 10⁄232 | — | — | 12.3% | 0.129 | 8.1 |
| Diamond | 1–3 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.129 | 15.8 |
| Diamond Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.065 | 15.8 |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 2⁄232 | — | — | 2.6% | 0.026 | 39.0 |
In Java Edition 1.20.2, each desert pyramid chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:
| Item | Stack Size [A] | Weight [B] | Chance [C] | Avg. per chest [D] |
Avg. # chests to search [E] |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4× | 4× | 1× | 2–4× | 4× | 1× | ||||
| Bone | 4–6 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Rotten Flesh | 3–7 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Nothing[F] | 1 | — | 1 | 15⁄232 | — | 4⁄7 | 64.9% | 0.765 | 1.5 |
| Gunpowder | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Sand | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| String | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Spider Eye | 1–3 | — | — | 25⁄232 | — | — | 28.7% | 0.647 | 3.5 |
| Enchanted Book[H] | — | — | 1 | — | — | 2⁄7 | 28.6% | 0.286 | 3.5 |
| Enchanted Book[G] | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Saddle | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Gold Ingot | 2–7 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.873 | 5.5 |
| Iron Ingot | 1–5 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.582 | 5.5 |
| Emerald | 1–3 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.388 | 5.5 |
| Iron Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.194 | 5.5 |
| Dune Armor Trim Smithing Template | — | — | 2 | — | — | 1⁄7 | 14.3% | 0.286 | 7.0 |
| Golden Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 10⁄232 | — | — | 12.3% | 0.129 | 8.1 |
| Diamond | 1–3 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.129 | 15.8 |
| Diamond Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.065 | 15.8 |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 2⁄232 | — | — | 2.6% | 0.026 | 39.0 |
In Bedrock Edition, each desert pyramid chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:
| Item | Stack Size [A] | Weight [B] | Chance [C] | Avg. per chest [D] |
Avg. # chests to search [E] |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4× | 4× | 1× | 2–4× | 4× | 1× | ||||
| Nothing[F] | 1 | — | 1 | 15⁄232 | — | 6⁄7 | 88.3% | 1.051 | 1.1 |
| Bone | 4–6 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Rotten Flesh | 3–7 | 1–8 | — | 25⁄232 | 10⁄50 | — | 70.8% | 5.216 | 1.4 |
| Gunpowder | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Sand | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| String | — | 1–8 | — | — | 10⁄50 | — | 59.0% | 3.600 | 1.7 |
| Spider Eye | 1–3 | — | — | 25⁄232 | — | — | 28.7% | 0.647 | 3.5 |
| Enchanted Book[G] | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Saddle | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 20⁄232 | — | — | 23.5% | 0.259 | 4.3 |
| Gold Ingot | 2–7 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.873 | 5.5 |
| Iron Ingot | 1–5 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.582 | 5.5 |
| Emerald | 1–3 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.388 | 5.5 |
| Iron Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 15⁄232 | — | — | 18.0% | 0.194 | 5.5 |
| Dune Armor Trim Smithing Template | — | — | 2 | — | — | 1⁄7 | 14.3% | 0.286 | 7.0 |
| Golden Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 10⁄232 | — | — | 12.3% | 0.129 | 8.1 |
| Diamond | 1–3 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.129 | 15.8 |
| Diamond Horse Armor | 1 | — | — | 5⁄232 | — | — | 6.3% | 0.065 | 15.8 |
| Enchanted Golden Apple | 1 | — | — | 2⁄232 | — | — | 2.6% | 0.026 | 39.0 |
- ↑ a b c The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
- ↑ a b c The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
- ↑ a b c The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
- ↑ a b c The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
- ↑ a b c The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
- ↑ a b c 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.
- ↑ a b c All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
- ↑ Enchanted with a random level of Unbreaking.
Blocks
| Block | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sandstone | 3078 |
| Cut Sandstone | 189 |
| Orange Terracotta | 59 |
| Chiseled Sandstone | 34 |
| Sandstone Stairs | 16 |
| TNT | 60 |
| Chest | 4 |
| Sandstone Slab | 2 |
| Blue Terracotta | 1 |
| Stone Pressure Plate | 1 |
Video
- Note: The video was made before 1.8, as desert temples now generate with terracotta instead of wool.
Desert pyramid/video
History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3.1 | 12w21a | Added desert temples. | |||
| 1.4.6 | 12w50a | Enchanted books now generate in desert temple chests. | |||
| 1.8 | 14w03a | Desert temples now generate with terracotta (at that time called "hardened clay") instead of wool. | |||
| 1.9 | 15w44a | Chest loot is changed. | |||
| Added gunpowder, sand, string, spider eye, and normal and enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| Average yields of diamonds, gold ingots and iron ingots are decreased. | |||||
| Average yields of horse armor, enchanted books, rotten flesh, saddles and emeralds are increased. | |||||
| 1.13 | 18w06a | Desert temples are renamed to desert pyramids. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.13.0 | build 1 | Added desert temples. | |||
| 0.15.0 | build 1 | Enchanted books now generate in desert temple chests. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU14 | CU1 | 1.05 | Patch 1 | Patch s1 | Added desert temples. |
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Desert temples now generate with terracotta instead of wool. | |
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added Desert temples. | ||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Desert pyramid" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- The desert temple's basement is 21 blocks by 21 blocks.
- The orange symbols on the outside resemble the Ancient Egyptian symbol for Life,[1] an Ankh.[2]
- Desert temples have a rare chance of generating improperly causing some blocks to be lost or added.
- As there is no light in the lower chamber, mobs can spawn inside and trigger the TNT trap, destroying the chests and loot before any player can reach it. Also, rarely a lava lake might generate next to TNT, potentially setting the trap off as well.
- A desert temple will not generate fully if generated partially on water. When generated on lakes, they are only half-generated.
- The top hole in the temple's ceiling is almost always generated above ground, so buried temples will be accessible, but fall damage is likely.
- When a desert temple generates above a ravine, it will have a deeper foundation like the Village houses.
Gallery
- The 60 TNT rigged under the Stone Pressure Plate.png
The 9 TNT rigged under the stone pressure plate.
A temple generated in a desert village. A well is also visible.
A temple generated in a normal village.
- Edge desert temple LCE.png
A desert temple generated next to the world boundary in Legacy Console Edition.
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.perankhgroup.com/education.htm
- ↑ Ankh on Wikipedia.










