Beacon Minecraft: How to Craft, Build and Power One

To make a beacon in Minecraft, craft 5 glass, 3 obsidian and 1 Nether Star on a crafting table, then place it on a pyramid of iron, gold, emerald, diamond or netherite blocks with open sky above it.

Feed it one ingot or gem, pick a power, and every player in range gets that status effect.

A beacon is a craftable block that fires a light beam into the sky and gives nearby players status effects such as Haste, Resistance or Regeneration. It’s an endgame item because the Nether Star only drops from the Wither boss.

This guide applies to Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 (Wilderness Bound, released September 15, 2026, per Mojang and the Minecraft Wiki) and to Bedrock Edition on PC, consoles and mobile. Bedrock’s matching release is 26.50

Numbers come from the Minecraft Wiki, checked October 7, 2026. This guide is based on research, not a fresh playthrough. We found no beacon changes in 26.3 coverage, but the official patch notes still need a line-by-line check.

How do you make a beacon in Minecraft?

Put 5 glass, 3 obsidian and 1 Nether Star in a crafting table using the pattern below. The recipe makes one beacon, according to the Minecraft Wiki.

Glass	Glass	Glass
Glass	Nether Star	Glass
Obsidian	Obsidian	Obsidian

Glass is the easy part: smelt sand in a furnace. Obsidian forms when flowing water hits a lava source block, and you need a diamond or netherite pickaxe to mine it.

How do you get a Nether Star for a beacon?

Kill the Wither. It’s the only source of Nether Stars, and it always drops exactly one, according to the Minecraft Wiki.

1.     Get 3 wither skeleton skulls from wither skeletons in a Nether fortress. They’re a rare drop, so expect a grind.

2.     Collect 4 blocks of soul sand or soul soil.

3.     Pick an open area away from your base. Place the 4 blocks in a T shape: a row of 3, with 1 more under the middle block. Leave air on both sides of the bottom block.

4.     Place the 3 skulls on top of the row of 3. The last block you place must be a skull.

5.     Back off. The Wither charges for 11 seconds, then explodes (blast power 7) and starts attacking.

6.     Kill it. In Java it has 300 HP on every difficulty. In Bedrock it has 300, 450 or 600 HP on Easy, Normal or Hard.

7.     Switch to melee once it drops below half health. In Java, arrows, thrown tridents and wind charges stop hurting it at that point.

8.     Grab the Nether Star fast. In Java it despawns after 10 minutes. In Bedrock it never does.

Beacon Minecraft pyramid sizes: how many blocks do you need?

A full beacon pyramid takes 164 mineral blocks, which is 1,476 ingots or gems. The smallest pyramid takes 9 blocks (81 ingots or gems), according to the Minecraft Wiki (checked October 7, 2026).

Level	Layers under the beacon	Mineral blocks	Ingots or gems	Range (Java)	Duration (Java)	Powers available
1	3×3	9	81	20 blocks	11 s	Speed I or Haste I
2	5×5, 3×3	34	306	30 blocks	13 s	Adds Resistance I, Jump Boost I
3	7×7, 5×5, 3×3	83	747	40 blocks	15 s	Adds Strength I
4	9×9, 7×7, 5×5, 3×3	164	1,476	50 blocks	17 s	Adds Regeneration I or a level II primary

The block type is cosmetic. Iron, gold, emerald, diamond and netherite blocks all give the same range and effects, and you can mix them in one pyramid. Iron is the usual budget pick.

Each layer must be a full square, centered under the layer above it. The level is just the number of complete layers.

How do you activate a beacon and choose its power?

Place the beacon on the pyramid with nothing opaque above it, then open its menu, insert one ingot or gem, pick a power and confirm. The Minecraft Wiki lists this as a one-time cost per selection.

1.     Build the pyramid first, then place the beacon on the center block of the top layer.

2.     Check that a beam shoots upward. If it doesn’t, jump to the fix section below.

3.     Open the beacon’s menu (right-click on Java, use on Bedrock).

4.     Put one iron ingot, gold ingot, emerald, diamond or netherite ingot in the slot. Which one you use doesn’t matter.

5.     Click a power under Primary Power.

6.     On a level 4 pyramid, you can also use Secondary Power to add Regeneration or raise your primary power to level II.

7.     Click the green check. The item is consumed and the effect starts.

Switching powers later costs another ingot or gem. If the pyramid breaks, the beacon switches off, and your chosen powers return once you repair it.

Upgrading a smaller pyramid to level 4 widens the range on its own, but it doesn’t raise your power. You have to pick the level II option in the menu.

How do you change the beacon beam color?

Place stained glass or a stained glass pane anywhere above the beacon. The lowest piece sets the color, and each extra piece blends its color in, per the Minecraft Wiki.

What does each beacon effect do?

A beacon offers five primary powers and one secondary option, and the pyramid level decides which ones appear.

Power	Pyramid level	What it does	Our pick for
Speed I	1	Faster movement	Short hauls inside the range
Haste I	1	Faster mining and attack speed	Strip mines and quarries
Resistance I	2	Less damage from nearly all sources	Boss arenas and raid defense
Jump Boost I	2	Higher, longer jumps	Tall builds
Strength I	3	More melee damage	Fighting at your base
Regeneration I (secondary)	4	Restores health over time	Base defense, paired with Resistance
Primary at level II (secondary)	4	Upgrades your chosen primary power	Haste II for mining

The first three columns come from the Minecraft Wiki. The last column is our opinion, not game data.

What is the range of a beacon in Minecraft?

On Java, a beacon reaches 20, 30, 40 or 50 blocks down and out to each side, depending on pyramid level. Upward, it reaches that distance plus the dimension’s height limit.

Powers are re-applied every 4 seconds with a duration of 9 seconds plus 2 per pyramid level. If you leave the area of a full pyramid, the effect lingers for 13 to 17 seconds.

Your distance from the beacon doesn’t change the strength. Simulation distance can cut off the corners of the area, so a low setting shrinks a level 4 beacon’s real reach.

Which beacon effect should you pick?

It depends on the job. This section is our opinion, not game data.

•     Mining: Haste. Haste I needs only a level 1 pyramid (9 blocks). Haste II needs level 4, which is about 18 times the blocks (164 against 9).

•     Base defense: Resistance as the primary power and Regeneration as the secondary. This needs the full pyramid.

•     Building tall: Jump Boost or Speed on a level 2 pyramid.

•     Boss fights: Strength, which needs level 3.

If you can only afford one build, make level 1 for Haste. It’s 81 iron ingots, against 1,476 for a full pyramid.

How do you get more than one beacon effect at once?

Build more than one beacon. One beacon gives one primary power plus one secondary, and each extra beacon adds another power.

Beacons can share a pyramid. The Minecraft Wiki shows a compact six-beacon layout (2 by 3) that gives all six effects and needs 244 mineral blocks, or 2,196 ingots or gems.

Each beacon still needs its own Nether Star, so six beacons mean six Wither kills.

Why isn’t my beacon working in Minecraft?

The most common cause is a solid block above the beacon. Work down this list in order.

1.     Clear the column above the beacon. Any fully opaque block shuts the beam off. Glass and water are fine, and bedrock is allowed, which is why beacons work under the Nether ceiling.

2.     Check that each pyramid layer is a full square. A gap lowers your pyramid level or switches the beacon off.

3.     Check your blocks. Only iron, gold, emerald, diamond and netherite blocks count. Raw ingots, ores and copper blocks don’t, based on the Minecraft Wiki’s list of valid blocks.

4.     Open the menu and confirm a power is selected. A beacon with no power picked gives no effect.

5.     Stand inside the range. The area is a square column, not a sphere.

6.     Wait a moment on Bedrock. The beam there updates every 4 seconds.

How is a beacon different on Java and Bedrock?

The recipe, pyramid sizes and powers match. A few numbers differ, according to the Minecraft Wiki (checked October 7, 2026).

Detail	Java Edition	Bedrock Edition
Range, levels 1 to 4	20, 30, 40, 50 blocks	South and east: 20, 30, 40, 50. North and west: 21, 31, 41, 51
Effect duration, levels 1 to 4	11, 13, 15, 17 seconds	10, 12, 14, 16 seconds
Beam update speed	Fast, scales with beam height	Every 4 seconds
Beam visible from	Loaded chunks, up to 512 blocks	Loaded chunks, up to 2,048 blocks
Beacon can be waterlogged	No	Yes

Java is PC only (Windows, macOS, Linux). Bedrock covers Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and mobile.

What do other beacon Minecraft guides get wrong?

Several pages ranking for this keyword are scraped or auto-generated, and a few contain errors. Check these against the game.

•     There are no named beacon tiers. Pages that mention “Commander” or “Soldier” beacons describe things that aren’t in the game.

•     Jump Boost needs a level 2 pyramid, not level 3. Some guides list it wrong.

•     Netherite blocks don’t make a beacon stronger. Block type is cosmetic.

•     The beam isn’t capped at 256 blocks. The Minecraft Wiki says it rises to height 2048.

•     The ingot isn’t fuel. You pay once per power change, then the beacon runs free.

What are the beacon achievements in Minecraft?

Java has two advancements: Bring Home the Beacon (construct and place a beacon) and Beaconator (bring a beacon to full power on a level 4 pyramid). You have to be near the beacon when it activates.

On Bedrock, The Beaconator achievement is worth 60 Gamerscore on Xbox and a gold trophy on PlayStation, according to the Minecraft Wiki.

Beacon Minecraft FAQ

How do you make a beacon in Minecraft?

Craft 5 glass, 3 obsidian and 1 Nether Star on a crafting table. Then place the beacon on a pyramid of iron, gold, emerald, diamond or netherite blocks and pick a power.

How many blocks do you need for a full beacon?

A full beacon needs 164 mineral blocks, which is 1,476 ingots or gems. A level 1 pyramid needs 9 blocks.

What is the range of a full beacon in Minecraft?

It’s 50 blocks down and to each side on Java, and 50 or 51 on Bedrock depending on direction. Upward, it adds the dimension’s height limit.

Do you have to keep feeding a beacon?

No. One ingot or gem sets the powers, and you only pay again when you change them.

Can one beacon give Haste II and Regeneration?

No. The level 4 secondary slot gives either Regeneration I or a level II upgrade of your primary power. You need a second beacon for both.