With the launch of the new Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update, the community has seen numerous changes in the game. They’ve added new items, new mobs, even the ore generation was modified.
Perhaps the most popular change brought by this update is the addition of amethyst crystals—a new item commonly known for its beautiful appearance. Amethyst is an item that you can get by mining in amethyst geodes, which can be found underground, specifically below level 70. You can also find these geodes in the sea bed.
The amethyst you can find in the game looks just like a real amethyst, except, of course, it’s pixelated. While it’s often used as jewelry in real life, developers have other thoughts for this item in the game. But before you get into that, it might be best to clarify first what amethyst is in Minecraft.
What Is Amethyst?
It’s worth noting that the amethyst in Minecraft comes in different forms—the amethyst block, the budding amethyst, the amethyst cluster, and the amethyst shard—each with different uses and classified in different categories.
Amethyst blocks are the blocks that make up the geode and belong to the Building Blocks category. The budding amethyst is similar to the amethyst blocks except with a different texture. It’s also where you can find the amethyst clusters, which are the spike-shaped blocks that grow out of budding amethyst. Lastly, the amethyst shard is an item that doesn’t appear visually in the world, but you can obtain it by mining the amethyst cluster with an iron pickaxe or better.
Uses Of Amethyst In Minecraft
Depending on the form, amethyst can have different uses. The amethyst shard, in particular, is the most commonly-used form, and that’s because it can be used as a crafting ingredient.
- Crafting A Spyglass
As you may already know, Minecraft developers added a bunch of items into the game. Amethyst, candles, bundles, and of course, the spyglass. The spyglass is an item that works similarly to a telescope; it allows you to zoom in on an area when you use it. And as you may have guessed, an amethyst shard is one of the ingredients needed to craft a spyglass.
More specifically, you need one amethyst shard and two copper; yet another item brought by the recent Minecraft update. Place the amethyst shard at the top center of the crafting grid, while the two coppers should go in the two spots beneath the shard.
- Tinted Glass
Apart from spyglass, you can also use amethyst shards to make tinted glass, which is also a recently-added item. Just like its real-life version, the tinted glass reduces the amount of light that can pass through it, which means players can now adjust the light levels in their builds. Tinted glass can also be used to prevent mobs from seeing your in-game character.
You can craft tinted glass by using exactly four amethyst shards and one glass. Simply place one glass in the middle of the 3×3 crafting grid and one shard for each adjacent grid. By doing so, you’ll get two pieces of tinted glass, and you can color the glass with a dye of your choosing.
- Building Block
While amethyst shard is the form that has the most uses, one can argue that amethyst blocks are equally useful—both for visual and audio purposes. For starters, amethyst blocks are visually appealing, so some players are now using them as a building block. Moreover, the amethyst block creates stunning audio cues whenever it interacts with another object. You can also use budding amethyst if you want to go for a different texture.
- Light Source
The amethyst shard for sure has some uses, and the amethyst block and budding amethyst can also be quite helpful for your builds, but what about the amethyst clusters?
Not many players know about this, but amethyst clusters emit a light level of 5, while growing amethyst buds produce a light level of one to four, depending on its growth level. For your reference, a torch has a light level of 14, while a single candle produces a light level of 3. That means amethyst clusters can serve as an excellent light source for your builds.
Final Words
Minecraft has always been an excellent game and Mojang has proven that once again with their recent update. One particular item from the new update, which is the amethyst, has caught the attention of the community. Not only is it visually- and audibly-pleasing, it also has numerous practical uses within the game—making it one of the best additions brought by this update.
