Beacon in Minecraft: build the pyramid and pick the right power

A beacon gives you a status effect within a radius of 20 to 50 blocks, as long as it sits on a pyramid of mineral blocks and its beam reaches the sky. A level 4 pyramid takes 164 blocks. Here is what each level costs and unlocks in Java Edition 26.3; Bedrock Edition uses the same pyramid and the same powers.

In a Crafting Table, put 3 Glass across the top row, a Nether Star between 2 Glass in the middle row and 3 Obsidian along the bottom row. The Nether Star is the hard part: only the Wither drops it, so you fight the boss once per beacon.

The pyramid accepts five blocks, mixed in any way: Block of Iron, Block of Gold, Block of Emerald, Block of Diamond and Block of Netherite. They all give the same result, so use the cheapest one you have. Iron is the usual choice, and an iron farm covers a full pyramid.

Level	New layer	Blocks in total	In Iron Ingots	Range	Powers unlocked
1	3 × 3 (9)	9	81	20 blocks	Speed, Haste
2	5 × 5 (25)	34	306	30 blocks	Resistance, Jump Boost
3	7 × 7 (49)	83	747	40 blocks	Strength
4	9 × 9 (81)	164	1,476	50 blocks	Regeneration, or level II of the primary power

For a full beacon, lay a 9 × 9 square, then a 7 × 7 centered on it one block higher, then 5 × 5 and 3 × 3. Place the beacon on the center block of the top layer. The beacon checks the layers right under it, from the top down: the 3 × 3 counts for level 1, the 5 × 5 for level 2, and so on. One wrong block in a layer stops the count at the layer above it, so a pyramid with a dirt block in the 7 × 7 stays at level 2.

For a smaller beacon, start with the bottom layer of the level you want: 5 × 5 then 3 × 3 for level 2, for example. You can grow it later by building outward one ring at a time.

The beacon only works while its beam goes up to the top of the world. Any opaque block above it, even 100 blocks higher, cuts the beam and the effects; bedrock is the one exception. Glass, Glass Panes, stained glass and Tinted Glass let the beam through. Put a stained glass block on the beam to color it: several colors stacked mix together.

Open the beacon and put one payment item in the slot: an Iron Ingot, a Gold Ingot, an Emerald, a Diamond or a Netherite Ingot. All five do the same thing, so pay with iron. Pick a Primary Power and, at level 4, a Secondary Power, then confirm. The item is used up, and every later change costs another one.

Choosing the secondary power at level 4 is the real decision. You get either Regeneration I, or your primary power raised to level II:

• Mining or digging base: Haste, then Haste again as secondary for Haste II. Stone and deepslate break much faster.
• Fights near home: Strength or Resistance, with Regeneration as secondary.
• Large builds: Speed II to cross the area, or Jump Boost to hop up blocks and slopes without placing steps.

The range is a square area around the beacon: 20 blocks at level 1, 30 at level 2, 40 at level 3 and 50 at level 4. Vertically, it reaches as many blocks below the beacon and all the way up to the build limit, so you can build a tall tower on top. The effect is renewed every 4 seconds and lasts 9 seconds plus 2 per level (11 seconds at level 1, 17 at level 4), so it fades soon after you leave the area. Only players get beacon effects, not tamed animals or golems.