Minecraft players can look forward to new blocks, mobs, and other features in the Caves and Cliffs update, including the purple-colored amethyst block, which you can use to craft Spyglass and Tinted Glass.
The thing is, amethyst needs some serious digging before you can craft them into any decorative or valuable. Also, you’ll need to know where to look and use the right tools to mine them. There’s no need to worry because this simple guide comes with tips to make your search for amethyst geodes easier. With this, you can get on and flaunt your new spyglass or tinted glass building to your friends or followers.
How To Find Amethyst Geodes
Amethyst geodes are found throughout the Overworld biome, although they’re not as easy to locate as other resources. Here’s a pro tip: look underground from level 70 and below. You can also spot these geodes using spectator mode as you explore caves, caverns, and mineshafts.
Deep underground isn’t the only place you can find amethyst geodes. Be prepared to take a deeper dive as they’re also on the ocean floor, too. So how do you know if you’ve struck amethyst?
The first thing you’ll need to know is how to spot an amethyst geode. Sometimes, you can walk into a cave, see purple light, and then hear twinkly sounds to indicate that you’ve found one. Consider yourself lucky if you see an exposed geode since you can go straight to mining the gem.
But, most times, you’ll need to pay attention to the surrounding blocks to know if there’s an amethyst geode nearby. Amethyst geodes in Minecraft are the same as real-life geodes featured at FossilEra.com–spherical structures with a basalt exterior, a calcite middle layer, and amethyst gems at the center.
Types of Amethyst
Once you locate a potential geode, you’ll need to clear away the first two layers to uncover the amethyst inside. Geodes can contain amethyst at various growth stages, and it can be difficult to tell them apart. So, before you get all excited, it pays to know a thing or two about these amethyst variations.
There are four different types of amethyst and each of which requires a specific kind of pickaxe.
- Amethyst Block: An amethyst block can be mined with a regular pickaxe.
- Budding amethyst with cross markings requires a pickaxe with Silk Touch, else you’ll ruin the block.
- An iron pickaxe can mine a large Amethyst crystal or Amethyst cluster. This gives you four amethyst shards, but you only get two if you use any other tool.
- Mining amethyst buds, which are smaller versions of the amethyst cluster, is futile since they’ll need to grow before you can use them for anything.
Crafting Amethyst
Are you wondering what to do with all the amethyst shards or blocks you’ve mined? Besides upgrading your Minecraft game, amethyst blocks can enhance whatever you’re building. You can decorate your walls to give them an elegant purple accent. They also make great floors as they make sparkling sounds when you walk over them.
As for the shards, Minecraft 1.17 allows you to use them to make a spyglass or tinted glass. These new features are exclusive to the latest update.
- Spyglass
A spyglass works much like a telescope, allowing you to zoom in on a fixed location. To make one, you’ll need one amethyst shard and two copper ingots. Place the shard on the top middle row of the crafting table, then add the two copper ingots below it.
While the spyglass lets you see things further away, it does narrow your vision. So, you’ll have to be careful when using it since there could be mobs nearby and endanger you.
- Tinted Glass
The Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update also allows you to make tinted glass to block off the light and give a secretive look to your buildings. You’ll need four shards of amethyst and one glass block. Place the glass block in the center square of the crafting table and add the shards above, below, and on both sides. You’ll get two tinted shards as a result.
Aside from amethyst geodes, another update is slated later this year. Players can expect more features that’ll surely make crafting more enjoyable.
Take Away
The latest Minecraft update puts amethyst geodes in the spotlight, with players wondering how they can obtain the purple gemstone and what they can do with it. You’ll need to know how to spot an amethyst geode in caves or underwater, then use the right pickaxe to mine blocks and shards.
The purple-colored blocks are both decorative and practical. For one, they can enhance your building’s walls or floors. You can even combine amethyst shards with a glass block to create tinted glass. Aside from this, amethyst shards are also helpful in building a spyglass, one of the new tools in this software installment.
Mining amethyst can be hard work, but it’ll surely make your game and your buildings stand out.
