It's very easy to get lost in Minecraft. There are three dimensions full of dense biomes to explore, lots of dangerous mobs to avoid (or kill, if you prefer), and hundreds of ways to die.
With the Nether update, we were gifted lodestones. This simple block will prevent you from getting lost, but it requires some rare materials to craft. In this guide, we are going to go over how to make and use a lodestone.
What Is A Lodestone?
A lodestone is a block that alters the direction of a compass. Crafted with four iron bars and one redstone dust, compasses usually point you towards your spawn location. Unfortunately, this isn't always helpful. If you build your base at spawn, you can use a compass to point you home, but if you have explored the world and built your base elsewhere, this will not be helpful. This is where a lodestone comes in handy.
How To Craft A Lodestone
To craft a lodestone, you will need the following materials.
- 8 Chiseled Stone Bricks
- 1 Netherite Ingot
Chiseled stone bricks can be crafted by combining two stone brick slabs at a crafting table, or by using stone bricks at a stonecutter. Overall, they should be pretty simple to obtain. Netherite ingots are a little harder to get, so let's take a quick look at this material.
Netherite Ingot
Netherite is the strongest material in the game, and can only be found in the Nether. To make a netherite ingot, you will need four netherite scraps and four gold bars. Netherite scraps are produced by smelting ancient debris, which is the ore that you find in the Nether.
Using A Lodestone
Once you have crafted a lodestone, place it in the world. You will want the lodestone to be somewhere important. This could be an interesting spot in the world that you want to return to or your base.
With the lodestone placed, interact with it while holding a compass. Doing this will turn the compass into a lodestone compass. Now, it should point to wherever the lodestone is. If you break the lodestone, your compass will spin in circles and cannot be used anymore.
Normal compasses do not work in the End or the Nether, but lodestone compasses do. Lodestones can be placed in all three dimensions, helping you navigate your way around the world.
That's all there is to know about lodestones! After you activate your first lodestone to pair with a compass, you will get the Country Lode, Take Me Home advancement.