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Dying in Minecraft is always frustrating. You drop everything you've equipped, as well as all the items in your inventory. If you are lucky, these items will still be on the ground, but sometimes, they may fall into lava or be destroyed. It can be quite annoying to journey to the spot of your death, especially if you are in the Nether.
In this guide, we are going to go over how to use a respawn anchor. This item will aid you in your journey as you explore the Nether. First, let's go over what a respawn anchor is.
Updated June 6, 2023, by Sean Murray: Getting to the Nether is hard enough, you don't want to have to start from the surface just because some Piglin had your number. That's why we've updated this guide with better formatting to make it easier to learn about Minecraft's Respawn Anchor.
What Is A Respawn Anchor?
Respawn anchors allow you to set a respawn point when you are in the Nether.
To set a respawn point in the Overworld, you simply need to click on a bed. Doing so will set a respawn point in case you die in the future. Unfortunately, beds do not work in the Nether.
If you were to place a bed in the Nether, it will explode when you click on it. The blast is incredibly strong and has a high chance of killing you.
To avoid this, you can use a respawn anchor. These purple blocks allow you to activate them to set the respawn point. This is very helpful if you plan to do some exploring in the more dangerous Nether biomes.
Crafting A Respawn Anchor
To craft a respawn anchor, you will need six crying obsidian and three glowstone blocks. In the image above, you can see the crafting materials placed in the correct positions. These materials may not be accessible early in that game, so let's go over how to get crying obsidian and glowstone.
Crying Obsidian
This is a block similar to normal obsidian, with purple veins to give it a 'crying' appearance. Crying obsidian cannot be crafted; this means that you need to find it in the world.
You can find crying obsidian within Bastion Remnants and ruined Nether portals that generate in both the Overworld and Nether. Crying obsidian can be found in chests at both of these locations and built into the structure of a ruined Nether portal.
To mine crying obsidian, you will need either a diamond or netherite tool. If you don't have a tool of this quality yet, you can just loot chests and barter to collect the material.
Additionally, you will have a small chance to receive between one and three crying obsidian while bartering with a Piglin.
Glowstone
Glowstone is more common than crying obsidian but can be hard to get to. This luminescent block spawns in clusters on ceilings and overhangs in the Nether. It's very easy to spot glowstone from a distance, so you won't have to do too much searching.
Be sure to bring blocks to create a path to these high locations.
If you mine glowstone with a tool enchanted with silk touch, the entire block will drop. If you don't have silk touch, glowstone dust will drop instead. Combining four glowstone dusts will create one block of glowstone.
Using A Respawn Anchor
As mentioned above, respawn anchors set your respawn in the Nether. These anchors need to be activated to work though.
To activate a respawn anchor, you will need to add glowstone blocks. Interacting with the anchor while holding a glowstone block will add a charge, allowing you to respawn here if you die.
In total, a respawn anchor can hold four charges. In the image above, you can see what the respawn anchor will look like during each charge. Once the respawn anchor has been charged four times, the yellow circle will complete and the top of the block will glow purple.
If you die, then the charge in the respawn anchor will go down by one. Once the respawn anchor has no more charges, you will not be able to respawn here. Instead, you will respawn at the world spawn point, which is typically X=0, Y=0.
More than one person can use a respawn anchor as well. If you are playing on a server with others, then the charges of a respawn anchor will be shared with whoever added glowstone.
Lastly, respawn anchors can only be mined with diamond or netherite tools. The block will remain intact if you use any other tool.
Placing A Respawn Anchor In The Overworld
It's important to remember that respawn anchors do not work in the Overworld. If you interact with a respawn anchor placed in the Overworld, it will cause a massive explosion. This is similar to placing a bed in the Nether, so be sure not to do this. In the image above, you can see an explosion left by a respawn anchor placed in the Overworld.
In addition to exploding in the Overworld, respawn anchors will also explode in the End. Overall, be sure to only use this block when you are in the Nether.
That's all there is to know about respawn anchors. This item is important for Nether exploration, so be sure to have one charged up and ready! Charging a respawn anchor the maximum amount of times will reward you with the Not Quite "Nine" Lives achievement.