Minecraft amethyst was added with the Minecraft 1.17 update, adding gorgeous purple geodes to discover when exploring the revamped underground cave systems. You can of course build stunning creations with amethyst blocks, but you can also use amethyst shards as a crafting item to make a spyglass or tinted glass – when you know how to find them.
One of the reasons Minecraft remains one of the best PC games of our time is Mojang Studios’ dedication to keeping the content fresh, adding new, large updates – like the upcoming Minecraft 1.20 update – every year. With these updates often comes new blocks and items, and the spyglass, unsurprisingly, enables you to see further into the distance – particularly helpful in multiplayer Minecraft servers, or for checking out dangerous structures like Pillager outposts. Here’s how to make a spyglass – and how to find Minecraft amethyst first.
Where to find Minecraft amethyst geodes
To find amethyst blocks and shards, you need to first find the geode, which is a spherical structure made of basalt. Once you find basalt, you’ve found the geode and the amethyst crystals inside are yours for the taking.
Finding amethyst geodes in Minecraft, though, is no easy feat, as they’re only about 20 blocks wide, and are spread out underground. One of the best way to find them is underwater, as the spherical shape of any exposed geodes is quite obvious, as you can see above.
You can find Minecraft amethyst geodes in the following locations:
- Underground (anywhere from level 70 and below)
- Under the sea (look for the geodes on the sea bed)
How to obtain and farm amethyst shards
When you enter an amethyst geode, you’ll see a mix of amethyst blocks, budding amethyst blocks, and amethyst clusters. Fully grown amethyst clusters can be broken to obtain amethyst shards, and grow only from budding amethyst blocks.
Budding amethyst is differentiated from normal amethyst blocks due to the cracks in their surface, from which the amethyst clusters grow. This is an important distinction, as you can break and gather amethyst blocks with a pickaxe. However, breaking a budding amethyst block with any tool – including those buffed with the Silk Touch Minecraft enchantment – will permanently destroy the block. This means that, in order to farm amethyst shards, you must have access to, and return to, the original geode location, and leave the budding amethyst in place.
How to make a Minecraft spyglass
A spyglass functions in the same way a telescope does. You can use it to zoom in on a fixed position from really far away. Your field of view is also incredibly narrow when using it, so do make sure there are no hostile mobs nearby. You also move at a far slower speed while you are looking through the spyglass.
Here is what you need to make a Minecraft spyglass:
- Copper Ingot x2
- Amethyst Shard x1
To make the spyglass at the crafting table, put the shard at the top row in the centre square, then the two Minecraft copper ingots in the two spaces in the middle column below it.
How to make tinted glass in Minecraft
Fancy adding that secretive look to your Minecraft builds? The 1.17 update adds tinted glass, which – despite being translucent visually – behaves like an opaque block that blocks light completely. Breaking the tinted glass block drops it as an item if broken, unlike other glass blocks.
Here is what you need to make Minecraft tinted glass:
- Amethyst Shard x4
- Glass block x1
To make the tinted glass at the crafting table, place the glass block in the centre square, then place an amethyst shard above, below, and on both sides of the glass block. Each time you do this, you’ll get two tinted shards.
Tinted glass mob farm
While tinted glass looks awesome in a build, and protects your eyes from the square sun, it also has a more practical use. Thanks to its properties of not allowing light through and acting like an opaque block, you can actually build a mob farm with it, which you can then see into, since most hostile Minecraft mobs spawn at light level zero and below.
With that, we hope you go and make some fun, purple builds, or perhaps discover a cute colour palette to work with including the new Minecraft Cherry Grove blocks. If you need some inspiration to get you going, we’ve got more Minecraft ideas to work from, as you embark on your next project in the building game to create a new masterpiece.