Building & Resources guides

Nether portals that link where you want them to — the 1:8 rule in practice

Portals do not pair by coordinates alone. Here is the search box the game actually checks, why your portal keeps connecting to the wrong one, and how to force a clean pair.

Torch spacing for spawn-proofing: the exact number, not a guess

Hostile mobs need block light 0. Torches emit light 14 and lose 1 per block. That gives a precise grid — and a different answer for floors, ceilings and open builds.

Best Y level for every ore after the world height change

Diamonds are not at Y=11 any more. Each ore now has a triangular distribution with its own peak, and a few have a second band. Here are the real numbers from worldgen.

Trial chambers: making spawners ominous and what the vaults actually drop

Ominous vaults hold the Mace and Heavy Core, but only if you make the chamber ominous first. Here is the sequence, the key economy, and what solo versus co-op changes.

Beacon pyramids: blocks needed per level, real range, and tinting the beam

A level 4 beacon costs 164 blocks and reaches 50 blocks, not 64. Here are the exact counts per tier, what each level unlocks, and how stained glass mixes the beam colour.

Comparator signal strength from containers: the formula and the stack-size trap

A chest with one item outputs signal 1, but so does a chest with sixty-three. The formula explains why, and why shulker boxes and buckets break every calculation you had.

Custom model data: giving one item many models without replacing anything

The item-model system replaced the old CustomModelData predicate. Here is the folder layout, the JSON that maps values to models, and why your texture shows as a purple cube.

Finding a stronghold with two Eye of Ender throws

Triangulation works with two throws, not six eyes of guesswork. Here is the technique, the two mistakes that make it fail, and the coordinate maths behind it.

Banner patterns: the six-layer limit, loom order, and copying a design

A loom allows six layers but a give command allows more. Here is how layers stack, which patterns need a banner pattern item, and how to duplicate a banner exactly.

Why your mob farm is slow: spawn caps, not spawn rates

Mobs stop spawning because the cap is full of something else, somewhere else. Here is how the per-category cap works, what counts toward it, and how to empty it.