beacon

Behavior

Beacon Blocks, when added to the top of a pyramid made of either iron , gold , diamond or emerald blocks, can grant the player potion or Status Effects for eight seconds but will last indefinitely if the player remains in range of the beacon. Beacons also shoot a beam of light up into the sky that can help with navigating the world when active.

Any accepted block type can be used in any layer, regardless of what the other layers are made of. The pyramid should be protected by some means, as griefers may attempt to steal some of the blocks.

Beacon Blocks can only function when they are added on the top of a pyramid, and when not being blocked by a solid block on top of the beacon. The GUI consists of a primary, and secondary effect selection screen, a material acceptance selection header, and the player's inventory. The player must place the material ( iron ingot, gold ingot, diamond , or emerald ) in the header to activate the effects. When the material is placed, the player is free to choose an effect located in the primary effect screen. Whenever the player is in-range of the pyramid, the player will receive the effect. The effect(s) last forever, as long as the player is in range, wearing off 8 seconds after moving out of range. The selection and strength of the effects are enhanced by each layer added to the pyramid, along with the range of the beacon.

Crafting

The current crafting recipe for this block is 3 Obsidian , 5 Glass blocks, and one Nether Star , the last of which is only obtainable by killing a Wither .

Status Effects

If a player opens the beacon's menu with their "use" action, he/she can insert an Iron Ingot , Gold Ingot , diamond , or emerald , and activate a Status Effect for the beacon to bestow upon nearby players. The chosen effect will be re-applied to nearby players every 4 seconds if they are in range of the beacon. The status effects which a player may choose from are as follows:

• Speed - Increases movement speed
• Haste - Increases Mining speed
• Resistance - Decreases damage inflicted upon the player (requires a pyramid 2-blocks high)
• Jump Boost - Increases Jumping distance and height and reduces falling damage (requires a pyramid 2-blocks high)
• Strength - Increases damage dealt with melee Weapons (requires a pyramid 3-blocks high)
• Regeneration - Regenerates Health over time (requires a pyramid 4-blocks high)

Trivia

• As of Minecraft 1.8 update you can color the light of a Beacon putting Stained Glass or Stained Glass Pane over it. Also, you can mix the colors (for example, if a red stained glass is placed over it, and then a blue one over that, the light will have a purplish color).
• The Beacon block had, when first created, another texture. The next update, the block received another texture, and one week later yet another texture. After that the final texture was given, which is the texture used as of this writing.
• Beacons are the only block in Minecraft that emit a beam of light.

Gallery

See here