How to Craft a Torch in MINECRAFT?: Players would be hard-pressed to find better examples of games that truly capture a sandbox survival game’s essence better than Minecraft. There have been certain landmark moments throughout the history of gaming, and Minecraft is definitely one of them.
The game was revolutionary in many ways and developed on a relatively simple concept to the extent that it spawned one of the most valuable franchises in modern gaming. Minecraft is a truly liberating experience as players are given a full stretch of the world, and they can do with its elements as they please.
Minecraft gives players all the necessary tools to craft themselves all useful materials that they might need in the game. One such item that is extremely useful in the game is a Torch, which can be crafted quite easily.
Human beings require fire, and the virtual gaming world is no different. Lighting is essential to survival in Minecraft. Without flames, we can’t boil water, cook food, or receive warmth. When investigating caves, we need flames to light our way.
Light prevents monsters from appearing inside your structures, helps you find your way home, and makes exploring underground much easier. Torches can also prevent deaths from falling or other dangers by making them visible at night.
This guide shows you how to make a torch in Minecraft so you can light up any dwelling, dungeon, temple, or whatever else that requires illumination.
Minecraft torches are non-solid blocks that give off light. They can also be used as a crafting ingredient to make a lantern, a jack o’ lantern, an underwater torch, and different colour torches
Here we will show you how to make two different torch types: Normal and Redstone. There’s no real visible difference between the two save for the light they shed. However, there’s a big mechanical difference: One can power Redstone and all related items while the other cannot.
You’ll need to gather a few items first and place your Crafting Table and Furnace (optional) in the Overworld to make these items.
Table of Content
The Required Materials for crafting the Torch:
Wood
Go find yourself a batch of trees and chop them down. Your lumberjack skills will result in little blocks of wood logs (Survival Mode) scattered across the terrain that you need to gather. You can use any tool to chop down trees, even your fist, except for a sword. You can also use any type of wood to craft a torch.
Coal
Coal is obtained by mining Coal Ore, which is found in every layer of ground. Coal Ore is also sometimes found exposed above ground, particularly in mountainous biomes. Coal ore blocks are typically found within four to fifteen blocks under the surface.
You’ll need a pickaxe to mine one piece of coal from a coal ore block. Coal is primarily used as a Fuel source in Furnaces and in the crafting of Torches. One piece of coal will smelt eight items in the Furnace.
Coal is stored in stacks of up to 64 units in the inventory or a chest. It is also stored as a Block of Coal which is a much more efficient method of storage.
Charcoal
Charcoal is a Furnace fuel source and ingredient in crafting Torches. It is obtained by burning logs in the Furnace. Charcoal is useful when you do not have a ready supply of Coal, but lots of trees, for making Torches or fueling your Furnace.
One piece of coal will smelt eight items in the Furnace. In terms of fuel efficiency, Charcoal is equal to Coal. The following number of smelts are achieved with each comparable Fuel type:
- Charcoal(9 units): 72
- Coal(9 units): 72
- Block of Coal: 80
Burning a log (of any type) in the Furnace yields one piece of Charcoal. Charcoal is stored in stacks of up to 64 units in the inventory or a chest. Unlike Coal, Charcoal cannot be crafted into blocks.
Redstone
Redstone ore blocks are typically found within 10 to 25 blocks under the surface. To gather Redstone dust (also known as Redstone) from this ore, you’ll need a diamond or iron pickaxe.
The recipe for making the torch in Minecraft
There are basically two recipes to make a torch. Either one can craft a torch by using:
- 1 wood and 1 coal, or
- 1 wood and 1 charcoal
Now that we know the materials, let’s start the process of making a torch. We will guide you step by step so stay put.
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Turn wood into Planks & Sticks
As you may already know, you can break down trees to make wood. You’ll need to turn these into a few other materials for the steps below:
Drag wood to the crafting area in your inventory. Shift-click the Planks in the results box to complete the recipe.
Place one plank above a second plank in the crafting area. Shift-click the Sticks in the results box.
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Make a crafting table
If you don’t have a crafting table yet, place four planks in the crafting area to make one. Place it on the ground and right-click to use it for the next steps.
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Make a Wooden Pickaxe
If you don’t have a pickaxe, make one now. Here’s the simplest pickaxe you can make, a Wooden Pickaxe:
Place a stick in the centre of the crafting table’s 3 x 3 grid. Place a second stick directly below it. Fill the top row with three planks.
Making Torches from Coal
Mine coal. Coal ore looks like stone with black flecks in it. It is fairly easy to find in cliff faces, shallow caves, and anywhere large amounts of stone are exposed. Mine this by equipping your pickaxe and breaking it to get coal.
Combine sticks and coal to make torches. Place coal directly above a stick in the crafting area to make four torches. They’re very useful objects, so make as many as you can.
Making Torches from Charcoal
Build a furnace. If you can’t find any coal ore, here’s another method of making torches. Start by making a furnace out of eight cobblestones. Place the cobblestone in a crafting table’s crafting area, leaving only the centre empty. Place the furnace on the ground.
Place the wood in the top slot of the furnace. Use the furnace to open the interface. Place the wood in the top slot, above the outline of flames. This wood will burn into charcoal once you start the furnace.
Place planks in the lower slot of the furnace. The lower slot of the furnace is the fuel slot. As soon as you put something flammable in here, the furnace will start. Planks are more efficient at burning than wood, so put a few planks in this slot.
Wait for the charcoal to form. The furnace will burn through the wood fairly quickly, leaving charcoal in the results slot on the right. Move this charcoal to your inventory.
Craft torches from charcoal and sticks. Place charcoal directly above a stick in your crafting area to make torches. Each pair of ingredients makes four torches.
These were the two recipes for making torches. Now to describe how to use these torches.
Using the Torches
- Place torches on floors or walls. Move the torch to your quick slot, select it, and click the ground or wall. A torch can go on any solid, opaque surface, and will burn indefinitely. You can pick up the torch again by “breaking” it, or by breaking the block attached to the torch.
- Light areas fully to prevent mob spawning. Most mobs (enemies) cannot appear in brightly lit locations, although they can wander into torch-lit areas without harm.
Here are a few examples of minimum torch placements to prevent monsters from appearing:
- In a one-block wide tunnel, place torches at eye level every 11th block.
- In a two-block wide tunnel, place torches at eye level every 8th block.
- For a large room, place torches in a row on the ground every 12th block. In the end, walk back along the row 6 blocks, walk left or right 6 blocks, and start another row.
Repeat until you cover the floor in these staggered rows.
- Plant torches to guide your journey back. When exploring caves or going on long overnight journeys, place torches to find your way back. In caves, keep these only on your right as you go further in. This way, if you get turned around, you know you’re heading back to the surface if the torches are on your left.
- Make landmarks. Torches aren’t all that bright, but they are still visible from pretty far away. Build a tall tower of dirt or other materials, then cover the top in torches. Now you can use this as a landmark if you ever lose track of your base or other important location
Making Redstone Torches
If you want red lighting, the Redstone torch delivers. It spills a slightly darker and narrower red hue against the surrounding blocks. These red torches create a light but not enough to prevent mobs from spawning.
Redstone is Minecraft’s version of electricity, so Redstone torches are most commonly used as part of circuits. They also create a spooky atmosphere, so you could use them when building a haunted house.
Find Redstone. This is found when mining deep underground. To mine Redstone, you need at least an iron pickaxe.
Place the Redstone on top of the stick in your crafting grid. This recipe is the same as a normal torch, but with Redstone instead of coal. You can also make Redstone torches flicker.
Tips
- Torches melt ice and snow blocks. Use extra caution when placing torches in snow biomes, or you could start a flood.
- Torches cannot be placed on translucent blocks such as stairs, cactus, and leaves. You can place torches on the top of the glass but not on the side.
- Torches do not set fire to anything.
Give Command for Torch
In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16 and 1.16.4, the /give command for Torch is:
/give @p torch 1
In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12, the /give command for Torch is:
/give @p torch 1 0
Minecraft has had some new torches added to it with the introduction of the Soul Torch. If you want to make some of these, you’re going to need to venture into the depths of the Nether to get what you need to create these. You can only currently obtain the ingredients you need if you’re playing the new 1.16 Nether update!
How to Make a Soul Torch
To create a soul torch, we’re going to need to venture into the Nether and gather up some soul sand or soil, create sticks and have some coal or charcoal.
Step 1: Go to the Nether
You will need to make a Nether Portal to get to the Nether. This generally requires you to harvest obsidian, make a 4×5 rectangle, and light it with a Flint and Steel. Jump into the purple portal and you will find yourself in the Nether.
Step 2: Look for a Soul Sand Valley Biome
The Soul Sand Valley Biome is a new biome type that you can find in the Nether. Soul Sand has existed for a while, but now there’s a new resource called Soul Soil that can be found in the same areas.
Soul Sand is kind of creepy looking and slows you down when you walk through it. Soul Soil has a similar colour, but is wavy and doesn’t slow you down. You’ll know you are in the right place if you see some blue flames coming off the soil.
Harvest some of the Soul Sand or Soul Soil, you will need one for every four Soul Torches you want to create.
Step 3: Craft the Torches
Now that you have the Soul Sand or Soil, you’ll just need to gather some Coal or Charcoal and a stick. Throw them into your Crafting Table and you will get 4x Soul Torches for each batch of ingredients you put in!
Lighting Comparison
So, how do these compare to the regular torches? Well, they emit less light than regular torches, so if you are just looking for general lighting then you are better off going with the originals.
However, Soul Torches have one particular use other than looking cool. Soul Torches do not melt snow or ice when they are next to it. So, if you’re building a snow base or igloo and are looking for some lighting that doesn’t melt it all down, then you can use these!
Frequently Asked Questions
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What do soul torches do?
A Soul Torch is a variant that emits a lower light level, so they don’t melt ice or snow.
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Can you hold the torch in both hands?
Players can now use both hands to do different actions with the left and right mouse buttons. For example, if a player has a pickaxe in their main hand and a torch in their off-hand, right-clicking will place the torch.
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Can you make colourful torches?
In Minecraft: Education Edition you can create coloured torches.