How to Make a Campfire in Minecraft (1.21+)

TL;DR

• To craft a campfire in Minecraft Server Hosting you need 3 sticks, 1 coal or charcoal, and 3 logs or wood blocks.
• Open a crafting table, place the three logs in the bottom row, put the coal or charcoal in the centre slot, and arrange three sticks in a triangle around it.
• A campfire block appears in the output slot. Place it to get a lit campfire that cooks food, creates smoke signals, and gives off a strong light level of 15.

Campfires are one of those simple blocks that do far more than they first appear to. Besides cooking food items without any fuel, they send out tall smoke particles that you can turn into smoke signals and they help with bees, traps, and cozy cabin builds. In this guide we will walk through the exact campfire recipe, how to make a soul campfire with turquoise flames, and the best ways to use both types in your world.

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Minecraft items

In the realm of Minecraft Server Hosting, every intricate detail holds significance, particularly for those devoted to crafting architectural marvels. Among these subtle yet impactful features is the campfire—a multifaceted tool that breathes life into your virtual landscapes. Imagine being enveloped by the eerie stillness of a rain-drenched night; even the most intrepid adventurer might find solace in the warm glow of a campfire. Beyond its aesthetic charm, this item proves indispensable for roasting provisions to stave off relentless hunger. Moreover, campfires lend themselves to ingenious uses, such as serving as chimneys or even forming part of a rustic kitchen setup. In this guide, we’ll unravel the nuances of this deceptively simple yet versatile creation. Let’s delve right in!

A campfire is great for cooking and ambience, but good gear still decides most fights. If you use a trident, have a look at our best trident enchantments in Minecraft guide to see which enchantments pair well with your campfire campsites and ocean raids.

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Essential Materials to Craft a Campfire

To make a campfire in Minecraft, you first need the right materials. Gather 3 sticks, 1 piece of coal or charcoal, and 3 logs or wood blocks. Any type of wood will work, including stripped logs and wood variants, so you can match the campfire to the rest of your build. You can find coal by mining underground, or create charcoal by smelting a log in a furnace if you are still near your starter base. Crafting three sticks is easy: place two wooden planks in a vertical line in the crafting grid and you will receive four sticks.

Open your crafting table to access the 3×3 crafting grid. Place the three logs or wood blocks along the bottom row, put the coal or charcoal in the centre slot, and arrange three sticks in a triangle around it: one in the top-middle slot and two in the left and right slots of the middle row. A campfire will appear in the output box on the right. Take it into your inventory and place it in the world to get a lit campfire block. Campfires are lit by default when placed, so you can start cooking food or using the light immediately.

Campfires pair nicely with villager markets, bee farms, and trading halls built around a town square. If you want to optimise those setups, our Minecraft villager trades 1.21 guide covers how prices, restocks, and discounts actually work.

How to Make a Soul Campfire

A soul campfire is a dimmer variant of the campfire with turquoise flames. The crafting pattern is the same as a normal campfire, but instead of coal or charcoal you use one soul sand or one soul soil in the centre slot. Combine it with three sticks and three logs or wood blocks on a crafting table and you will see a soul campfire in the output slot.

Lit campfires emit a light level of 15, while lit soul campfires emit a light level of 10, so soul campfires are better for moody lighting where you do not want to flood an area with brightness. In exchange, soul campfires deal more damage than normal campfires: a regular campfire deals 1 point of damage every tick to mobs standing on it, while a soul campfire deals 2 points of damage every tick. Both variants do not spread fire under any circumstances and they do not destroy items, which makes them safe to build with even inside wooden houses.

Using Campfires

Once you know how to make a campfire in Minecraft, the next step is using it well. A campfire can cook up to four food items at once without using any fuel, which makes it a very efficient early-game cooker. Right-click the lit campfire while holding raw food and it will place the item on one of the four sides. After about 30 seconds the food pops off as a finished cooking item. If the campfire is extinguished while food is on it, the process resets and you must start again.

Campfires also work as bright, lag-friendly light sources. A lit campfire produces a light level of 15, enough to keep hostile mobs from spawning nearby. A lit soul campfire produces a lower light level of 10, but both create constant smoke particles. These campfire smoke particles naturally float up around ten blocks before fading. If you put a hay bale directly under a campfire block, it becomes a signal fire and the smoke plume can reach around twenty-four blocks high, which is great for smoke signals and waypoints you can see from far away.

Campfires, Bees, and Mob Damage

Campfires are one of the easiest ways to work safely with bees. If you place a lit campfire directly under a bee nest or beehive, the smoke calms the bees so you can harvest honey bottles or honeycomb without angering them. You still need to avoid breaking the hive itself, but harvesting with shears or a glass bottle is much safer with a campfire underneath.

Both normal and soul campfires damage mobs that stand on top of them when lit. A regular campfire deals 1 damage every tick, while a soul campfire deals 2 damage every tick, making it a simple damaging trap block for basic mob farms. Because campfires do not cause lasting burning and do not destroy items, they pair nicely with hoppers for collecting drops underneath. Just remember that the same damage applies to players, so avoid standing barefoot on your own fire.

Amplifying Smoke Output

To amplify the smoke signal emitted by your campfire, substitute the block beneath it with a Hay Bale. This modification produces towering plumes of smoke, making it an invaluable landmark for locating your base. Whether you envision it as a dramatic chimney effect or a navigational beacon, the hay bale ensures an impressive visual statement. The beauty of this setup lies in its permanence, as hay bales remain unaffected by usage. Additionally, wheat cultivation is abundant in Minecraft, ensuring you can replenish your stock without concern.

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How to Extinguish and Relight a Campfire

Campfires are lit campfire blocks when you first place them, but you can turn them off without breaking them. There are three simple ways to extinguish campfires: waterlogging the block with a bucket of water, throwing a splash water bottle on the flames, or using a shovel on the campfire to put it out. Once extinguished, the campfire still keeps its model and can be walked over without taking damage.

To relight a campfire, use a flint and steel item, a fire charge, or shoot it with a flaming arrow. You can repeat this cycle as many times as you like, which is useful if you want a campfire that only burns at night or during certain events on a server. Extinguished campfires also make good building blocks for bridges, floors, and food shelves, because they keep the same texture without any smoke or particles.

Inspiring Construction Concepts

Campfires are also excellent decoration blocks. You can build working chimneys by hiding campfires inside a wall and letting the smoke float up through trapdoors or stairs, or place a row of extinguished campfires as a wooden countertop in a rustic kitchen. Inside chimneys and cozy cabins they add just enough movement to make a build feel alive.

More advanced builders push campfires further by using pistons to move the campfire block or by combining several signal fires on hay bales to mark out paths between bases. Because campfires do not spread fire, you can safely use them inside wooden structures, around bee nests, or next to storage areas without worrying about losing your world to a small mistake.

FAQ

How do you make a campfire in Minecraft?

Use a crafting table with 3 sticks, 1 coal or charcoal, and 3 logs or wood blocks. Place the logs on the bottom row, the coal or charcoal in the centre, and the sticks around it in a triangle to get a campfire block.

What is the difference between a campfire and a soul campfire?

Both blocks cook food and create smoke, but a normal campfire has orange flames, a light level of 15, and deals 1 damage every tick to mobs standing on it. A soul campfire has turquoise flames, a light level of 10, and deals 2 damage every tick.

Do campfires burn items or spread fire?

No. Campfires and soul campfires do not spread fire, and dropped items do not burn up on top of them. This makes them useful in mob farms and under bee nests where you want damage or smoke without losing drops.

How far can you see campfire smoke?

By default, campfire smoke particles float up around 10 blocks before fading. If you place a hay bale directly underneath the campfire, it becomes a signal fire and the smoke can rise to about 24 blocks high, which is much easier to see from a distance.

How do campfires help with bees?

Placing a lit campfire under a bee nest or beehive pacifies the bees, letting you harvest honey bottles or honeycomb without making the bees hostile, as long as you do not break the hive itself.

Conclusion

And there you have it a comprehensive exploration of campfires in Minecraft. These unassuming blocks can infuse unparalleled charm and utility into your world when wielded thoughtfully. Remember, the essence of Minecraft lies in boundless creativity, allowing you to shape your virtual domain however you see fit. Whether you're building an elaborate homestead or merely cooking up a fresh catch, campfires stand as a testament to the game's limitless potential. We hope this guide has illuminated new possibilities for your adventures. Happy crafting, fellow gamers!

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