If you’re looking to see farther across your Minecraft world, learning how to make a telescope in Minecraft is a great skill. This handy item lets you zoom in on distant terrain, mobs, and builds, making it essential for exploration and planning. It’s a simple recipe that adds a huge amount of utility to your gameplay.
This guide will walk you through everything you need, from finding the materials to putting the telescope together. We’ll also cover how to use it effectively and some clever tricks for getting the most out of it.
How To Make A Telescope In Minecraft
Making a telescope requires just two specific items. You won’t need a crafting table, as the recipe fits in your personal 2×2 crafting grid. Here’s the exact breakdown.
Required Materials
You will need:
- 2 Amethyst Shards
- 1 Copper Ingot
That’s it! The challenge isn’t the number of items, but finding the amethyst shards, which can be a bit tricky if you don’t know where to look.
Finding Amethyst Shards
Amethyst shards come from amethyst clusters, which grow only inside Geodes. These are large, spherical structures that generate underground.
Locating a Geode
- Geodes can be found in all Overworld biomes, from bedrock level up to sea level.
- They are often exposed in cave systems or underwater ravines. Listen for a faint ringing sound, which is the ambient noise of a geode biome.
- Geodes have a distinct look: a smooth basalt shell, a middle layer of calcite, and a hollow interior lined with amethyst blocks and budding amethyst.
Harvesting the Shards
Important: You must mine the final, fully-grown amethyst cluster to get shards. The smaller buds will drop nothing. Use a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch to collect the budding amethyst block itself if you want to farm shards later at your base. Otherwise, just mine the tall, spiky purple clusters with any pickaxe to collect 4 amethyst shards per cluster.
Getting Copper Ingots
Copper is much easier to find. Look for its distinctive orange-green ore blocks in the Overworld, similar to iron ore.
- Mine copper ore with a stone pickaxe or better to get raw copper.
- Smelt the raw copper in a furnace to create copper ingots.
- You can also sometimes find copper ingots in chests within shipwrecks or buried treasure.
Crafting the Telescope
Once you have your materials, open your inventory. Place the items in the 2×2 crafting grid like so:
- Put 1 Copper Ingot in the center-left slot.
- Put 1 Amethyst Shard directly to the right of the copper ingot.
- Put the second Amethyst Shard in the slot directly below the first shard.
The telescope will appear on the right. Drag it into your inventory. Congratulations, you’ve now crafted your very own telescope!
How to Use the Telescope
Using the telescope is straightforward. Hold it in your main hand (your selected hotbar slot).
- Right-click (on Java Edition) or use the secondary action button (on consoles and Bedrock) to look through it.
- Your screen will zoom in, and a circular vignette will appear around the edges.
- Move your mouse or controller to look around while zoomed in.
- Right-click or press the button again to stop using the telescope and return to normal view.
There is no durability or charge, so you can use it as much as you want. It’s perfect for scouting a fortress from a distance or checking if that distant speck is a sheep or a creeper.
Telescope Tips and Tricks
Beyond basic zoom, the telescope has some neat applications.
Naming Your Telescope
You can rename a telescope on an anvil. A named telescope will display its custom name when you use it, which is a fun bit of personalization. Try names like “Long Range Spyglass” or “Dragon Spotter.”
Combating the Vignette
The dark circle while zooming can sometimes block your periferal vision. In Java Edition, you can disable this vignette effect in the Visual settings under “Accessibility.” Just toggle off the “Glint Effect” setting. This makes the telescope view a clean zoom without the dark ring, which many players prefer.
Using with Optifine or Shaders
If you use the Optifine mod or shader packs, the telescope might interact with depth-of-field effects, creating an even more realistic zoom experience. Check your shader settings to adjust this if the view seems too blurry.
Strategic Uses
- Safe Scouting: Examine Nether fortresses, End cities, or pillager outposts from a safe distance to plan your approach.
- Mob Identification: Tell the difference between hostile and passive mobs from far away, saving you from suprise attacks.
- Build Planning: Zoom in on a mountain or landscape you want to build on to judge scale and placement more accurately.
- PvP & Multiplayer: Keep an eye on other players movements from a hidden location.
Common Issues and Solutions
Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Here are a few common problems.
Recipe Doesn’t Work
If the telescope won’t craft, double-check:
- You are using Amethyst Shards, not the amethyst blocks themselves.
- The pattern is correct: Ingot, then two shards in an L-shape to its right and bottom-right.
- You’re not trying to use a spyglass from a mod; the vanilla recipe is very specific.
Can’t Find Amethyst
If your search for a geode is taking too long, try these:
- Explore large, open caves. Geodes are big and often intersect cave air.
- Go mining at Y-level 30 to 40. This is a very common height for them to generate.
- In Bedrock Edition, you can sometimes by amethyst shards from wandering traders, though it’s rare.
Telescope View is Weird
If the zoom seems off or the screen is distorted:
- Check your shader settings if you use them, as mentioned above.
- Make sure no other mod is conflicting with the vanilla telescope mechanics.
- Try removing and re-adding the telescope to your hotbar; it can sometimes fix a visual glitch.
Expanding Your Toolkit
The telescope pairs wonderfully with other items. Here’s a few combinations to try.
Telescope and Elytra
While you can’t use them simultaneously, you can quickly scout your landing area with the telescope before gliding in with your elytra. This prevents nasty landings in the middle of a mob group.
Telescope and Map
Use the telescope to see distant landmarks, then check your map to mark them for future travel. It’s great for finding villages or other structures you want to visit later.
Telescope and Crossbow
Although you can’t aim a crossbow through the telescope, you can use the telescope to spot a target, then switch to your loaded crossbow for a long-range shot. It turns you into a sniper.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can you enchant a telescope in Minecraft?
No, telescopes cannot be enchanted in an enchanting table or anvil. They also cannot recieve curses or other special effects through normal gameplay.
What is the zoom level on the Minecraft spyglass?
The telescope offers a 10x zoom multiplier. This means objects appear ten times closer than they do with your normal field of view. It’s a fixed level, so you can’t adjust the zoom strength.
How do you make a spyglass in Minecraft if you’re on a console?
The recipe is identical across all versions. Gather 2 amethyst shards and 1 copper ingot. Open your inventory crafting grid and place the ingot on the left, with one shard to it’s right and the second shard beneath that first shard. The crafting process is the same on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and mobile.
Is there a way to craft a telescope without copper?
No, the vanilla recipe strictly requires 1 copper ingot and 2 amethyst shards. There is no alternative recipe. Some mods might add different versions, but in the standard game, you must have copper.
Can you put a telescope on a tripod or stand?
Not directly. There’s no vanilla block that holds a telescope. However, you can create a decorative stand using item frames, fences, and other blocks to make it look like a mounted telescope for your build.
Why did my telescope crafting recipe not work?
The most common reason is using the wrong materials. Ensure you have amethyst shards (the item) and not just amethyst blocks or buds. Also, confirm the pattern in the crafting grid is the correct L-shape.
Final Thoughts on the Minecraft Telescope
The telescope is a small addition with a big impact. It changes how you interact with the vast landscapes of Minecraft, encouraging careful observation and planning. The journey to find amethyst introduces you to the beautiful and rare geode structures, adding a new layer to mining expeditions.
Once you have one, you’ll wonder how you ever explored without it. It’s more than just a zoom tool; it’s a window to the finer details of your world. Whether your a builder, an adventurer, or a redstone engineer, taking a closer look is always valuable. So gather those materials and craft your telescope today—your next big discovery might be just on the horizon.