Whether you want to make functional blocks, automatic farms, or a simple mechanical system, you need to find Redstone in Minecraft. It is the backbone of the industrial age within the game. But, it is also one of the rarest ores within the overworld. Luckily, there is more than one way to get this revolutionary item. Jump in and discover how to get Redstone in Minecraft!
Redstone in Minecraft (2023)
Our guide consists of 8 unique ways to get Redstone in Minecraft. Make sure to explore all of them to find the one that fits your playstyle.
What is Redstone in Minecraft
Redstone is a powerful element that powers all the mechanical aspects of Minecraft. You can use it to craft a variety of functional blocks and even arrange ways to power them. Without Redstone, none of the popular automatic farms would be possible. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves and first understand how to find Redstone in Minecraft.
Redstone Dust
The story of Minecraft's powerhouse begins with Redstone dust. You can use this versatile item to craft all Redstone components and even to connect them with one another. While in your inventory, it looks like a powder-like substance, but when you place Redstone dust down, it appears like a rope.
Methods to Get Redstone Dust in Minecraft
There are eight main ways to get Redstone dust in Minecraft:
- Natural Generation
- Mob Loot
- Chest
- Trading
- Gifts
- Crafting
- Command
- Mining
Let's go over all of these methods to find the one that fits your playstyle and needs.
Natural Generation
Luckily, players aren't the only ones capable of creating Redstone machinery in Minecraft. You can also find some naturally generating Redstone contraptions in your world, within these structures:
- Jungle Pyramid: It spawns 15 Redstone dust as a part of various traps spread throughout the pyramid. You can use the best Minecraft jungle seeds to easily find this structure.
- Woodland Mansion: You can find 5 pieces of Redstone dust inside the jail cell rooms of this structure. This is the same spot where you can find Allay in Minecraft.
- Ancient City: Various pieces of Redstone dust spawn as a part of circuits in the Redstone rooms in this structure. You can find this room beneath the portal-like statue in the middle of Ancient Cities in Minecraft.
Loot from Mob
Witches are the only mob in Minecraft that can drop Redstone dust upon dying. You can get up to 2 pieces of dust from each witch. Thanks to this mechanic, you can use mob XP farm to spawn and trap witches for farming Redstone dust.
Chests
Structures don't only spawn Redstone dust in the form of circuits. You can also find pieces of Redstone dust in various chests across Minecraft. The list includes:
- Dungeon (Monster Room)
- Mineshaft
- Stronghold
- Woodland Mansion
- Village
Out of these, the villages have the highest chances of spawning chests with Redstone dust in them. But, that only happens when there is a temple inside the village.
Trading with Villager
If the village chests don't turn out to be fruitful, you can also get Redstone dust from the villagers. The novice-level cleric villagers sell two pieces of Redstone dust for one emerald in Java edition. Meanwhile, the same villagers in the Bedrock edition offer four pieces of dust for a single emerald.
Villager Gifts
The villager trades are only useful if you know how to find emeralds in Minecraft. But, if you aren't much of an explorer then it's time to rely upon your combat skills. When you defeat a raid in Minecraft, the game gives you a "Hero of the Village" effect. With this effect, the clerics of the villagers throw Redstone dust at players to express their gratefulness.
Block of Redstone
You can find two blocks of Redstone in the secret rooms of ancient cities in Minecraft. They spawn inside the room in the middle of the city, beneath the portal-like structure. After finding it, you can place the Block of Redstone inside the crafting grid to break it down into nine pieces of Redstone dust.
Give Command
If you don't mind a little cheating, you can get all the Redstone dust you need within no time. Just make sure you have cheats active in your world and then use the following command in your chat:
/give @s redstone_dust 64
As soon as you execute this command, the game will add 64 pieces of Redstone dust to your inventory. You can replace the "64" in the command to get even more Redstone dust. But, keep in mind that your inventory can only support a total of 2304 items at a time.
Find Redstone Ore in Minecraft
As per Minecraft 1.20 ore distribution, Redstone ore spawns between the world height of Y=-32 and Y=-64. Moreover, the amount of ore increases as you go deeper, towards the level of Y=-64. Luckily, this generation is similar to diamonds. So, you can use our list of Minecraft diamond seeds to also find Redstone.
When you mine the Redstone ore with an iron pickaxe or stronger, it ends up dropping 4-5 pieces of Redstone dust. But, if you use a weaker pickaxe or any other tool, the ore block doesn't drop anything.
How to Use Redstone Dust in Minecraft
With the knowledge of how to get Redstone dust in Minecraft, it's time to put it to use. The easiest way to use this item is in the form of a wire. You can place the Redstone dust on top of any block by right-clicking while holding it. Placed dust works like a wire carrying power from the source to the components.
But, there are some limitations to the same. Unlike regular blocks, you can only place Redstone dust on top of other blocks. There is no way to put it beneath other blocks or directly on their side. Though, if you place Redstone dust on two adjacent locations with one block higher than the other, the dust appears on the side of the higher block.
Crafting Ingredient
You can use the Redstone dust as a crafting ingredient to make a variety of items and blocks. Here is the complete list of compatible recipes:
- Clock
- Compass
- Detector Rail
- Dispenser
- Dropper
- Note Block
- Observer
- Piston
- Powered Rail
- Redstone Lamp
- Redstone Repeater
- Target
- Redstone Torch
- Copper Bulb (Waxed & Unwaxed)
- Crafter
Out of these items, the clock and compass are the only ones that don't detect or react to Redstone signals. You can use everything else while creating a Redstone circuit in your Minecraft world.
Brew Potions with Redstone
There is no doubt that you can use Redstone in Minecraft to automate your farms and craft a bunch of useful items. But, the versatility of this material doesn't end there. If you brew Redstone dust with a water bottle inside a Brewing Stand, it results in a Mundane potion. As the name suggests, this potion doesn't have any effects, but you can use it for decoration or to scare your friends.
Meanwhile, when you brew Redstone with duration-based potions (like Potion of Fire Resistance), it ends up increasing their duration. But, keep in mind that the increase in duration doesn't affect the quality of these potions.
Trimming Armors
Much like all the other minerals in the game, you can use Redstone in Minecraft for trimming your armor. It adds a reddish hue to the armor, creating a menacing and distinctive look. Plus, many of the best Minecraft armor trim combinations are incomplete without Redstone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much Redstone do you get per ore?
You can get up to 5 pieces of Redstone dust from a single ore block with a non-enchanted pickaxe. But, the number goes up to a maximum of 8 pieces with Fortune III enchantment.
What happens if you smelt Redstone ore?
If you smelt Redstone ore inside a furnace, it only results in one piece of Redstone dust. But, you can easily get a minimum of 4 Redstone dust by breaking it with an iron pickaxe or stronger.
Find, Mine, and Use Redstone in Minecraft 1.20
With a variety of methods to get Redstone on your side, it’s time to put this red material to use. The spawn areas of the best Minecraft servers are filled with a variety of machines for you to get ideas from. Alternatively, you can also try to recreate automatic Minecraft farms with a crafter. So, how are you going to use Redstone in your world? Share and collaborate on your plans with our community on our Discord server!