Whether you want to find your favorite biome or spot parrots in a jungle, Spyglass is your best option. It puts the underrated zooming feature into your hands. All you need to do is learn how to make a Spyglass in Minecraft and the world is yours!
How to Make a Spyglass in Minecraft
From crafting to improving its movement, our guide covers all you need to know about the Spyglass in Minecraft.
What is a Spyglass in Minecraft
Spyglass is a rare tool in Minecraft that lets you see distant objects, mobs, and locations. You can use it to zoom into a long distance but with a narrower field of view (FOV). In terms of design, the Spyglass looks like a long copper tube with a glass on both ends.
Where Does the Spyglass Spawn
Unfortunately, the Spyglass doesn't spawn inside any chest loots or structures in Minecraft. Furthermore, you cannot get them through killing mobs or even trading with villagers. The only option you have is to learn how to make a Spyglass in Minecraft manually.
Crafting Recipe of Spyglass in Minecraft
Follow these easy steps to make a Spyglass in Minecraft:
1. First, make a stone pickaxe or stronger. You need it to collect the ingredients for crafting your Spyglass.
2. Next, search for an amethyst geode in the overworld. These are small natural features that spawn between Y=-58 and Y=30.
3. Then, use your pickaxe to mine an amethyst cluster and collect one amethyst shard.
4. Next, you need to find copper ore blocks in your world. As per Minecraft ore distribution, they commonly generate at the height of Y=48.
5. Use your stone pickaxe to mine copper ore and collect raw copper. Then, smelt that raw copper inside a furnace or blast furnace to collect two copper ingots.
6. Finally, place two ingots beneath an amethyst shard in the straight column. With that, your Minecraft Spyglass is ready!
How to Use a Spyglass
Once you have crafted it, it's quite easy to use a Spyglass in Minecraft. Just equip it in your hand and hold your right-click to look into it. Then, look around in the direction that you want to zoom in to. If the objects you are looking at are too distant, they will appear blurry on the Spyglass. 
Plus, entities like mobs don't appear if your render distance is not high enough. But, keep in mind that you can only view 1/10th of your actual FOV. So if your current FOV is 30°, the Spyglass will only show you objects in a limited 3° view. You can expand your field of view within the settings of your pause menu.
How to Zoom in Minecraft Without Spyglass
With a limited view area and the constant need to equip it, Spyglass can often seem like a hassle to use. Luckily, you don't always need a Spyglass if you want to zoom in on Minecraft. Here are a few reliable alternatives:
- OptiFine: One of the most popular visual mods of all time, OptiFine puts the power of Spyglass in your hands. All you need to do is press the "C" key and zoom into any location you want.
- Reduce FOV: You can lower the field of view through the pause menu. Doing so will make everything in your world appear closer and zoomed in. When combined with a Potion of Slowness, the effect gets even better.
- Zoomify: This simple yet powerful mod makes zooming in as easy as scrolling the mouse wheel. You can download it here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you place a Spyglass in Minecraft?
There is no way to place down a Spyglass or turn it into a telescope in Minecraft. But, you can freely move around while holding it up to your eyes.
Can Spyglass be enchanted?
Even though it is a reliable tool, there are no enchantments in Minecraft that work on a Spyglass.
What does Spyglass damping mean in Minecraft?
When you are looking through a Spyglass, every subtle movement can make a big difference. This tool is extremely sensitive and requires precision to control it. Luckily, you can use the built-in Spyglass Damping slider to slow down this tool's movement.
Find, Craft, and Use a Spyglass in Minecraft
A great way to use the Spyglass is by keeping an eye on your enemies in the best Minecraft SMP servers. But, that trick only works when your opponents can't spot you. So, make sure to brew a Potion of Invisibility first. Alternatively, you can also dress up in skins that match your surroundings. Having said that, what are you going to spy with your Spyglass in Minecraft? Share your ideas on our Discord server and explore what everyone else is planning.