Do you wish to explore the Minecraft world without the fear of getting lost? Get yourself a compass.
In fact, make yourself one. How? We’ll teach you. The crafting process is quite simple and straightforward. Check it out below.
Step 1: Find the materials needed
First, you must get the necessary materials. These include:
1 crafting table
To make a crafting table, start by converting the logs into wooden planks. Take the collected logs and put them in one of the squares in the survival inventory crafting table.
Once you have four wood planks (they don’t have to be the same wood), open the default 2×2 crafting menu and place them in each of the slots. This will produce a crafting table to the right. Drag the crafting table to your inventory.
For an in-depth breakdown check out this video
The crafting table will help you to make a simple pickaxe that’s essential for collecting cobblestone. You’ll need the cobblestone to craft a furnace.
Now, for the pickaxe, you’ll make the handle by placing two wooden planks on top of each other on squares that are on the left or right side of the crafting grid.
Next is to complete the entire pickaxe by placing a row of wooden planks on the 3 squares at the top, then two handle sticks below the middle plank.
Your pickaxe will appear to the right. You can drag it to your inventory or start collecting cobblestone immediately.
4 iron ingots
To mine iron, you’ll need a stone pickaxe. This is made by placing a row of cobblestones on the 3 squares at the top of the crafting grid then two handles below the middle cobblestone.
Armed with your stone pickaxe, start looking for iron and coal in cliffsides, around caves, and the surface of stone-topped biomes. Even though you don’t need lots of iron to make a compass, it’s advisable to mine as much as possible for use in other areas.
Once you have the required amount of iron ore to make your compass, smelt them using the furnace to turn them into ingots. Open the furnace grid and put the iron in the top square.
The bottom square is for the fuel (coal). Watch out for the progress bar. As soon as it fills, collect your smelted iron.
1 redstone dust
Lastly, you need redstone dust. To mine it, you must have an iron pickaxe. So, follow the same procedure of making pickaxes but you must put iron ingots on the top row of squares.
The best place to mine the redstones is in ravines or at the ideal Y-levels (between bedrock and Y-lelevl 16). You need at least one redstone dust.
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Step 2: Make the compass
Launch your crafting grid and arrange the materials accordingly:
- The redstone goes to the center square.
- Place the four iron ingots in the middle squares on each side of the grid.
- Immediately you place the last item, your compass will pop up on the right.
- Put the compass in your inventory.
The command for a compass in Minecraft
To give command for a compass in Minecraft java edition 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.16.5, 1.17, and 1.17.1, use the following:
/give @p compass 1
For java edition 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, and 1.12, use:
/give @p compass 1 0
Other ways of getting a compass in Minecraft
For those who don’t want to go through the hassle of crafting a compass, you can get one through the following ways:
- In shipwreck chests
- Strongholds
- From a librarian villager
How to use a compass in Minecraft
Since the Minecraft alpha version 1.1.0, compasses have been part and parcel of this great game. Their sole purpose is to point to the world spawn point.
The spawn point is basically where you first appear and start playing the game. It’s also where you’ll respawn if you die in the game.
At the start of the game, this will be some random place, but you can change it to be where your bed and home are using commands or creating a path to link the two.
So, if you find yourself in unknown territory and need to get back, just move towards the direction of the compass needle. The compass will point towards the spawn point no matter how you view it.
Whether it’s in a player’s hand, in an inventory, on the crafting table, in an item frame, or as a dropped item.
But, in the nether or end biomes, the needle usually points in random directions.
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What is a lodstone compass for?
When used on a lodstone, the compass automatically becomes a lodstone compass. It will point in the direction of the lodstone provided the two are in the same dimension.
If they are in different dimensions, the lodstone points in random directions like a normal compass in the nether or end. The same happens if the lodstone is destroyed. The only exception is if you store the lodstone compass before destroying lodstone.
In the bedrock edition of Minecraft, lodstone compass appears with a distinct cyan glint while in the java edition it appears enchanted.
How to make a compass point to a player in Minecraft
If your Minecraft is bedrock edition 1.16, use the following command to make the compass point to a player:
/execute <playerName> ~ ~ ~ setworldspawn ~ ~ ~
The command means that setworldspawn ~ ~ ~ will be executed on behalf of <playerName>. The ~ ~ ~ means the player will be the spawn. So, the compass will point towards the player. In fact, everyone with a compass in the game could track the player.
Other uses for the compass
In addition to helping players find their bearing, you can also use a compass to create a map. It’s as simple as placing the compass in the middle square of the crafting table grid and placing the paper in the other squares.
The map offers a better way of knowing your surroundings as it shows your location relative to your environs.
If you hold the map while traveling it tracks your location, then records information about the area.
You can make banners to mark off key points. It’ll be easy to know where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going.
FAQs
Can you craft a lodstone compass?
Yes, you simply make a compass using the steps outlined above then equip the compass to be a lodstone compass.
How do I make my compass point to my bed in Minecraft?
There are two ways to make your compass point to your bed. The first one is creating a path from the world spawn to your bed. Start from your bed and use the compass as you move towards the world spawn. Don’t forget to mark your path.
The second option is to change your world spawn to be your bed’s location. Use the following command whenever you want to change the world spawn.
/setworldspawn
You must restart your game for the command to take effect. Ensure nothing is blocking your bed.
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How do you make a compass point to your house in Minecraft?
First, you could easily build your house at your spawn point since that’s where the compass always points.
Secondly, use a lodstone. This is where you turn your compass into a lodstone compass and place a lodstone in your house. The compass will automatically point towards the lodstone (read your house).
Conclusion
Now that you know how to make a compass in Minecraft, you shouldn’t worry about wandering too far off from your home.
You can rely on the compass to always point you in the right direction. The fact that it’s used to craft maps makes the compass more pivotal in the Minecraft universe.