Why Do Beds Explode in Minecraft?

Adventurers need a safe place to rest their weary heads after a long day of exploring and crafting, even in gcraft. How else would you wait out the night cycle and all the dangers that spawn?

Beds don’t just serve to fast-forward time in the game, though. They’re respawning points. Whenever you enter a realm with a bed, you’ll respawn there instead of the default location.

Unfortunately, camping out on the floor isn’t an option. You’re a civilized adventurer, after all. If you want to catch some ZZZ’s, you’re going to need a proper bed.

Read on to find out how to craft a bed, how to make a fancy colored one, and what to expect from exploding bed hazards.

How to Craft a Bed in Minecraft

Crafting a bed in Minecraft is relatively simple, but you’ll need a crafting table to do it. Once you have a crafting table in place, you’ll need wool and wooden planks. Gather three pieces of each item and follow the steps below for a basic white bed:

1. Open the crafting table menu.
   
2. (optional) Drag one wood block from your inventory to any of the crafting grid squares and place the planks back into your inventory.
   
3. Place one wood plank in each of the squares along the bottom of the grid. You’ll use three planks in total.
   
4. Put a wool block (of the same color) in each of the squares above the wooden planks. You’ll use three wool pieces in total.
   
5. Place the bed into your inventory.
   

Most new players start with a basic white bed, but you don’t have to keep it for long. Create beds with colored sheets to match your décor with the right dyed wool. For example, you can create these colors with these resources:

• Regular Blue – Cornflower or Lapis Lazuli
• Black – Wither Rose or Ink Sac
• Orange – Orange Tulip
• Red – Rose Bush, Red Tulip, Beetroot, or Poppy

Crafting dyes generally require that you place the ingredient in the first box of the crafting grid. However, more complex colors like Magenta require a few extra steps. There are plenty of dye crafting recipes available online if you’re interested.

Once you have the dye of your choice, it’s time to dye your wool. Follow these steps to change the color of your collected wool:

1. Open the crafting menu.
   
2. Place the wool block in the first box from the left in the last row.
   
3. Put your chosen dye in the box to the right of the wool.
   
4. Drag and drop the newly dyed wool into your inventory.
   
5. (optional, for colored bed) Repeat the steps until you have three dyed wool blocks.
   

When you have the three dyed wool blocks, you can dye your sheets. Simply place the bed into your inventory and head over to the crafting table. Put the bed in the left box in the middle row and the dye in the box to the right of it. Place the new bed in your inventory and enjoy the extra pop of color in your Minecraft room.

Keep in mind, though, that you can re-dye beds of any color in Bedrock and Education editions of Minecraft. If you’re using Java, you can only re-dye beds with white sheets.

Watch Out: Beds Explode in the Nether and End Realms

Sleeping in a bed may be an excellent way to pass the time and wait for daylight, but it can be hazardous to your health in any other realm but the Overworld. You read that right. Beds can explode if you try to sleep in other realms, including:

• The Nether
• The End
• Custom Dimensions

Not only do the beds explode with a force stronger than TNT, but they can also set fire to surrounding blocks. Incidentally, “death by bed explosion” only happens to you. Villagers aren’t affected by exploding-bed syndrome and sleep snugly in any dimension.

Respawning With Respawn Anchor

Generally, beds are the best respawn points if you’re in the Overworld. However, if you need a respawn point in the Nether, you’re going to need to do a bit of work.

Respawn Anchors are exactly what they sound like. They’re items that players create to set respawn points for different locations in the Nether. To make a Respawn Anchor, you’ll need:

• 6 Crying Obsidian
• 3 Glowstone

You can obtain Crying Obsidian in a variety of ways, including loot chests and bartering. Just remember, though, if you plan on harvesting it from broken portals, you’ll need a diamond or netherite pickaxe.

Glowstone, on the other hand, can only be obtained in the Nether. Look for these glowing blocks in branching structures, overhangs, and hanging from ceilings. You’ll need a tool with Silk Touch for Glowstone to drop as blocks. If you use any other tool on Glowstone, it’ll drop Glowstone Dust instead.

Don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on the Silk Touch enchantment. You’ll simply have to perform an extra step to turn the dust into a block before making an anchor. Check out the steps below to transform Glow Dust into Glowstone:

1. Open your crafting menu.
   
2. Place a Glowstone Dust piece in the first square in the middle row and the first square in the last row.
   
3. Place a Glowstone Dust piece t yo the right of the one in the middle row and the right of the Glowstone Dust piece in the last row. You should have a total of four pieces in the grid.
   
4. Remove the resulting Glowstone block and place it in your inventory.
   

Remember that you’ll need three Glowstone blocks to craft a Respawn Anchor. If you’re crafting Glowstone Dust into blocks, you’ll need a total of 12 Glowstone Dust pieces to make three blocks of Glowstone. It’s a good idea to make more Glowstone blocks than the Respawn Anchor requires, though, to charge it.

Once you have all the ingredients on hand, it’s time to make a Respawn Anchor:

1. Open the crafting table menu.
   
2. Place three Crying Obsidian pieces along the top row and the bottom row of the grid.
   
3. Place three Glowstone blocks along the middle row of the crafting grid.
   
4. Remove the new Respawn Anchor and place it in your inventory.
   

Now that you have a Respawn Anchor, there are a few things you should know before you use it.

Charging a Respawn Anchor

First, a newly crafted Respawn Anchor doesn’t have a charge and can’t be used until you charge it with a Glowstone block. Once you add a Glowstone block, you’ll see the Anchor “activate.” You’ll see a light emitting from the block and the texture changes a bit.

Anchor Charges

Adding Glowstones to an Anchor is the only way to charge it and it can hold up to four charges at one time. Each time you use it, though, the charge number decreases by one. Keep track of your Anchor charges by checking out the dial on the side of the block.

Just like beds, Anchors may be shared with other people. However, the Anchor charges are also shared with other people so it’s a good idea to check on your charge number before venturing out into the Nether. You don’t want to get caught without a designated respawn point if you die.

Setting a Spawn Location

If you want to set a spawn location, set the Respawn Anchor in the desired location. It doesn’t work if it’s in your inventory. Once you have the Anchor exactly where you want it, click on it the way you would a bed. The Anchor does need to be charged before setting the location, though, or it won’t work.

Each respawn costs one Anchor charge, including when you die and respawn in the Nether. If you can’t respawn at your Anchor point, you’ll just respawn at the world spawn point instead.

Also, it’s important to note that you can’t place these Respawn Anchors in the Overworld. Just like beds in the Nether, Anchors will explode if you try to use them in the Overworld.

How to Use Exploding Beds

You may not be able to use beds for sleeping in the Nether, but you can use exploding beds for other things that require explosions, like:

• Use it as a bomb: set a block between you and the bed beforehand to minimize damage
• Use it to re-light portals: place the bed inside a portal and activate it

Keep in mind that if you don’t want to die while using an exploding bed, you need to place at least one block with high explosion resistance between you and the bed. You will sustain damage, but it probably won’t be enough to kill you.

Additional FAQs

How much damage does a bed explosion cause?

A bed explosion in the Nether causes Power 5 destruction. Nether bed explosions are higher than TNT, Ghast fireballs, and Creepers. Bed explosions also start fires.

Be Careful About Bedtime

The Nether is full of hazards. From dangerous mobs to lakes of lava, explorers can find themselves in heaps of trouble if they venture into the Nether unprepared. Even the furniture can kill unsuspecting players.

Just remember that it may be okay to rest your weary head after adventures in the Overworld, but in other realms, it’s an entirely different story.

Do you use exploding beds in the Nether? Tell us about it in the comments section below.