How to Make TNT in Minecraft

Minecraft is packed with iconic blocks, mobs, and features that define this sandbox game. Among them, we have grass blocks, cobblestones, torches, creepers, and other blocks. But there’s another block that quite literally brings the boom, and it’s the TNT. Being used for a long time and quite relevant to the gameplay, TNT gives players more options when it comes to dealing with certain challenges, combat, and pranking their server mates. So, in this guide, we are covering how to make and get TNT and, basically, everything you need to know about this explosive block in Minecraft.

What is TNT in Minecraft

In Minecraft, TNT is a block that can be primed (or activated), which then leads to an explosion. It is an unbelievably functional block that is even necessary in some instances. Since this block causes explosions that are harmful to the player, other mobs, and the environment around them, TNT can also be rather dangerous.

However, TNT is one of the blocks you’ll want to have in your storage system anyway. If you want to jump straight into TNT’s properties, check out this article’s last section. That being said, here is some quick info about the TNT block in Minecraft:

• Block Type: Explosive
• Craftable In: Survival Mode (Java & Bedrock)
• Found Naturally: Desert Temples, Woodland Mansions
• Blast Power: 4 (same as Creeper)
• Underwater Damage: None
• Destroys Items: Yes

The Minecraft TNT Recipe (Quick Start)

You can obtain TNT in two ways: either craft it or find it naturally generated in your Minecraft world. We will learn how to craft TNT recipes in this section. Do note that it’s not a cheap block to craft in Minecraft.

Materials Needed (Gunpowder & Sand)

To have TNT in bulk, you will need the following crafting ingredients:

• 4x Sand
• 5x Gundpowder
• 1x Crafting Table

How to Craft a TNT in Minecraft

Once you have gathered enough gunpowder and sand blocks, follow the steps below to craft TNT in Minecraft:

• Place the crafting table on the ground and right-click to access it and start crafting items.
• Now, you first need to place five pieces of gunpowder in an X-shape in the crafting grid.
• Then, fill in the remaining cells with four sand blocks (regular or red). Place them in a crafting table using the configuration shown in the picture below.

How to Get Ingredients Fast

Crafting TNT in bulk can get expensive really fast, mainly due to the 5x gunpowder required to make one of those. So, here we have given the fastest farming methods to get gunpowder and sand in Minecraft:

Best Gunpowder Farming Methods

Gunpowder is an item dropped by certain Minecraft mobs, creepers, ghasts, and witches. Gunpowder can be found in loot chests in structures such as desert temples, shipwrecks, dungeons, and woodland mansions. But collecting them manually can take a lot of time.

The best way to get lots of gunpowder is by using a mob farm, or more specifically, a creeper farm. A creeper will drop 0-2 gunpowder when killed. So, within an hour, you might be able to collect thousands of gunpowder without manual effort.

Where to Find Sand and Red Sand

Regular sand is an abundant resource in desert and beach biomes in Minecraft, whereas red sand covers the surface of Badland biomes. Furthermore, sand is smeltable, producing glass blocks, which can then be turned into glass panes and traded with the cartographer’s villager job. It’s a good idea to collect sand in large quantities using shulker boxes, as it’s also useful for making TNT.

Finding TNT Naturally in Minecraft (Loot Locations)

You don’t need to craft TNT at all times, because these blocks can spawn naturally in several Minecraft biomes and structures. TNT blocks are generated as an item in the following areas:

• Found in loot chests of desert temples, shipwrecks, and buried treasure chests in Minecraft.
• TNT blocks can also be found in Minecraft as part of desert temples (9 TNT blocks in the secret chamber underneath the pressure plate)
• And, they can also be found as a block in the woodland mansions (fake end portal secret room). You can instantly mine the TNT blocks without a tool.

How to Use and Activate TNT Safely

The TNT block can be activated (or primed) with a redstone signal, fire, a flaming projectile, an explosion, or when placed by a dispenser. We have explained all of these right here:

Redstone, Fire, and Flaming Arrows

If you want to be at a safe distance for activating the TNTs, you can follow the methods as explained here:

• Priming a TNT block can be achieved by placing a redstone power source adjacent to it or powering the block attached to it.

• Using a flint and steel or a fire charge on a TNT block will cause it to catch on fire and then be ready to explode. Also, nearby lava can spread the fire and activate the TNT.

• This method implies you have to use a bow with a Flame Minecraft enchantment, which will turn all the fired arrows into flaming ones.
  
• Additionally, a regular arrow can become a flaming one if it travels through lava or fire. Shooting a TNT block with this arrow will prime it while you are at a safe distance.
  
• Blaze and dispenser fireballs also help you activate TNT blocks in Minecraft.

The Newest Ways to Prime TNT (1.21 Updates)

Some additional ways to activate TNT in the latest Minecraft 1.21 updates include the following:

• TNT will get primed because of an explosion.
• The explosion can be due to a regular or charged creeper, end crystal, Wither attacks, interacting with beds in the Nether or the End dimensions, interacting with respawn anchors in the Overworld, ghasts’ fireballs, or other TNT blocks. You can create large, chained explosions with this method.
• When a dispenser places a TNT block, it will automatically and instantly get primed. This method saves the durability of a flame bow or flint and steel, though you’ll still need to create a redstone signal.

Primed and unprimed TNT blocks behave differently; we have explained the mechanics here. When you place a TNT block in your world, it functions like most other blocks. It has a hitbox and is not gravity-affected. However, when you prime it, the TNT block behaves like an entity.

It no longer has a hitbox and is gravity-affected, just like regular and suspicious sand and gravel blocks. Primed TNT cannot be broken, but can be removed with the kill command, which is:

/kill @e[type=minecraft:tnt]

A few seconds after priming a TNT block, an explosion will occur. It creates a crater in the terrain around it, breaking blocks and dropping all destroyed blocks as item entities.

TNT Varieties: Underwater TNT

Unlike a regular explosion with terrain and block destruction, TNT behaves differently in water. When TNT is activated underwater, all the damage to surrounding blocks will be negated. It will cause no destruction this way.

Moreover, all the blocks in water will be preserved even if the activated TNT is placed on land. So, do make sure to place the TNT block in water if you don’t want to damage any builds. However, keep in mind that it only goes for the damage to blocks, not mobs or players.

Advanced TNT Mechanics

TNT is quite an interesting block with unique features. Here are all its properties in Minecraft.

Blast Radius & Block Resistance Table

A regular TNT block usually destroys an area of 2-5 blocks in each direction. This depends on the TNT block’s location and the blast resistance of surrounding blocks. Check out the blast resistance section below to learn more about it.

The image below represents the blast radius from three different explosions. Starting from the left, it shows the explosion caused by a creeper, a TNT, and a charged Creeper.

Blast resistance is a behind-the-scenes value determining how difficult it is to explode a certain block. If a blast resistance is high, an explosion will either hardly break that block or not break it at all. If it’s low, the block will easily break due to an explosion. The table below shows the TNT blast resistance of some common blocks in Minecraft.

Block	Blast Resistance
Grass, Dirt, Sand	0.5
Wood, Bone Block	2
Bricks, Cobblestone, Prismarine, Nether Bricks, Stone, Andesite, Diorite, Granite	6
End Stone	9
Lava or Water	100
Obsidian	1200
Bedrock	3,600,000

Explosion Damage vs. Armor Types

With no armor, TNT explosions are fatal, no matter the difficulty you are playing on. Furthermore, players do not suffer damage from TNT explosions in peaceful mode. The following table shows how the difficulty and armor affect the damage from TNT block explosions at the minimum distance.

Unenchanted Armor	Result depending on the difficulty
Leather Armor	Explosion causes death in all difficulties.
Iron Armor	Explosion causes death in all difficulties.
Gold Armor	Result depends on the difficulty
Diamond Armor	Explosion leaves you with a few hearts on easy difficulty and causes death on all other difficulties.
Netherite Armor	Explosion leaves you at a few hearts on easy difficulty and causes death on all other difficulties.

The highest blast resistance in survival Minecraft has blocks like Bedrock and end portal blocks. They will never explode, no matter how strong the explosion is. Blocks with low blast resistance, such as netherrack, dirt, or sandstone, not only explode easily and quickly but can be mined instantly with a suitable tool. Obsidian is a common block that can be obtained but not blown up by explosions. So, having it on hand is useful when making some farms.

So, this is all you need to know about TNT in Minecraft. How do you intend to use this block in the game? Let us know in the comments below!