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Photo from Minecraft of a flat grass land with three rows of spaced out copper blocks
Guides
Kate Gray
Written By
Kate Gray
Published
12/29/22

The Fastest Way to Oxidize Copper

Tutorial Difficulty: 2/10

Say, that new copper block is rather lovely, isn't it? Incredibly hard work to find and make, of course, but I once read on a motivational poster in my doctor’s office that “nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty.” I'm about eighty percent sure it was talking about Minecraft copper, but I'm too afraid to go back and check before my next yearly cleaning.

Anyway, let me tell you my thoughts about copper: I wish it oxidized faster. I'm a busy woman with lots of things to do, and I can't just wait around while my copper roof slooooowwwlllyyy turns that lovely shade of minty-green! I'm the kind of gal who bone-meals all my crops and upgrades my shovel and pickaxe to Efficiency V as soon as I am able, so the idea of having to be patient terrifies me.

Luckily, I don't have to be patient. Or, well, I don't have to be patient for long. Xisumavoid, a prominent Minecraft YouTuber whose name is downright impossible to pronounce (Ex-umavoid? Izumavoid? Shissumavoid? Siswammyvoid?) tried out various ways of aging copper in order to figure out what worked best. And by best, I mean fastest. 

Image from Minecraft of a flat grassy area with four copper blocks stacked next to each other horizontally ranging from copper on the left to oxidized copper on the right.

The video, by the way, is part of Xisuma's "Minecraft Myth Busting" series, in which he examines rumours, hearsay, and myths to find out if they're true or not. He's also covered Diamond Ore distribution, one of the tried-and-tested "Triple Your Diamonds" tricks, and a bunch of questions that people had about the Caves & Cliffs update. If there's ever anything you've wondered about in Minecraft, Xisumavoid has probably already covered it.

But back to the copper: It turns out that the best way to oxidize a big batch of copper is to space it out — at least four blocks of air between each copper block will significantly speed up the rate at which they turn from orange to green (although the proper term is "verdigris", don'tcha know). Five blocks of air between each block will be even faster, although you'll probably attract questions like "what are you doing with all this copper" and "can you please get all of your copper off my lawn".

Don't worry – it'll all be worth it when you finish building your gloriously verdigris-blanketed castle/cathedral/dirt palace. And as a bonus... it’ll be a great place to hide the next time you’re due for a dentist appointment.

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