Taking Inventory: Nether Star

The Nether star was added to Minecraft in the Pretty Scary update in October 2012, alongside potatoes, carrots on sticks, and the wither skeleton mob. The last entry in that list – wither skeleton – is pretty important, because you’re gonna need to kill a bunch of wither skeletons to get your hands on a Nether star.

Oh, you think wither skeletons drop Nether stars? Ahahahaha nooooo that would be much too easy. Going into the Nether, locating a Nether fortress, and then slaying a load of wither skeletons are just the start of your journey. You’re gonna need to collect three of their skulls, and there’s maybe a one-in-forty chance that a given wither skeleton drops one. So get ready to kill at least a hundred. Unless you’ve got a Looting enchantment on your sword, of course, in which case the figure drops down to maybe 35 or so. A bit easier, but still not a walk in the flower forest.

Alright, got your three wither skulls? Pick up some soul sand while you’re in the Nether and then head back to the Overworld where it’s a bit safer. Heal up, grab your strongest weapons and armor, some potions, and maybe some milk, and then head a good distance away from your home and pile up your sand in a T-shape on the ground. Put one head on each block of the T’s crossbar, then stand back. Because you just summoned the Wither.

I won’t go into details here on how to kill this terrifying beast, which has one of the highest health totals in the game and fires poisonous skulls that explode on impact, but let’s just say you manage it somehow. It’ll drop a bucketload of XP, as well as – finally – what you went through all this for. A Nether star. Was it worth it?

YES! Because Nether stars are awesome. Well, you can only do one thing with it actually, but that thing is pretty awesome – with some glass and obsidian, you can craft a beacon, which shoots a big laser into the sky and gives powerful buffs to any players standing nearby. It’s worth it, I promise it.

Now wish me luck, I’m off to fight a Wither and grab a Nether star for myself...