How to make a Conduit in Minecraft

How to make a Conduit in Minecraft

A Conduit is an underwater power source in Minecraft that grants the Conduit Power effect and attacks hostile mobs underwater. The crafted block does not work on its own: to turn it on, you need to submerge the Conduit in water and surround it with a Prismarine frame. Below is the complete path from gathering materials to a fully assembled structure with maximum radius. Most of the time goes into finding a Heart of the Sea and Nautilus Shells; the assembly itself takes a few minutes.

What a Conduit does

An activated block grants the Conduit Power effect to all players who are in contact with water or standing in the rain within its radius. The effect combines three benefits:

• The breath meter does not deplete underwater — it is impossible to drown within the effect radius.

• Underwater night vision — the dark ocean floor becomes visible without a potion.

• Underwater mining speed increases, equivalent to the Haste I effect (approximately +16.7%).

Conduit Power does not stack with Water Breathing, Night Vision, or Haste: if multiple sources are active, the stronger one applies, and the timers of regular effects continue to tick down. A complete frame adds another feature — the Conduit deals damage to hostile mobs within an 8-block radius. Regardless of its state, the block emits a light level of 15, the brightest in the game, even on land.

What you will need

For the Conduit itself, you need 1 Heart of the Sea and 8 Nautilus Shells. For the activation frame — between 16 and 42 blocks of Prismarine, Dark Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, or Sea Lanterns. These blocks can be mixed in any proportion.

Heart of the Sea

A Heart of the Sea only drops from buried treasure — one guaranteed per chest. There are no other ways to obtain it. To find a chest, you need a treasure map from shipwreck or ocean ruin chests. Feeding dolphins raw cod or salmon helps speed up the search for these structures: they will lead you to the nearest underwater structure.

A shipwreck underwater

Nautilus Shells

You need eight shells. There are three sources:

• Drowned holding a Nautilus Shell in their hand will drop it upon death.

• Fishing — the shell is occasionally caught as "treasure" loot.

• A Wandering Trader sometimes sells Nautilus Shells for emeralds.

Blocks for the frame

Regular Prismarine, Dark Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, and Sea Lanterns will work. All of them can be mined in an ocean monument, and Prismarine and Sea Lanterns can also be found in ocean ruins. Important: only full blocks are valid for activation. Slabs (including double slabs), stairs, and walls made of Prismarine do not count, even if placed in the correct frame positions.

Conduit crafting

Open a crafting table, place the Heart of the Sea in the center slot of the 3×3 grid, and the eight Nautilus Shells in all eight slots around it. The output is one Conduit.

3×3 crafting grid with a Heart of the Sea in the center and Nautilus Shells on the edges, a ready Conduit on the right

Conduit activation

The crafted block grants no effect until it is surrounded by a frame underwater. First condition: the Conduit must be placed in the center of a 3×3×3 volume of water (source blocks, flowing water, or waterlogged blocks will work, and the block itself must also be in water). Second condition: this volume must be enclosed by an activation frame.

The frame consists of three open 5×5 squares that intersect along three axes around the center. The minimum required for activation is 16 blocks; this is enough for a 32-block radius.

How to build the frame

1. Find an open spot underwater — at least 5 blocks of space in every direction from the future center.

2. Build a Prismarine frame following the pattern of three 5×5 squares. 16 blocks are enough for the minimal setup.

3. A Conduit cannot be placed in "mid-water": first place a temporary block in the center, put the Conduit on top, then remove the temporary block. The Conduit will float in the water.

Minimal frame of 16 Prismarine blocks around a Conduit underwater, side view before activation

As soon as the frame is closed, the block will open, particles will appear around it, and the Heart of the Sea texture will start pulsating in the center. A characteristic sound will be added — a beating similar to a heartbeat. If this doesn't happen, check the water around the block and the number of blocks in the frame.

Increasing the radius

The effect radius depends on the number of blocks in the frame: every 7 blocks add 16 blocks of radius. A complete 42-block frame forms a closed 5×5×5 "cage" and grants the maximum range.

How it works

The Conduit checks the 3×3×3 water volume around it and the frame blocks within a 5×5×5 shell. Only Prismarine blocks and Sea Lanterns placed exactly in frame positions count; anything else in this volume grants no effect. Removing just one frame block is enough to turn off the power until the block is replaced.

When the frame is complete (42 blocks), the heart in the center opens to reveal an orange "eye". In this state, the block deals 4 points of magic damage (2 hearts) to hostile mobs — Drowned, Guardians, Elder Guardians — once every 2 seconds, if the target is in contact with water or rain and is within 8 blocks. Only one mob is attacked at a time.

Fully activated Conduit 

Common mistakes

• Block is not in water. If there is no 3×3×3 volume of water around it, activation will not start even with a complete frame.

• Slabs, stairs, or walls in the frame. They do not count. Build the frame out of full blocks.

• Frame is off-center. The 5×5 squares must intersect exactly at the Conduit — an offset frame will not activate.

• Frame block removed. Any hole cuts the power until the block is returned.

• Expecting the effect on land. Conduit Power only works in water or under the rain; on dry land without precipitation, there will be no effect.

Conclusion

A Conduit solves several problems of underwater gameplay at once: it removes the risk of drowning, lights up the bottom, speeds up mining, and keeps Drowned at bay. For a single dive, it is cheaper to use a Water Breathing potion or a helmet with the Respiration enchantment paired with a Turtle Shell — the structure pays off when a constant presence underwater is needed: a base on the ocean floor, clearing an ocean monument, or large-scale underwater building. The main advantage is that Conduit Power does not expire as long as the player stays within radius, and a complete frame also keeps enemies away.