Minecraft 1.14 was a major updated, labelled the Village & Pillage update. Whilst it completely overhauled Minecraft’s villages, it also added many new blocks to the game, with one of them being the Campfire.
The Campfire is primarily used as a way to cook food in Minecraft, but also works as a light source. They can also act as smoke signals, often being seen from great distances. Campfires do have recipes of their own, but can also spawn in Taiga Villages. Fisherman Villagers also have a chance of selling them for 5 Emeralds.
How to Craft a Campfire
Luckily, crafting a Campfire in Minecraft is quite simple and doesn’t cost much when it comes to materials. To craft a Campfire, collect 3 Logs, 3 Sticks and a single piece of Coal. Place the Logs along the bottom row of the Crafting Table, the Coal in the middle slot and surround it with 3 Sticks, then you can craft the Campfire.
Once you have crafted a Campfire, you can place it down either inside or out. Although they are designed to be outside due to the smoke they release.
If you want to use the Campfire as a smoke signal, then you should place it outside so that the smoke has enough height to rise. Otherwise, it will just hit the ceiling inside your house. Fire from a campfire will not spark and cause any other blocks to catch fire.
Cooking on a Campfire
The Campfire doesn’t have an interface like the furnace does. To cook on a Campfire, hold some Raw Meat in your hand and use it on the Campfire by interacting with it. The Campfire can hold up to 4 food items at once, with each one taking 30 seconds to cook.
Furnaces are quicker for cooking individual items, but do require a fuel source and messing about in the GUI. Therefor, the Campfire turns out to be much more efficient, as it takes 30 seconds to cook 4 food items on a Campfire, compared to 40 seconds in a Furnace, and no fuel is required.
There aren’t many disadvantages to the campfire. There is the 4 item limit, and the fact that there is no storage after. Once your food is cooked after 30 seconds, the cooked food will be dropped on the group where it will need to be picked up. If you’re not around, it might disappear.
Creating a Beacon/Smoke Signal
Another use of Campfires in Minecraft is for Smoke Signals, otherwise known as a Smoke Beacon. The Campfire will release smoke up to 10 blocks high, meaning it can be seen from quite a distance if your render distance will allow it.
The 10 block limit isn’t the maximum either. If you choose to place the Campfire on top of a Hay Bale, the smoke height will be increased to 25 blocks high, making it visible from even further away.
It’s a good idea to set these up at your base and surrounding locations so that you can always find your way home again. It’s also good if you play with friends, and are trying to give out your location.
