How to craft the Minecraft Lightning Rod and use it

The Minecraft Lightning Rod is a special tool used to draw thunder from the area around it. That doesn't mean it actually spawns in storms, but if lightning comes down anywhere nearby, it'll hit the Rod rather than anything else.

This can serve all sorts of functions in Minecraft - productive, defensive and offensive alike, if you know how to use it creatively. Sick of your Minecraft house getting obliterated by inclement weather? Want to oxidize copper? Want to call down a bolt of electricity on a specific location? You can do all that and more - and below, we'll show you how to craft the Minecraft Lightning Rod that does it.

How to craft a Lightning Rod in Minecraft

To craft a Lightning Rod in Minecraft, just place three Minecraft Copper Ingots on top of each other, which is the same shape as the Lightning Rod itself. The only difficulty you may encounter is to find Copper Ore, but if you just look at some nearby cave entrances or dig around a bit, discovering enough Copper Ore shouldn’t take too long. You can then smelt them in a furnace to get the three Copper Ingots required.

How to use the Lightning Rod in Minecraft

The Minecraft Lightning Rod can protect your wooden house from lightning strikes, but that’s definitely not the only use of the Lightning Rod in Minecraft. Here are some examples of its other functions:

Prevent mobs from transitioning into something more dangerous. For example, a villager struck by lightning turns into a witch.
Create mobs on purpose (and collecting their drops). Just put a villager in a tiny space with a Lightning Rod in the middle, and wait for it to be struck. It’s a bit mean, but effective.
Remove oxidation from copper blocks. Just place the Lightning Rod on top of the copper and wait until it gets hit; the greenish color will disappear.
The Lightning Rod sends a redstone signal when it’s struck by lightning, which means you can use it in a redstone circuit.

A Minecraft Lightning Rod will divert lightning strikes, making it hit the rod instead of any other blocks surrounding it. In Minecraft Java Edition, the area covered by the Lightning Rod is 32x4x32. In Bedrock edition, it’s 64x64x64. You should mount it on a block that isn't flammable, such as stone, otherwise the base and other nearby flammable blocks could be ignited by a strike.

Naturally, a Lightning Rod won’t do anything during clear weather or normal rain. You can tell the difference between normal rain and a thunderstorm by looking at the Lightning Rod: if it emits tiny white sparkles, lightning strikes are coming so get ready!

You can always remove your Lightning Rod and place it elsewhere, but make sure to use a stone or better quality pickaxe to remove a Lightning Rod, otherwise it won’t drop anything.

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