You've finally secured that elusive Heart of the Sea from a buried treasure chest, and now you’re staring at a stack of Nautilus Shells wondering if the effort is actually worth it. Honestly, it is. Building a conduit is basically the endgame equivalent of planting a flag in the ocean. It’s not just a fancy underwater light; it’s survival. It gives you the "Conduit Power" effect, which handles your oxygen, improves your vision in the murky depths, and lets you mine blocks faster than you ever could on dry land.
But here is the thing. Most players mess up the geometry. They build the frame, wait for the eye to open, and... nothing. The pulse doesn't start. The drowned are still biting their ankles. If you want to know how to make a conduit that actually functions—and eventually kills hostile mobs for you—you have to respect the prismarine.
The Raw Materials: What You Actually Need
First, let's talk about the core. You cannot craft a conduit without a Heart of the Sea. These aren't craftable. You have to find a shipwreck or a set of underwater ruins, locate a buried treasure map, and dig. It's usually buried under sand or gravel on a beach. If you’re playing on Bedrock Edition, the map might lead you slightly off from where you think "X" marks the spot, so bring a shovel. Or three.
Then come the Nautilus Shells. You need eight of them.
You can get these by fishing, which is tedious but safe. Or, you can hunt Drowned. Only about 3% of Drowned spawn holding a shell, and they have a 100% drop rate if they are holding one. If you’ve got a looting III sword, your life is going to be a lot easier. Wandering Traders also sell them for five emeralds, but that’s a bit of a rip-off if you ask me. Once you have the 8 shells and the 1 heart, open your crafting table. Place the Heart of the Sea in the middle slot and surround it entirely with the shells.
There. You have the conduit item. But it’s currently useless. It’s just a block in your inventory. To "activate" it, you need a structure made of specific aquatic blocks: Prismarine, Prismarine Bricks, Dark Prismarine, or Sea Lanterns. Nothing else works. Don't try cobble. Don't try wood.
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Building the Frame: The Three Stages of Power
A conduit doesn't just sit on the floor. It has to be suspended in the middle of a 5x5 frame of prismarine blocks. And importantly, the entire structure must be underwater. Every single block inside the frame and the conduit itself must be source water blocks. If there is one stray air bubble, the whole thing fails.
The Basic Activation
The absolute minimum you need is 16 blocks. You build a single ring. Imagine a 5x5 square standing upright, but you leave the corners out. Place the conduit block right in the dead center. Once the 16th block is placed, the conduit will open up, the blue sphere will appear, and you’ll get the status effect. The range here is small—only about 32 blocks. It's okay for a tiny base, but it won't protect your whole reef.
Mid-Tier Expansion
If you add a second ring, perpendicular to the first, you increase the range. Now you’re looking at a 42-block radius. This requires 30 blocks total. At this stage, the conduit starts to look like a proper mechanical device. It’s humming. It’s glowing. You can see better. But it’s still not "complete."
Full Power and Mob Defense
To get the maximum range of 96 blocks, you need the full 42-block frame. This means three intersecting rings. When you hit this 42-block threshold, something cool happens. The "eye" inside the conduit opens. Not only do you get the maximum range for your buffs, but the conduit will now actively attack Drowned, Guardians, and Elder Guardians within an 8-block radius of the frame. It deals 4 points (2 hearts) of damage every two seconds. It’s essentially an underwater turret.
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Why Placement is Everything
I’ve seen people try to hide their conduits inside walls. Don't do that. The conduit needs a 3x3x3 volume of water surrounding it to function. If you put a block directly touching the conduit, it deactivates.
Think of it like a heart that needs to beat. It needs space.
One trick the experts use involves Sea Lanterns. Since the conduit frame accepts Sea Lanterns as valid structural blocks, you should use them for the corners or the mid-points of your rings. This turns your power source into a massive light flare that can be seen from the surface. It makes navigating back to your base at night significantly easier.
Also, keep in mind that the "Conduit Power" effect doesn't just stop at the water's surface. If you are standing in rain or in a single pixel of water (like a cauldron or a waterlogged slab) within the radius, the effect stays active. This is a massive "life hack" for base building during thunderstorms. You get permanent night vision and faster mining speeds while standing on land, as long as it's raining.
Common Failures and Troubleshooting
If your conduit isn't working, check these three things immediately:
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- Water Gaps: Is every block inside the 5x5 area a source block? Flowing water doesn't count. Use a bucket or kelp to turn flowing water into source blocks.
- The Block Type: Are you using polished andesite by mistake? It looks a bit like prismarine to the untrained eye. It won't work. Stick to the blue stuff from Ocean Monuments.
- Proximity: If you're using a fence or a temporary support block to place the conduit in the center, did you remember to break the support block? The conduit must be floating.
Practical Next Steps for Your Ocean Base
Knowing how to make a conduit is only half the battle; the real fun is integrating it into a build that doesn't look like a floating cage.
- Drain an Ocean Monument: Use your conduit to breathe while you use sponges to clear out a Monument. This is the fastest way to get the thousands of prismarine blocks you'll want for a permanent base.
- Automate Shell Gathering: Build a simple Drowned farm using a zombie spawner. If you convert zombies to drowned by submerging them, they won't drop Nautilus shells, but natural-spawn drowned will.
- Visual Design: Instead of a simple cage, build the rings inside a giant glass sphere or hide the rings inside the ribs of a "sunken ship" build. Just remember that 3x3x3 water clearance.
- Range Overlap: If you are building a massive underwater city, you'll need multiple conduits. Space them about 180 blocks apart to ensure you never lose the buff while swimming between districts.
Building your first conduit is a turning point in any Minecraft world. It transforms the ocean from a hostile, suffocating environment into a place where you are the apex predator. Get your shells, find your heart, and start mining.