Minecraft is an amazing game, largely because it provides its players with limitless possibilities and a humungous variety of things to try out and use to enhance their gameplay experience. Even after putting a lifetime’s worth of dedication into it, the majority of its player base has only scratched the surface.
Today, we are going to be talking about a resource in Minecraft that is so overlooked by the player base that some even believe it to be unharvestable, but we are here to tell you that not only are sponges harvestable, they are an extremely useful resource with very unique capabilities, as players will not find many items in-game which can be reverted back to their initial state once changed.
Hence, in this post, we will try and explain to you all what they are and how players can use them to their benefit. So without much ado, let us dive deeper into what sponges are in Minecraft and what are its uses:
How to Make Sponge in Minecraft Content List
What is a Sponge in Minecraft?
Sponges in Minecraft are extremely useful building blocks that enable players to remove water blocks up to 7 blocks away from a given location which in turn allows players to access locations that were previously hard to reach.
The best part about sponges is that they are completely reusable as after soaking up all the water from a particular spot in the game, the initially dry sponge becomes a wet sponge. In this state, it can’t soak up any more water blocks.
Fortunately, the process of taking the wet sponge back to its initial state of dry sponge is quite simple and straightforward, as all players require is a furnace.
Once at the furnace, players need to place the wet sponge in one of the slots available in the furnace and wait like they would when cooking any food item. After a few minutes, due to the furnace’s heat, the water in the wet sponge will evaporate, leaving behind a brand new-looking dry sponge, which is now ready to soak up more water blocks.
Please note: Players cannot technically ‘craft’ sponges in Minecraft like they can with other items like tools, tables, and weapons. As of the latest Minecraft version, sponges can only be harvested.
Moreover, when players say they know how to ‘make’ a sponge in Minecraft, what they basically mean is taking a block of wet sponge back to its default dry sponge state by using a furnace. We’ll explore more on this a little later in the article.
How to Get a Sponge in Minecraft?
As mentioned earlier, sponges in Minecraft are in-game blocks that enable players to absorb water in the game. Unfortunately, sponges cannot be crafted, instead, they have to be found by players in the game’s world.
At the time of writing this article, there are currently two ways in which players can hope to get their hands on these unique blocks. They are as follows:
In the first option, players can harvest a considerable amount of sponge blocks from a secret room which we at Benettonplay like to call a ‘sponge room.’ This room is located inside a structure known as an ocean monument, and it randomly generates large quantities of sponge blocks for players to harvest.
To harvest blocks of sponge in the secret room in a speedy manner, players are recommended to strike them with a hoe.
In the second option, players can choose to find and engage in a fight with the Elder Guardian. Upon defeating it, players will either be rewarded with an ocean monument or a block of wet sponge.
As good as the first option sounds, finding the secret sponge room in itself is a challenge and involves a lot of luck, so players are advised to try the latter option instead, which in hindsight, is more achievable.
It is worth pointing out that if players are looking for only a single block of sponge, or at maximum a handful, harvesting them from the Elder guardian is the way to go.
On the other hand, if players are looking to harvest a large number of sponges, this might not be the best idea, as the drop rate of sponges from the Elder guardian is extremely low for the amount of effort and resources required to take them down, and it will take a long time for players to keep coming back and harvesting sponges till they have the desired amount in their possession.
On killing an elder guardian, players can expect to receive an ocean monument or just a single block of sponge from it. Another point worth mentioning is that players will never receive both items together after destroying the Elder Guardian. It will always be one or the other.
Also Read: Looking to discover all types of mobs in Minecraft? Check out our post to learn about all the neutral mobs currently in Minecraft.
How to Make a Sponge in Minecraft?
Now that we know what sponge is in Minecraft and how to get it, it is now time to know how one can craft it.
As far as resources or materials are concerned, players will be relieved to know that this process can be completed by using only a handful of items. The items players will require for this process are a block of wet sponge, a furnace, and a fuel source to light up the furnace. For this article, we have decided to go with coal.
- The first step in crafting a sponge in Minecraft is to open the menu of the furnace and put a piece of coal in the bottom sloth which is allocated for fuel sources.
- Next, players need to place the block of wet sponge in the top slot. Players should now start seeing a burning fire icon on top of the coal slot. If the icon is lit, that means the furnace is doing its work and cooking the sponge as intended.
- Once the furnace has cooked the wet sponge thoroughly, drying it completely, the wet block of sponge will now become a dry block of sponge, and appear in the previously empty slot on the right.
- To complete the sponge crafting process, players will need to transfer the dry block of sponge from the right slot of the furnace to their inventory.
And that’s about it. Congrats, players now have in their possession a freshly prepared dry block of sponge which they can use to completely soak up various blocks of water from the map. Players need to keep repeating this process whenever they need to convert a wet block of sponge back to a dry block of sponge.
In the Bedrock edition of Minecraft, players just need to place the wet block of sponge in a dry biome like the desert for a few minutes, as the extreme heat of this biome will cook up the wet block of sponge and evaporate all the water within.
How to Effectively Use a Sponge in Minecraft?
Once players have successfully crafted a dry block of sponge, it is imperative for them to use it effectively as well.
To use a sponge in Minecraft, players will first have to place the block of sponge in their hotbar and select it. Once it is in their hands, players have to strategically place/throw it into the waterbody of their choice in such a way that it absorbs the maximum amount of water it possibly can.
Sponges in Minecraft can technically only absorb water in a 5x5x2 dimension, so players will have to keep these dimensions in mind before using them.
It is advisable for players to always place the dry sponge in the middle of any waterbody they wish to absorb water from, as it will allow the sponge to completely justify its absorption dimensions of 5x5x2. Placing the dry sponge at the waterbody’s edge might sound like a great idea too, but in reality, it will restrict the sponge from absorbing water to its maximum capacity.
Once the dry block of sponge is thrown/placed in a water body, it will absorb as much water as it possibly can before turning into a wet block of sponge.
If players have only one block of sponge on them, they need to repeat the process shown in the ‘How to make a sponge in Minecraft‘ section of this article as many times as they need to, to turn a wet block of sponge into a dry block of sponge by using a furnace.
Conclusion
This was our complete guide on how to harvest, craft, and use one of the rarest and most unique blocks players can hope to find in the game, Sponge blocks. We hope passionate, long-time Minecraft gamers as well as newbies find value in this post and it provides them with all the necessary information and tips that they might ever require regarding sponges in Minecraft.
Please keep coming back to this post occasionally whenever you are in need of any kind of information regarding sponge blocks in Minecraft, as we will be looking to keep this post updated with all the latest updates and news related to sponges, so if there are any important changes or additions to them from the developer’s side, you’ll be the lucky ones to know first.
