Pointed Dripstone

This article is about the pointed block. For other uses, see Dripstone.

For the sulfur variant, see Sulfur Spike.

For the upcoming ice variant, see Icicle.

Pointed Dripstone

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	3
Hardness	1.5
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Waterloggable	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color	48 TERRACOTTA_BROWN‌[JE only]  0 NONE‌[BE only]
Note block instrument	Bass Drum

Pointed dripstone is a block found in dripstone caves that forms stalactites and stalagmites.

The stalactites (which point downward) hang from the bottom face of blocks and grow over time under certain conditions. When their supporting block is removed, they fall and deal damage to entities that they hit. They can also renewably drip water and lava into cauldrons and convert mud into clay.

The stalagmites (which point upward) sit on the top face of blocks and multiply the fall damage to players and mobs that land on them.

Obtaining

Breaking

Pointed dripstone can be mined with any tool,^[1] but pickaxes are the quickest. Pointed dripstone breaks instantly when hit by a thrown trident. However, it cannot be broken with any other projectile.

Block	Pointed Dripstone
Hardness	1.5
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default	12.25 (JE) 2.25 (BE)
Wooden	11.15 (JE) 1.15 (BE)
Stone	10.6 (JE) 0.6 (BE)
Copper	10.45 (JE) 0.45 (BE)
Iron	10.4 (JE) 0.4 (BE)
Diamond	10.3 (JE) 0.3 (BE)
Netherite	10.25 (JE) 0.25 (BE)
Golden	10.2 (JE) 0.2 (BE)
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Natural generation

Pointed dripstone can be found in dripstone caves in cluster formations. It also generates in trial chambers (a trapped variant of spiral staircases, as well as the "Encounter 4" room).

Trading

Wandering traders have a chance to trade 2 pointed dripstones for 1 emerald.

Villager		Probability		Villager wants	Player receives	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
		JE	BE
Wandering Trader	Ordinary	6%	6%	Emerald	2 × Pointed Dripstone	5	—	—

Mob loot

In Bedrock Edition, wandering traders have a chance of 25% (increased by 1% per level of Looting) to drop 2 pointed dripstones when killed while showing the item as trade offer, if the player holds an emerald.

Post-generation

Pointed dripstone can grow only if it is hanging directly under a dripstone block with a water source above (in Java Edition, a waterlogged block also works). It grows downward, forming a stalactite with a maximum length of 8 blocks. In addition, if there is a block with a full solid top surface less than 11 blocks below the tip of the stalactite, a stalagmite can grow on that block toward the stalactite. This does not occur if the stalactite is 8 or more blocks long. Neither stalactites nor stalagmites can grow if their tip is waterlogged.

Pointed dripstone grows slowly, with an average time of 5 in-game days (100 minutes) for every single growth step. More precisely, every time the tip of a stalactite receives a random tick, there is a small chance of 1.138% (⁶⁴⁄₅₆₂₅) for it or the stalagmite below to grow one block. If the game tries to grow the stalagmite and there is no valid surface below, it will fail instead of growing the stalactite.

Usage

Pointed dripstone comes in two different forms, stalactites and stalagmites. Placing a pointed dripstone between a stalagmite and stalactite without sneaking connects them. It can be waterlogged. Mobs can jump up pointed dripstone as long as its height does not exceed four blocks. Horses and other similar mobs can travel up the same pointed dripstone as if they were stairs.

Stalactites

Stalactites are created when pointed dripstone is placed beneath a block.

Stalactites less than 11 blocks tall passively drip water particles (or lava particles in the Nether) in the absence of a liquid source, but these particles do not fill cauldrons. A waterlogged pointed dripstone at the tip of a stalactite does not produce drip particles. Waterlogging other parts of the stalactite does not affect the dripping.

If the block supporting a stalactite or any block of the stalactite is broken, all of the unsupported pointed dripstone below the broken block drops, causing damage to any player and mobs standing beneath it, similar to a falling anvil. After 2 blocks' falling, the amount of damage is 1HP per pointed dripstone falling (less than 6 will be counted as 6) per each block of falling distance in Java Edition, or 1HP per each block of falling distance in Bedrock Edition.^[2] (e.g., one single pointed dripstone that falls 4 blocks deals 18HP × 9 damage). The damage is capped at 40HP × 20, no matter how far the stalactite falls. Wearing a helmet reduces the damage by ¹⁄₄, but this costs twice as much durability on the helmet as on other armor pieces. When a player dies by a stalactite falling on them, the death message "<player> was skewered by a falling stalactite" appears. However, if a player is merely touched by a falling stalactite entity, no damage is dealt unless the stalactite hits the ground in the same block where the player is located. Stalactites with multiple pointed dripstone can cause multiple damage; however, damage immunity prevents most of the damage from additional blocks.

Cauldrons

When the uppermost block of a stalactite less than 11 blocks tall gets randomly ticked, it checks for a waterlogged block‌^{[Java Edition only]} or water source two blocks above it and a cauldron within 10 blocks under the tip with no non-air blocks in between. In Java Edition, open trapdoors, ladders and blocks with no collision box are also allowed.^[3] If both conditions are satisfied, there is a ⁴⁵⁄₂₅₆ (~17.6%) chance for it to drip water and fill the cauldron by one level. If there is a lava source above the stalactite, there is a ¹⁵⁄₂₅₆ (~5.9%) chance for it to completely fill an empty cauldron with lava instead, making lava a renewable resource. Refilling a cauldron with water or lava averages nearly one Minecraft day (19+ minutes) although the actual time for any individual refill varies.

Converting mud into clay

If mud is placed above a block with a stalactite underneath, the mud eventually turns into clay. There is a ⁴⁵⁄₂₅₆ (~17.6%) chance of this happening when the uppermost block of a stalactite gets randomly ticked. This conversion does not happen in the Nether.^[4]

Stalagmites

Stalagmites are created when pointed dripstone is placed on the ground.

Falling onto the topmost block of a stalagmite multiplies the fall distance by two to calculate the total amount of fall damage, using the formula ceil(fall_distance × 2 − 2). A player or mob gets 1HP damage each time they jump on top of a single stalagmite (with a normal jump height of 1 ¹⁄₄ blocks). The distance traveled during the last game tick of falling time is not included in this calculation, making it slightly off at higher distances; see Damage § Fall damage for more information.

If a player dies from falling onto a stalagmite, the death message "<player> was impaled on a stalagmite" appears.

All mobs that are immune to fall damage do not take damage from falling into stalagmites; the same applies to the player if the game rule fall_damage‌^{[JE only]} or falldamage‌^{[BE only]} is set to false.^[5][6]

It is possible to climb up portions of stalagmites entirely composed of differently sized parts because of the different collision box sizes of the pointed dripstone that it composes of.

Columns

Dripstone columns can be found naturally in dripstone caves, they are formed when stalactites and stalagmites join together in mid-air. When grown, they stop where they join (unlike in real life).

Columns can be created manually by stacking pointed dripstones on either the stalactite or the stalagmite or both until they join together, the last pointed dripstone placed being the most slender part of the whole column. Based on the direction of the last block placed, the shape of the column's slender part can vary.

Crafting ingredient

Name	Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Dripstone Block	Pointed Dripstone

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

pointed_dripstone sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.pointed_dripstone.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.pointed_dripstone.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.pointed_dripstone.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.pointed_dripstone.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.pointed_dripstone.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

pointed_dripstone sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​ ?	Blocks	Once the block has broken	break.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	1.0	1.0
	​ ?	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	1.0	1.0
	​ ?	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	1.0	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	0.4	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Walking on the block	step.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	0.17	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Jumping from the block	jump.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	0.12	1.0
	​ ?	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.pointed_dripstone	​ ?	0.14	1.0

Unique

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Pointed Dripstone	pointed_dripstone	Block & Item	happy_ghast_avoids mineable/pickaxe speleothems	block.minecraft.pointed_dripstone

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Pointed Dripstone	pointed_dripstone	563	Block & Giveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3] (Numeric: -308)	tile.pointed_dripstone.name

Block states

Java Edition:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
thickness	tip	tip_merge
		tip
		frustum
		middle
		base
vertical_direction	up	up down	The direction of the pointed dripstone.
waterlogged	false	true false	Whether or not there's water in the same place as this pointed dripstone.

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	Description
dripstone_thickness	Not Supported	tip	merge	Unsupported
			tip	Unsupported
			frustum	Unsupported
			middle	Unsupported
			base	Unsupported
hanging	Not Supported	true	false true	Unsupported	Whether or not the pointed dripstone is pointing down.

History

Announcement

May 21, 2009							Notch shows interest in adding a spike block, but said he was "not 100% sure about this"
October 2020							Pointed dripstone concepts are created by xilefian.
October 3, 2020							Pointed dripstone is shown at Minecraft Live 2020 within the dripstone caves biome.
							Item texture was different.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.17			20w48a				Added pointed dripstone.
			20w49a				Pointed dripstone can now be generated in dripstone caves, which is accessible using only the buffet or custom world type.
							Changed death message from being killed by a stalactite from "<player> was squashed by a falling block" to "<player> was skewered by a stalactite".
							Stalactites taller than 1 block can now fill cauldrons.[7]
			21w03a				Pointed dripstone can now be used to craft dripstone blocks.
							Sounds drip_lava, drip_lava_into_cauldron, drip_water, and drip_water_into_cauldron now have subtitles.[8]
			21w13a				Wandering traders now sell pointed dripstones, making them renewable.
							Dripstone clusters containing pointed dripstone can now generate in regular caves as well.
			21w16a				Placing a source block of water above a dripstone block with a stalactite hanging from it allows it to grow longer and to form stalagmites on the ground below.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				Dripstone caves, where pointed dripstone can be found, can now generate naturally.
							Pointed dripstone can no longer be found outside the dripstone caves biome.
1.19			22w14a				Pointed dripstone can now be used to drain the moisture from mud, converting it to clay.
1.20.3 Experiment Update 1.21			23w45a				Pointed dripstone can now generate in trial chambers.
26.1			pre1				Pointed dripstone now can grow if hanging from a dripstone block with a waterlogged block above.[9]
26.2			snap6				The damage dealt by falling dripstone stalactites has been increased.[10]

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
1.16.210 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.210.56				Added pointed dripstone behind the "Caves and Cliffs" experimental toggle.
1.16.220 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.220.50				The item texture of pointed dripstone has been changed to the tip.
							Pointed dripstone can now be waterlogged.
							Tweaked visual shape of pointed dripstone to match Java Edition.
							Pointed dripstone now breaks if being hit by a trident.
							Pointed dripstone can now be used to craft dripstone blocks.
							Changed death message from being killed by a stalactite from "<player> was squashed by a falling block" to "<player> was skewered by a stalactite".
							Now uses the correct sounds for pointed dripstone.
							Now generate in dripstone caves, though they can generate only through add-ons.
1.17.0 Experiment Caves and Cliffs			beta 1.16.230.54				Wandering traders now sell 2 pointed dripstones for an emerald.
							Pointed dripstone now generate rarely in caves in small patch from layer 0 to 59.
							Water and lava now drip more often from pointed dripstone.
			beta 1.17.0.50				Stalagmites no longer deal damage when doFallDamage is set to false
							Pointed dripstone can now grow into longer stalactites and/or stalagmites.
1.17.0			beta 1.17.0.52				Now correctly gets destroyed after the block it was placed on is broken by block updates.
							Pointed dripstones are no longer available only through experimental gameplay.
1.19.0			Preview 1.19.0.25				Pointed dripstone can now be used to drain the moisture from mud, converting it to clay.
1.20.30			Preview 1.20.20.21				Increased the blast resistance of pointed dripstone from 1.8 to 3.

Issues

Issues relating to "Pointed Dripstone" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  Naturally generated pointed dripstone in a canyon
• 
  Up and down pointed dripstones connecting

Concept artwork

• 
  Render of prototype pointed dripstone

References