| Renewable | Yes |
|---|---|
| Stackable | Yes (64) |
| Tool | |
| Blast resistance | 6 |
| Hardness | 1.5 |
| Luminous | No |
| Transparent | No |
| Flammable | No |
| Catches fire from lava |
No |
| Map color | 23 COLOR |
| Note block instrument | Bass Drum |
| Sulfur cube archetype | Slow Bouncy |
Prismarine is a type of stone that appears underwater in cold ocean ruins and ocean monuments. It periodically changes color between blue and green.
Obtaining
Breaking
Prismarine drops itself only when mined with a pickaxe. If mined by any other tool, it drops nothing.
| Block | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 1.5 | |
| Tool | ||
| Breaking time (sec)[A] | ||
| Default | 7.5 (JE) 7.5 (BE) | |
| 1.15 (JE) 1.15 (BE) | ||
| 0.6 (JE) 0.6 (BE) | ||
| 0.45 (JE) 0.45 (BE) | ||
| 0.4 (JE) 0.4 (BE) | ||
| 0.3 (JE) 0.3 (BE) | ||
| 0.25 (JE) 0.25 (BE) | ||
| 0.2 (JE) 0.2 (BE) | ||
- 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
- ↑ These durations ignore any other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Mining efficiency.
Natural generation
Prismarine, in large amounts, naturally generates as the main blocks making up ocean monuments.
Normal prismarine can also be found in cold ocean ruins.
Crafting
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Prismarine Shard |
Usage

Prismarine can be used for decoration or as a building block with high blast resistance.
The normal prismarine is uniquely useful for decoration as it has an animated texture. The cracks in prismarine slowly cycle in color through light blue, green, purple, and dark blue. The full animation for the prismarine texture changes color 22 times in an irregular sequence before the whole pattern repeats; this takes 5 minutes and 30 seconds.
Conduit power
Prismarine can be used to activate a conduit by building a structure around it. By doing this, the conduit emits the "Conduit Power" effect in a certain radius, depending on how many blocks are used to power it. Sea lanterns, prismarine bricks and dark prismarine can also be used for this purpose.
Crafting ingredient
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Prismarine Slab | Prismarine | |
| Prismarine Stairs | Prismarine | |
| Prismarine Wall | Prismarine | |
| Tide Armor Trim Smithing Template | Diamond + Tide Armor Trim + Prismarine |
Stonecutting
| Ingredients | Cutting recipe |
|---|---|
| Prismarine |
Sounds
stone sound type | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Closed captions | Source | Description | Identifier | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block placed[until: JE 26.4] | Blocks | When the block is placed | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | block | subtitles | 0.25 | 0.5 | 16 | |
| Something falls on a block | Entity-Dependent | Falling on the block with fall damage | block | subtitles | 0.5 | 0.75 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Entity-Dependent | Walking on the block | block | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 | |
stone sound type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Closed captions | Source | Description | Identifier | Translation key | Volume | Pitch |
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | dig | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8–1.0 | |
| Block placed | Blocks | When the block is placed | place | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8–1.0 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | hit | subtitles | 0.37 | 0.5 | |
| Footsteps | Players | Falling on the block with fall damage | fall | subtitles | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Players | Walking on the block | step | subtitles | 0.3 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Blocks | Jumping from the block | jump | subtitles | 0.12 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Blocks | Falling on the block without fall damage | land | subtitles | 0.22 | 1.0 | |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
prismarine | Block & Item | block |
| Name | Identifier | Alias ID | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
prismarine | prismarine / 0 | 168 | Block & Giveable Item[i 2] | Identical[i 3] | tile |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| Moskstraumen | Activate a Conduit | Place a conduit in a valid prismarine/sea lantern structure to activate it. | 50 | Gold | ||
Videos
History
Development
| May 16, 2014 | The first images of prismarine are previewed by Jeb on his Instagram page. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2014 | Jeb creates a contest to name the new block. A clearer image of the block texture is also revealed. Jeb also reveals that there's several varieties. | ||||||
| May 28, 2014 | Jeb names the new block "prismarine".[1] | ||||||
Java Edition
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 | 14w25a | ||||||
| 1.13 | 18w07a | Prismarine can now be used to craft prismarine slabs and stairs. | |||||
| 18w09a | Prismarine now generates in cold ocean ruins. | ||||||
| 18w15a | Prismarine can now be used to activate conduits. | ||||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | Prismarine can now be used to craft prismarine walls. | |||||
| 1.19.4 Experiment | 23w04a | Prismarine can now be used to craft tide armor trims. | |||||
| 1.20 | 23w12a | The changes from 23w04a have now been officially added to the game. | |||||
| 26.2 | snap1 | Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb prismarine, providing the football/regular effect to the mob. | |||||
| snap6 | Changed effect from football/regular to slow bouncy. | ||||||
Bedrock Edition
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v0.16.0 | build 1 | ||||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.20.1 | Prismarine now generates in cold ocean ruins. | |||||
| 1.5.0 | beta 1.5.0.1 | Prismarine can now be used to activate conduits. | |||||
| 1.9.0 | beta 1.9.0.0 | Prismarine can now be used to craft prismarine walls. | |||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | ||||||
| 1.19.80 Experiment | Preview 1.19.80.21 | Prismarine can now be used to craft tide armor trims. | |||||
| 26.20 Experiment | Preview 26.20.23 | Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb prismarine, providing the football/regular effect to the mob. | |||||
| 26.30 | Preview 26.30.20 | Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay. | |||||
| Preview 26.30.27 | Prismarine's sulfur cube archetype has been changed from regular to slow bouncy. | ||||||
Legacy Console Edition
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | 1.0.1 | |
| TU69 | 1.76 | 1.76 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | Prismarine can now be used to craft prismarine slabs and stairs. | ||
| Prismarine can now be used to activate conduits. | |||||||
| 1.88 | Prismarine can now be used to craft prismarine walls. | ||||||
| 1.90 | |||||||
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3.12 | |||||||
Data history
Java Edition
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.13 | 17w47a | The different block states for the prismarine ID have been split up into their own IDs.
| |||||
| Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 168. | |||||||
Bedrock Edition
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.21.20 | Preview 1.21.10.22 | The different block states for the prismarine ID have been split up into their own IDs. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Prismarine" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Trivia

I picked Prismarine because 1) it sounds good, 2) it references water with "marine", 3) it references its "shimmering effect" I hinted at with "prism", and 4) it doesn't really mean anything in the real world.
- The name "prismarine" was created by the now-deleted Reddit user AjaxGb during a naming contest, where Jens Bergensten was looking for a name for the block.[2]
Gallery
Screenshots
-
A tunnel made with prismarine blocks
Development images
-
The first image of an ocean monument, featuring prismarine and sea lanterns -
The prismarine texture as revealed by Jens Bergensten on reddit







