Construction Materials

With the latest changes to various blocks a lot of the properties required for construction have suffered a significant change, and it has thus become a part in tech progression as certain blocks are gated behind other technologies or expenses. In this page we’ll explain in detail the characteristics and requirements of all the common blocks whose purpose is to serve as construction materials, such as Netherrack, Wooden Planks, Brick Blocks, Glass and many more.

Material Properties (X = Block Meets Criteria, V = Block meets Criteria Partially)

Material	Gravity-Proof	Fire-Proof	Spawn-Proof	Nether-Proof	See-Through	Enderman-Proof
Dirt	V	X		X
Cobblestone	V	X		X		X
Gravel		X		X
Sand		X		X
Wood	X		X	X	V
Wooden Plank	X		X	X	V	X
Leaves	X		X	X	X	X
Coil of Rope	X	X		X		X
Stone Brick Blocks	V	X		X		X
Clay Brick Blocks	V	X		X		X
Packed Earth	X	X		X		X
Mycelium	X	X	X	X		X
Moss Stone	X	X		X		X
Sandstone	X	X		X		X
Ice	X			X	X	X
Snow	X			X		X
Obsidian	X	X		X		X
Smooth Stone	X	X		X		X
Glass	X	X		X	X	X
Bone Block	X	X		X		X
Block of Flesh	X	X		X		X
Netherrack	V	V	V			X
Nether Brick Blocks	V	X				X
End Stone	X	X		X		X
White Cobble	X	X		X		X

Early Game

Dirt

The most common material available to the player from day 1. It has the interesting characteristic out of all construction blocks that it reacts differently when destroyed depending on which tool was used to harvest it. If harvested by hand or with a stone shovel all the surrounding blocks become loose and are affected by gravity. The most common strategy in the early game is for players to dig holes into the ground at least 3 deep to keep a ceiling of grass above their heads.

It has the potential to be able to build anything given enough time, as when grass grows on loose dirt it turns it into a full dirt block, which is then unaffected by gravity. However it is the most time consuming one to use for building as it can take up to several days to spread grass over an entire roof of loose dirt, and it can be picked up by endermen. Additionally it has the property that it’s slow to walk on compared to other materials.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone is one of the most fascinating materials after the latest updates. It can be crafted in multiples of 4 Loose Stones by packing up most of the spaces into a block using the crafting grid. However, because the last 9th slot of the block can’t be filled out while crafting, it becomes loose as soon as you harvest or craft it. As with most other construction blocks, being loose means gravity has an effect on it. There are a couple of ways to fill a cobblestone block and turn it into a gravity-resistant material; the first is by using mortar (such as clay or slime balls) to fill in the gaps of the block and secure it; the second involves filling the gaps with lava, channeling it directly above the block and then sealing the molten gap using water, which gives it the aesthetic of a smooth stone block. It can be time consuming and resource-intensive to build with cobblestone, but it makes for a decent early-game option as it is naturally fire resistant.

Gravel

Gravel is one of the most common dirt-like materials available for harvesting in the overworld. It has the amazing property of being solid enough to allow for faster walking speeds, as much as a regular processed block such as cobblestone or wood. It is fire resistant, however as with dirt (having smaller particles) it’s less resistant than cobblestone to explosions. Interestingly, it can be obtained from crushing Smooth Stone while mining, so trips underground tend to naturally provide more of this material, making it a fair early-game option for base flooring.

Sand

Sand is the second most common dirt-like material available in the overworld. With finer particles, however, it’s as vulnerable to explosions as dirt and it offers the slowest walking speed of all available construction blocks. It can be found more commonly on beaches or obtained from filtering gravel through a hopper. It is also used in the fabrication of glass, making it more valuable late-game.

Wood

Wood logs are the most basic form of wooden material used in construction. It’s most commonly used as decoration or in the early game when processed wood is more expensive. It’s vulnerable to fire and endermen and may leave potentially dangerous residues from burning. It offers the unique advantage, however, that it can be chiseled into chewed logs by using chiseling tools, which then offers varying degrees of visibility through the block. Chewed logs allow only partial light to pass through. As with all wood materials, log offer fast walking speeds.

Wooden Plank

Planks are the most fundamental material for base construction in recent updates as it is the only type of material that prevents hostile mob spawning. It is however vulnerable to fire and thus a hazard if not considered. It’s recommended to have wooden materials at least 4 blocks away from campfires or open flames (potentially more with lava or stocked flames). Unlike wood logs, however, endermen can’t grab these, as with many other processed blocks. As with all wood materials, planks offer fast walking speeds. Wooden Planks can also be crafted into various recipes that are see-through construction materials, such as fences, columns, doors, etc.

Leaves 32x32px

Leaves can be harvested as blocks by using Shears. They offer the same amount of protection as Wooden Planks including spawn proofing, but are much slower to walk on. Certain types of leaves can spawn certain types of spiders, so beware when using it in large amounts.

Coil of Rope

Created by grinding hemp into fibers and then crafting it into rope and condensed into a block for storage, it creates a very aesthetic, yet still gravity-resistant block. It shares many of the properties of wood; however, hemp is surprisingly resistant to fire and lava. It can be used as one of the potential implementations to an excess in hemp production.

Stone Brick Block

After obtaining an Iron Chisel, Smooth Stone blocks can be harvested into bricks, which can be then used to create a smooth textured version of cobblestone blocks. Similar to Nether Brick blocks it’s affected by gravity and suffers from many of the disadvantages of cobblestone, making it overall a more expensive material as it requires harvesting bricks as opposed to Loose Stones. It does however provide a bit of additional protection against explosions.

Clay Brick Blocks

You can obtain clay in bodies of water thorough the world hidden beneath layers of dirt. They can be harvested raw and baked under the sun to create bricks, which can be then used as decoration turned into brick blocks or turned into Clay Ovens for cooking. It has the same properties as Stone Bricks when it comes to construction, the blocks are affected by gravity and the differences are for the most part aesthetic as it has a very pleasing, smooth red texture. It is, however, far more expensive to build with as stone is more abundant thorough the world.

Rare Materials

Packed Earth

After obtaining a piston loose dirt can be used to create packed earth, which requires twice the amount of blocks to build with, but bypasses some of the issues of using regular dirt as a construction material, mainly the time it takes for grass to grow. As a construction block it is gravity-proof, allows much faster walking (similar to other processed blocks) and has a darker texture color. Packed Earth can’t, however, grow grass on it.

Mycelium

Mycelium shares many of the properties of regular dirt, making it difficult to harvest for construction without Silk Touch enhancements. However it spreads like grass and has the interesting property that it keeps hostile mobs from spawning the same way wooded materials do. It has a unique effect on cows, which can eat it, and thus can make certain aspects of farming easier.

Moss Stone

By far one of the rarest effective construction materials, moss stone is found in dungeons or certain temple structures. It’s characterized by moss growing inside cobblestone and filling up the gaps to turn it into a full block. Unlike regular cobble, this block can be harvested whole and used as a gravity-resistant material from the get go, as well as in crafting various other aesthetic recipes such as walls. It can be “re-grown” and “farmed” by placing loose cobblestone in said dungeon/temple; after enough time passes with the chunk loaded moss grows on the block the same way it’s found naturally.

Sandstone

Unlike regular sand, the block offers faster walking speeds as with any other solid, processed block. Additionally it has a nicer texture along the sides and is gravity resistant as well as more resistant to explosions than regular sand. It has to be crafted by packing sand in a similar fashion to packed earth, using a piston; unlike packed earth, however, sandstone requires 4 times the amount of material in sand to build with.

Ice

Ice is mainly created in snowy biomes by exposing water source blocks to the climate outdoors. Heat sources such as torches can melt it back into water. It’s a hard material to build with, however it has the unique property that it allows all non-block entities to slide over it, including items, which can be used among other things to extend the range of dispensers slightly.

Snow

Snow is naturally generated during rain in snowy biomes. It can be harvested into snowballs, which can then be crated into proper snow blocks. They’re gravity-resistant and make for good base construction materials, however they are very vulnerable to heat, which can make it troublesome to build with.

Obsidian

Obsidian is largely considered to be one of the most valuable materials in the game despite its few uses. It is the main catalyst in the creation of nether portals, which are required to obtain many of the recycling technologies in the mod, however it also allows fast walking speeds and is, interestingly, the most resistant material to explosions in the overworld, second only to bedrock (which can’t be harvested). It has a dark purple texture that is comparatively harder to use in base building aesthetics and it takes a long time to harvest with a diamond pickaxe.

Post Nether

Smooth Stone

As previously described, mortared cobblestone can be turned into smooth stone by using lava as the filling and cooling it up with water. However smooth stone can also be crafted for construction with the use of Cement, a single bucket able to pour a significant amount for both roofing and walls. It behaves in the same way as mortared cobblestone, but has a much finer, natural texture to it. Its aesthetic value and the lack of need for mortar often make it worth the effort over using other materials.

Glass

Glass is one of the most versatile late-game options for building materials. It’s made in the crucible by smelting sand blocks with Nether Quartz and it offers both visibility and fast walking speed as it is a processed block. It lets light through completely and is used in crafting various recipes.

Bone Block

One of the beloved war trophy blocks, an excess of bones can be packed with a piston to create a very aesthetic material used for building. It’s resistant to gravity, allows fast walking speeds and is easy to decorate with in a darker themed base, such as when building towers of terror.

Block of Flesh

Similar to bone blocks, flesh can be obtained in large amounts from the excess of mob traps and packed into blocks, which are a natural part in tech progression in Better Than Wolves. It shares many of the unique, pleasant aesthetic qualities of bone blocks and is also resistant to gravity.

Netherrack

Netherrack is the most abundant material in the nether, a dirt-like substance filled with the souls of the damned as lore may have it. It has the unique property that it’s gravity resistant only in the nether and not in the overworld. It has the unique property that, when lit on fire, it never gets consumed or stops burning, which can also be useful in cooking or base defense mechanisms. A very distinctive color characterizes it, which makes it hard to make aesthetic use of in construction, however as it’s so plentiful a player is likely to have several stacks of it from periodic trips to the nether, which can’t all be processed otherwise without some serious dedication.

Nether Brick Blocks

It shares many of the properties of regular Stone Bricks as described above, yet it is made from different materials. Nether Sludge has to be first baked similar to clay to create bricks, which can be then used to craft these blocks. It is made from a mixture of Potash and Hellfire Dust in a non-stoked cauldron.

Post End

End Stone

End Stone is a yellow colored material similar in texture to cobblestone, the most abundant material in The End. It makes for a good building option if available to the player as it’s by default gravity-resistant and can be processed into other complex recipes. One of its main properties aside from other materials is that it’s very resistant to explosions, making it a good alternative to Obsidian.

White Cobble

White Cobble or white cobblestone is a special material that can be obtained only from processing End Stone, it has a unique white colored texture that makes it a very specialized aesthetic option on top of being gravity resistant.