TL;DR: A magma block is a glowing block that hurts you when you stand on top of it. It does 1 health point of damage (half a heart) about every half second, which adds up to one heart per second. It does not set you on fire. Sneaking, Frost Walker boots and Fire Resistance each stop the damage. Under water in the Overworld, a magma block makes a whirlpool that pulls things down. Treat it as a floor to avoid, never as a dare.
What a magma block is
A magma block is a light-giving block that hurts most living things standing on top of it. You find them in the Nether, and also under water in the Overworld.
Where magma blocks generate
In the Nether:
- Basalt deltas. Magma blocks are part of the deltas there, where they replace some of the lava. See Basalt Deltas.
- Lava sea shores. A lava sea forms below Y=31. It is usually bordered by netherrack, or occasionally by soul sand, gravel and magma blocks. See The Lava Sea.
- Bastion remnants. The hoglin stable and treasure room kinds of bastion have them. See Bastion Remnant.
- Ruined portals. Ruined portals in the Nether can have them mixed in with the netherrack and lava. See Ruined Portal.
- Inside the rock. In Java Edition, they also generate in every Nether biome from Y=27 to Y=36, replacing only netherrack. In Bedrock Edition the range is Y=23 to Y=36, and they can replace netherrack and blackstone.
In the Overworld, you can find magma blocks on the floor under water, and in places like ocean ruins and trial chambers.
What happens when you stand on one
A magma block deals 1 health point of fire damage, and the game applies it about once every half second. One health point is half a heart. So that is half a heart every half second, or one heart per second. A full health bar is 10 hearts. With no armor and no healing, a whole bar would be gone in about ten seconds.
Lava deals 4 health points every half second, so a magma block is gentler. It still adds up fast. If a player is killed just by standing on one, the death message in chat reads "[player] discovered the floor was lava."
- Only the top hurts. Walking into the side of a magma block does not cause damage.
- The edge counts. In Java Edition 1.20 and later, players and mobs standing on the edge of a magma block take damage.
- It works under water too. Magma blocks damage you even if they are under water.
- You do not catch fire. The damage is called fire damage, but magma blocks do not set players or mobs on fire, and they do not destroy items.
How to stand on one safely
Three things stop the damage completely:
- Sneak. While you sneak, magma blocks do not cause harm. On a keyboard, sneak defaults to the Shift key, and you sneak while you hold it. In Bedrock with touch controls, double-tap the sneak button to switch it on or off. In Bedrock with a controller, click the right stick. You move slower while sneaking, and sneaking also stops you from walking off the edge of a block. Opening your inventory can stop your sneak, so step off the magma before you sort your items.
- Frost Walker boots. This enchantment for boots removes all damage from magma blocks. It does not help against lava.
- Fire Resistance. This effect completely cancels magma block damage. See Fire Resistance Potion.
Armor, the Resistance effect, and the Protection and Fire Protection enchantments only reduce the damage. They do not cancel it.
Which mobs it does not hurt
Mobs that are immune to fire cannot take damage from magma blocks. Blazes, ghasts, magma cubes, striders, wither skeletons, zoglins and zombified piglins are already immune to fire and lava.
Most mobs do not spawn on a magma block. Magma cubes, zombified piglins, ghasts and squid can. Other mobs try to avoid walking over magma blocks, but they still cross them if they cannot find another path. See Magma Cube.
How bright is it?
A magma block gives off light level 3. A torch gives off light level 14, so a magma block glows only faintly beside a torch.
Mining and crafting
Magma blocks can be mined with any pickaxe. If you mine one without a pickaxe, it drops nothing.
To craft one, fill a 2 by 2 square of the crafting grid with 4 Magma Cream. You get 1 magma block. Magma Cream drops from medium and big magma cubes, and you can craft it from Blaze Powder and a Slimeball. See What Drops from Each Nether Mob.
Whirlpools under water
When a water source sits directly above a magma block, a whirlpool bubble column forms. It goes down from the highest water source block. Anything that enters it is pulled down, including items, boats, players and mobs. Since Java 1.13, water above a magma block no longer evaporates.
- Good to know: the bubbles refill your breath, but the same whirlpool drags you down onto the magma block. Swimming up to the surface is the safer way to get air.
- Dangerous: the whirlpool pulls you toward a block that hurts you even under water. Things in it move down at about 4.9 blocks per second in Java and about 6 blocks per second in Bedrock. You can spot a whirlpool by its bubbles moving downward, so swim around it. A boat kept over a whirlpool too long will sink.
- Not in the Nether: water instantly disappears if you place it there with a water bucket, so a bucket will not make a whirlpool. See Nether Water Alternatives.
Common mistakes
- Covering a magma block with carpet or a snow layer. Blocks no taller than a trapdoor do not stop the damage.
- Thinking Frost Walker boots make lava safe. They do not.
- Swimming down a whirlpool to see what is there. The magma block at the bottom still hurts.
- Daring a friend to stand on a magma block. Nobody wins that dare. Sneak, plan your path and keep it fun.
Related
Fire Resistance Potion · Magma Cube · Basalt Deltas · The Lava Sea · What Drops from Each Nether Mob · Complete Nether Guide · Walk the World
← BACK TO NETHER WASTESNetherCon is a fan-made site. NOT AN OFFICIAL MINECRAFT PRODUCT. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG OR MICROSOFT.