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When it comes time to get truly creative in Minecraft you’ll need to look into the Redstone Circuit. Want to tie a button to a door? Redstone. Want to create a trapdoor? Redstone. Elevator? Tricky but yes, Redstone.

So how does one go about making a circuit? Were you awake during science classes at school? Because that knowledge might come in handy now.

The basic components of a Redstone Circuit are as follows:

  • A Power Source
  • A Line of Redstone
  • A Gadget
    So put simply, you’ll place a power source (Block of Redstone, Button, Switch, Pressure Plate, Trap Chest, Redstone Torch etc.) and you’ll place a gadget (Door, Gate, Note block, Piston, Trap Door etxc.) and you will then link these two items via a Redstone line, or wire.

A basic Redstone Circuit (lever, wire, trapdoor) that could be effectively camouflaged with a wall placed block over the wire that is connected to the trap.

Where the Wire can sit to accept and pass on a current is a trick that is best learned through experimentation. Rules of thumb; An input will pass a signal to the block below and to its immediately adjacent blocks. A gadget will accept a signal from a wire pointing at it or pointing at the block the gadget is sitting upon. A wire will transfer a minor current to adjacent squares even if it is sitting horizontally to the gadget. The only way to ‘send’ current vertically is via Redstone Torch. Experiment, you’ll get it.

There are untold depths to creating circuits. Redstone Repeaters and Comparators provide two distinct ways to boost signals and create delays in the transition, for instance, and through clever use of items like this you can even make working clocks within the world of Minecraft!

Redstone Circuitry - Video Explanation

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Microsoft Game Studios
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, XB 360, XB One
  • Genre
    Sandbox, Survival
  • Guide Release
    18 May 2013
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    James Bowden

Share this free guide:

  • The best way to survive your first night - optimise your time.
  • Key items, valuable techniques and advise on how best to advance through the game.
  • Information on over 150 natural, crafted and smelted items.
  • Construction ideas for novice players, including castles and ‘Hobbit Holes’.
  • More than 45 minutes of helpful, narrated video showcasing survival basics, monument building, trap construction.
  • Explanation of Redstone and its varied application in gadgets such as trapdoors and doorbells.
  • Essential graphical mods to make the PC version of Minecraft look and run better than ever before.

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