Clay Ball — Minecraft block

Clay Ball

Clay Ball is the soft grey item that drops four-at-a-time from clay blocks and smelts into bricks for terracotta-style builds.

Block ID minecraft:clay_ball
Mod Vanilla
Game versions
1.21

Description

Clay Ball is a soft grey item that drops in stacks of four whenever you break a clay block — any tool, or even your bare hand, works, and no enchantment is needed. A shovel just breaks the clay block faster. Clay blocks generate underwater in the shallow beds of rivers, lakes, ponds, and swamps, and in large deposits inside lush caves. The only exception: if your tool has Silk Touch, the clay block drops as a whole block instead of Clay Ball, so keep Silk Touch off when you want the balls.

Clay Ball has three main uses in Minecraft: four Clay Ball items craft back into one clay block, a single Clay Ball smelts in a furnace into a brick, and bricks build brick blocks, flower pots, and decorated pots. Clay Ball became renewable in the 1.19 update — place mud above a pointed dripstone with a solid block beneath the tip and the mud slowly hardens into a clay block. Mason villagers also buy Clay Ball for emeralds, making clay a steady early-game trade good.

Java & Bedrock Guide

How to get and use Clay Ball in Minecraft

  1. 1

    Find clay underwater

    Search the shallow beds of rivers, lakes, and ponds for light-grey clay blocks, or look in the clay deposits of lush caves.

  2. 2

    Mine without Silk Touch

    Break the clay block with any tool or your hand; each block drops four Clay Ball items. Avoid Silk Touch, which keeps the block whole.

  3. 3

    Smelt into bricks

    Place Clay Ball in the top slot of a furnace with fuel to produce one brick per ball; four bricks craft a brick block.

  4. 4

    Farm clay renewably

    Place mud above a pointed dripstone with a block below the tip; the mud hardens into a clay block that yields more Clay Ball.

Renewable since 1.19

Before the 1.19 Wild Update, clay was a limited resource. The mud-and-dripstone method now makes Clay Ball fully renewable in both Java and Bedrock Edition.

Used in crafts

  • Refractory Bricks
  • Cf Powder
  • Clay

Related blocks

Frequently asked questions

How many clay balls do you get from one clay block?

A clay block drops four Clay Ball items when mined without Silk Touch. Mining four blocks gives enough to craft one clay block back.

What does Clay Ball smelt into?

One Clay Ball smelts into one brick in a furnace. Four bricks craft a brick block, and three bricks make a flower pot.

Is Clay Ball renewable in Minecraft?

Yes. Since the 1.19 update, placing mud above a pointed dripstone turns the mud into a clay block, making Clay Ball renewable.

Do you need a special tool to get Clay Ball?

No tool is required — clay blocks drop Clay Ball by hand. A shovel mines fastest, but Silk Touch keeps the block whole instead.

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