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Altar

Altar
Altar

Name Altar
Source Mod Witchery
ID Name Unknown
Type Block
Stackable Yes (64)
Solid Yes
Transparent No
Affected by Gravity No
Emits Light No
Flammable No
Required Tool Any tool will work, but a pickaxe is the most efficient.

An Altar is a 2x3x1 multi-block structure added by the Witchery mod. It is the only power source for Witchery utilities like brews and Circle Magic Rituals.

Recipe[edit]

GUI Crafting Table.png
Breath of the Goddess
Water Bottle
Exhale of the Horned One
Stone Brick
Rowan Wood
Stone Brick
Stone Brick
Rowan Wood
Stone Brick
Altar
GridNumbersCSS.pngGridNumbersCSS.pngGridNumbersCSS.png

Placement[edit]

The Altar multi-block is complete when a red cloth recovers the whole structure.

It continuously scans its environment in a 14 block radius (cube shaped) and searches life to draw power from. The last altar block placed is the center of this range.

The most important factor is variety.

Upgrading[edit]

The Altar can be upgraded by placing specific items on its surface.

Upgrades are additive (Infinity egg and pentacle recharge bonuses are multiplicative), Player head (x3) and filled chalice (x2) is: 1 (base altar) + 3 + 2 = x6 power multiplier.

Recharge Rate Power Boost Range Boost
Skeleton Skull +x1 +x1
Wither Skeleton Skull +x2 +x2
Player Head +x3 +x3
Torch +x1
Candelabra +x2
Pentacle x2[1]
Chalice +x1
Chalice (Filled) +x2
Arthana +x2[2]
Infinity Egg x10[1] +x1
  1. 1.0 1.1 These bonuses multiply other bonuses on an altar. (EG a player head (x3)+base altar (x1)= x4, adding a pentacle will make this x8 instead.
  2. Arthana's range boost is only for distribution, not for gathering power.

Power Sources[edit]

The altar can draw power from a number of block types within a 14 block radius (placing an Arthana on the altar does NOT increase the range it will draw power from). Each instance of the blocks below within the radius add to the altar's maximum power. However, there is a limit to the number of blocks of each type that can contribute to the altar's power. For example, each melon near the altar adds +4 to its maximum power, but an altar cannot benefit from more than 20 melons (for +80 power total); adding more melons after 80 will not increase the altar's maximum power. Therefore, the altar must be surrounded with a large variety of the blocks listed in the table below in order to store enough power to perform more demanding rituals.

Note that some small sets of blocks are considered to be equivalent to the altar, and the limit on their number applies to all combinations of those equivalent blocks. For example, dirt and podzol are considered equivalent, so an altar cannot benefit from more than 80 total blocks of both, whether it's 40 dirt + 40 podzol, 60 dirt + 20 podzol, 80 dirt + 0 podzol, etc.

block power per block max # blocks max power equivalent blocks
dirt or podzol +1 80 +80 dirt, podzol
farmland +1 100 +100
mycelium +1 80 +80
water +1 50 +50 water source block, flowing water
grass +2 80 +160
early Minecraft woods +2 50 +100 birch wood, jungle wood, oak wood, spruce wood
later Minecraft woods +2 50 +100 acacia wood, dark oak wood
vines +2 50 +100
blood poppy +2 10 +20
critter snare +2 10 +20
glint weed +2 20 +40
grassper +2 10 +20
tall grass or fern +3 50 +150 tall grass, fern
early Minecraft leaves +3 100 +300 birch leaves, jungle leaves, oak leaves, spruce leaves
later Minecraft leaves +3 100 +300 acacia leaves, dark oak leaves
cactus +3 50 +150
sugar cane +3 50 +150
gray mushroom +3 20 +60
red mushroom +3 20 +60
gray mushroom block ("mushroom 99") +3 20 +60
red mushroom block ("mushroom 100") +3 20 +60
Witchery woods +3 100 +300 alder wood, hawthorn wood, rowan wood
spanish moss +3 20 +60
wispy cotton +3 20 +60
wheat crop +4 20 +80
carrot crop +4 20 +80
potato crop +4 20 +80
melon +4 20 +80
pumpkin +4 20 +80
vanilla sapling +4 20 +80 all vanilla Minecraft saplings (acacia, birch, dark oak, jungle, oak, spruce)
Witchery saplings +4 20 +80 alder sapling, hawthorn sapling, rowan sapling
dandelion +4 30 +120
flower +4 30 +120 most vanilla Minecraft flowers except dandelions: allium, azure bluet, blue orchid, orange tulip, oxeye daisy, pink tulip, poppy, red tulip, white tulip
Witchery leaves +4 50 +200 alder leaves, hawthorn leaves, rowan leaves
belladonna +4 20 +80
ember moss +4 20 +80
mandrake +4 20 +80
snowbell +4 20 +80
water artichoke +4 20 +80
Demon Heart +100 2 +200
Dragon Egg +250 1 +250
infinity egg (Creative mode only) +6000 1 +6000

Hypothetically, if the maximum number of all of the above blocks (except the Infinity Egg) were placed near an altar, that altar would have 3,980 maximum power, before applying any upgrades. There would be 1,510 of these blocks (excluding blocks that must be empty, e.g. air above crops), which is rather insignificant compared to the total volume available in a roughly 30x30x30 area around the altar: 27,000 blocks.

Notably, the following blocks do not add to an altar's power, but deserve mention because it's reasonable to expect that they should:

  • double tallgrass
  • large fern
  • lilac
  • peony
  • rosebush
  • sunflower
  • minedrake
  • wolfsbane
  • wormwood

Placement Tips[edit]

  • The growth stage of crops does not affect how much power they provide the altar; they provide just as much when they are freshly planted as they do when they are ready to harvest.
  • If you are using saplings or mushrooms to power your altar, make sure they cannot grow into trees or giant mushrooms, as those are composed of completely different blocks.
  • Don't bury grass, mycelium, or farmland under other blocks, or they will revert to dirt.
  • Make sure farmland is placed within 4 blocks of water so that it does not dry out and revert to dirt (but you should probably plant something on it anyway for even more power).
  • If you are using a mod that disables vanilla crops, these may still be placeable by a Dispenser.
  • Make sure leaf blocks are connected (either directly or through other leaves) to wood blocks to keep them from decaying.

Video[edit]