Minecraft guide: How do I set my respawn point in the Nether Update?

Since the dawn of the Nether, dying has been a massive risk. That's because there was no way to set a respawn point, like there is in the Overworld. There, you sleep in a bed, and every death means appearing back in the comfort of your home, ready to head out again. In the Nether, beds explode with a violent intensity, and death is an uncertainty because the world's default spawn is the respawn point. That's all changing with the Nether Update.

If you thought Mojang would just let you plop a bed down, though, you couldn't be more wrong. Here's how you can set your respawn point in the Nether.

How do I set my respawn point in the Nether Update?

Let's get the basics out of the way. Setting your respawn point in the Nether isn't a matter of sleeping in a bed, but rather constructing a new kind of block and ensuring that it stays charged over time. The new block is called the respawn anchor, and it's crafted using two things you can only find in the Nether: crying obsidian and glowstone. Most of you will be familiar with glowstone already. It's quite common in the Nether, and is useful for underwater lighting sources, or for potion brewing. Crying obsidian, on the other hand, is all new.

Contrary to its ominous name, crying obsidian doesn't make weep, or make any noises at all for that matter. Instead, it is a variant of obsidian with luminescent properties. In most ways, crying obsidian shares its traits with its more traditional sibling, in that its incredibly durable and blast resistant, and can only be mined with a diamond pickaxe or better. This would be important, except that crying obisidian can't be created like regular obsidian can. There are only two ways you can get it: bartering with piglins, or stumbling upon ruined portals that have a chance of spawning it.

You need a total of six pieces of crying obsidian and three-to-seven pieces of glowstone to craft your respawn anchor, so you better save up your gold ingots, because it might take you a while to collect all of the crying obsidian you need. Once you've done that, follow these steps:

1. Collect everything you need together. Make sure you're near where you want to set your respawn point, and near a crafting table.

2. Take your six pieces of crying obsidian and three pieces of glowstone and combine it in a crafting table. You'll get a respawn anchor out of it.
3. Now you should choose a good location to place your respawn anchor. You're in the Nether, so anywhere will be questionable, but you should choose somewhere relatively safe and free of hazards. If you have a home or base, thats your best bet.
4. You might notice that the respawn anchor looks pretty unassuming. That's because it needs to be charged to be active. You can do this with glowstone.

5. Take your glowstone and use the action button on the respawn anchor to charge it. It'll take four pieces total to fully charge the respawn anchor. With each level of charge, the respawn anchor will become brighter.
6. Once your respawn anchor is fully charged, use the action button again to set your spawn point. Whenever you die, even if you're outside of the Nether, you'll respawn near the respawn anchor.

Some things to know about the respawn anchor, once you're all set up:

• Each respawn depletes a charge. A respawn anchor can have a maximum of four charges, and each time you use the respawn anchor it depletes one of those charges. Make sure to have glowstone on hand so you can top it up.
• The respawn anchor overrides your bed. You can only have one spawn point at a time, period. If you're using a respawn anchor, that's your new respawn point. If you die in the Overworld or the End, you'll respawn here instead of a bed. To set your respawn point back somehwere else, you'll just need to sleep in a bed there.
• The respawn anchor still has the durability of obsidian. If you want to move the respawn point, make sure you're using a diamond pickaxe or better.
• Do not use the respawn anchor anywhere but the Nether. If you try and charge a respawn anchor in the Overworld or the End, it results in an explosion similar to TNT. This guy is only meant for the Nether.
• You can charge respawn anchors with dispensers. If you don't want to have to worry about your respawn anchor's charge level, you can load up a dispenser with glowstone and place it facing the respawn anchor. It can keep your respawn anchor's charge levels up.

Come back to life

For a long time now, being defeated in the Nether meant a swift and unfriendly return back home in the Overworld, and could include a long and lonely journey back to the point of death. Respawn anchors do away with this, and let you set a dedicated respawn point in the Nether, as long as you're planning to spend some time here. They're not as easy to obtain or as easy to maintain as beds, but this is the Nether we're talking about. Everything has to be more difficult.

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