When it comes to building in Minecraft, it is only as complex as a player makes it. Often times though, the more complex the build, the better the look and rewards. This brings players into contact with the piston block and its ability to enhance player bases, help with farming, and assist with complex builds.
Regular pistons do not generate naturally in the overworld in Minecraft and have to be crafted. Players need to build a crafting table and then acquire wood planks, cobblestone, redstone dust, and an iron ingot. The recipe calls for three wood planks from any type of tree, four cobblestone blocks, and one each of the latter two ingredients.
How to Make a Piston in Minecraft
Pistons are useful for players because of their unique ability to move other blocks and turn some crops into drops. When activated by a redstone torch, the top of the piston moves forward from its position, occupying another block space until the connection is broken or turned off. Minecraft players use pistons for the farming of particular crops as well as to create more complex systems. All pistons need are a connection to redstone dust and the various activating blocks in game (buttons, pressure plates, and switches).
When it comes to setting up farms in Minecraft, there are numerous blocks and items that, when hit by a piston, turn into drops. Melons, pumpkins, and bamboo each are perfect crops for farms with pistons. Once a crop grows, it activates an observer which, when hooked up to redstone, can activate a piston which will cut the crop and start the growth cycle anew. Players who take advantage of this can therefore set up an automatic farm.
Players should also know that pistons when combined with a slime ball create a sticky piston. Sticky pistons can push blocks as well as pull them back, increasing their usefulness. They can also be found in jungle temples in jungle biomes in Minecraft. Through this process, players can create hidden doors and traps within their base as well as various other structures. The sticky pistons can be activated, open an area up, and then be deactivated and close behind players making secret chambers a possibility.
But pistons have their limit and not all Minecraft blocks are moveable by either type of pistons. Examples of items and blocks that can't be moved include: Portals, ender chests, enchantment tables, as well as jukeboxes and spawners. On top of these, grindstones, beacons, and lodestones also aren't able to be moved. And this is true in both the Java and the bedrock edition of Minecraft.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.