Firework Rocket

A firework rocket is an item (and entity) used for creating decorative explosions, boosting when flying with elytra, and loading into a crossbow as ammunition.

Obtaining[]

Fireworks can be obtained by crafting. In Java Edition, a firework with no explosion effect is available on the Creative inventory and can be crafted as shown below. In Bedrock Edition, fireworks with the different base colors or no explosion are available in the Creative inventory.

Crafting[]

Ingredients	Crafting recipe	Description
Paper + Gunpowder	3	When crafted this way (without a firework star), the rocket does not have explosion effects. The value of gunpowder affects the flight duration.
Any Firework Star + Paper + Gunpowder	3	Adding more gunpowder increases the duration of the rocket. Up to three gunpowder can be used. Up to five firework stars can also be used with three gunpowder. Up to seven firework stars can be used by using firework stars instead of additional gunpowder. All firework stars explode almost simultaneously when the rocket detonates.

Usage[]

Launching fireworks[]

To launch a firework rocket, use its item on a block. They can also be launched from dispensers and crossbows. If shot from a Multishot crossbow, then 3 rockets fire with the same effects.

Elytra[]

Using a firework rocket while flying with elytra propels the player in the direction they are facing. The duration of the speed boost depends on the flight duration of the rocket. If the rocket is equipped with a firework star of any kind, the player takes damage when it explodes.

Crossbow[]

A firework rocket can be used as ammunition for crossbows, although it deals damage only if it has an explosion effect. A higher flight duration gives the firework rocket a longer range, and more damage is added per firework star. The Piercing enchantment has no effect on firework rockets shot from a crossbow.

In Java Edition, if a firework rocket shot from a crossbow hits an entity, the rocket instantly explodes, no matter the flight duration. Attempting to do this in Bedrock Edition, however, results in the firework passing through the entity,^[1] so the player must plan where to aim.

Behavior[]

Once launched, fireworks fly out vertically, with random horizontal offset up to 5 blocks. In Bedrock and Java editions, fireworks can fly in any of the 6 directions a dispenser can point. After some time, the firework explodes into a colorful explosion based on the effects of the firework stars added upon crafting, or no explosion if no firework star was used. If multiple firework stars were added to the rocket upon crafting, they all explode simultaneously.

The explosion of a firework rocket deals damage to mobs and players that are within 5 blocks and not obstructed by solid blocks. The maximum damage of a rocket with one firework star is 7, with the damage decreasing with distance. Each additional firework star on the rocket adds 2 points of damage, for a maximum damage of 19 × 9.5 with 7 stars. Using commands to add additional firework stars results in more damage. The damage dealt is unaffected by any other ingredients used. The explosion does not destroy end crystals nor damage the Ender dragon, but does destroy armor stands.

There is a delay between the detonation and the player hearing the sound, emulating real fireworks, but this sound travels much more slowly than in the real world.^[2][3] In Java Edition, the explosion of a firework can be seen 64 blocks away, regardless of its height. In Bedrock Edition, the explosion can be seen from your render distance.

If the explosion exceeds the (unmodded) particle limit of 16,384, the oldest particles are removed before displaying new ones, resulting in severely diminished firework quality / duration. At most a firework should have 3 trail stars, more than that could waste diamonds, firework stars, and other fireworks. Particle counts per star are:

Ball Type	Plain	Trail
Small	98	~1300
Large	387	4000+
Star	122	~1600
Creeper	266	~3500
Burst	72	~930

Twinkle effect adds 2 particles to the count.

Like most other entities, they can be moved by water and explosions, and teleported via portals. They also cannot move through solid surfaced blocks, upon hitting one, they either move to a side or explode based on the duration. If a firework explodes under a block, its explosion is flattened.

Duration and direction[]

Fireworks travel different heights based on the amount of gunpowder added. The number is displayed as a tag on the item's tooltip with the description of "Flight Duration".

The height it rises is between 8 and 20 blocks with 1 gunpowder, 18 to 34 blocks with 2 gunpowder, and 32 to 52 blocks with 3 gunpowder. (Note: Using command blocks, firework rockets with higher durations go higher and keep accelerating with virtually no terminal velocity. If the duration is long enough, the firework rocket could reach heights of over 1,000,000 blocks and speeds of over 10,000 m/s in a matter of minutes. Such fireworks with significant X and Z motions speed up sideways exponentially and reach outside the world boundary in a matter of seconds.‌^{[Java Edition only]})

When spawned, fireworks have a vertical speed of .05 and a random small X and Z speed (random value near zero with a standard deviation of .001). Each firework also determines its lifetime in ticks by 10 × (number of gunpowder + 1) + random value from 0 to 5 + random value from 0 to 6, after which it explodes. Each tick, the firework accelerates horizontally by multiplying its X and Z velocities by 1.15, and vertically by adding a constant factor of .04.

Fireworks can be made to travel different directions by being dispensed or launched under flowing water. The firework's direction combines with the flow of the water to go diagonally.

Firework rockets without firework stars shot from a crossbow upon hitting terrain elements will traverse along until stopped by a ledge or into unobstructed terrains again continuing its original flight path. Ledges as tall as one pixel high (e.g. from Dirt Paths to Grass Blocks) will also block the firework. They will still vanish if they hit entities early amidst their flight.

Village Raids[]

After successfully defending a village from a Raid the villagers may celebrate by setting off firework rockets.

Boosting elytra[]

Fireworks can be used to boost elytra when in flight. Normally, elytra can glide for a short distance, but with the use of fireworks, the player can fly a long distance, gain speed, and take off from the ground.

Simply using the firework rocket with elytra spread boosts the player in the direction the player faces. It can leave behind a trail sometimes.

Although fireworks with firework stars can be used, the player takes blast damage if they use it in flight.

There are four types of rockets, with three types of flight duration. Higher flight durations mean longer boosts. In Bedrock Edition, the fireworks obtained from the Creative menu have a flight duration of 1, while in Java Edition, the fireworks obtained in the Creative menu have a flight duration of 1, 2, or 3.

Sounds[]

Java Edition:
Firework rockets use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Firework blasts	Ambient/Environment	When a non-large firework rocket explodes within a 16-block radius of the player	entity.firework_rocket.blast	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.blast	20.0	0.95-1.05	16
	Firework blasts	Ambient/Environment	When a non-large firework rocket explodes greater than 16 blocks away from the player	entity.firework_rocket.blast_far	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.blast	20.0	0.95-1.05	16
	Firework blasts	Ambient/Environment	When a large firework rocket explodes within a 16-block radius of the player	entity.firework_rocket.large_blast	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.blast	20.0	0.95-1.05	16
	Firework blasts	Ambient/Environment	When a large firework rocket explodes greater than 16 blocks away from the player	entity.firework_rocket.large_blast_far	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.blast	20.0	0.95-1.05	16
	Firework twinkles	Ambient/Environment	When a twinkle firework rocket explodes within a 16-block radius of the player	entity.firework_rocket.twinkle	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.twinkle	20.0	0.9-1.05	16
	Firework twinkles	Ambient/Environment	When a twinkle firework rocket explodes greater than 16 blocks away from the player	entity.firework_rocket.twinkle_far	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.twinkle	20.0	0.9-1.05	16
	Firework launches	Ambient/Environment	When a dispenser shoots, a player uses, or a crossbow fires a firework rocket	entity.firework_rocket.launch	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.launch	3.0	1.0	16
	Firework launches	Friendly Creatures	When a dispenser fires a firework rocket	entity.firework_rocket.shoot	subtitles.entity.firework_rocket.launch	1.0	1.2	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Ambient/Environment	When a non-large firework rocket explodes	firework.blast	1.0	1.0
	Ambient/Environment	When a large firework rocket explodes	firework.large_blast	1.0	1.0
	Ambient/Environment	When a twinkle firework rocket explodes	firework.twinkle	1.0	1.0
	Ambient/Environment	When a dispenser shoots, a player uses, or a crossbow fires a firework rocket	firework.launch	1.0	1.0
	Ambient/Environment	Unused sound event	firework.shoot	1.0	1.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Item	Identifier	Form	Translation key
Firework Rocket	firework_rocket	Item	item.minecraft.firework_rocket

Entity	Identifier	Translation key
Firework Rocket	firework_rocket	entity.minecraft.firework_rocket

Bedrock Edition:

Item	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Firework Rocket	firework_rocket	fireworks	519	Item	item.fireworks.name

Entity	Identifier	Numeric ID	Translation key
Firework Rocket	fireworks_rocket	72	entity.fireworks_rocket.name

Item data[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Item format.

Entity data[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Advancements[]

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Parent	Actual requirements (if different)	Resource location
	Ol' Betsy	Shoot a Crossbow	Adventure	—	adventure/ol_betsy
	Bullseye	Hit the bullseye of a Target block from at least 30 meters away	Take Aim	Be at least 30 blocks away horizontally when the center of a target is shot with a projectile by the player.	adventure/bullseye

History[]

Java Edition
November 24, 2012					Jeb stated that there may be fireworks in Minecraft at the Future Updates with the Minecraft PC Team panel at MINECON 2012.
December 5, 2012					Jeb released the first image of fireworks, along with the information that colors, fade, height, effects and shapes are craftable.
December 7, 2012					Jeb mentions that fireworks should probably scare wolves and potentially have other effects on mobs.
1.4.6		12w49a			Added firework rockets.
					Firework rockets cannot be obtained within the Creative inventory.
		12w50a			Added sound and more effects to firework rockets.
1.10		16w20a			The firework rocket crafting recipe now produces 3 rockets, rather than 1.
1.11		16w32a			The entity ID has been changed from FireworksRocketEntity to fireworks_rocket.
1.11.1		16w50a			Firework rockets can now cause damage to entities that are within their explosion radius.
					Firework rockets can now boost players while flying with elytra.
1.13		17w47a			The ID has been changed from fireworks to firework_rocket.
					The fade effects on fireworks can now be added by combining the firework star with dyes.
					Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 401.
		?			Firework rockets are now available in the Creative Inventory. However, it does not show a flight duration
		pre5			The entity ID of firework rockets has been changed to firework_rocket.
1.14		18w43a			Fireworks can now be shot from crossbows.
					The texture of firework rockets has been changed.
1.15		19w36a			Firework rockets dispensed from a dispenser now travel in the direction they were fired.
1.17		20w45a			Simple firework rockets with one gunpowder can now be crafted using the recipe book.
1.19.3		22w45a			All three flight durations of firework rockets are now available in the Creative inventory.[4]
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0		beta 1.2.0.2			Added firework rockets.
					Firework rockets are available in the Creative inventory in 17 variants, sixteen colors in small ball duration 1, plus one additional preset with only duration 1.[verify][more information needed]
1.8.0		beta 1.8.0.10			Firework rockets can now be held in the off-hand and be shot from crossbows.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			The texture of firework rockets has been changed.
1.16.100		beta 1.16.100.56			The ID of firework rockets has been changed from fireworks to firework_rocket.
Legacy Console Edition
TU19	CU7	1.12	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added firework rockets.
					Firework rockets are available in five types in the Creative inventory. The presets are as follows: Duration 1, small ball, light blue, twinkle Duration 2, creeper shaped, green Duration 2, burst, red, fade to orange Duration 3, burst, magenta, fade to blue, twinkle Duration 2, star shaped, yellow, fade to orange, trail
TU46	CU36	1.38	Patch 15		The crafting interface has been updated to allow crafting firework stars and fireworks.
TU53	CU43	1.49	Patch 23	1.0.3	Firework rockets can now boost players while flying with elytra.
					Firework rockets now damage players if there is a firework star applicated to the firework rocket.
TU56	CU47	1.55	Patch 26	1.0.6	Firework rockets now produce 3 rockets upon crafting them instead of 1.
TU60	CU51	1.64	Patch 30	1.0.11	Added new firework rocket models.
PlayStation 4 Edition
1.90					The texture of firework rockets has been changed.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Firework Rocket" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

• Launching a rocket by hand on a wooden pressure plate activates it. The same doesn't hold for stone pressure plates, or for a dispenser placing a rocket onto a wooden pressure plate.
• New Year's Eve is what inspired Jeb to add fireworks.^[5]
• If the player shoots a firework into a Nether portal, it explodes in the Nether.
• There are around 2×10¹³⁶ distinct fireworks.

Gallery[]

• 

  Jeb's first image of Fireworks, also showing that they can be shot from dispensers.

• 

  1.4.6 Release image.

• 

  An example of a flattened firework explosion.

• 

  Creeper face shaped firework.

References[]