Firework Rocket
Reason: Firework rocket entity have an arrow-like model in Bedrock Edition

| Rarity tier |
Common |
|---|---|
| Renewable |
|
| Stackable |
Yes (64) |
| Size |
Height: 0.25 blocks |
{
"title": "Firework Rocket",
"rows": [
{
"field": "Common",
"label": "(link to Rarity article, displayed as Rarity tier)"
},
{
"field": "\n* '''With Trail Effect''': No ((link to Renewable resource#Vault article, displayed as except via vault))\n* '''Without Trail Effect''': Yes",
"label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
},
{
"field": "Yes (64)",
"label": "Stackable"
},
{
"field": "Height: 0.25 blocks<br>Width: 0.25 blocks",
"label": "Size"
}
],
"invimages": [
"Firework Rocket"
],
"images": [
"Firework Rocket.png"
]
}
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
Firework rockets can be obtained by crafting.
In Java Edition, firework rockets with no explosive effects and 3 different flight durations are available in the Creative inventory. In Bedrock Edition, 16 firework rockets with the different base colors and the "small ball" effect, and a single firework with no explosion are available in the Creative inventory; these all have a flight duration of 1.
By crafting the rocket using firework star(s), colors, trail, and explosion effects can be added to the fireworks.
Crafting
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Paper + Gunpowder |
When crafted without a firework star, the rocket does not have explosion effects. The amount of gunpowder used increases the flight duration to a maximum of three. | |
| Any Firework Star + Paper + Gunpowder |
Up to three gunpowder can be used, which increases flight duration. Any remaining spaces can be filled with firework stars to combine various effects. All firework stars explode almost simultaneously when the rocket detonates. |
Usage
Launching fireworks
A firework rocket can be launched up vertically by using its item on a block. Firework rockets can also be launched from dispensers and crossbows.
Dispenser
Using firework rockets with a dispenser is different than launching it on a block. The direction the dispenser is facing launches the firework in that direction; for example, if the dispenser is facing downward, the firework goes downward instead of going up.
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. If shot from a Multishot crossbow, then 3 rockets fire with the same effects. 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.
Boosting elytra
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. Using a firework rocket while flying with elytra propels the player in the direction they are facing. Using a firework rocket on a block while gliding propels the player instead of launching the firework. If the rocket is equipped with a firework star of any kind, the player takes damage when it explodes.
If any entities are leashed to the player, they instantly detach from the player when they use a firework rocket while gliding with elytra.
The duration of the speed boost depends on the flight duration of the rocket - a higher flight duration means a longer boost.
| Firework flight duration | Elytra flight boost duration |
|---|---|
| 1 | ~1.17 seconds |
| 2 | ~1.48 seconds |
| 3 | ~2.22 seconds |
Village raids
After successfully defending a village from a raid, the villagers may celebrate by setting off firework rockets. If a firework rocket set off by a villager hits a neutral or hostile mob by accident, the mob retaliates and attacks the villager. Additionally, if a villager accidentally attacks the player by setting off a firework rocket, the player’s tamed wolves and trusting foxes attack the villager.
Behavior
Once launched, fireworks fly out vertically, with random horizontal offset up to 5 blocks. 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 7HP, with the damage decreasing with distance. Each additional firework star on the rocket adds 2HP points of damage, for a maximum damage of 19HP × 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, item frames, or paintings, but does destroy armor stands and decorative pots.
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] The explosion of a firework can be seen 64 blocks away, regardless of its height.
If the explosion exceeds the 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, fireworks 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.
Non-lethal fireworks and fireworks crafted with firework stars behave differently around terrains. Lethal fireworks when shot at a solid block explode immediately upon impact, while non-lethal fireworks glide on whatever surface they encounter along their paths for the remainder of their duration and may resume their original trajectories upon exiting the surface.
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".
Each firework 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.
When spawned by player or command, 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: In Java Edition, it is possible to use commands to create firework rockets with higher durations. These rockets 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.)
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 tick, the firework accelerates horizontally by multiplying its X and Z velocities by 1.15, and vertically by adding a constant factor of 0.04.
When shot from a dispenser, it travels 9 to 10 blocks with 1 gunpowder, 14 to 15 blocks with 2 gunpowder, and 19 to 20 blocks with 3 gunpowder in the direction it was dispensed. When dispensed, the firework has a random velocity close to 0.5 (with a maximum deviation of .009) in the direction it was dispensed and a random small velocity in both other directions (random value near zero with a maximum deviation of .009). The firework's velocity does not change over the lifetime of the rocket.
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. The direction changes significantly less if the firework is shot by a dispenser instead of by hand.
Sounds
Java Edition:
Firework rockets use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.
| Sounds | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 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 | subtitles | 3.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Firework launches | Friendly Mobs | When a dispenser fires a firework rocket | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.2 | 16 | |
| Sounds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
| Ambient/Environment | When a non-large firework rocket explodes | firework | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Ambient/Environment | When a large firework rocket explodes | firework | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Ambient/Environment | When a twinkle firework rocket explodes | firework | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Ambient/Environment | When a dispenser shoots, a player uses, or a crossbow fires a firework rocket | firework | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Ambient/Environment | Unused sound event | firework | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
Data values
ID
| Item | Identifier | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
firework_rocket | Item | item |
| Entity | Identifier | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
firework_rocket | entity |
| Item | Identifier | Alias ID | Numeric ID | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
firework_rocket | fireworks | 519 | Item | item |
| Entity | Identifier | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
fireworks_rocket | 72 | entity |
Item data
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] components: the item's components tag.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] minecraft:fireworks
- [NBT List / JSON Array] explosions: List of the explosion effects caused by this firework rocket. Has a maximum of 256 explosions.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object]: A single explosion effect.
- [String] shape: The shape of the explosion. Can be
small_ball,large_ball,star,creeperorburst. - [NBT List / JSON Array] colors: The colors of the initial particles of the explosion, randomly selected from.
- [Int] A color as a packed integer
- [NBT List / JSON Array] fade_colors: The colors of the fading particles of the explosion, randomly selected from.
- [Int] A color as a packed integer
- [Boolean] has_trail: Whether or not the explosion has a trail effect (diamond).
- [Boolean] has_twinkle: Whether or not the explosion has a twinkle effect (glowstone dust).
- [String] shape: The shape of the explosion. Can be
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object]: A single explosion effect.
- [Byte] flight_duration: The flight duration of this firework rocket, i.e. the number of gunpowders used to craft it. Must be an integer between -128 and 127. Defaults to 1.
- [NBT List / JSON Array] explosions: List of the explosion effects caused by this firework rocket. Has a maximum of 256 explosions.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] minecraft:fireworks
Entity data
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
- Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
- Tags common to all projectiles see Template:Nbt inherit/projectile/template
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] FireworksItem: The crafted firework rocket.
- A single item stack see Template:Nbt inherit/itemnoslot/template
- [Int] Life: The number of ticks this fireworks rocket has been flying for.
- [Int] LifeTime: The number of ticks before this fireworks rocket explodes. This value is randomized when the firework is launched: ((Flight + 1) * 10 + random(0 to 5) + random(0 to 6))
- [Boolean] ShotAtAngle:
1or0(true/false) - Iftrue, this firework was shot from a crossbow or dispenser.
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) |
|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Bullseye | Hit the bullseye of a Target block from at least 30 meters away | Be at least 30 blocks away horizontally when the center of a target is shot with a projectile by the player. |
![]() | Ol' Betsy | Shoot a Crossbow | — |
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 | ||||||
| Firework rockets cannot be obtained within the Creative inventory. | |||||||
| 12w50a | Added sound and more effects to firework rockets. | ||||||
| 1.9 | 15w32a | Using fireworks now plays the hand animation. | |||||
| 1.10 | 16w20a | The firework rocket crafting recipe now produces 3 rockets, rather than 1. | |||||
| 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 fade effects on fireworks can now be added by combining the firework star with dyes. | |||||
| ? | Firework rockets with no flight duration are now available in the Creative inventory. | ||||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | Fireworks can now be shot from crossbows. | |||||
| Villagers now shoot a firework of a random color after winning a raid. | |||||||
| 1.15 | 19w36a | Firework rockets dispensed from a dispenser now travel in the direction they were fired. | |||||
| 19w37a | Using a firework rocket now plays the hand animation when boosting elytra flight.[4] | ||||||
| 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.[5] | |||||
| 1.21.5 | 25w06a | Tooltips for fireworks now show a compact form of multiple repeated stars that are identical. | |||||
| 1.21.6 | 25w16a | Firework rockets now boost players gliding with elytra even if the player is targeting a block. | |||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | ||||||
| Firework rockets are available in the Creative inventory in 17 variants, sixteen colors in small ball duration 1, plus one additional preset with duration 1. | |||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| 1.21.80 | Preview 1.21.80.27 | Firework rockets now boost players gliding with elytra even if the player is targeting a block. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.12 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | |
Firework rockets are available in five types in the Creative inventory. The presets are as follows:
| |||||||
| TU36 | CU25 | 1.28 | 1.28 | 1.28 | Patch 7 | Firework rockets now show their flight duration and explosive effects above the HUD when switching items in the hotbar instead of just when hovering over them in the inventory. | |
| TU46 | CU36 | 1.38 | 1.38 | 1.38 | Patch 15 | Using fireworks now plays the hand animation. | |
| The crafting interface has been updated to allow crafting firework stars and fireworks. | |||||||
| TU53 | CU43 | 1.49 | 1.50 | 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 applied to the firework rocket. | |||||||
| TU56 | CU47 | 1.55 | 1.55 | 1.55 | Patch 26 | 1.0.6 | Firework rockets now produce 3 rockets upon crafting them instead of 1. |
| TU60 | CU51 | 1.64 | 1.64 | 1.64 | Patch 30 | 1.0.11 | Added new firework rocket models. |
| Fireworks dispensed from a dispenser now travel in the direction fired. | |||||||
| 1.90 | |||||||
| Fireworks can now be shot from crossbows. | |||||||
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.11 | 16w32a | The entity ID has been changed from FireworksRocketEntity to fireworks_rocket. | |||||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | The ID has been changed from fireworks to firework_rocket.
| |||||
| Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 401. | |||||||
| pre5 | The entity ID of firework rockets has been changed to firework_rocket. | ||||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.16.100 | beta 1.16.100.56 | The ID of firework rockets has been changed from fireworks to firework_rocket. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Firework Rocket" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed 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.[6]
- If the player shoots a firework into a Nether portal, it explodes in the Nether.
- There are around 2×10136 distinct fireworks.
- When a firework crafted without a firework star touches the surface of a block, it emits footstep noises.
Gallery
Screenshots
-
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. -
!["Noor, basking in the sunset, fires a Crossbow with a custom enchantment that allows for multiple Firework Rockets to be fired simultaneously."[7]](./_assets_/1c09babc163ce1b8841716ee40b47e17.jpg)
In other media
-
Ari uses a firework rocket, in Introducing New Default Skins! -
Sunny firing a firework rocket, in Tricky Trials Update Official Trailer. -
Firework rockets in A Minecraft Movie.
References
- ↑ MCPE-52675 — Fireworks do not explode on impact with entity and blocks
- ↑ "However, no sound effects for fireworks yet... but everything's implemented, so they can be added without doing a new snapshot" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), December 7, 2012
- ↑ "Haha, @igblan , the speed of sound is 40 m/s, because the realistic speed of ~340 m/s didn't work well in Minecraft scale" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), December 7, 2012
- ↑ MC-161073
- ↑ MC-194390 — A firework rocket from the creative inventory doesn't show a flight duration — resolved as "Fixed".
- ↑ "@SPvs_TheWorld New Year's Eve" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), December 7, 2012
- ↑ "Minecraft Java Edition 1.21" – Minecraft.net, June 13, 2024.
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