Oxidation

Oxidation is a mechanic that causes most blocks made from copper to oxidize over time, changing their appearance.

All blocks that oxidize can be 'locked' in their current oxidation state by being waxed with honeycombs, and can gradually be scraped of their wax and/or oxidation using an axe.

Mechanics

Non-waxed copper blocks have four stages of oxidation (including the initial normal state). Lightning bolts and axes can remove the oxidation on copper blocks.

As the block begins to oxidize (exposed copper), it gets discolored and green spots begin to appear. As the oxidation continues (weathered copper), the block is a green color with brown spots. In the last stage (oxidized copper), the block is teal with several green spots.

Oxidation is a purely visual mechanic in most cases, but there are behavioral differences on some blocks, such as the fact only unoxidized copper blocks can be crafted back into copper ingots. Another one is that the light level of copper bulbs depends on the oxidation level. Normal copper bulbs have a light level of 15, exposed copper bulbs have a light level of 12, weathered copper bulbs have a light level of 8, and oxidized copper bulbs have a light level of 4.

Oxidation of copper blocks relies only on random ticks. Unlike the real-world phenomenon, rain or water does not accelerate oxidation, and covering copper blocks with other blocks does not prevent oxidation.

In Java Edition, groups of non-waxed copper blocks oxidize far more slowly than single copper blocks that are spaced at least 4 blocks apart. This is because a block in a group being at the same or lower oxidation level than the others slows down the oxidation process for all other blocks within 4 blocks of taxicab distance. Oxidation speed for a group of copper blocks can be increased by placing oxidized copper blocks around less oxidized copper blocks, but this does not offer a speed improvement over placing the blocks 4 apart. The calculations for the oxidation behavior are as follows:

In Java Edition, when a random tick is given, a copper block has a ⁶⁴⁄₁₁₂₅ chance to enter a state called pre-oxidation. This means a copper block has approximately a 5% chance per minute to enter pre-oxidation at least once, and enters pre-oxidation after roughly 20 minutes on average.

In pre-oxidation, the copper block checks all non-waxed copper blocks within a distance of 4 blocks taxicab distance in order to determine whether it should oxidize.

• If there is any copper block that has a lower oxidation level, then the copper block does not oxidize, and pre-oxidation ends.

• Otherwise, the chance of oxidation is determined by the proportion of nearby unwaxed copper blocks that are at the same or higher oxidation level. Let a be the number of all nearby non-waxed copper blocks, and b be the number of nearby non-waxed copper blocks that have a higher oxidation level. Calculate a proportion value c from this equation: c = ^{b + 1}⁄_{a + 1}. Additionally, let a modifying factor m be 0.75 if the copper block has no oxidation, or 1 if the copper block is exposed or weathered.^[1] Then the final oxidation probability is mc².

For example, an unweathered copper block surrounded by 6 unweathered copper blocks and 6 exposed copper blocks has a 21.7% chance to oxidize if it enters the pre-oxidation state. In this case, a = 12, b = 6, and m = 0.75.^[2]

The resulting behavior for groups of copper blocks is that oxidation typically begins at corners or edges, and spreads evenly from there, with an entire region needing to reach a minimum oxidation level before advancing to the next.

Waxing

Using a honeycomb on a non-waxed copper block (or crafting them together) turns it into its waxed variant, which prevents the block from oxidizing entirely. Using an axe on a waxed copper block turns it into the respective non-waxed copper block.

Deoxidation

Using an axe on an exposed, weathered, or oxidized copper block or copper golem​ removes one layer of oxidation, making it become a regular, exposed, or weathered copper block respectively. The axe removes wax first, then oxidation layers.

Lightning can also remove oxidation from copper blocks and golems. A lightning bolt striking a non-waxed copper block, copper golem, or lightning rod removes all oxidation from the block or golem, and may also deoxidize randomly selected copper blocks and golems nearby. The lightning rod itself cannot oxidize, but nearby copper blocks and golems will still lose oxidation if it is struck. In Java Edition, these additional blocks are chosen by random walks as follows: The position of the struck copper block​ is set as the start point. Then, the game performs 3 to 5 walks. In the beginning of each walk, a judgment point is set at the start point. For each step of the walk, the game randomly selects 10 blocks from a 3×3×3 volume centered on the judgment point. If a non-waxed copper block is found among these 10 blocks, the judgment point is transferred to the first such block found, and 1 oxidation layer of that block is removed (if the block is still unoxidized, the block stays as it is). The number of steps in a walk is between 1 and 8 (inclusive), chosen randomly for each walk. This means that one single lightning strike can deoxidize up to 41 blocks (1 block initially struck by lightning + 5 max walks*8 max steps in every walk).^[3]

Affected blocks and mobs

The following blocks and mobs are affected by oxidation:

• Block of Copper
• Chiseled Copper
• Copper Bulb
• Copper Chest​
• Copper Door
• Copper Golem​
• Copper Golem Statue​
• Copper Grate
• Copper Trapdoor
• Cut Copper
• Cut Copper Slab
• Cut Copper Stairs

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Wax on, Wax off	Apply and remove Wax from all the Copper blocks!!!	Wax and de-wax each stage of the 4 original copper blocks in the game: blocks of copper, cut copper blocks, cut copper stairs, and cut copper slabs.	30	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Wax Off	Scrape Wax off of a Copper block!	Use an axe to revert any of these 9 waxed variants of copper blocks: Block of Copper Chiseled Copper Copper Bulb Copper Door Copper Grate Copper Trapdoor Cut Copper Cut Copper Slab Cut Copper Stairs The block can be in any of its four stages.
	Wax On	Apply Honeycomb to a Copper block!	Wax any of these 9 waxable copper block variants using a honeycomb: Block of Copper Chiseled Copper Copper Bulb Copper Door Copper Grate Copper Trapdoor Cut Copper Cut Copper Slab Cut Copper Stairs The block can be in any of its four stages, but cannot already be waxed.

History

Issues

Issues relating to "Oxidation" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

References

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