Here’s how to Get Nautilus Shells in Minecraft

In Minecraft, nautilus shells are rare items obtained from nautiluses, mollusks living in spiral shells. These shells are valuable in the game because they are used to craft conduits.

Conduits are unique blocks in Minecraft that offer special effects for players when placed underwater, simplifying underwater exploration and construction.

Crafting one conduit requires eight nautilus shells and one heart of the sea. As nautilus shells and hearts of the sea are challenging to obtain in survival mode, crafting conduits becomes a difficult task.

How to Get Nautilus Shells

1-Fishing

In Minecraft, you can acquire nautilus shells by fishing. These shells are considered rare “treasure” items that players have a small chance of catching when fishing in oceans or rivers.

The basic likelihood of catching a nautilus shell while fishing is approximately 16.7%. This probability can be slightly boosted by adding the Luck of the Sea enchantment to the fishing rod in use.

Chance of Catching Nautilus Shells

To catch treasure items like nautilus shells while fishing, certain conditions need to be met. There must be at least two blocks of space above the bobber, at least two source water blocks below the bobber, and at least two source water blocks horizontally surrounding the water block with the bobber.

Meeting these requirements allows for treasure items to be caught, but does not guarantee catching a nautilus shell specifically. The rarity of around 16.7% still applies.

2-Killing Drowned

You can also get nautilus shells by defeating drowned mobs in Minecraft. Drowned mobs occasionally spawn while carrying a nautilus shell in their off-hand.

The likelihood of this happening is 3% in Java Edition and 8% in Bedrock Edition. While it’s not very common or consistent, eliminating numerous drowned mobs over time may eventually result in obtaining some nautilus shells.

Drop of Nautilus Shell Upon Killing Drowned

The one benefit of trying to get nautilus shells from drowned mobs is that if a drowned does spawn while holding a nautilus shell, killing it will guarantee that the nautilus shell drops. So it can be a good mob to farm if you have a drowned spawner set up.

3-Wandering Trader

Occasionally, wandering traders in Minecraft may have nautilus shells available for purchase. It’s worth noting that wandering traders appear randomly, and even when they do, they may not always have nautilus shells for sale.

However, checking wandering traders provides an opportunity to buy nautilus shells using spare emeralds, offering an alternative to fishing or hunting drowned mobs.

Limitations on Quantity Sold by Wandering Traders

The main downside of buying nautilus shells from wandering traders is that they heavily limit the amount available for sale. Usually, they will only sell around 5 nautilus shells at a time.

Since crafting one conduit requires 8 nautilus shells, you would need to find wandering traders selling nautilus shells multiple times before collecting enough through trading alone.

Use of Nautilus Shells

In Minecraft, the primary purpose of nautilus shells is for crafting conduits. To craft one conduit, arrange 8 nautilus shells in a ring shape on a crafting grid, with 1 heart of the sea in the middle.

Regardless of the method you choose to obtain them, collecting enough nautilus shells demands considerable time and effort. Each approach has low probabilities and restrictions on the number of shells you can realistically acquire.

Accumulating the necessary 8 shells for even one conduit involves a significant time commitment, whether it’s through fishing up rare treasures, defeating numerous drowned mobs, trading with wandering traders, or a combination of these activities across multiple in-game days.

Conclusion

Nautilus shells can be obtained through fishing (16.7% catch chance), killing drowned mobs (3-8% chance to spawn with shells), or trading with wandering traders (selling around 5 shells at once).

Each method of obtaining nautilus shells has its uncertainties, but by combining all three methods, you can gradually amass the 8 shells required for crafting conduits.

Although challenging to acquire in survival mode, nautilus shells play a crucial role as the rare ingredient for conduits. Conduits, in turn, offer exceptional utility for underwater building, mining, and exploration.

Despite the difficulty in gathering them, the precious nautilus shells serve as the essential element to unlock the full potential of Minecraft’s oceans through conduits.