While exploring caves in Hytale, you may notice glowing crystals embedded in walls that look valuable but keep breaking when you try to mine them. This usually leads players to think crystals are bugged or purely decorative. In reality, crystals are fully usable items, but only if you mine them with the correct tool. This guide explains how to mine all crystals in Hytale properly, what tools you need, and how crystals are used once you bring them back to your base.
What Crystals Are in Hytale
Crystals appear in different colors throughout caves and underground areas. Even though they look fragile, they all follow the same rules. If you mine them with the wrong tool, they will shatter and disappear, leaving you with nothing.
To safely collect them, preparation is required. Crystals are mainly designed for decoration rather than progression or combat, but they are one of the best natural light sources in the game.
How to Mine All Crystals in Hytale
To mine any crystal in Hytale, you must use an Iron Pickaxe. No other tool will work.
Step 1: Craft a Workbench
First, craft a basic Workbench using:
- 4 Tree Trunks
- 4 Stone
Both materials can be found easily near the spawn area.
Step 2: Craft an Iron Pickaxe
Open the Workbench and go to the Tools tab. To craft an Iron Pickaxe, you need:
- 5 Iron Ingots Smelt Iron Ore in a Furnace, Iron Ore is more common in the Badlands biome
- 2 Light Leather Tan Light Hide on a Tanning Rack, Light Hide drops from small animals like cows near forest areas
- 2 Linen Scraps, Dropped by Skeletons, Skeletons frequently spawn in forests near spawn
Once crafted, equip the Iron Pickaxe and start exploring caves.
Step 3: Find and Mine Crystals
Look for a colorful glow in caves that is different from lava light. When mined with an Iron Pickaxe, crystals will drop Crystal Shards instead of breaking.
Extra tip: You can also obtain Green Crystal Shards by defeating the Earthen Golem guarding the Forgotten Temple Gateway. This boss respawns, making it a repeatable source.
How to Use Crystals in Hytale
Crystals are not used for weapons or special gear. Their main purpose is decoration and lighting. To craft crystal items, you need a Builder’s Workbench, which requires:
- 6 Tree Trunks
- 3 Stone
With Crystal Shards, you can craft:
- Small Crystals
- Medium Crystals
- Large Crystals
- Crystal Blocks
These items emit light and are perfect for bases, caves, or builds where torches feel too basic.
Important note: Crystal items cannot be dismantled, so be careful before crafting too many of one type.
Crystals in Hytale are easy to miss if you do not know how they work, but once you have an Iron Pickaxe, collecting them becomes simple. While they are not used for combat or crafting powerful gear, they are one of the best decorative lighting options available. If you enjoy building detailed bases or lighting underground areas naturally, crystals are absolutely worth farming.