What is a Good Random Tick Speed in Minecraft?

The short answer is: the default random tick speed of 3 is generally considered the best for most Minecraft players. This default setting provides a balanced gameplay experience, allowing crops to grow at a reasonable pace, fire to spread naturally (but not uncontrollably), and other random events to occur without overwhelming the game. However, what constitutes “good” is subjective and depends on your specific needs and gameplay style. Let’s delve deeper into why the default setting works well and explore scenarios where you might want to adjust it.

Understanding Minecraft Ticks

Before we get into the nuances of random tick speed, it’s important to understand what a “tick” is in Minecraft. Minecraft operates on a system of game ticks, which happen at a rate of 20 ticks per second. This means that every 1/20th of a second, the game updates all its systems. Within these ticks, various calculations and updates are performed, including the often-debated random tick.

The Role of the Random Tick

The random tick is a specific process within each game tick that determines how frequently certain blocks receive random updates. This includes things like:

• Crop Growth: How quickly crops like wheat, carrots, and potatoes grow.
• Fire Spread: The rate at which fire spreads from a burning block.
• Leaf Decay: How quickly leaves disappear when not connected to a log.
• Grass Growth: The spreading of grass blocks onto dirt.
• Mushroom Growth: How quickly mushrooms spread in dark areas.
• Sapling Growth: The speed at which saplings grow into trees.

The random tick speed setting, found in the game’s gamerules, controls the number of attempts to randomly update blocks within each chunk (a 16x16x16 area) per game tick. The default setting is 3, meaning the game attempts to randomly update 3 blocks per chunk, per tick, on average. A higher number will increase the frequency of these events, and a lower number will decrease them.

Why the Default Random Tick Speed is Good

The default setting of 3 is good for most players because it provides a good balance of:

• Reasonable Growth Rates: Crops grow at a pace that’s neither painfully slow nor ridiculously fast. This allows for realistic gameplay where players feel a sense of accomplishment.
• Controlled Environment: The default spread rate for fire is manageable, preventing uncontrolled wildfires.
• Consistent Experience: It maintains the game’s balance and challenge, keeping the gameplay consistent with the developer’s intentions.
• Performance: The default value is optimized to not be too resource-intensive for most computers.

When to Change the Random Tick Speed

While the default is generally best, there are circumstances where you might consider changing it. Let’s explore some common scenarios:

Increased Farming Efficiency

If you’re looking to speed up crop production and create massive farms, increasing the random tick speed will certainly help. A setting of 5, 10, or even higher will make your crops grow faster. However, be aware that this comes with potential drawbacks.

Speeding Up or Slowing Down Block Changes

If you’re creating a specific kind of build, such as an automated tree farm, you might want to speed up the growth of saplings with a higher random tick speed. Conversely, you could lower the tick speed to make decay and growth slower.

Creative Mode Projects

If you are testing a complex redstone mechanism or some other element of your creation and you need items to grow or decay quickly for testing purposes, a temporarily increased random tick speed could save you time.

Server Customization

Server owners often adjust the random tick speed to tailor the gameplay to their preferences. A higher tick speed can be used to make servers more engaging with faster resource production, while a lower speed might be used for a more relaxed, slower-paced gameplay.

Potential Drawbacks of a Higher Random Tick Speed

It’s important to acknowledge that raising the random tick speed can lead to:

• Uncontrollable Fire: A too high setting can lead to fires spreading very quickly, potentially destroying large areas of your builds or the environment.
• Performance Issues: A significant increase in random tick speed can cause your game to lag, especially on lower-end computers or with large worlds.
• Unrealistic Gameplay: It might make certain aspects of the game too easy or fast, undermining the intended experience.
• Disabling Achievements: On Bedrock Edition, increasing the tick speed disables achievements, which may be a concern for some players.

Experimenting Responsibly

If you decide to change the random tick speed, start by making small adjustments. Don’t jump from the default of 3 to something like 500. Incremental changes will allow you to monitor the impact on your gameplay and performance. The command to change this is /gamerule randomTickSpeed # replacing “#” with your desired tick speed number.

Conclusion

While there are specific situations that might justify tweaking the random tick speed in Minecraft, the default setting of 3 remains the most balanced and optimal choice for most players. It ensures that the game runs smoothly and provides the intended gameplay. Experiment with the setting cautiously, always considering the potential consequences of excessively high values.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions to further enhance your understanding of Minecraft ticks and random tick speed:

1. How many ticks are in a second in Minecraft?

Minecraft runs at 20 ticks per second.

2. How long is one game tick in real time?

One game tick lasts 0.05 seconds (50 milliseconds).

3. How many ticks are in a Minecraft day?

A full day and night cycle in Minecraft is 24,000 ticks long.

4. How long is a Minecraft day in real time?

A full Minecraft day/night cycle is 20 minutes long in real time.

5. Does random tick speed affect the day/night cycle?

No, the random tick speed has no impact on the speed of the day/night cycle. These two are entirely independent.

6. What is the maximum random tick speed?

There isn’t a hardcoded maximum, but extremely high values can cause lag and unpredictable behavior. Players typically don’t go much above 100.

7. What is the command to change the random tick speed?

The command is /gamerule randomTickSpeed # where # is the new tick speed value.

8. Does random tick speed affect mob spawning?

No, the random tick speed does not directly affect mob spawning. Mob spawning is handled by a different game mechanic.

9. What is the max tick time in Minecraft?

The maximum time a single tick can take before the server crashes is 60 seconds.

10. Does increasing the random tick speed disable achievements?

Only on Bedrock Edition does increasing the tick speed disable achievements. This is not the case for Java Edition.

11. How does random tick speed affect fire spread?

Higher random tick speeds make fire spread faster and more aggressively.

12. How does random tick speed affect crop growth?

Higher random tick speeds make crops grow faster.

13. Can lowering the random tick speed improve performance?

Slightly. Lowering the random tick speed can reduce CPU load, but it will have a minimal effect. It’s not a primary solution to performance issues.

14. What happens if my tick speed goes too high?

A tick speed that is too high can result in lag, uncontrolled fire, and general gameplay chaos. It may even crash your game.

15. Is there a way to increase the speed of game ticks themselves?

No, you can’t change the speed of the game ticks themselves (20 per second), but increasing the random tick speed gives the perception of things happening faster.