Getting a closer look at things from a safe distance is a crucial part of scouting new areas in the procedurally generated world of Minecraft, and, thanks to the new additions in the 1.17 update, players now have a better way to investigate their surroundings from afar.
The Spyglass is an item that allows one to zoom in, essentially reducing the player's Field of Vision (FOV) while increasing the magnification of what is on screen. This is done through a square vignette, somewhat similar to what it's like to wear a Carved Pumpkin on one's head, though with less obscuring of the player's vision. This useful exploration and surveying tool can be crafted from 2 specific resources, neither of which are too difficult to find.
How To Craft A Spyglass & What You Need To Make One
The 2 resources that the player will need to craft a Spyglass are an Amethyst Shard and 2 Copper Ingots, and, thankfully, both can be obtained either directly from nature or after the same and a bit of smelting.
How To Find Amethyst Shards
These crystalline shards are dropped when the player breaks an Amethyst Cluster, though, keep in mind that breaking them while mining with a Pickaxe yields the most Amethyst Shards.
The clusters themselves can only be found in naturally spawning structures known as Amethyst Geodes, which spawn at a 1 out of 53 chance in every new Overworld chunk that is loaded. Geodes can be found between layer 70 and Bedrock. It is possible to find them in caverns and mineshafts as well, as they overwrite these 2 kinds of generated structures.
How To Make Copper Ingots
Like other metals, Copper Ingots can be made from smelting the specific ore in a Furnace by placing said ore in the top slot and some sort of fuel (Coal, a type of Wood, etc.) in the bottom slot.
As for where to find Copper Ore, this metallic resource can also be found in the Overworld, though at a different elevation than Amethyst Geodes. Copper Ore spawns between layers 0 and 96, with a sweet spot with higher spawn rates being located on layers 47 and 48. To gather the ore, simply mine it with any kind of Pickaxe.
Spyglass Crafting Recipe
When all the components are gathered, players can use a Crafting Bench to create a Spyglass by placing the Amethyst Shard in the top-middle slot and the 2 Copper Ingots in the central and bottom-middle slots. With the brand new Spyglass in hand, players are now ready to explore with more efficiency than ever.
How To Use A Spyglass
The magnification of the Spyglass allows players to inspect things as if they were 15-20 blocks closer (depending on the player's FOV setting in the menu), which can understandably make scouting much quicker and easier.
As the resources and crafting method aren't too difficult to assemble and perform, the Spyglass is highly recommended to build early in one's playthrough so that one can spot hot loot and potential threats from further away; at a safe distance. Just be sure not to stay scoped in for too long, as this robs one of peripheral vision: the greatest defense against Creepers.