How to Get Blaze Shards and Ghast Shards from Ore

Blaze Ore and Ghast Ore are the two Nether-themed ores that drop shards instead of the mob's normal loot. Mining them is the fastest route to Blaze Shard and Ghast Shard without fighting the mobs directly.

Mining Blaze Ore

Find Blaze Ore in your world and break it with a pickaxe. It drops Blaze Shard. Collect every shard you can — Blaze Shard is the ingredient you want stockpiled, not the ore block itself, unless you plan to move the ore with a Silk Touch tool.

Mining Ghast Ore

Ghast Ore behaves the same way. Break it and it drops Ghast Shard. Ghast Shard is the item you keep; the ore is only the source.

Why Stockpile Shards

Both shards are the compact form of their mob's drops. Keep them in a dedicated chest so you always know how many you have before crafting. If you need more, return to the same ore veins rather than hunting Blazes or Ghasts in the Nether — the ore gives you the shard directly with no combat risk.

Pair your shard runs with Ender Shard and Wither Skull Shard collection so a single mining trip covers all four shard types at once.