Minecraft

How to Change Tick Speed in Minecraft (And Why You’d Want To)

Cami

18 September 2025

9 min read

Ever planted a field of wheat and thought, “Hurry up already!” Or wanted your redstone contraption to work just a little faster? That’s where Minecraft tick speed comes in.

If you’ve ever wondered what the tick speed command is or how to increase tick speed in Minecraft, you’re in the right place. This guide breaks down what tick speed does, how to use the Minecraft tick speed command, and what to watch out for if you crank it up too high.

#What Is Tick Speed in Minecraft?

In Minecraft, a tick is the unit of time used by the game’s internal clock. Every game tick, Minecraft processes updates like block changes, mob movements, redstone signals, and more.

Game ticks: These happen 20 times per second and control pretty much everything in the game.
Random ticks: These are a special kind of tick that randomly trigger updates to certain blocks—like plant growth, fire spread, leaf decay, etc.

So when players talk about changing “tick speed,” they’re really changing the random tick speed.

#What Does Random Tick Speed Actually Affect?

The randomTickSpeed gamerule determines how many blocks in each chunk get randomly ticked every cycle. These are the kinds of things affected:

Crop growth (wheat, carrots, potatoes, etc.)
Sapling growth
Fire spread
Leaf decay
Grass and mycelium spreading
Ice melting
Turtle eggs hatching
Sweet berry bush growth
Campfire smoke
Budding amethyst growth
Copper oxidation

In short: random tick speed is basically Minecraft’s version of a fast-forward button for natural in-game processes.

#What is the Normal Tick Speed in Minecraft?

This means that 3 blocks per sub-chunk (16x16x16 blocks) will be randomly updated in Java Edition per tick — or 1 block in Bedrock.

#How to Change Tick Speed in Minecraft

Changing tick speed is done with a simple command — but cheats must be enabled. Here’s how to do it:

#1. Enable Cheats

In singleplayer, open to LAN and turn on cheats.
On servers, you need operator (admin) access.

#2. Open the Chat (Press T)

#3. Type the Command

/gamerule randomTickSpeed

Replace with your desired tick speed number.

For example:

/gamerule randomTickSpeed 100

That would cause plants and fire to update really fast.

#4. Press Enter and Watch the Magic Happen

You’ll see the results immediately. Trees will pop up, crops will mature, and fires might rage (careful with that one).

#Tips Before You Crank the Speed

Going too high can cause:

Lag (especially on servers or low-end PCs)
Uncontrollable fire spread
Mob AI behaving strangely or lagging
Redstone machines misfiring or breaking

Here’s a safe guideline:

To reset to default, use:

/gamerule randomTickSpeed 3 # Java /gamerule randomTickSpeed 1 # Bedrock

#Speeding Up Other Stuff in Minecraft

Want to go even further?

#Change Your Player’s Movement Speed

/effect give @p minecraft:speed 1000 2

1000 is duration in seconds
2 is the speed level (0 = Speed I, 1 = Speed II, etc.)

#Skip to Day or Night

/time set day /time set night /time set 0

This won’t affect tick speed — but it’s another way to control time.

#Why You’d Want to Change Tick Speed

Changing tick speed isn’t just for messing around. It has legit uses:

#1. Farm Like a Pro

Speed up crop growth and harvesting. Great for survival players or automated farms.

#2. Test Redstone Builds

Need to debug your piston door or flying machine? Speeding up ticks helps simulate high-activity environments.

#3. Speedrun Tree Growth

Build a mega base and need tons of wood? Boosting random tick speed will grow forests in seconds.

#4. Clear Leaves Fast

Set a higher tick speed to make decaying leaves disappear instantly after chopping trees.

#5. Instant Grass Spreading

No more waiting for that one grass block to crawl across your base.

#What to Do If Things Go Wrong

#My Game Is Lagging After Changing Tick Speed!

Lower the tick speed.
Turn off redstone machines.
Reduce mobs and entities in the world.

#I Set It Too High and Everything's on Fire!

Immediately type:

/gamerule randomTickSpeed 3

Or restart the game/server and revert to a backup.

#Pro Tip for Server Admins

Running a Shockbyte Minecraft server? You can safely use /gamerule randomTickSpeed just like in singleplayer, as long as you're an operator. But avoid going crazy with tick speed on shared servers — it can spike CPU usage fast.

#Be Careful: Use It, Don’t Abuse It

Changing Minecraft’s tick speed is a super useful tool — just use it responsibly. Whether you're speeding up farm production, testing machines, or just messing around with game mechanics, the tick speed command gives you full control over Minecraft’s heartbeat.

Remember: with great tick speed comes great responsibility.

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