Snowballs are one of Minecraft’s most harmless items, but they’ve quickly become more useful with the game’s latest updates. From throwing at friends during a snowball fight to raising a Ghastling into a Happy Ghast, this once-overlooked item now serves multiple roles in survival and multiplayer gameplay.
In Minecraft 1.21.6 and beyond, snowballs aren’t just projectiles. They’ve become tools, weapons, distractions, and even mob food. So if you’re looking to collect snowballs quickly and use them efficiently, this guide covers every method and use you’ll need to know.
How To Get Snowball In Minecraft
There are several ways to get snowballs in Minecraft, ranging from manual digging to clever exploitation of game mechanics. Each method varies in efficiency depending on the version of Minecraft you’re playing.
From Mining Snow Blocks
The most reliable way to collect snowballs is to visit any snowy biome (like Snowy Plains or Taiga) and start mining snow layers or blocks using a shovel without Silk Touch. Every block mined will drop 4 snowballs, making this method both simple and effective. On Bedrock Edition, you don’t even need to worry about enchantments—just dig, collect, and go.
However, be quick to pick them up, as dropped snowballs will despawn if left too long.
From Exploding Snow
If you’re in a destructive mood, TNT can also do the trick. Place it next to snow layers and ignite it using flint and steel, fire charges, or a Redstone signal. When the TNT detonates, it destroys the snow and drops 1 to 8 snowballs, depending on how much snow was affected. It’s a fun and chaotic method, but not the most efficient for farming.
Using Snow and Pistons
Exclusively available in the Bedrock Edition, this method allows players to use pistons to break snow blocks mechanically. When activated via lever or Redstone, the piston pushes against snow layers and destroys them, dropping snowballs as follows:
- 1–3 layers: 1 snowball
- 4–5 layers: 2 snowballs
- 6–7 layers: 3 snowballs
- 8 layers: 4 snowballs
This approach can be automated in Bedrock, making it a convenient farming technique if you’re already running a Redstone contraption nearby.
Using Ravagers
During Pillager Raids in snowy Taiga villages, Ravagers can be used to destroy snow layers by simply letting them charge across the landscape. While this is by far the least reliable method—only yielding a few snowballs per hit—it’s a humorous way to farm snowballs in chaotic raid scenarios.
How To Use Snowballs In Minecraft
Previously seen as more of a toy than a tool, snowballs now play a bigger role in the “Chase the Skies” update and beyond. So, here are all the ways you can use snowballs in Minecraft:
- Feed Ghastlings: The primary new use for snowballs is to feed Ghastlings, a stage in raising a Dried Ghast into a Happy Ghast. Feeding a Ghastling 64 snowballs will instantly trigger its transformation into a Happy Ghast, saving you 20 minutes of waiting.
- Combat: Snowballs deal no damage to mobs, except for Blazes, which take fire-based damage. On Bedrock Edition, they do cause minor knockback to mobs and players, making them handy for pushing enemies away during close combat. In Java Edition, they only provide a visual hit effect.
- Destroy End Crystals: While fighting the Ender Dragon, snowballs can be used to safely destroy End Crystals from a distance. This allows players to avoid close-range damage while disabling the dragon’s healing sources.
- Distract the Warden: Facing Minecraft’s most terrifying mob? Snowballs can be thrown to create sound cues and mislead the Warden, allowing you to sneak away or reposition without alerting it to your location.
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