Minecraft’s Latest Snapshot Update: New Crafting Recipes and Potion Mechanics

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Summary

  • The new snapshot version for Minecraft Java Edition changes crafting recipes for the dried ghast and leads.
  • The update also includes updated potion mechanics based on distance and technical changes.

A fresh update, labeled as a snapshot version, has been released for Minecraft Java Edition enthusiasts. This update brings minor adjustments to splash potion functionality and modifications to crafting recipes for dried ghast blocks and the revamped leads. The latest experimental builds of Minecraft have offered a sneak peek at the upcoming cheerful ghast creature, which was unveiled earlier this year during Minecraft LIVE.

In essence, as their name implies, cheerful Ghasts are amicable variations of the well-known floating creatures that roam the Nether. These friendly versions are slated to debut in the game during the Summer content update, which is scheduled for late June. One of the game’s unique aspects is that players can actually stand on them and utilize them as mobile platforms, a feature particularly beneficial for those working on large-scale builds in survival mode. To win the favor of a cheerful Ghast, gamers must initially obtain a dried Ghast block within Minecraft and transport it to the Overworld. Once there, the block can be submerged in water, causing it to hydrate over time and eventually transform into a baby Ghastling. These cute creatures can be fed snowballs until they mature into cheerful Ghasts, which players can then saddle up and ride across the skies of their worlds.

In rare instances, you may come across Ghast Blocks in the soul sand valley biomes of the Nether. Surprisingly, they can also be manufactured. The latest Java Edition snapshot 25w18a has revised the recipe for this peculiar block, now requiring a soul sand block and several Ghast Tears. Previously, a Bone Block and Ghast Tears were used in the crafting process, but since Soul Sand is as easy, if not easier, to get in the Nether than a Bone Block, it appears that this minor change was made primarily to align with Minecraft’s subtle yet indisputable lore.

In the latest Minecraft update, players can now more conveniently create leashes because the recipe for the item has been modified. Instead of needing a slime ball, all that’s required is an extra piece of string. Furthermore, this change in mechanics allows mobs to be tethered not only to one another but also to boats.

In the newest Minecraft snapshot update, I’ve noticed a significant tweak in how splash potions work. The distance calculation for when a mob gets hit by a splash potion has been slightly altered. Now, the strength of the splash potion’s effect depends on the gap between where it lands and the mob it hits. If I manage to hit a mob directly with a splash potion, it’ll feel the full force of the effect, but if there’s a group of mobs at an equal distance from where the potion lands, they’ll all receive the same strength of the effect as each other.

Minecraft Snapshot 25w18a

Changes

  • Splash Potions effect strength is now based on the distance of the hitboxes
  • The Slime Ball in the Lead recipe has been replaced with a String
  • Piglins can now give Dried Ghast Blocks when bartered with
  • The recipe for the Dried Ghast Block has been updated to now require a Soul Sand Block rather than a Bone Block

Splash Potions

  • Splash Potions distance to affected entities now depends on the closest distance between the entity hitbox and the splash potion hitbox where it landed
    • This means that if an entity is hit directly by the splash potion, it will receive the full effect of the potion
    • If the entities are grouped together, they will receive the same effect strength

Technical Changes

  • The Data Pack version is now 75
  • The Resource Pack version is now 59
  • All JSON files (in worlds, packs, configuration, etc.) are now parsed in strict mode

Data Pack Version 75

Entity Data

  • Added home_pos and home_radius fields to all mobs
    • Mobs with set home position will limit their pathfinding to stay within the indicated area
    • Some mobs, like Bats, Slimes, Magma Cubes, Phantoms and Ender Dragons may ignore it
    • Interacting with leashes or riding may change the home position of the mob

Entity Tags

  • Updated #followable_friendly_mobs to include the Happy Ghast

Resource Pack Version 59

  • Updated Unifont to 16.0.03

UI Sprites

  • The hud/locator_bar_arrow_up and hud/locator_bar_arrow_down sprites are now animated with a standard animation definition in the corresponding .mcmeta files

Font

Unifont

  • Updated Unifont to 16.0.03
  • Added previously omitted Unifont glyphs for Private Use Areas
    • Those glyphs are loaded as a separate sub-font minecraft:include/unifont_pua and are not included in any normally used font
    • Characters in those areas are managed by Under-CSUR (Under-ConScript Unicode Registry), which adds various scripts not present in official Unicode set, like Tengwar or Sitelen Pona

unihex Font Provider

  • Field size_overrides is now optional (defaults to empty list)

Fixed bugs in 25w18a

  • MC-200925 – Ghasts are not affected by potions thrown on their head
  • MC-262268 – Keyboard navigation does not work in the book and quill GUI
  • MC-264431 – #minecraft:sand tag has two minecraft:suspicious_sand
  • MC-278459 – unifont.json contains trailing comma
  • MC-279284 – Experience orbs from thrown bottles o’ enchanting are very prone to getting stuck inside blocks
  • MC-279875 – Cannot diagonally climb slab through suspended scaffolding
  • MC-280281 – Fishing bobbers rapidly jitter when attached to entities that are moving
  • MC-280502 – Translation key snbt.parser.undescore_not_allowed has a typo
  • MC-295879 – Sprint-hitting boats and then getting in them causes the boat to fall through the block underneath
  • MC-295914 – Loot table files accept invalid JSON
  • MC-296354 – Happy ghasts aren’t affected by potions thrown on their heads
  • MC-296784 – The “Welcome to Minecraft” screen is missing its fade out
  • MC-296866 – Predicates of particular namespaces failed to be accessed on /execute
  • MC-296898 – Happy ghasts’ home slightly drift over time
  • MC-297112 – You cannot use CTRL+NUM to navigate to tabs within the configure realms menu
  • MC-297114 – The realms menu incorrectly claims that realms are expiring soon
  • MC-297115 – The “This is a Snapshot Realm…” box no longer renders with a black background
  • MC-297184 – ‘Realms’ is lowercase in mco.errorMessage.realmsService.configurationError.

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2025-04-30 02:14