Bat

For other uses, see Bat (disambiguation).

Bat

Health points	6HP
Behavior	Passive
Mob type	Animal-adjacent[note 1]
Hitbox size	Height: 0.9 blocks Width: 0.5 blocks
Spawn	Light level of 3 or less in neighboring blocks
Usable items	Name Tag

A bat is a flying passive mob that spawns in dark areas. It is the only ambient mob in the game, intended to complement the game's atmospheric settings.^[1]

Spawning

Bats can spawn in groups of 8 in the Overworld at a light level of 3 or less in Java Edition and a light level of 4 or less in Bedrock Edition at any Y-level, on blocks of stone, granite, diorite, andesite, tuff, or deepslate that are not directly exposed to the sky. They also need at least 1.5 air blocks (with for instance, a top trapdoor or top slab in the block above foot level). They can spawn in any Overworld biome except the deep dark.

Bat entities do not count toward the passive mob cap, as they are considered ambient creatures in the entity inheritance, and therefore fall into the dedicated ambient category.

Drops

On death

Bats do not drop any items or experience upon death.

Behavior

Bats often fly around aimlessly, squeaking randomly. Their flight pattern tends to favor the east, and sometimes they may fly into lava and catch on fire.^[2]

Bats hang upside down on the underside of a solid block when idle, though they cannot hang on transparent or non-solid blocks. During this state, they squeak far less and occasionally turn to face different directions. They remain in this state until they are disturbed; if a player approaches a bat hanging upside down, even if the player is invisible, it flies away. This also happens if the player breaks the block the bat is hanging from.

Bats despawn when over 32 blocks away from the player.

Bats' collision boxes do not interact with the player or redstone components.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

Bats cannot be transported by conventional means. A lead cannot be attached to a bat, and it cannot be put in a minecart or boat.

Bats can also get caught in and slowed by cobwebs.

Bats cannot breed, and baby bats do not exist.

Sounds

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	Translation key
Bat	bat	fall_damage_immune	entity.minecraft.bat

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Family	Translation key
Bat	bat	19	bat mob	entity.bat.name

Entity data

Bats have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Overkill	Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.	30	Bronze
		Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.	20	Silver
		Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor stands and players also count for this achievement as they are technically mobs.	10	Bronze

Advancements

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Adventure	Adventure, exploration and combat	Kill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
	A Throwaway Joke	Throw a Trident at something. Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.	Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
	Take Aim	Shoot something with an Arrow	Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
	Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement.
	Arbalistic	Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement. This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
	Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.

History

Development

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.4.2			12w38a				Added bats.
			12w42a				Bats no longer activate pressure plates or "trample" crops.[3]
			1.4				Added sounds: entity.bat.ambient, entity.bat.hurt, entity.bat.death, entity.bat.takeoff.
1.14			18w43a				The texture of bats has been changed.
1.15			19w34a				Bats now take damage on magma blocks.
1.20.3			23w43a				The model, texture and animations of bats have been changed.
			23w44a				The model of bats have been changed to match Bedrock Edition.
1.21.2			24w33a				Bats can now spawn at any height, not just below sea level, as long as it is dark enough, not directly exposed to the sky, and there is a solid block to spawn on.
			24w36a				Bats must spawn on one of the following blocks now: stone, granite, diorite, andesite, tuff, or deepslate.
1.21.11			25w44a				Bats can no longer spawn in light levels up to 6 between October 20 and November 3.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.11.0			build 1				Added bats.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Changed texture.
1.20.50			Preview 1.20.50.22				The model, texture and animations of bats have been changed.
1.21.40			Preview 1.21.40.22				Bats can now spawn at any height, not just below sea level, as long as it is dark enough and there is a solid block to spawn on.
							Bats must spawn on one of the following blocks now: stone, granite, diorite, andesite, tuff, or deepslate.
26.50			Preview 26.50.22				Bats now spawn in all Overworld biomes except deep dark, as long as the light level is low enough.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added bats.
			1.90				Changed texture.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added bats.

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Bat" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• According to Jens Bergensten, the bat is an example of an atmospheric/ambient mob, that is, a mob that constantly spawns, similar to the squid, but also constantly despawns because when a player is not around it does not serve any purpose.^[1]
• The updated texture of the bat was created in roughly 2 hours. However, the model and animations took longer.^[4]
• During Minecraft: The Island, there is a scene where Guy ends up wasting his final arrow when it accidentally hit a bat instead of a creeper during a pivotal moment. According to author Max Brooks, this was something that actually happened to him while playing.^[5]
• In Java Edition, bats are the only mob in the "Ambient" mob cap category.

Gallery

Renders

• 
  A still image of a bat
• 
  A hanging bat

Mojang screenshots

• 
  "A close-up shot of bats flying around a ruined portal, while Makena hides in a nearby water pool."^[6]
• 
  Bats gathering around glow berries

Screenshots

• 
  A bat in a cave
• 
  A bat in the deep dark
• 
  A zombie and creeper eyeing a bat

Textures

• 
  Bat texture file
• 
  Old bat texture file

Other

• 
  A recreation of the unused bat on the hidden pixels of the old bat texture revealed by disabling the alpha channel

In other media

• 
  An artwork of a bat flying backward
• 
  Bat in promotional artwork for the Pretty Scary Update
• 
  A bat with Sunny and a zombie on artwork for the 15th anniversary of Minecraft. Note the old design.
• 
  Several bats flying by trick or treaters
• 
  A bat in the City Texture Pack
• 
  A bat in the Greek Mythology Mash-up
• 
  A bat in the Natural Texture Pack
• 
  The Bat Cloak, an item in the character creator
• 
  A bat as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons
• 
  Bat particles as they appear in Minecraft Legends
• 
  A bat as it appeared in Minecraft Earth
• 
  A bat as it appeared in Minecraft: Story Mode
• 
  LEGO Minecraft bat
• 
  Bat plush made by JINX
• 
  The bat plush touching grass
• 
  "Bat Trick or Treat," an official Halloween shirt design
• 
  A bat on the cover of Minecraft Labyrinth.
• 
  24w14potato batato

Notes

References

External links

• "Mob Menagerie: Bat" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, August 8, 2024.