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Blue Ice

Blue Ice

Blue ice is a solid block similar to packed ice and ice, but much more slippery. It is the fastest ice type for boat riding and can be used to generate…

8 min read Updated
Blocks Stackable resources Renewable resources Manufactured blocks Generated structure blocks Natural blocks In development
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Contents (20)
  1. Obtaining
  2. Breaking
  3. Natural generation
  4. Generated loot
  5. Crafting
  6. Trading
  7. Mob loot
  8. Usage
  9. Sounds
  10. Data values
  11. ID
  12. History
  13. Java Edition
  14. Bedrock Edition
  15. Legacy Console Edition
  16. Minecraft Education
  17. Issues
  18. Gallery
  19. Screenshots
  20. References
Blue Ice
Blue Ice.png: Infobox image for Minecraft block 'Blue Ice'
Invicon Blue Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Blue Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Blue Ice
Renewable Yes
Stackable Yes (64)
Tool SlotSprite Pickaxe Required.png: Sprite image for Pickaxe Required in Minecraft
Blast resistance 2.8
Hardness 2.8
Luminous No
Transparent No
Flammable No
Catches fire
from lava 		No
Map color
 5 ICE
Note block instrument Default (Harp)
Sulfur cube archetype Fast Sliding

Blue ice is a solid block similar to packed ice and ice, but much more slippery. It is the fastest ice type for boat riding and can be used to generate basalt in conjunction with soul soil and lava, and brittle ice with water.​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026] It does not melt when placed near light sources.

Obtaining

Breaking

Blue ice can be obtained using any tool enchanted with Silk Touch, although a pickaxe is the fastest. Breaking the block without Silk Touch drops nothing.

Block Blue Ice
Hardness 2.8
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default 4.2 (JE)
4.2 (BE)
ItemSprite wooden-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for wooden-pickaxe in MinecraftWooden 2.1 (JE)
2.1 (BE)
ItemSprite stone-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for stone-pickaxe in MinecraftStone 1.05 (JE)
1.05 (BE)
ItemSprite copper-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for copper-pickaxe in MinecraftCopper 0.85 (JE)
0.85 (BE)
ItemSprite iron-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for iron-pickaxe in MinecraftIron 0.75 (JE)
0.7 (BE)
ItemSprite diamond-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for diamond-pickaxe in MinecraftDiamond 0.55 (JE)
0.55 (BE)
ItemSprite netherite-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for netherite-pickaxe in MinecraftNetherite 0.5 (JE)
0.5 (BE)
ItemSprite golden-pickaxe.png: Sprite image for golden-pickaxe in MinecraftGolden 0.4 (JE)
0.35 (BE)
Legend
  • incorrect tool, drops nothing
  • correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
  • correct tool, drops the block itself
  • italicized can be instant mined
  1. ↑ These durations ignore any other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Mining efficiency.

Natural generation

Blue ice naturally generates on the bottom of icebergs and as large arching structures in frozen ocean biomes. It also generates as piles in some snowy plains village houses, and in ancient cities. Rarely, an iceberg generates entirely made of blue ice.

Generated loot

Item Structure Container Quantity Chance
Java Edition and Bedrock Edition
Blue Ice Village Snowy house chest 1 9.9%
{ "item": "Blue Ice", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.0989873657501581, "structure": "Village", "container": "Snowy house chest" }

Crafting

Ingredients Crafting recipe
Packed Ice
Invicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed IceInvicon Packed Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Packed Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Packed Ice with description: Packed Ice
Invicon Blue Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Blue Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Blue Ice

It takes 81 regular ice made into packed ice to create a single blue ice block.

Trading

Wandering traders occasionally sell blue ice for 6 emeralds.

VillagerProbabilityVillager wantsPlayer receivesTrades in
stock		Villager
experience		Price
multiplier
JEBE
Wandering TraderSpecial13%13%6 × EmeraldBlue Ice6——

Mob loot

In Bedrock Edition, wandering traders have a chance of 25% (increased by 1% per level of Looting) to drop 1 blue ice when killed while showing the item as trade offer, if the player holds an emerald.

Usage

Blue ice is slippery, causing most entities to slide, including items. It is even more slippery (0.989) than ice or packed ice (0.98). This allows for increased speed of items in water currents by placing the blue ice under the water current. Mobs do not travel faster in water currents on blue ice.

Boats can travel even faster on blue ice than on either normal ice or packed ice, being able to reach a top speed of 72.73 m/s (as opposed to 40 m/s on ice and packed ice). Ice tracks built from blue ice, packed ice, or a combination are useful for long-range travel in all three dimensions.

Blue ice is a completely solid block and allows the placement of any objects on top.

Unlike normal ice, blue ice does not melt when placed near light sources.

Blue ice can be used to create basalt. When lava flows into a space above soul soil and next to blue ice, basalt is formed. This can be used in a basalt generator.

It can also be used to create brittle ice​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026]. When water occupies one of the block spaces horizontally adjacent to a blue ice block, it will form brittle ice instead. This can be used in a brittle ice generator.

Blue ice is not a storage block, as it cannot be crafted back into packed ice.

When water comes into contact with blue ice, it changes to brittle ice.​[upcoming: Fourth Drop 2026]

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Sounds

Java Edition:

BlockSprite glass.png: Sprite image for glass in Minecraft glass sound type
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.glass.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break​1.00.816
​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]BlocksWhen the block is placedblock.glass.placesubtitles.block.generic.place​1.00.816
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.glass.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit​0.250.516
​Something falls on a blockEntity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.glass.fallsubtitles.block.generic.fall​0.50.7516
​FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.glass.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.151.016

Bedrock Edition:

BlockSprite glass.png: Sprite image for glass in Minecraft glass sound type
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitch
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenrandom.glasssubtitles.block.generic.break​1.00.8–1.0
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedplace.stonesubtitles.block.generic.place​1.00.8–1.0
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.stonesubtitles.block.generic.hit​0.40.6
​FootstepsPlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.41.0
​FootstepsPlayersWalking on the blockstep.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.31.0
​FootstepsBlocksJumping from the blockjump.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.121.0
​FootstepsBlocksFalling on the block without fall damageland.stonesubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.221.0
This section describes content that is currently in development.
This content has appeared in development versions for Fourth Drop 2026, but the full update adding it has not been released yet.

Java Edition:

BlockSprite blue-ice.png: Sprite image for blue-ice in Minecraft blue_ice sound type
SoundClosed captionsSourceDescriptionIdentifierTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.blue_ice.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break​1.00.816
​Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.blue_ice.placesubtitles.block.generic.place​1.00.816
​Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.blue_ice.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit​0.250.516
​Something falls on a blockEntity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.blue_ice.fallsubtitles.block.generic.fall​0.50.7516
​FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.blue_ice.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps​0.151.016

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tags Translation key
BlockSprite blue-ice.png: Sprite image for blue-ice in Minecraft Blue Iceblue_iceBlock & Itemice
mineable/pickaxe
geode_invalid_blocks		 block.minecraft.blue_ice

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormItem ID[i 1] Translation key
BlockSprite blue-ice.png: Sprite image for blue-ice in Minecraft Blue Iceblue_ice266Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]
(Numeric: -11)		 tile.blue_ice.name
  1. ↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. ↑ Available with /give command.
  3. ↑ The block's direct item form has the same ID as the block.
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History

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.1318w15a Added blue ice.
Blue ice generates on the bottom of icebergs in frozen ocean biomes.
18w16a Blue ice slipperiness has been changed from 0.999 to 0.989
pre2 Blue ice is now renewable, as its crafting ingredient, packed ice, can now be crafted from normal ice.
1.1418w49a Blue ice now generates in the updated snowy tundra villages.
19w05a Added wandering traders, which sell blue ice.
1.1519w41a Blue ice is now only slippery through non-full blocks that are 0.5 blocks tall or less. Previously it applied through any block that is less than 1 block tall such as grass path or farmland.[1]
1.1620w13a When blue ice is placed next to lava on soul soil it now generates basalt.
1.1922w13a Blue ice now generates in ancient cities.
26.2snap1 Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blue ice, providing the hockey puck/fast sliding effect to the mob.
Upcoming Java Edition
26.4snap4 Added unique sounds for ice.

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
1.4.0beta 1.2.14.2 Added blue ice.
Blue ice can give off a light level of 4.
1.5.0beta 1.5.0.1 Blue ice is now more slippery.
1.8.0beta 1.8.0.10 Blue ice is now renewable, as its crafting ingredient, packed ice, can now be crafted from normal ice.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 Blue ice can now be bought from wandering traders.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1 Blue ice can now be found in snowy tundra village house chests.
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.57 When blue ice is placed next to lava on soul soil it now generates basalt.
1.17.10beta 1.17.10.22 Blue ice no longer emits light.
26.20
Experiment
Drop 2 of 2026		Preview 26.20.23 Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blue ice, providing the hockey puck/fast sliding effect to the mob.
26.30Preview 26.30.20 Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU69 1.761.761.76Patch 38 Added blue ice.
1.83 Blue ice is now renewable, as its crafting ingredient, packed ice, can now be crafted from normal ice.
1.91 Added wandering traders, which sell blue ice.
Blue ice now generates in the updated snowy tundra villages.

Minecraft Education

Minecraft Education
1.4.0 Added blue ice.
Blue ice can give off a light level of 4.
1.17.31 Blue ice no longer emits light.

Issues

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

Screenshots

  • Naturally generated blue ice in an iceberg
    Naturally generated blue ice in an iceberg
  • Naturally generated blue ice in an arch
    Naturally generated blue ice in an arch
  • Naturally generated blue ice as seen in a snowy iceberg
    Naturally generated blue ice as seen in a snowy iceberg

References

  1. ↑ MC-197072
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How to craft Blue Ice
See the exact crafting recipe on a 3×3 grid, the ingredients and step-by-step instructions.
Crafting recipe Wiki home