Snow Golem

For other uses, see Snow (disambiguation) and Golem.

Snow Golem

Health points	4HP
Behavior	Passive[note 1]
Attack strength	Snowball: 0HP 3HP (Blaze only)
Hitbox size	In Java Edition: Height: 1.9 blocks Width: 0.7 blocks In Bedrock Edition: Height: 1.8 blocks Width: 0.4 blocks
Speed	0.2
Spawn	When created by a player, enderman, or dispenser
Usable items	Lead Name tag Shears

A snow golem is a buildable passive mob that throws snowballs at monsters, which provokes them to attack it. Depending on the biome temperature, it also either produces a trail of snow or takes heat damage and dies.

Spawning

Snow golem build configuration. Jack o'lanterns can also be used.

Snow golems are created by stacking two snow blocks vertically, and then placing a carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern on top of the stack. The pumpkin may be placed by players, dispensers, endermen, or commands, but not by pistons. The building pattern also works when arranged sideways or upside-down, as long as the pumpkin is the last block placed.

The snow golem spawns at the location of the snow block as its feet when created horizontally.

Drops

Sheared

A snow golem drops 1 carved pumpkin when sheared.

On death

Java Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Snowball	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Snowball	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Snowball	0	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		1	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		2	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		3	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		4	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		5	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		6	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		7	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		8	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		9	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		10	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		11	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		12	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		13	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		14	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		15	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		Average	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Snowball	7.50	7.50	7.50	7.50

Bedrock Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Snowball	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50	0–15	93.75%	7.50

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Snowball	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2	0–15	15⁄16	15⁄2

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Snowball	0	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		1	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		2	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		3	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		4	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		5	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		6	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		7	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		8	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		9	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		10	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		11	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		12	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		13	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		14	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		15	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)	1⁄16 (6.25%)
		Average	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)	15⁄2 (7.50)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Snowball	7.50	7.50	7.50	7.50

Behavior

Snow golems wander aimlessly and try to avoid water, obstacles, and environmental hazards, but are immune to damage from powder snow. They are also immune to fall damage.

Snow golems take 1HP damage per tick when in contact with rain or water and in biomes with a temperature greater than 1.0. Examples include savannas,‌^{[Java Edition only]} badlands, deserts, and biomes in the Nether. The Fire Resistance effect allows them to survive in these biomes.

As a snow golem moves, it leaves a trail of snow on the ground if the blocks can support it^[1]. In Java Edition, this happens in any biome. In Bedrock Edition, however, the snow trail is not generated in biomes with a high temperature value; examples include jungles, mushroom fields, savannas, stony peaks, deserts, badlands, and biomes in the Nether. If the mobGriefing game rule is false, the snow trail does not appear.

Snow golems move toward all monsters (except ghasts and undead mounts) and throw snowballs at them up to 10 blocks away, provoking them, regardless of whether they attack the player.^[2] When captured, they throw snowballs up to 16 blocks away (in Euclidian distance). They throw one snowball per second. Thrown snowballs do not deal damage except to blazes, but they still knock back any mobs that they hit.

Additionally, snow golems also attack creepers. They never intentionally attack the player. In Bedrock Edition, if a snowball hits the player, it deals knockback and makes tamed wolves and trusting foxes attack the snow golem.

In Bedrock Edition, a snow golem's snowballs can also set other mobs on fire if the shot flies through a lava block or a block that is on fire.

A snow golem is not provoked by another golem (snow or iron) attacking it, although an iron golem that is hit accidentally by a snow golem's snowball attacks the snow golem.

A snow golem wears its carved pumpkin like a helmet. Its actual head is hidden beneath the pumpkin. Shearing a snow golem removes the pumpkin, revealing its derpy face and making it drop the pumpkin. The pumpkin is stored using the Pumpkin tag instead of ArmorItems; a snow golem does not display its HandItems or its ArmorItems. In Java Edition, after shearing the pumpkin, the player can give a snow golem a new pumpkin only by using a command, such as /data.

Fighting with other mobs

Mob	Snow golems attack	Attack snow golems
Warden Wither Zoglin	Yes	Yes
Blaze Bogged Cave Spider Illusioner‌[JE only] Piglin Piglin Brute Pillager Ravager Shulker Skeleton Spider Stray Wither Skeleton Zombified Piglin	Yes	When attacked
Creeper	Yes[3][4]	When attacked
Evoker Husk Silverfish Witch Zombie Zombie Villager	Yes	When attacked‌[JE only] Yes‌[BE only]
Endermite	Yes	When attacked‌[JE only] No‌[BE only]
Drowned	Yes	When attacked‌[JE only] When attacked or in darkness‌[BE only]
Vex	Yes	When attacked or when summoning evoker is attacked
Vindicator	Yes	When attacked or if named "Johnny"‌[JE only] Yes‌[BE only]
Slime	Yes	No‌[JE only] Yes‌[BE only]
Breeze Creaking Elder Guardian Ender Dragon Enderman Giant‌[JE only] Guardian Magma Cube Phantom	Yes	No
Iron Golem	When attacked	When attacked
Hoglin	Yes‌[JE only] No‌[BE only]	When attacked
Zombie Nautilus	No‌[JE only] Yes‌[BE only][5]	No
Bee Iron Golem Killer Bunny‌[JE only] Llama Aggressive Panda Polar Bear Trader Llama	No	When attacked
Tamed Wolf	No	When attacked, when owner is attacked, or when owner attacks
Trusting Fox	No	No‌[JE only] When trusted player is attacked‌[BE only]
Goat	No	Randomly
All other mobs	No	No

Sounds

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	Translation key
Snow Golem	snow_golem	fall_damage_immune freeze_immune_entity_types	entity.minecraft.snow_golem

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Family	Translation key
Snow Golem	snow_golem	21	mob snowgolem	entity.snow_golem.name

Entity data

Snow golems 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

• 
  First screenshot of a snow golem, released by Notch on September 21, 2011

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Added snow golems.
							Snow golems flee when attacked.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2				Snow golems can be bred with wheat and attack other snow golems nearby. They also attack players holding wheat and continue attacking even after the wheat isn't being held anymore. However, they do not attack immediately.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3				Reverted the above changes.
1.2.1			12w06a				Snow golems have a new path-finding AI and can form a wall to attack mobs.
							Snow golems now take damage from rain and water.
			12w07a				Snow golems now take damage in deserts, jungles, the Nether.
1.6.1			13w16a				Added leads, which can be used to leash snow golems.
1.8			14w04a				Snow golems can now be created by dispensing the pumpkin from a dispenser atop two snow blocks.
			14w05b				Snow golems' pumpkin heads are no longer visible when they have the Invisibility effect.
			14w25a				Snow golems can now be built sideways and upside-down instead of just upright.
			14w26c				Jack o'lanterns can no longer be used to build snow golems.
			14w33a				Snow golems now attack creepers, provoking them.
1.8.1			pre1				Jack o'lanterns can now be used to build snow golems again.
1.9			15w31c				Snow golems can no longer cause damage to ender dragons.
			15w46a				Snow golems no longer create a trail of snow layers, if the game rule mobGriefing is set to false.
			15w49a				Snow golems' pumpkin can now be removed with shears.
			15w50a				Added sounds entity.snowman.ambient, entity.snowman.hurt, and entity.snowman.death.
1.14			18w43a				The textures of snow golems have been changed.
1.16			20w07a				Snow golems now drop a pumpkin when sheared.[10]
			20w15a				Snow golems can now be sheared by dispensers.
			pre1				Snow golems are now damaged by splash and lingering water bottles.[11]
1.17			21w13a				Snow golems are immune to freezing.
1.18			pre6				Snow golems now leave a snow trail in every biome.
1.19.3			22w44a				Added spawn eggs for snow golems.[12]
1.20.5			24w06a				Wolves are no longer damaged by snowballs from snow golems.[13]

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.0							Added snow golems.
							A snow golem's pumpkin visually turns into a jack o'lantern while the golem is targeting a mob.
v0.12.1			build 2				Fixed the snow golems' pumpkin not rendering correctly on some devices.[14]
			build 3				Snow golems' pumpkins can now be removed with shears.
							Snow golems' pumpkins no longer turn into jack o'lanterns when the golem is targeting a mob.
			build 9				Snow golems can now leave a trail of snow in plains biomes.
v0.14.0			build 1				Snow golems can now be created by dispensing the pumpkin from a dispenser atop two snow blocks.
v0.16.0			build 5				Added sounds entity.snowman.ambient, entity.snowman.hurt, and entity.snowman.death.
Pocket Edition
1.0.5			alpha 1.0.5.0				Snow golems are no longer able to leave a trail of snow layers if the game rule mobGriefing is set to false.
Bedrock Edition
?							The health of snow golems has been reduced from 10 to 4.
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				The snow golem's face can now be seen only after shearing it.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The textures of snow golems have been changed.
1.11.0			beta 1.11.0.1				Snow golems now take damage from walking over campfires.
1.16.100			beta 1.16.100.51				Snow golems now drop a pumpkin when sheared.[15]
1.17.0			beta 1.16.230.54				Snow golems are now immune to freezing.
			beta 1.17.0.52				Snow golems are now damaged by splash water bottles and lingering water bottles.
1.19.60			Preview 1.19.60.20				Added spawn eggs for snow golems.
1.20.40			Preview 1.20.40.22				Snow golems now produce a crumbling particle effect when constructed.
1.21.30			Preview 1.21.30.21				Snow golems can no longer be created with un-carved pumpkins.
							Snow golems no longer take damage in biomes with high temperatures if they have the Fire Resistance effect applied.
26.0			Preview 26.0.23				Due to a bug, snow golems now attack zombie nautiluses, even tamed ones.[16]

• 
  A snow golem displaying a jack o'lantern while targeting a mob in Windows 10 Edition Beta v0.12.0

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU7	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added snow golems.
TU11							The limit for snow golems in a world has been increased from 8 to 16.
TU12							Snow golems have a new path-finding AI and can form a wall to attack mobs.
							Snow golems now take damage in deserts, jungles, the Nether, and when in contact with rain and water.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Snow golems can now be created by dispensing the pumpkin from a dispenser atop two snow blocks.
							Snow golems can now be built sideways and upside-down instead of just upright.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Added sounds for snow golems.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Snow golems' pumpkin can now be removed with shears.
			1.90				The textures of snow golems have been changed.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added snow golems.

Data history

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Issues

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

Trivia

• Snow golems have a very small chance to naturally spawn if an enderman steals a carved pumpkin from a pillager outpost or woodland mansion and places it on top of two snow blocks.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  Creation of a snow golem
• 
  A snow golem attacks a spider
• 
  A large group of snow golems in a lake
• 
  Three snow golems that were built by endermen
• 
  The view from inside a snow golem's head; its real face can be seen
• 
  A snow golem riding in a minecart
• 
  A sheared snow golem
• 
  A snow golem at night

Textures

• 
  Snow golem texture file
• 
  Programmer Art

In other media

• 
  The icy golem, a unique variation of a snow golem featured in Minecraft: Story Mode
• 
  Melon golem, another unique version featured in Minecraft: Story Mode
• 
  Lego Minecraft snow golem
• 
  A snow golem as it appears in the City texture pack
• 
  A snow golem as it appears in the Greek Mythology mash-up pack
• 
  A snow golem as it appears in the Halloween mash-up pack
• 
  Party Snow Golem, a skin featured in the 1st Birthday Skin Pack
• 
  Official artwork of a snow golem under attack
• 
  Kai and Zuri building a snow golem
• 
  Three snow golems as seen in Minecraft: Soothing Scenes snow and the Launcher
• 
  Pixel art animation of a snow golem melting
• 
  Pixel art animation of an unmasked snow golem throwing a snowball
• 
  Icon of a snow golem used on the Minecraft Marketplace
• 
  Sunny and several snow golems marveling at a Minecraft brand gingerbread house
• 
  A snow golem Christmas card
• 
  A snow golem handing a snowball to a real snowman
• 
  Hiccup making a snow golem
• 
  Artwork by Junkboy of a snow golem serial killer
• 
  Nerf snow golem

Notes

References