Spectral Arrow

For other uses, see Arrow (disambiguation).

This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.

Spectral Arrow

Rarity tier	Common
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Size	Height: 0.5 Blocks Width: 0.5 Blocks
Network ID	JE: 91

A spectral arrow is a type of arrow that inflicts the Glowing effect on hit in addition to dealing damage.

Obtaining

Picking up arrows

Similarly to regular arrows, players can pick up spectral arrows that have been shot by dispensers, or other players in Survival or Adventure mode. Unlike regular arrows, spectral arrows shot by an Infinity-enchanted bow can be picked up, as they are not affected by the enchantment.

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Spectral Arrow	Bastion Remnant	Generic chest	10–22	11.2% { "item": "Spectral Arrow", "stacksize": "10–22", "chance": 0.1123595505617978, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }
		Treasure chest	12–25	33.7% { "item": "Spectral Arrow", "stacksize": "12–25", "chance": 0.33668648071940255, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Treasure chest" }
		Bridge chest	10–28	11.2% { "item": "Spectral Arrow", "stacksize": "10–28", "chance": 0.11242603550295849, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Bridge chest" }

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Glowstone Dust + Arrow	2

Bartering

Spectral arrows can be obtained through bartering with piglins, which has a ⁴⁰⁄₄₆₉ (~8.53%) chance to give the player 6-12 arrows.

Usage

Spectral arrows share many of the same characteristics as regular arrows as projectiles. See Arrow#Common properties for information on common properties shared by all arrows.

Special properties

A spectral arrow confers the Glowing status effect for 10 seconds. The Glowing effect creates an outline of the target, which is visible through blocks, and colored based on the target's team (white by default). Even if a bow is enchanted with Infinity, spectral arrows are still consumed.

Sounds

Java Edition:
In Java Edition, spectral arrows use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Item tags	Translation key
Spectral Arrow	spectral_arrow	Item	arrows	item.minecraft.spectral_arrow

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	Translation key
Spectral Arrow	spectral_arrow	arrows impact_projectiles	entity.minecraft.spectral_arrow

Entity data

Spectral arrows have entity data that define various properties of the entity.

Java Edition:

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Not Today, Thank You	Deflect a projectile with a Shield	Block any projectile with a shield.
	How Did We Get Here?	Have every effect applied at the same time	Have all of these 34​[until: Fourth Drop 2026]/35​[upcoming] status effects applied to the player at the same time: Absorption Bad Omen Blindness Breath of the Nautilus Conduit Power Darkness Dolphin's Grace Fire Resistance Freezing Glowing Haste Hero of the Village Hunger Infested Invisibility Jump Boost Levitation Mining Fatigue Nausea Night Vision Oozing Poison Raid Omen Regeneration Resistance Slow Falling Slowness Speed Strength Trial Omen Water Breathing Weakness Weaving Wind Charged Wither The source of the effects is irrelevant for the purposes of this advancement. Other status effects may be applied to the player, but are ignored 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.
	Ol' Betsy	Shoot a Crossbow	—
	Take Aim	Shoot something with an Arrow	Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
	Two Birds, One Arrow	Kill two Phantoms with a piercing Arrow	Use a crossbow enchanted with Piercing to kill two phantoms with a single arrow shot.
	Who's the Pillager Now?	Give a Pillager a taste of their own medicine	Kill a pillager with a crossbow shot.
	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.
	Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton from at least 50 meters away	Receive kill credit for a skeleton that is at least 50 blocks away horizontally and is killed by a projectile.
	Bullseye	Hit the bullseye of a Target block from at least 30 meters away	Be at least 30 blocks away horizontally when the center of a target is shot with a projectile by the player.

History

Reveal

May 4, 2015							Spectral arrows are shown in a screenshot by Dinnerbone.
May 22, 2015							Spectral arrows are shown in another screenshot by Dinnerbone.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.9			15w31a				Added spectral arrows. They show mob and player outlines in their team color when hit. They have no texture when shot.
			15w31b				Spectral arrows now use their intended texture.[1]
			15w49a				Spectral arrows are no longer affected by the Infinity enchantment.
1.14			18w43a				The item sprite texture for spectral arrows has been changed.
1.16			20w16a				Spectral arrows now generate in bastion remnant chests.
1.16.2			20w28a				Spectral arrows can now be obtained through bartering with piglins.
			20w30a				The average yield of spectral arrows from bastion remnant chests have been substantially increased.
1.17			21w11a				The texture of the spectral arrow has been changed.
1.20.3			23w43a				Spectral arrows keep all of their NBT data when shot and picked up.
1.21.2			24w34a				Shot spectral arrows now bounce on the world border if hit.
1.21.9			25w36a				The flight trail particle effect for spectral arrows was changed from standard critical particles to white effect particles.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15	1.0.1	Added spectral arrows.
							Spectral arrows are currently unobtainable and do not have any effects.

Java Edition Combat Tests

Data history

Issues

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

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  A flaming spectral arrow stuck in a tree

References