Minecraft has recently rolled out its Summer Game Drop, much to the delight of players, introducing a plethora of engaging features for the Bedrock Edition. Following its success, Java Edition enthusiasts can now join the excitement with the debut of Minecraft Snapshot 25w15a.
This latest snapshot incorporates several new elements, including the player locator bar, the cheerful Happy Ghast mob, the Dried Ghast block, and new advancements. Notably, apart from the Vibrant Visuals feature, all aspects discussed during Minecraft Live 2025 have been integrated into this edition.
Beyond these highly anticipated features, this update also includes additional advancements and commands. Let’s delve into the details provided in the complete patch notes for Minecraft Snapshot 25w15a.
Highlights of Minecraft Snapshot 25w15a
- Dried Ghast block introduced
- New Happy Ghast mob added
- Launch of Harness items
- Introduction of new advancements
Dried Ghast Block
This unique block can be sourced from the Nether, specifically within Nether Fossil structures.
- Crafting requires 1 Bone Block and 8 Ghast Tears.
- When waterlogged, it undergoes a transformation over approximately 20 minutes leading to the spawning of the Ghastling mob.
- It emits sounds and visual particles corresponding to its state.
- If mined during the waterlogging process, it will revert to its original dry state.
- Should it be taken away from the waterlogged environment, it will return to its dry state at the same rate.
Happy Ghast Mob
Ghastling
- A juvenile variant of the Happy Ghast mob.
- Emerges from a Dried Ghast block that has been continuously waterlogged for about 20 minutes.
- Upon spawning, it seeks to follow:
- Players within a 16-block radius, or
- Adult, non-aquatic passive mobs and certain neutral mobs within a 16-block radius.
- If no suitable targets are nearby, the Ghastling will remain within a 32-block radius of its origin.
- It will reset its home position if moved more than 16 blocks away.
- Can be attracted and fed with Snowballs.
- It matures into a Happy Ghast after approximately 20 minutes or faster with proper feeding.
Happy Ghast
The adult Happy Ghast serves as a new aerial mount capable of carrying up to four players.
- It evolves from a Ghastling after about 20 minutes or with additional Snowball feeding.
- Players can equip it with a Harness to enable riding.
- It can be tempted with Snowballs and Harness items.
- The Harness can only entice the Happy Ghast if it is not already harnessed.
- When damaged, it exhibits no panic response.
- It cannot reproduce.
- Regenerates health over time, with acceleration during rainfall or when flying at cloud height.
- The primary player controlling the Happy Ghast sits in front of it and directs its movement.
- Maneuvers are executed based on key presses (forward, backward, left/right, and jump).
- Players dismount by pressing the sneak button.
- While mounted, its goggles will lower, signifying active control.
- Subsequent players can onboard but will occupy seats beside the initial player.
- If it senses passengers, all movement ceases while it aligns to the nearest cardinal direction.
- When not mounted, the Happy Ghast will meander around its home area, and if players dismount while airborne, it will descend before resuming its roaming.
- It cannot board boats and will prefer to stay closer to its home position when harnessed.
Ghast Updates
- The Ghast texture has received an update.
Harness Items
- The Harness allows players to ride the Happy Ghast and comes in 16 colors.
- Crafted from 3 Leather, 2 Glass Blocks, and 1 Wool Block, its color corresponds to the Wool used in crafting.
- It can be dyed and is exclusive to the Happy Ghast.
- Enables up to 4 players to mount simultaneously.
- Can be detached with Shears when no players are onboard.
New Advancements
- The “Stay Hydrated!”Husbandry Advancement is achieved by placing a Dried Ghast Block in water.
- The “Heart Transplanter”Adventure Advancement unlocks when a Creaking Heart is positioned correctly between two Pale Oak Log blocks.
Experimental Features
- This snapshot brings forth an experimental Feature Toggle that introduces a locator bar for easier player location. Activate it via the Experiments Menu when setting up a new world for testing.
Locator Bar Details
The Locator Bar is a new UI feature that indicates the direction of Waypoints for players.
- Allows servers to manage Waypoints and their player connectivity.
- All players automatically transmit their Waypoint signals, facilitating multiplayer navigation.
- Displays colored indicators when the camera faces a Waypoint, along with directional arrows if the Waypoint is above or below the camera’s view.
- Waypoints tied to players or mobs within a team will match the corresponding team colors.
Player Visibility Adjustments
- Crouching will render the player invisible on other players’ Locator Bars.
- Spectators are only visible to other spectators.
Changes to Items
- The following headwear will conceal player visibility on the Locator Bar:
- Carved Pumpkin
- Skeleton Head
- Wither Skeleton Head
- Player Head
- Zombie Head
- Creeper Head
- Dragon Head
- Piglin Head
Potion Visibility Changes
- Using a Potion of Invisibility will also cause players to vanish from the Locator Bar.
Game Rules and Attributes
Use of Locator Bar
- By default, it is enabled for servers showcasing the Locator Bar experiment.
- Disabling it will erase existing Waypoints from all players.
Attribute Adjustments
Waypoints
- New attributes: waypoint_transmit_range and waypoint_receive_range with a default of 0.0 and a maximum of 60 million.
- Players boast a default transmission range of 60,000,000.
Waypoint Command Operations
Commands for waypoints include:
- waypoint list
- waypoint modify <entity-selector> color <color>
- waypoint modify <entity-selector> color hex <hex-color>
- waypoint modify <entity-selector> color reset
- waypoint modify <entity-selector> fade <fade_start> <alpha_start> <fade_end> <alpha_end>
- waypoint modify <entity-selector> fade reset
Details on parameters:
- entity-selector: Specifies entities that transmit as waypoints.
- color: Overrides the Locator Bar icon color for specific waypoints.
- hex arguments are structured in web format (RRGGBB).
- fade: Manages waypoint fade effects.
Changes & Updates
- Ghast textures have been updated.
- Extended third-person camera distances while spectating or riding certain entities.
- Wolves, Sheep, and Pigs have received mirrored leg updates.
- Spectators will now teleport with moving entities to other dimensions.
- Ambient desert sound triggers have seen adjustments.
Ambient Desert Sound Adjustments
- Ambient sand sounds now activate without sky access.
- The chance of sand sounds triggering has been slightly reduced.
- Terracotta blocks are no longer contributors to sand sound triggers.
- Various types of grass can generate ambient wind sounds under certain conditions.
Technical Modifications
- The Data Pack version has been updated to 73.
- The Resource Pack version is now 56.
- Pressing F3 + V will display client-side version details.
Developer’s Note: Ongoing changes in the GUI rendering code can be expected in this Snapshot series. The current version is a work in progress and not finalized.
Detailed Changes for Data Pack Version 73
- Dimension Type definitions have gained a new optional field, cloud_height, indicating the y-level where clouds initiate within a dimension.
- A new version command has been introduced.
- The datapack create subcommand has been added.
Commands Overview
Version Command Addition
- No additional arguments are required.
- Displays current server version data.
- Accessible in single-player or for server operators.
New Datapack Create Command
- Facilitates the creation of a new empty data pack directory for the active world.
- Always synchronizes with the game-supported pack version.
- Restricted to server owners.
- Syntax: datapack create <id> <name> (where id must be a valid directory name).
Camera Distance Attribute
- Default value is set to 4.0.
- Affecting third-person camera placement relative to the player or spectated entity.
Data Components Updates
Attribute Modifiers
- Display fields for attributes_modifiers entries have been added.
- Three display types: default, hidden, and override.
Entity Data Adjustments
Area Effect Cloud Changes
- The Particle field has been renamed to custom_particle for precise overrides of the default entity_effect particle.
- This field won’t be recorded if there is no defined override.
Tag Updates
Block Tags
- #triggers_ambient_desert_dry_vegetation_block_sounds indicates blocks capable of activating ambient desert sounds.
- #plays_ambient_desert_block_sounds has been renamed to #triggers_ambient_desert_sand_block_sounds.
Item Tags
- #happy_ghast_food includes items suitable for feeding Happy Ghasts.
- #happy_ghast_tempt_items includes items that can attract Happy Ghasts.
Entity Tags
- #can_equip_harness includes entities able to wear Harness items.
- #followable_friendly_mobs lists friendly entities that Baby Happy Ghasts will tail.
Resource Pack Version 56 Enhancements
- The game will diligently adhere to the blur texture parameter in. png.mcmeta files.
Sound Events Changes
- block.sand.wind has been rebranded as block.dry_grass.ambient.
Sound Asset Updates
- Sound files for certain mobs have been relocated from the entity folder to the mob folder.
Equipment Assets Changes
- A new happy_ghast_body layer type has been introduced for rendering in the Happy Ghast’s body slot.
Bug Fixes in Minecraft Snapshot 25w15a
- Resolved MC-147260: Map icons not appearing in the cartography table.
- Fixed MC-191306: /playsound trigger playing sounds across all dimensions.
- Addressed MC-266318: Inconsistencies in subtitles for open/close actions of doors and trapdoors.
- Rectified MC-275374: Drowneds failing to break doors despite having CanBreakDoors:1b set.
- Resolved MC-276264: Advancements screen shadow rendering issues.
- Tackled MC-277992: Incorrect color in pale chest boat item.
- Fixed MC-278466: Missing strings related to bundle experiment data pack in deprecated.json.
- Addressed MC-278873: Data fixer crashes when regenerating chunks with items from post-1.13 flower pots.
- Rectified MC-280047: Texture issues with temperate cows under Programmer Art resource pack.
- Resolved MC-280266: Discrepancies in particle output for firefly bushes compared to the Bedrock Edition.
- Fixed MC-280268: Spawn egg sizes for Blazes and breezes not matching proper classifications.
- Tackled MC-280471: Particle.color field in area effect clouds being read-only.
- Resolved MC-293619: Pitfalls in chicken spawn egg texture in Programmer Art.
- Fixed MC-295681: Gantry generation issues with leaf litter in woodland mansions.
- Rectified MC-295850: World creation Edit Game rules buttons functioning identically.
- Resolved MC-295866: Inconsistent updates for redstone power with commands /setblock and /fill.
- Addressed MC-295867: Structure failures in previous version compatibility with DataFixerUpper.
- Fixed MC-296035: Identical pixels on mooshroom_spawn_egg and cow_spawn_egg.
- Resolved MC-296624: Missing texture for the old Brown Mooshroom in Programmer Art.
- Tackled MC-297537: Duplicate “entity.wolf_whine.whine”sound event in sounds.json.
Minecraft Snapshot 25w15a is now available for download via the official game launcher. To access it, simply create a new installation and select snapshot 25w15a under the version options, ensuring that snapshots are enabled.