Snow Golem

For the Minecraft Earth variant, see Melon golem.
Snow Golem

Snow Golem.png: Infobox image for Snow Golem the entity in Minecraft

Sheared Snow Golem.png: Infobox image for Snow Golem the entity in Minecraft

Invicon Snow Golem Spawn Egg.png: Inventory sprite for Snow Golem Spawn Egg in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Snow Golem Spawn Egg
Health points

4HP♥♥

Behavior

Passive[note 1]

Mob type

Golem

Attack
strength

3HP♥♥ (Blaze only)
0HP♥ (Other)

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

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

Creation

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 the player, a dispenser, or an enderman.[1] Snow golems cannot be made 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

A snow golem after shearing the carved pumpkin from its head.

On death

Java Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.50

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0–1515161520–1515161520–1515161520–151516152

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
1116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
2116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
3116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
4116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
5116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
6116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
7116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
8116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
9116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
10116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
11116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
12116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
13116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
14116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
15116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
Average152 (7.50)152 (7.50)152 (7.50)152 (7.50)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drop
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball7.507.507.507.50

Bedrock Edition:

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.500–1593.75%7.50

ItemQuantity / Chance / Average
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0–1515161520–1515161520–1515161520–151516152

ItemAmountProbability
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball0116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
1116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
2116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
3116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
4116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
5116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
6116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
7116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
8116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
9116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
10116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
11116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
12116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
13116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
14116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
15116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)116 (6.25%)
Average152 (7.50)152 (7.50)152 (7.50)152 (7.50)

Killed1
ItemExpected Drop
DefaultLooting ILooting IILooting III
Snowball7.507.507.507.50

Sheared

A snow golem drops 1 carved pumpkin when sheared.

Behavior

Snow golems search for the nearest monster and attack it.

A snow golem wanders aimlessly and tries to avoid water, obstacles, and environmental hazards, but is 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,‌ badlands, deserts, and biomes in the Nether. The Fire Resistance effect allows them to survive in these biomes.

Snow golem biome statistics.

As a snow golem moves, it leaves a trail of snow on the ground if the blocks can support it[2]. 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.

A group of snow golems throwing snowballs at a spider.

Snow golems move toward all monsters (except ghasts) and throw snowballs at them up to 10 blocks away, provoking them, regardless of whether they attack the player.[3] When captured, they throw snowballs up to 16 blocks away. 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 and 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.

Provocation by other mobs

Entity Snow golem actively attacks the mob? Actively attacks the snow golem? Notes
Bee No No Bees retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Blaze Yes No Blazes retaliate.
Bogged Yes No
Breeze Yes No
Creaking Yes No
Creeper Yes No Creepers retaliate.
Dolphin No No Dolphins retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Ender Dragon Yes No
Enderman Yes No Endermen teleport away when hit by a snowball.
Endermite Yes No Endermites retaliate.
Evoker Yes Yes‌
No‌
Drowned Yes Partial‌
No‌
Drowned do not attack any mob that is not touching water during daytime.
Fox No No In Bedrock Edition, trusting foxes attack the snow golem if the golem unintentionally attacks the player.
Ghast No No Ghasts can still unintentionally damage the snow golem.
Giant Yes No Giants do not have any AI.
Goat No Randomly
Guardian
Elder Guardian
Yes No
Hoglin Yes‌
No‌
No Hoglins retaliate.
Husk
Zombie
Zombie Villager
Yes Yes‌
No‌
Illusioner Yes No Illusioners retaliate.
Iron Golem No No Iron golems retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Killer Bunny No No Killer bunnies retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Llama
Trader Llama
No No Llamas retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Magma Cube Yes No
Phantom Yes No
Piglin Yes No Piglins retaliate.
Piglin Brute Yes No Piglin brutes retaliate.
Pillager Yes No Pillagers retaliate.
Polar Bear No No Polar bears retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Pufferfish No No Pufferfish can still damage the golem with its defense.
Ravager Yes No Ravagers retaliate.
Shulker Yes No Shulkers retaliate.
Silverfish Yes Yes‌
No‌
Skeleton
Stray
Wither Skeleton
Yes No Skeletons retaliate.
Slime Yes Yes‌
No‌
Slimes retaliate. ‌
Spider
Cave Spider
Yes No Spiders retaliate.
Vex Yes Partial A vex attacks a snow golem immediately when an evoker summons three vexes.
Vindicator Yes Yes‌
No/Yes (if named "Johnny")‌
Villager No No Villagers can accidentally damage the snow golem by setting off a firework.
Warden Yes Yes
Witch Yes Yes‌
No‌
Wither Yes Yes
Wolf (wild) No No Wild wolves retaliate if accidentally attacked.
Wolf (tamed) No No Tamed wolves attack the snow golem if the owner attacks the golem.
Zoglin Yes Yes
Zombified Piglin Yes No Zombified piglins retaliate.
All other mobs No No

Sounds

Java Edition:
Snow golems use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.

Sounds
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
NoneNone[sound 1]NoneUnused sound evententity.snow_golem.ambientNone[sound 1]1.00.8-1.216
​Snow Golem diesFriendly MobsWhen a snow golem diesentity.snow_golem.deathsubtitles.entity.snow_golem.death1.00.8-1.216
​Snow Golem hurtsFriendly MobsWhen a snow golem is damagedentity.snow_golem.hurtsubtitles.entity.snow_golem.hurt1.00.8-1.216
​Shears clickPlayersWhen a snow golem is shearedentity.snow_golem.shearsubtitles.item.shears.shear1.01.016
​Snowball fliesFriendly MobsWhen a snow golem shoots a snowballentity.snow_golem.shootsubtitles.entity.snowball.throw1.013-0.516
  1. a b MC-97521

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Friendly Creatures‌
Friendly Mobs​
When a snow golem diesmob.snowgolem.death1.00.8-1.2
Friendly Creatures‌
Friendly Mobs​
When a snow golem is damagedmob.snowgolem.hurt1.00.8-1.2
Friendly Creatures‌
Friendly Mobs​
When a snow golem is shearedmob.sheep.shear1.01.0
Friendly Creatures‌
Friendly Mobs​
When a snow golem shoots a snowballmob.snowgolem.shoot1.00.33-0.5

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierEntity tagsTranslation key
EntitySprite snow-golem.png: Sprite image for snow-golem in Minecraft Snow Golemsnow_golemfall_damage_immune
freeze_immune_entity_types
entity.minecraft.snow_golem

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID Translation key
EntitySprite snow-golem.png: Sprite image for snow-golem in Minecraft Snow Golemsnow_golem21entity.snow_golem.name

Entity data

Snow golems have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.

Java Edition:

Main article: Entity format
  • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
    • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
    • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template
    • [Byte] Pumpkin : 1 or 0 (true/false) - whether or not the Snow Golem has a pumpkin on its head.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
OverkillDeal 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.30Bronze
Over-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the MaceDamage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.20Silver

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
A Throwaway JokeThrow a Trident at something.
Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.
Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
AdventureAdventure, exploration and combatKill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
ArbalisticKill five unique mobs with one crossbow shotArmor Stand also counts 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-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the MaceDamage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.
Take AimShoot something with an ArrowUsing a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.

History

This section is missing information about: 1.14 pumpkin textures.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition
1.0.0September 21, 2011Snow golems were first showcased by Notch on Twitter as a new mob[4] that is "craftable, is friendly, and throws snowballs at enemies. Also melts in hot biomes."[5] and that it would "spread snow by walking around."[2]
They were stated on Reddit to appear in Beta 1.9.[6]
Notch originally planned to call this mob Snowmen. However, soon after revealing the name, Reddit user Cuttleman stated he would call them Snow Golems, a name Notch approved of and made official.[7]
Beta 1.9 Prerelease Added snow golems.
Snow golems flee when attacked.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2Snow 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 3Reverted the above changes.
1.2.112w06aSnow golems have a new path-finding AI and can form a wall to attack mobs.
Snow golems now take damage from rain and water.
12w07aSnow golems now take damage in deserts, jungles, the Nether.
1.6.113w16aAdded leads, which can be used to leash snow golems.
1.814w04aSnow golems can now be created by dispensing the pumpkin from a dispenser atop two snow blocks.
14w05bSnow golems' pumpkin heads are no longer visible when they have the Invisibility effect.
14w25aSnow golems can now be built sideways and upside-down instead of just upright.
14w26cJack o'lanterns can no longer be used to build snow golems.
14w33aSnow golems now attack creepers, provoking them.
1.8.1pre1Jack o'lanterns can now be used to build snow golems again.
1.915w31cSnow golems can no longer cause damage to ender dragons.
15w46aSnow 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.
15w50aAdded sounds entity.snowman.ambient, entity.snowman.hurt, and entity.snowman.death.
1.1418w43a The textures of snow golems have been changed.
1.1620w07aSnow golems now drop a pumpkin when sheared.[8]
20w15aSnow golems can now be sheared by dispensers.
pre1Snow golems are now damaged by splash and lingering water bottles.[9]
1.1721w13aSnow golems are immune to freezing.
1.18pre6Snow golems now leave a snow trail in every biome.
1.19.322w44a Added spawn eggs for snow golems.[10]
1.20.524w06aWolves are no longer damaged by snowballs from snow golems.[11]
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1build 1 Added snow golems.
build 2 Snow golems now spawn wearing a pumpkin.
build 3 Snow golems' pumpkin can now be removed with shears.
build 9Snow golems can now leave a trail of snow in plains biomes.
v0.14.0build 1Snow golems can now be created by dispensing the pumpkin from a dispenser atop two snow blocks.
v0.16.0build 5Added sounds entity.snowman.ambient, entity.snowman.hurt, and entity.snowman.death.
Pocket Edition
1.0.5alpha 1.0.5.0Snow 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.
1.2.0beta 1.2.0.2The snow golem's face can now be seen only after shearing it.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3 The textures of snow golems have been changed.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1Snow golems now take damage from walking over campfires.
1.16.100beta 1.16.100.51Snow golems now drop a pumpkin when sheared.[12]
1.17.0beta 1.16.230.54Snow golems are now immune to freezing.
beta 1.17.0.52Snow golems are now damaged by splash water bottles and lingering water bottles.
1.19.60Preview 1.19.60.20 Added spawn eggs for snow golems.
1.20.40Preview 1.20.40.22Snow golems now produce a crumbling particle effect when constructed.
1.21.30Preview 1.21.30.21Snow 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.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU7CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1 Added snow golems.
TU11The limit for snow golems in a world has been increased from 8 to 16.
TU12Snow 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.
TU31CU191.221.221.22Patch 3Snow 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.
TU43CU331.361.361.36Patch 13Added sounds for snow golems.
TU46CU361.381.381.38Patch 15 Snow golems' pumpkin can now be removed with shears.
1.90 The textures of snow golems have been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Added snow golems.

Data history

Java Edition
1.1116w32aSnow golems now use a byte data tag Pumpkin to determine whether they have a pumpkin head, allowing sheared snow golems to save and reload in their sheared state.
The entity ID has been changed from SnowMan to snowman.
1.1317w47aNumeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version.​
pre5The entity ID has been changed from snowman to snow_golem.
Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0The entity ID has been changed from snowgolem to snow_golem.

Issues

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

Gallery

Screenshots

Textures

In other media

Notes

  1. Can unintentionally throw a snowball at the player, dealing knockback in Bedrock Edition.

References

  1. Endermen can make snow golems. – Reddit, u/CHLGV, September 23, 2011
  2. a b "Also, they spread snow by walking around. Nice."@notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 21, 2011
  3. "What is a snow golem's range?" by Ullallulloo – Arqade, March 8, 2012. "I tested this by making a hall in creative mode and blocking a zombie in a small chamber on one end and letting a snow golem go on the other. He ran forward until he was 10 blocks away and started pelting the zombie with snowballs until I quit the game."
  4. " Got frustrated with AWS, so I made a new mob! :D"@notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 21, 2011
  5. "It will be craftable, is friendly, and throws snowballs at enemies. Also melts in hot biomes."@notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 22, 2011
  6. http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/kmro7/mojang_potentially_releasing_something_tomorrow/c2li04x
  7. http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/kml6r/notchs_new_snowman_mob_is_craftable_and_throws/
  8. MC-94094
  9. MC-106968
  10. MC-189872 — resolved as "Fixed".
  11. MC-72151 — Snow Golem's snowballs damage wolves instead of pushing them — resolved as "Fixed".
  12. MCPE-66967

External link

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