Ghast

Ghasts are very large, jellyfish- or ghost-like mobs that float through the air and shoot fireballs from their mouths. They are lava and water resistant. Their bodies are 4 blocks tall and 4 blocks wide with 9 tentacle-like limbs hanging from the bottom and eerie-looking eyes. Even though the Ghast are dangerous and aggressive, they appear to be crying and have patches under their eyes which are actually tear stains. They first appeared in the Halloween Update. Ghasts are able to spawn above any non-transparent block in the Nether that is not in a nether fortress, as long as there is sufficient space (at least a 4*4*4 space, with the base centered above a solid block), and the difficulty is not Peaceful.

Behavior


Ghasts normally float around the Nether with their eyes and mouth closed and periodically make high-pitched, cat- or infant-like sounds. They open their red eyes and mouth when attacking. They make a chirp-like noise when shooting and scream pitifully when taking damage. The sounds that Ghasts make have a minimum intensity regardless of their distance, so they often sound closer when they are actually far away. Ghasts let out a death rattle upon being killed - similar to the death cries that Zombies, Endermen, Blazes and Spiders use when killed. Fireballs do not home in on the player, and can be deflected if the player hits them with an arrow or melee attack.

Ghasts have an extreme attack range, explosive attack power, and mobility. Unlike most other aggressive mobs, the Ghast does not have a pursuit mode - it does not attempt to draw closer to the player when at long range (and likewise is not particularly likely to float away). Compared to other mobs, the Ghast has a very long search range and can target a player up to 100 blocks away. When the player comes within about sixteen blocks, the Ghast will open fire and attempt to gain altitude.

Ghasts will not fire at the player without a line-of-sight - this can be blocked by glass, glass panes, leaves, Nether portals, vines, iron bars, sugarcane, both types of fences, and cobwebs - making safe scenic paths through the Nether a viable possibility. When not moving, Ghasts within firing range will face the player, giving the impression that they can see through transparent materials. Ghasts can draw a line-of-sight through curtains of lava, and their fireballs can pass through it meaning players near a pillar of lava can be struck without seeing the source. This appears to happen even if the player would otherwise be obscured if not for the lava, for example if the player is within a structure of netherrack, the firing and explosions of Ghasts can sometimes be heard. However, the Ghast can "cancel" its fireball while shooting if the player moves behind an obstruction or builds one.

Ghasts may also be set on fire, but fire and lava don't actually damage them. A similar effect is seen with all other Nether mobs. When a Ghast is caught in lava, its movement is impeded, and can then be easily targeted with arrows. At around 23:09 in this video, a Ghast impeded by a lavafall can be seen, and again, but closer and for a longer period of time, at 23:59.

Ghasts may drop a ghast tear when killed, but this can be hard to collect - because it is a flying mob, the tear may fall into lava or an inaccessible area. Ghast tears are a positive potion ingredient for Regeneration potions, and are very valuable on most servers with economies, so Ghast tears are well worth obtaining.

It's worth noting that the way the Looting enchantment currently works you'll get the extra drops as long as you're holding a sword with Looting while you kill something, regardless of if you actually used the sword to kill it. What this means is that if you for example shoot an arrow at a ghast you can still get the Looting effect as long as you switch to a Looting-sword before it hits.

Ghast fireball


The Ghast's fireball attack has a straight trajectory unaffected by gravity and an unlimited or very long range limited in practice only by the confines of the Nether's caverns. Their explosions can often be heard without the impact being seen. At close range, it is one of the most powerful mob attacks in Minecraft, fourth only to the explosion of a Creeper, the melee attack of an Iron Golem, and the explosion of a Wither skull. A direct hit from point blank range will deal 8.5 hearts of damage but damage decreases with distance and is less if the player is simply caught in the blast radius. However, fire damage from a direct hit will most likely kill the unprotected player. Additionally, the projectile is fairly slow and aims slightly above the player's head. When two Ghast fireballs collide, one is deflected to a random direction while the other explodes upon impact. Ghast fireballs can also be deflected using a bow.

If a Ghast's fireball hits a portal or hits close to it the portal will be closed, requiring re-ignition. If the player manages to get a Ghast to fire at the portal while it is closed, it can be reignited using the fireball. Blocks are also set on fire by the explosion, adding an extra hazard to fighting Ghasts.

The minimum block resistance required to absorb all blast force of the Ghast's fireballs is 20.17, meaning that fences and other blocks with low blast resistance will be destroyed in a fireball explosion. Safe materials that are strong enough to resist a Ghast's fireball include cobblestone, stone, bricks, stone brick, obsidian, Nether brick (including Nether brick fences), iron bars, and iron doors. Netherrack should not be used, as it is easily destroyed by explosions, and fires set on it by Ghast fireballs will not burn out.

Similarly, a ghast fireball may be used as a personal weapon that explodes on contact. This can be achieved by using an external editor such as MCEdit to turn a stationary fireball (which can also be created using external editors) into a spawner which spawns the aforementioned entity to a set position. The player can then cover the stationary fireball with water (to prevent damage in case of a misfire). Once the player has done this they can punch the fireball in any direction which serves as a very effective turret. Using an external editor, it is also possible to change the explosion strength of ghasts.

Combat
Ghasts can usually be killed with 1-3 hits from a bow and arrows although an enchanted bow can kill them in one hit. When aiming, players should lead their shots to take into account the Ghast's movement. It is also often necessary to 'aim high' as arrows lose height over distance. Having a height advantage on a Ghast will make combat significantly easier.

Ghasts can also be killed by deflecting their fireball attack back at them. A deflected fireball will kill a Ghast in one hit and will travel in the direction the player was aiming when they struck it. Hitting a Ghast with its own fireball can be quite difficult and risks the player taking a direct hit but has the upside of not needing any arrows. In fact players can deflect a fireball with anything, even an open fist. A kill with a deflected fireball will net the player the Return to Sender achievement.

A Ghast can be killed with melee weapons if they are close enough making Ghasts especially vulnerable when caught under low ceilings. A fishing rod can be used to draw Ghasts into sword range. Two hits from a stone sword are enough to kill one. A close Ghast is also much easier to hit with a bow, though reaction time against its fireballs is likewise lessened. Ender pearls can be thrown at a Ghast which will teleport the player within melee range but players should be mindful of any fire, lava or hostile mobs that are below the ghast since they will start falling as soon as they have teleported. The fall damage itself can also be dangerous if the player doesn't have Feather Falling.

Video
Note: At 0:39 in the video, it is stated that the player can only kill a Ghast with an arrow, or with deflecting a fireball. However, this is not true. It is possible to kill a Ghast with a sword, if you can only reach it. Usually, this would be when the Ghast has spawned under a fairly low ceiling, so it can't fly away.

It is also possible to use a fishing rod to pull a Ghast in close, then hit it with a sword. This can be extremely useful if the sword is enchanted with Looting.

Trivia

 * In Creative Mode, you can go inside of a Ghast by falling through the top of it or flying up underneath it. If you stand on top of the head you will see inside of it.
 * Ghasts can ride minecarts (like most other mobs).
 * Ghasts can cause other mobs to attack it, but the Ghast will never target other mobs; it will only target the Player. This is because they have no pursuit mode.  For the same reason, they cannot be "provoked" in creative mode.
 * If the player is able to fly inside an aggressive Ghast, the mob may die of shooting fireballs at itself. They are also careless about shooting at short range where they will be hurt by the blast.
 * It is possible to kill Zombie Pigmen by deflecting Ghasts' fireballs at them. It is also possible to deal a critical hit on a fireball.
 * Ghasts are the largest mob by volume - they are eight times as big as the largest variation of slime, but Ender Dragons are longer. Nevertheless, they have less health than most—the only hostile mobs with less are Silverfish, and small and tiny slimes.
 * If a Ghast is trapped in a 1-thick cube, it will shoot fireballs through the cube. This is because all mobs that shoot, spawns the projectile one block in front of it to prevent the projectile from hitting the mob.
 * On rare occasions, a Ghast will spawn in such a way as to see through blocks (usually trapped on all sides in a tight area). When this happens and the Ghast has 'line of sight' through those blocks, it will launch a fireball in the player's direction. This can be extremely confusing, causing the player to brace for impact, even if no Ghast can be seen.  If the player stays in one place, the fireballs can eventually bore a hole through netherrack to blow up the player.
 * Some rooms in Nether fortresses are big enough for a Ghast to spawn in. However, this Ghast will likely be trapped, as there may not be an exit large enough for it to fit through.
 * If a Ghast is killed, any fireball the Ghast has launched will disappear.
 * In SSP there are a couple of glitches that can strand "frozen" fireballs:


 * If the player leaves the Nether while a fireball is still flying through the sky, it will be motionless in the sky if the player returns.
 * Similarly, if the player instead saves and quits to title, switches into Peaceful mode, then reopens the world, the Ghast will disappear, but the fireball will slowly stop.
 * In either case, when hit (say, with an arrow), it will react as normal and fly in the opposite direction from where it was hit.
 * The player can not place blocks near the frozen fireball, because it is an entity with a hitbox, unlike items.
 * The only 3 ways that Ghasts can be in the Overworld are Spawn Eggs, an edited mob spawner, or a Ghast going through a Nether Portal.
 * If you tweak a mob spawner to spawn Ghasts, the model inside the spawner is larger than the frame.
 * When aiming with an enchanted bow (with at least power I) at full charge, it will kill a Ghast in 1 hit.
 * C418 revealed in an AMA on Reddit that the Ghast sounds are taken from his pet cat, which he makes when disturbed while sleeping.
 * Ghasts are apparently not undead, since the Wither attacks them.
 * In the game files, there is a sound file called "affectionate_scream", that is currently unused.
 * Though Ghasts cannot see through sugarcane, it is impossible to do it in the Nether because sugarcane needs water to be placed and you cannot place water using a water bucket (though you can place it using inventory editors or /give command).
 * Using the /summon command, one can spawn a Ghast fire ball without external editors, along with editing explosion power
 * By modifying the explosion power, it can be noted that as the explosion power increases, the craters become more cubical than "round," and at extreme strengths, the explosion does not actually leave a crater, but rather a large grid of deep and shallow holes and trenches
 * Two Ghasts are featured in the LEGO set "Minecraft Micro World - The Nether", along with a Zombie Pigman.