Ghast

A ghast is a large white floating ghost-like hostile mob in the Nether that shoots explosive fireballs at the player.

Spawning
To spawn naturally, a ghast requires a solid block below it and a free space 5×5 blocks wide and 4 blocks high. They spawn only in the basalt deltas, nether wastes, and soul sand valley biomes, all three of which exist only in the Nether dimension, and in any light level. $$ ghasts cannot spawn in soul sand valleys if another ghast is within 16 blocks of spherical distance to the intended spawning location; $$, two ghasts can spawn within any 4 chunk span.

Ghasts do not spawn in nether fortresses, but they can wander nearby.

Drops
. Looting increases the maximum ghast tears dropped by one per level, for a maximum of 4 ghast tears with Looting III.

. Looting increases the maximum gunpowder dropped by one per level, for a maximum of 5 gunpowder with Looting III.


 * when killed by the player.

Behavior
Ghasts float around the Nether with their eyes and mouth closed and periodically make crying sounds, which can be heard from up to 80 blocks away. They have a hitbox of 4×4×4 blocks, as well as nine tentacles that are not included in the hitbox. They can also move through solid blocks, unlike most other mobs.

When within range, a ghast faces the player and shoots a fireball every 3 seconds, opening its eyes and mouth and making a screeching sound. A ghast requires a line of sight to the player before firing, which can be blocked by any solid block including transparent blocks. $$, they target players within 64 blocks horizontally and 4 blocks vertically, and continue attacking as long as they are within a 64 block sphere and have line of sight. $$, a ghast normally targets a player within a sphere of 28 blocks, increasing to 64 blocks if the player damages it.

Ghasts can cause other mobs to attack them, but they never target other mobs, only the player.

Unlike most other hostile mobs, ghasts do not attempt to approach the player once aggravated, but instead fire at the player from their position within firing range.

When at close range, ghasts may take damage and die from their own fireball explosions.

Ghasts can be set on fire, but fire or lava does not harm them. When a ghast sinks into lava, or crosses a lava fall, its speed drops and it is immobilized for a while, making it more vulnerable to arrow shots.

Unlike how they treat all other non-undead mobs, withers never target ghasts deliberately.

ID




Entity data


Ghasts have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.


 * See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.
 * See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Trivia

 * In English, "ghast" is an archaic word meaning "ghastly". H.P. Lovecraft first coined its use as name for monster (a vaguely humanoid one, in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath), but "ghasts" have appeared in many other fantasy stories and games.
 * The player can go inside of a ghast by falling through the top of it or flying (or jumping while attacking) up underneath it. If the player stands on top of the head, the player sees inside of it.
 * If a ghast is trapped in a 1-thick cube, it shoots fireballs through the cube. This is because all mobs that shoot spawn the projectile one block in front of it to prevent the projectile from hitting the mob.
 * On rare occasions, ghasts 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 a "line of sight" through those blocks, it launches a fireball in the player's direction. This is reminiscent of a blaze but with explosive addition.
 * C418 revealed in an AMA on Reddit that ghast sounds are taken from his pet cat, who makes them when disturbed while sleeping.
 * Two ghasts are featured in the LEGO set "Minecraft Micro World - The Nether", along with a Zombified Piglin.
 * When killed with its own fireball, a ghast turns orange rather than red.
 * Splash potions affect ghasts only when hitting their lower half.
 * Despite not having visible feet, ghasts are still capable of making footstep sounds.
 * There is an unused ghast sound called "affectionatescream.ogg" in the game files. It can be heard in the last scene of the Nether Update trailer.
 * Ghasts use different models between the Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, and some of their tentacles are different lengths.