Ghasts are probably some of the strangest creatures in Minecraft. The flying marshmallows of the Nether hurl fireballs around, don’t mind lava, and can really make your life a living hell! But on a closer look, the Ghast might just be misunderstood. Behind it are plenty of secrets that make Minecraft such a fascinating game! We’ll also build an automatic Ghast farm, giving you an alternative source of gunpowder and Ghast Tears. You can learn more about the happy Ghast in our other guide (Discover the New Happy Ghast in Minecraft 1.21.6) .
Minecraft Ghast: Spawns, behavior, and biomes explained
You’ll find Ghasts in the Nether—and you certainly won’t miss them. They’re one of the largest mobs in Minecraft. They look like white jellyfish, floating through the air, often making crying or tragic sounds. They can freely fly through lava and don’t burn, just like the other Nether mobs. They primarily spawn in the Soul Sand Valley, Nether Wastes, and Basalt Deltas. Keep that in mind for later when you build an automatic farm.
Fighting Ghasts: Strategies, weapons, and drops
Ghasts attack with projectiles and shoot fireballs at you. These explode on impact, can destroy weaker blocks, and set blocks on fire. Their attacks are telegraphed by a scream—use it as your warning! During a fight, always keep moving and watch your footing so you don’t fall into a hole. Also protect your portal, since a fireball can disable it.
The best tactic against Ghasts is to carry a bow or another ranged weapon. If you aim well, a Ghast goes down quickly—just two shots from a bow are enough.
When killed, a Ghast can drop:
- Gunpowder: Used for TNT, Fire Charges, and firework rockets. It also turns potions into Splash Potions.
- Ghast Tear: Used for brewing Potions of Regeneration, and for crafting the Dried Ghast and an End Crystal.
Ghast secrets: Advancements, the Tears music disc, and lore
You can turn a Ghast’s weapon against it. You can knock its fireballs back with a sword or even your fist! If you kill it that way, you’ll not only earn the advancement “Return to Sender”, but also a unique music disc called “Tears”—a mysterious song for the Ghast.
Another interesting angle is that the Ghast originally comes from the Overworld. The advancement “Uneasy Alliance” asks you to free a Ghast from the Nether and bring it to the Overworld. The existence of the happy Ghast also suggests it prefers cold and fresh air to the Nether. A third advancement is “Is It a Balloon?”, which you earn by looking at a Ghast through a spyglass.
One last fun detail! The ghastly sounds are actually from the cat of C418, the composer of Minecraft’s early soundtracks.
Build guide: Automatic Ghast farm in the Nether for gunpowder and Ghast Tears
A Ghast farm can absolutely be worth it, since its drops are needed for several important recipes. It’s also a great alternative source of gunpowder if you don’t want to deal with Creepers. These farms aren’t super common, but they’re surprisingly easy to build! Our design is based on Triloms’ tutorial on YouTube.
Materials:
- Ladder + Ender Pearl + 10x Obsidian + Flint and Steel (to reach the roof)
- 5x 64 building blocks
- 3x 64 slabs
- 4x 64 magma blocks
- 14x Powder Snow (in buckets)
- 32x dirt (as temporary blocks)
- 1x hopper minecart
- 4x 64 rails
- 18 powered rails + 18 redstone torches + 2x redstone dust
- 1x redstone comparator
- 2x chests + hopper
- 1x trapdoor
- 2x 64 scaffolding
Step-by-step: Build the Ghast farm
1. Get onto the Nether roof
Find a Soul Sand Valley and get onto the Nether roof there. Look for bedrock at Y=127, place the ladder, and throw the pearl through to clip up. Build a portal on top so you can return to the Overworld. If you already have a portal, you can skip this step.
2. Farm footprint in a single chunk
Press F3 + G to toggle chunk borders. This lets you build the farm inside a 16x16-block area. The farm is expandable! One block above the bedrock, cover the area with any solid block.
3. Collection system and rails
We’ll collect Ghast drops with a rail system. In one corner, place a chest and a hopper. Next to the hopper below, place the comparator. One block higher, make a small loop using a redstone torch, two redstone dust, and a solid block next to the hopper. Put a powered rail on top of the hopper—it should be lit.
Place eight regular rails, then a powered rail. Continue in a zigzag pattern, alternating a powered rail in the middle of each run. Power these from below with redstone torches—use the trapdoor to crawl under the platform. At the end, make a stopper with another powered rail, a solid block, and a redstone torch underneath.
4. Ghast spawn platform
One block above the rails, lay a layer of magma blocks. Surround them with slabs. Then build four temporary blocks up and place six rows of slabs there (each row 14 blocks long): two rows toward the outer edges with 2-block gaps and a double row in the center.
Now place Powder Snow in the middle of the farm so Ghasts take damage later. From one corner, go diagonally three temporary blocks toward the center and place one bucket of Powder Snow. Go three blocks to the side and place two more snow piles. Repeat this pattern along the edge, and place two diagonal Powder Snow piles in the center.
5. AFK spot
The farm is ready! Send off the hopper minecart, starting on the powered rail above the hopper. It should run on its own. Ghasts should start spawning once you’re a bit further away. The best AFK setup is a scaffolding tower directly above the farm’s center, up to Y=255.
Conclusion: Efficiently farm gunpowder and Ghast Tears in the Nether
Ghasts are often misunderstood, but don’t take them lightly. They can light a fire under you and destroy builds in the Nether, even disabling your portal! They’re also very useful—for example, in a Ghast farm for gunpowder and tears. Go discover the secrets of the flying marshmallow yourself, collect its music disc, or bring it to the Overworld.
A Ghast farm is absolutely worth it on your own Minecraft server, which you can rent from us right away. Gunpowder especially is a crucial resource—for example, for firework rockets for the Elytra.
