Ghasts are probably among the strangest creatures in Minecraft. The flying marshmallows of the Nether hurl fireballs, shrug off lava, and can make your life a living hell! Look a little closer, though, and you’ll see they’re often just misunderstood—packed with little secrets that make Minecraft so fascinating. We’ll also cover 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: Spawn, behavior, and biomes explained
You’ll find Ghasts in the Nether—and you definitely won’t miss them. They’re one of the largest mobs in the game, looking like white jellyfish that float through the air while emitting mournful, almost weeping sounds. They can fly through lava without burning, just like most other Nether mobs. They spawn primarily in the Soul Sand Valley and also in the Nether Wastes. 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 break light blocks, and set things on fire. They telegraph their attacks with a shriek—use it as your warning! During a fight, always keep moving while staying aware of your surroundings. You don’t want to backpedal into a hole. Also protect your portal, as a single fireball can disable it.
The best tactic is to carry a bow or another ranged weapon. If you can aim well, a Ghast goes down quickly—two fully charged arrows from a bow are enough.
When killed, a Ghast can drop:
- Gunpowder: Used for TNT, fire charges, and rockets. Also converts potions into splash potions.
- Ghast Tear: Used for brewing Potions of Regeneration and for crafting an End Crystal.
Ghast secrets: Advancements, the “Tears” music disc myth, and lore
You can turn a Ghast’s weapon against it. You can deflect its fireballs with a sword—or even your bare hand! If you kill it with its own fireball, you’ll earn the advancement “Return to Sender.” Note: There is no special music disc called “Tears” in vanilla Minecraft—that’s just a community myth.
Another interesting angle is that Ghasts may originally hail from the Overworld. The advancement “Uneasy Alliance” challenges 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 over the Nether’s heat. A third advancement is “Is It a Balloon?”, which you earn by looking at a Ghast through a spyglass.
One last fun detail: the Ghast’s eerie sounds were actually recorded 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 definitely be worth it, as its drops are needed for several important recipes. It’s also a good 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 powdered 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 + 1x hopper
- 1x trapdoor
- 2x 64 scaffolding
Step-by-step: Build the Ghast farm
- Reach the Nether roof
Find a Soul Sand Valley and head to the Nether roof. Locate a bedrock block at Y=127, place a ladder, then throw the ender pearl to clip through. Build a portal on top so you can return to the Overworld. If you already have access to the roof, you can skip this.
- Farm footprint in a single chunk
Press F3 + G to show chunk borders. Build the farm inside one 16x16 block chunk. You can expand it later if you want. One block above the bedrock, cover the whole footprint with the building block of your choice.
- Collection system and rail layout
The Ghast drops will be collected by a rail system. In one corner, place a chest and a hopper. Next to the hopper, place the comparator facing outward, then one block higher build a small loop with a redstone torch, two redstone dust, and one full block next to the hopper. Place a powered rail on top of the hopper—it should light up.
Lay eight regular rails and then one powered rail. Continue in a zigzag pattern across the platform, alternating a powered rail in the middle of each run. Power those from below with redstone torches; use the trapdoor to access the space under the farm. At the end, create a stopper with another powered rail, a full block in front of it, and a redstone torch underneath.
- Spawn platform for Ghasts
Place a layer of magma blocks one block above the rails. Surround the edges with slabs. Then build four temporary blocks upward and place six rows of slabs up there (each 14 blocks long): two single rows, each offset by 2 blocks toward the outside, and one double row centered.
Now add powdered 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 powdered snow. Move three blocks to the side and place two more powdered snow piles. Repeat this pattern along the edge, and place two diagonal powdered snow piles toward the center.
- AFK spot
That’s the farm done! Send the hopper minecart off, starting on the powered rail above the hopper. It should run on its own. Ghasts should start spawning once you’re a short distance away. For AFK farming, build a scaffolding tower directly above the center of the farm and stand at Y=255.
Conclusion: Efficiently farm gunpowder and ghast tears in the Nether
Ghasts are often misunderstood, but you definitely shouldn’t take them lightly. They can set you ablaze, destroy builds in the Nether, and even disable your portal! They’re also very useful—especially in a Ghast farm for gunpowder and tears. Go uncover the flying marshmallow’s secrets yourself, earn its advancements, and maybe even bring one to the Overworld.
A Ghast farm is absolutely worth it on your own Minecraft server, which you can rent from us right away: Rent a Minecraft server now. Gunpowder in particular is a key resource, for example for firework rockets for the Elytra.
