Ice
Ice is the slippery transparent block of frozen water — found in cold biomes, perfect for skating tracks and futuristic floors.
Description
Breaking Ice without Silk Touch yields no drop: the block turns into water whenever a solid block or any fluid lies directly beneath, and shatters to nothing over air. Mining with Silk Touch returns the cube intact, the only practical way to relocate it. Two variants exist: Packed Ice (crafted from nine Ice blocks and generated naturally in ice spikes biomes and frozen-ocean icebergs, just as slippery as Ice, never melts) and Blue Ice (crafted from nine packed blocks, slipperier still — the fastest travel surface in the game when paired with boats). Builders use the material for arctic palaces, igloo flooring, and high-speed boat highways.
Block properties
| Item ID |
minecraft:ice
|
|---|---|
| /give command |
/give @p minecraft:ice
|
| Stackable | Yes (64) |
| Best tool | Pickaxe |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Hardness | 0.5 |
| Blast resistance | 0.5 |
Java & Bedrock Guide
How to get and use Ice in Minecraft
-
1
Find Ice in cold biomes
Travel to snowy taigas, frozen rivers, frozen oceans, or ice spike biomes, where Ice generates naturally on the surface of water.
-
2
Mine Ice with Silk Touch
Break the Ice with any tool enchanted with Silk Touch to collect the block intact — a pickaxe is fastest. Any tool without Silk Touch melts Ice back into water or drops nothing.
-
3
Place Ice over a solid base
Set Ice on dirt, stone, or another solid block, and keep bright light sources away to stop Ice from melting.
-
4
Build an ice boat highway
Lay a long flat track of Ice and ride a boat across it for the fastest land travel in Minecraft — a boat reaches 40 m/s on Ice versus 8 m/s on water. Upgrade the track to Blue Ice for even more speed.
Ice melts when a block emitting light level 12 or higher, such as a torch or glowstone, sits next to it. Use Packed Ice or Blue Ice near light sources, since neither variant melts.
How to craft this block
Used in crafts
Related blocks
Frequently asked questions
Can you craft Ice in Minecraft?
No. Ice cannot be crafted in vanilla Minecraft; it forms naturally when water freezes in cold biomes. The Frost Walker enchantment does not produce harvestable Ice — it only creates short-lived frosted ice, a different block that melts within seconds.
What tool do you need to mine Ice?
Any tool breaks Ice, but only Silk Touch returns the Ice block itself. A pickaxe is fastest. Without Silk Touch, broken Ice becomes water when a solid block or any fluid sits directly beneath; over air it leaves nothing.
Why does my Ice keep melting?
Ice melts when a block emitting light level 12 or higher, such as a torch or glowstone, sits next to it. Keep light sources away, or use Packed Ice and Blue Ice, which never melt.
Is Ice faster to walk on?
Yes. Players and mobs slide on Ice and move faster than on solid ground. Blue Ice is the slipperiest, making it the fastest surface for boat travel in Minecraft.
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