Get a dried ghast (Nether fossils, piglin bartering, or 8 ghast tears around soul sand), place it in water for about 20 minutes to get a ghastling, wait 20 minutes (or feed snowballs) until it grows, then add a harness and ride.
- Dried ghast: craft with 8 ghast tears and 1 soul sand
- Waterlog it for about 20 minutes to hatch a ghastling
- Ghastling grows in 20 minutes; snowballs speed it up
- Harness = 3 leather, 2 glass, 1 wool
- Up to four players can ride one happy ghast
01What is a happy ghast?
A happy ghast is a friendly, flying cousin of the regular ghast. You can put a harness on it and fly it around with up to three friends on board.
It arrived in the Chase the Skies drop (Java 1.21.6) and is still the same core mob in Java 26.3. The only notable change since launch: golden dandelions (added in 26.1) can stop a ghastling from growing up.
- Health: 10 hearts
- Size: 4 x 4 blocks as an adult
- Not fire-proof, and it cannot shoot fireballs
- Passive: it never attacks you or other mobs
Think of it as a slow, safe, flying bus. It is not as fast as an elytra, but you can get it much earlier in the game, and you can bring friends along.
02How do you get a dried ghast?
Everything starts with a dried ghast block. You have three ways to get one:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Find it | Soul sand valleys in the Nether. Each Nether fossil has about a 1 in 3 chance of a dried ghast next to it. |
| Craft it | 8 ghast tears around 1 soul sand in a crafting table. |
| Barter it | Piglins give one for a gold ingot about 2.13% of the time. |
It breaks instantly with any tool or your hand, so it is easy to pick up and carry home.
Which way is easiest? If you already farm ghasts, crafting is the most reliable. If not, head to a soul sand valley and look for big bone fossils. Bring fire resistance; skeletons and ghasts spawn there. Bartering works too, but it can take a lot of gold.
03How do you hydrate a dried ghast?
Place the dried ghast, then waterlog it. Pour a water bucket into the block or place it underwater. Green particles mean it is working.
- About 5 minutes: partially hydrated
- About 10 minutes: mostly hydrated
- About 15 minutes: fully hydrated, smiling face
- About 20 minutes: it turns into a ghastling
The times are a little random because each stage waits for a random tick.
Do not break it. Mining the block resets it to fully dry. If the water goes away, it slowly dries back out at the same speed.
Tip: it works in the Overworld, so carry the block home first. Pick a spot with open space around it. An adult is 4 blocks wide, so do not hatch it in a tiny room.
04How do you make a ghastling grow faster?
A ghastling takes 20 minutes to become an adult happy ghast. You cannot ride it until then.
- Java Edition: each snowball you feed it cuts the remaining time by 10%.
- Bedrock Edition: 10 snowballs grow a fresh ghastling all the way.
- Want it to stay small? Use a golden dandelion on it (added in 26.1).
Ghastlings like company. They follow nearby players and many friendly mobs within 16 blocks. They also stay within 32 blocks of their home spot, so raise it where you want it to live.
Its home spot updates when you put on or take off a harness, remove a lead, dismount it, or stop luring it with snowballs. Adults without a harness wander up to 64 blocks from home, so a harness or lead keeps it closer.
05How do you craft a harness and ride a happy ghast?
The harness recipe goes in a crafting table:
- Top row: 3 leather
- Middle row: glass, wool, glass
The wool color sets the harness color, so there are 16 options. You can also dye a harness later.
Hold the harness and use it on an adult happy ghast. A dispenser can equip it too. Then right-click to climb on.
- Forward: fly the way you are looking
- Jump: go straight up
- Go down: look down and press forward (there is no down key)
- Passengers: up to 4 players; the first one steers
- Remove the harness: use shears
When you dismount, you land on top of it. While a player stands on it, the ghast stops moving and acts like a solid block.
Players often build a small "ghast station" (a raised platform) at their base so boarding is easy. You can even throw an ender pearl onto a parked ghast.
06What is a happy ghast good for?
- Building high up. Stand on it as a floating platform for sky bases and tall builds.
- Group travel. Ridden speed is about 3.6 blocks per second, and four people can go at once.
- Moving mobs and boats. Hold a lead, sneak, and use it on the ghast to hang a boat, horse, camel or sniffer underneath.
- Farm trips. Leads can stretch 16 blocks on a happy ghast instead of the usual 12.
Keep it healthy: it heals 1 health every 30 seconds, but 1 per second in rain, snow, or at cloud height (Y 187 to 196) with open sky. Keep it away from lava and fire.
New to survival? Our SMP beginner guide covers the basics before you head to the Nether.
07Try it on a live server
Happy ghasts are even better with friends. CHEAT SMP runs Java 26.3 at play.cheatsmp.dev, and you can protect your ghast's home area with claims. You can also earn a server-side Short Flight power by playing, no mods needed. See how to join.
FAQFrequently asked questions
How long does it take for a dried ghast to hydrate?
About 20 minutes underwater. It passes three visible stages roughly every 5 minutes, then becomes a ghastling.
How many snowballs does it take to grow a ghastling?
On Bedrock it takes 10 snowballs. On Java each snowball removes 10% of the remaining growth time, so more snowballs help but never finish it instantly.
Can you breed happy ghasts?
No. Happy ghasts cannot be bred. Every new one comes from a dried ghast.
Why can't I put a harness on my ghast?
Only adult happy ghasts can wear a harness. Wait for the ghastling to grow, or feed it snowballs.
Like this? Play it with powers.
CHEAT SMP runs Java 26.3, so you can raise a happy ghast in survival and also earn the server-side Short Flight power at 40 Patches.
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Published Oct 30, 2026. Written for Minecraft Java 26.3; we update posts when the game changes. Not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.
