Magma Cube in Minecraft: Magma Cream Drops, Froglights
Magma cubes split like slimes but carry armor and hit harder. Where they spawn in the Nether, which sizes drop magma cream, and how frogs make froglights.
Magma cubes are the Nether’s slimes. They bounce at you, split into smaller cubes when killed, and the big and medium ones drop magma cream, the ingredient for fire resistance potions. Unlike slimes, they wear natural armor and hit noticeably harder.
| Size | Health | Armor | Damage (Easy / Normal / Hard) | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big | 16 HP | 12 | 4 / 6 / 9 | 4 |
| Medium | 4 HP | 6 | 3 / 4 / 6 | 2 |
| Small | 1 HP | 3 | 2.5 / 3 / 4.5 | 1 |
Where magma cubes spawn
Basalt deltas are magma cube country, with groups of two to five spawning across the dark stone. They also turn up in the nether wastes and inside Nether fortresses, and the treasure room of a bastion remnant has magma cube spawners. They spawn at any light level, so torches won’t keep them away.
Natural spawns are only small, medium or big. Higher regional difficulty skews toward big ones.
Fighting magma cubes
The big cube is the dangerous part: 9 damage per touch on Hard, and 12 armor soaks up weak hits, so a stone sword feels useless. Bring at least iron, ideally with Sharpness. Contact damage applies whenever the cube touches you, not only when it lands on you, so backing away while swinging works better than standing your ground.
When a big one dies it splits into two to four medium cubes, and each of those splits into two to four small ones. In a basalt delta, with uneven ground and lava everywhere, that cascade is how people get knocked off ledges. Fight on flat ground if you can, or use a bow on the big ones before they reach you.
They never take fall damage and lava doesn’t slow them, so luring them into a pit doesn’t work.
Magma cream
Big and medium cubes have a chance to drop one magma cream: 25% on Java and 50% on Bedrock, raised by Looting. If you don’t want to hunt them, craft magma cream instead from a slimeball and blaze powder, which is often easier since you’ll be in a fortress for blaze rods anyway.
Magma cream brews fire resistance and crafts magma blocks, which create the downward bubble column in water elevators.
Froglights
The only way to get froglights is to have a frog eat a small magma cube. Temperate frogs give ochre froglights, warm frogs give pearlescent ones and cold frogs give verdant ones. Most players leash a few frogs and bring them through a portal, or trap small cubes and carry them home in a boat.
Edition differences
- Magma cream drop chance starts at 25% on Java and 50% on Bedrock.
- Spawn group sizes differ in fortresses and the wastes (Java 4, Bedrock 1-4 in the wastes, 2-3 in fortresses).
- On Bedrock, a named magma cube passes its name to the smaller cubes it splits into.
The mobs hub covers the rest of the Nether’s residents.
Common questions
Which magma cubes drop magma cream?
Only big and medium ones. Small magma cubes drop nothing but 1 XP, so don't bother chasing the little ones for cream.
Do magma cubes take fall damage?
No. They take no fall damage, don't burn, and move through lava without slowing down.
How do you get froglights?
Lead a frog to the Nether or bring a small magma cube to a frog. When a frog eats a small magma cube it drops a froglight whose color depends on the frog variant.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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