The ocean in Minecraft is home to so many interesting mobs. Aside from common fish, there are plentiful, noticeable, and bigger mobs involved. In terms of more neutral mobs, we have dolphins. These aquatic mobs have multiple unique forms of behavior and a special effect on the player if they swim close to the dolphins. We’ll overview all of that in the Minecraft dolphin article.
Dolphin
Minecraft Dolphin is an aquatic mob that appears in oceans that haven’t frozen over. The dolphins are an interesting type of mob. The dolphins will swim in groups of 3 to 5 within all ocean biomes. With the restrictions mentioned above, they will require proper spawn requirements to be met to show up. In Bedrock Edition, these mobs can also spawn as baby dolphins 10% of the time.
Dolphins are made as passive mobs that allow players to swim next to them. Doing so for a few seconds gives the player a special status effect. This status effect allows the player to swim much faster than usual. It’s a respectable trait, especially when diving deep into oceans. However, the dolphins may be attacked by hostile mobs, so be careful.
Dolphin Behavior
The dolphins will swim in groups, sticking near each other frequently in Minecraft. The dolphins may be aquatic mobs, but they can still drown. They need to go to the surface to get air at times. With the frequency that is standard. A dolphin will go after players if they are in boats, jumping by the side of the boat.
By sprinting while swimming and sticking near the dolphin, the player can get a status effect. This positive status is called Dolphin’s Grace which lasts 5 seconds, and it’s also exclusive to Java Edition. While the effect is active, the player will move faster underwater. This increase almost doubles the player’s underwater speed, so it’s worth the effort to keep it going.
Otherwise, dolphins will swim about and follow the player as long as the player is sprint-swimming. Bedrock Edition doesn’t have this status effect, immediately boosting the player’s speed while near dolphins instead.
A dolphin will retaliate when hit. Additionally, if one is hit while near the rest of the group, all of them will retaliate. Swarming around the source of damage and trying to eliminate them. This hostility persists, so be careful if you choose to attack them.
Another reason you shouldn’t do so is their ability to find treasures for players. If you feed a dolphin raw cod or salmon, it will swim to the closest applicable location. Guiding the player to the nearest shipwreck, ocean ruin, or buried treasures. Remember that they aren’t necessarily looking for the location but the chest itself, which means you’ll have an easier time navigating a shipwreck to find the chest.
As with most aquatic mobs, dolphins cannot stay out of the water for too long. After 2 minutes have passed, the dolphin will start taking damage. Eventually, dying if they do not return to the water or if there’s no rain falling. They will attempt to return to water during this period, but have a hard time doing so.
Dolphin Drops
The only item that dolphins drop in Minecraft is raw cod. They can either spawn 0 or 1 of these items. Additionally, Looting can increase the drops of the item. All the way up to 4 drops at level 3 of Looting.