Dolphin

Overview

A Dolphin is a navigation tool with teeth. Swim next to one and it grants Dolphin's Grace, which roughly triples your swimming speed for as long as you keep pace — faster than a boat over short hops and the only way to cross deep water quickly without an elytra. Feed one raw cod or raw salmon and it does something better: it swims off towards the nearest shipwreck, ocean ruin or buried treasure and waits for you to follow, which finds loot without a map, a compass or a single guess. That behaviour alone makes a Dolphin worth more than the 3 experience it drops. It has 10 health, hits for 3 on Normal, and is neutral — hurt one and the entire pod of three to five turns on you at once. They must surface to breathe, so a Dolphin trapped in a sealed underwater room drowns, and one stranded on land suffocates. Pods spawn in every non-frozen ocean in water at least two blocks deep. They also play: dolphins push boats, chase thrown items, and follow ships across the surface, which is scenery rather than mechanics but is how most players first notice them.

Ocean travel and treasure hunting. Dolphin's Grace roughly triples swim speed, and a fed Dolphin leads you straight to the nearest shipwreck, ruin or buried treasure chest.

Swim near a dolphin and it grants Dolphin's Grace, roughly tripling your swim speed for as long as you keep up. Feed one raw cod or salmon and it will lead you to the nearest shipwreck, ocean ruin or buried treasure, which is the fastest way to find loot without a map. They must surface to breathe and drown if trapped underwater. Hurting one turns the whole pod hostile.

In Minecraft, Dolphin is classified as a neutral mob. It has 10 health points, or 5 hearts. On Normal difficulty each hit costs you 3 damage.

It is worth 3 XP.

Properties

Dolphin has 10 health, which is 5 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.9 blocks wide and 0.6 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.

Damage by difficulty

Dolphin hits for 2 on Easy, 3 on Normal and 4 on Hard — the site's stat strip shows the Normal figure, which is the one most guides quote.

A full set of diamond armour cuts that by up to 80% against a small hit and less against a large one, and Protection IV on all four pieces — 16 EPF — takes a further 64% off what is left.

Spawns in

Spawns in pods of three to five in non-frozen oceans, in water at least two blocks deep.

It is restricted to Ocean, Warm Ocean, Lukewarm Ocean, Deep Lukewarm Ocean, Cold Ocean and 2 more, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.

Dimension

Overworld

Biomes

Ocean, Warm Ocean, Lukewarm Ocean, Deep Lukewarm Ocean, Cold Ocean, Deep Ocean, Deep Cold Ocean

Added in

1.13

Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.13

How it behaves

The Dolphin ignores you until provoked, and once provoked it usually stays provoked — often for the whole group, which is what makes a single mistake expensive.

Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.

Command

In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Dolphin where you are standing.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesHow to Fight Every Hostile Mob in Minecraft→
• GuidesHow to Build a Base That Mobs Cannot Enter→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

BeeEndermanFoxGoatLlamaPandaPiglinPolar Bear

How to get it

Dolphins spawn in pods of 3 to 5 in ocean, warm ocean, lukewarm ocean and cold ocean biomes, in water at least 2 blocks deep. They cannot be tamed, bred or bucketed — you work with wild pods.

Tips

• Feed raw cod and follow immediately — the Dolphin sets off at once and stops leading if you fall too far behind.
• Swim close enough to keep Dolphin's Grace refreshed; the effect expires within seconds of losing contact.
• Never hit one, because the whole pod becomes hostile and dolphins hit for 3 and swim faster than you do.
• Leave an air gap above any water you funnel them through, since a Dolphin drowns if it cannot reach the surface.