All new crafting recipes coming in Minecraft Chase the Skies update

Minecraft’s upcoming Chase the Skies update is more than just flying ghasts and visual upgrades. It also brings new crafting recipes for some exciting items and changes the previous recipes to make things more accessible. Some of these will help you tame new mobs, others will make the gameplay more fun, and one is simply a long-requested feature that should've been added years ago.

The Chase the Skies game drop for Minecraft is one of the most exciting updates of recent times as it focuses on improving the game's multiplayer and exploration. Here's a full breakdown of the new items you’ll be able to craft once the update drops, and how it improves the gameplay experience.

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New and improved crafting recipes in Chase the Skies update for Minecraft

1) Dried ghast crafting

One of the biggest additions is the dried ghast, a new ghast variant that doesn't shoot fireballs the moment it sports a player. This addition will play a big role in bringing a new flying mechanic to the game.

Dried ghasts can be found naturally generating inside nether fossils in soul sand valleys or acquired through bartering with piglins. But for players who want to create their own, there’s a crafting recipe.

To craft a dried ghast, you’ll need one soul sand block and eight ghast tears. Place the soul sand in the center and surround it with the tears. Once created, the dried ghast appears static and harmless.

However, placing it in water begins a slow transformation. After some time, the dried ghast will turn into ghastling. Feeding this smiling mob snowball will turn it into a happy ghast. This process is not instant; it encourages patience and it is worth it as happy ghasts can be used to fly around the world with three other players.

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2) Harness crafting

You need something to steer this giant flying mob, and that's where the harness comes in. You can craft one using leather, glass, and wool. The specific recipe places leather and glass in the corners and sides, with a piece of colored wool in the center to determine the variant. There are 16 total color options, matching the 16 wool colors in the game.

The harness is what allows the happy ghast to be used for flight. Since four players can ride the happy ghast at the same time, it shows that the developers are working to improve Minecraft's multiplayer.

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3) Lead recipe change

Leads can be crafted without slimeballs in Minecraft (Image via Mojang Studios)

Leads, which were previously crafted using four strings and one slimeball, are now much easier to make. In Chase the Skies update, the slimeball has been removed from the recipe entirely. It’s replaced with one more string, making the total five.

This change makes leads more accessible, especially in the early game, where slimeballs might not be readily available. It also opens up better use of leads in new mechanics like ghast riding, or attaching multiple mobs together. What’s even better is you can attach a boat to a happy ghast and essentially make a flying hot air balloon, something very similar to what we saw in A Minecraft Movie.

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4) Saddle crafting

Saddles can now be crafted with the upcoming Minecraft update (Image via Mojang Studios)

After years of being loot-only, saddles are finally craftable. Players will no longer need to search temples or strongholds to find one. The new recipe uses three leather and one iron ingot. Arrange the leather in a triangle and place the iron at the bottom.

This change reflects a long-time request from the Minecraft community. Saddles are necessary for riding several mobs including horses, pigs, and even the strider in the nether. Giving players a way to craft them improves gameplay experience. You need a saddle to make exploration fun, but you need to explore a lot to find a saddle, making the entire experience counterintuitive.

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While the official release date of Chase the Skies update has not been revealed, fans of the game can expect it to come in the middle of June. All the new features such as the locator bar feature and potentially the Vibrant Visuals graphics upgrade needs a little polish before the final release.