The uses for dolphins in Minecraft

Dolphins are a neutral mob in Minecraft that can be found populating the non-frozen ocean biomes of the Overworld.

Similar to their real world counterparts, dolphins are intelligent creatures that call the oceans their home in Minecraft. Dolphins have a tendency to spawn into the game in groups of three to five.

They will spawn during world creation and continue to spawn if their requirements to do so are met, which means that players will be continually able to find these beloved animals of the sea.

On top of serving as added life to Minecraft's oceans, dolphins are actually quite useful when players interact them.

They can grant a swim speed boost called Dolphin's Grace and even have the potential to lead players to a nearby shipwreck, buried treasure, or ocean ruin.

This article will be offering information on dolphins in Minecraft, as well as breaking down the various uses for them in-game.

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The uses for dolphins in Minecraft

Dolphins need to come up to surface for air, but cannot survive only only on land. If a dolphin ends up on land either by accident or because of a devious act by a Minecraft player, they will actively seek to return to a body of water.

If they are stuck on land for a period of about two minutes, without returning to water, a dolphin will perish.

Dolphins in Minecraft who are unable to come to the surface for air, will also drown after being stuck beneath the water for a period of about four minutes.

These aquatic mobs will start as being neutral to players, but their entire pod will become aggressive if provoked. As these dolphins are mostly harmless and can be rather useful, it is best not to attack them.

Dolphins can also leap from one body of water to another, and will even chase after players who sail nearby in boats.

Time to get down to brass tacks, dolphins can be a very useful mobs for players to interact with.

When a player sprints swims within nine blocks of a dolphins, they will receive the status effect Dolphin's Grace for five seconds.

This magical boon will cause players to swim at a significantly faster speed of about 9.8 meters per second. Players swimming with this boon actually move faster than if they were travelling on a boat.

In order to reach to near top underwater speed in Minecraft, players can combine Dolphin's Grace with the Depth Strider enchantment.

Technically, players can move even faster with the Soul Speed enchantment, but that method requires more set up and acquiring a number of soul soil blocks.

Players should note, that they are not able to receive Dolphin's Grace from dolphins while they are invisible.

The status effect Dolphin's Grace will persist, so long as a dolphin is nearby and following the Minecraft player. The status effect is exclusive to Java Edition, but Bedrock Edition players will receive a similar effect so long as the same conditions are met.

Dolphins can act as tremendous assistants with helping Minecraft players find treasure and underwater structures.

When Minecraft players feed a dolphin a raw cod or raw salmon, which can be acquired by killing fish or fishing, they will lead players to the nearest shipwreck, buried treasure, or ocean ruin.

This can be a great way for survival mode players to quickly get led to additional underwater structures and loot, as dolphins will seek out a new structure or chest after the chest that the dolphin has led players to has been destroyed.

The chests inside of shipwrecks and underwater ruins are what dolphins are attracted to, not the structure themselves.

Minecraft Bedrock Edition players will also earn the "Echolocation" achievement by using this method.