A frostbite is a cold-weather version of the zombie that lives in snowy areas and the new Ice Caves. It hits in melee like a normal zombie, but its punches apply the Freezing effect, and some of them carry ice balls they can throw at you from a distance. It arrives with the Fourth Drop 2026 and is currently testable as an experimental feature in the Bedrock preview.
Quick answer: Frostbites spawn at night or during thunderstorms in cold biomes like Ice Caves, Ice Spikes, and Snowy Plains, or form when a zombie or husk sits in powder snow for 30 seconds. Kill one for rotten flesh and ice balls.
Frostbite stats and traits
A frostbite has 24 health points (12 hearts) and gains 2 armor points when it spawns wearing any armor. It counts as an undead monster, so the Smite enchantment deals extra damage to it, a Potion of Healing hurts it, and a Potion of Harming heals it, exactly like other zombies.
- Burns in direct sunlight, the same as a regular zombie.
- Immune to the Freezing effect, so you cannot turn its own attack back on it.
- Does not sink into powder snow, so it walks over it without leather boots.
- Baby frostbites can ride other mobs such as a chicken or spider to become a jockey (Bedrock Edition).
Where to find Frostbites
Frostbites spawn at night or during thunderstorms in cold and frozen biomes. The Ice Caves biome is the signature spot, but they also appear across several frozen surface biomes.
- Ice Caves
- Ice Spikes
- Snowy Plains
- Snowy Slopes
- Jagged Peaks and Frozen Peaks
- Frozen Ocean, Deep Frozen Ocean, and Legacy Frozen Ocean
- Frozen River
Ice Caves generate underground beneath frozen biomes and are built from packed ice, calcite, snow, icicles, and ice crystals. In the Bedrock preview, frostbites spawn there in groups of 2 to 4. Strays and common cave monsters share the biome, so expect company.
Turning a zombie or husk into a frostbite
You do not have to wait for a natural spawn. A regular zombie or husk that stays submerged in powder snow for 30 seconds freezes and converts into a frostbite, keeping whatever tools and armor it was carrying. This mirrors the way a zombie turns into a drowned after half a minute underwater.
The change also runs in reverse. A frostbite left in water for 30 seconds reverts to an ordinary zombie, and that zombie can then become a drowned if it stays under. A drowned cannot turn back into a frostbite.
Frostbite attacks
Every frostbite can swing in melee, and some spawn holding ice balls for a ranged option. The mob prefers to close in and punch; it throws ice balls from range, then switches to melee once it gets near its target. Frostbites will also pick up loose ice balls off the ground to throw them.
Melee punch and Freezing
A melee hit deals damage and applies the Freezing effect for 3 seconds, which slows your movement and chips away health over time. In a tight Ice Cave surrounded by several frostbites, that slowdown makes it hard to retreat. Melee damage scales with difficulty.
| Difficulty | Melee damage |
|---|---|
| Easy | 1 HP (0.5 hearts) |
| Normal | 2 HP (1 heart) |
| Hard | 3 HP (1.5 hearts) |
Wearing a single piece of leather armor cancels the freeze damage and the frosted screen overlay, though it does not remove the slowness.
Ice ball throw
Thrown ice balls deal 1 to 2 HP (0.5 to 1 heart) on every difficulty level, and they carry consistent knockback. Raise a shield when you see a frostbite holding one. Since these mobs still favor melee, hitting them first with a bow or crossbow is the cleanest way to deal with a ranged variant before it reaches you.
Frostbite drops
Killing a frostbite can drop rotten flesh and ice balls, and it drops ice balls whether or not it was holding one. Looting raises the maximum number of ice balls.
| Item | Amount | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Rotten Flesh | 0–2 | 66.67% |
| Ice Ball | 0–3 | 75% |
Hold onto the ice balls. Brewing one into an awkward potion makes a Potion of Freezing, which applies Freezing for 45 seconds and can be extended, splashed, lingered, or turned into an Arrow of Freezing. The ice balls also work as throwable projectiles in their own right, stacking up to 16 and decelerating sharply like snowballs.
