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Minecraft’s four main ice blocks are regular ice, packed ice, blue ice, and frosted ice. Regular ice can melt or become water; packed and blue ice are persistent building blocks, with blue ice especially useful for fast boat routes; frosted ice is temporary and forms under Frost Walker boots.
How the four ice blocks differ
| Block | Melting and water | Slipperiness and use | How to obtain it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular ice | Can melt or produce water when broken in qualifying circumstances. | Slippery; can support boat routes, including in the Nether. | Silk Touch is relevant to harvesting it as a block. |
| Packed ice | Does not melt like regular ice and does not turn into water when broken. | Slippery, but less so than blue ice; suitable for persistent builds and routes. | Found in cold biomes and structures; crafted from regular ice. |
| Blue ice | Persistent; it does not behave like regular ice by melting into water. | The slipperiest of these standard ice blocks; commonly used for fast boat routes. | Found in icebergs; crafted from packed ice. |
| Frosted ice | Cracks and melts over time. | Temporary surface formed over water, not a permanent building block. | Forms under players wearing Frost Walker boots. |
These distinctions are based on the Minecraft Wiki’s reference entries for ice, packed ice, blue ice, and frosted ice. Exact behavior can vary by Java or Bedrock Edition and game version, so treat edge-case conditions as edition-specific.
Which Minecraft ice melts?
Regular ice can melt or become water
Regular ice is the basic translucent block. Under qualifying conditions it can melt, and breaking it can produce water; Silk Touch is relevant if you want to collect the block itself. In the Nether, ice can be placed for boat travel, but water does not persist there when ice melts or breaks. The precise conditions depend on edition and version, so avoid assuming every ice block or environment behaves identically.
Packed and blue ice are persistent
Packed ice does not melt near bright light in the same way regular ice does, and it does not turn into water when broken. Blue ice is likewise used as a lasting block rather than a source of water. For a permanent track or build, packed ice or blue ice is therefore the practical choice based on these behaviors—not a result of comparative in-game testing.
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Frosted ice is temporary
Frost Walker boots create frosted ice over water, but it cracks and melts over time. It is not a naturally generated permanent Overworld block. In an official Minecraft article published July 31, 2025, Duncan Geere describes frosted ice as a block “which cracks and melts over time.”
What’s the difference between packed ice and blue ice?
Both are persistent blocks associated with cold regions, but blue ice is more slippery and is the better-known choice for fast boat routes. Packed ice can be crafted from regular ice, and blue ice can be crafted from packed ice; both also generate naturally in cold locations or features. The available references do not establish edition-specific numeric movement speeds, so there is no universal speed figure to give here. For natural generation details, see the Minecraft Wiki entries on blue ice and icebergs.
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How do you get each type?
- Regular ice: Use Silk Touch when harvesting it as a block; otherwise its behavior can result in water in qualifying circumstances.
- Packed ice: Find it in cold biomes and structures or craft it from regular ice.
- Blue ice: Find it in icebergs or craft it from packed ice.
- Frosted ice: Wear boots enchanted with Frost Walker and walk over water; it forms temporarily beneath or near the player.
Geere’s official Block of the Month: Frosted Ice notes that “you won’t be able to do it using an enchanting table because the skills to create Frost Walker enchantments have been lost to the mists of time.” Frost Walker is therefore not an enchantment the article says can be obtained from an enchanting table.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are powder snow and Ice Bombs ice types?
No. Powder snow is a separate block associated with snowy environments, not one of the four ice blocks compared here. An Ice Bomb is an Education item rather than a standard ice block. These may be relevant to cold-themed gameplay, but they do not share the same block mechanics or belong in the regular, packed, blue, and frosted ice comparison.
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