Minecraft has received a new, nasty mob. Goats are really mean because they throw you off cliffs.
The first part of the “Caves & Cliffs” update in Minecraft went live a few days ago. This brought many new, significant changes, but also a few smaller details. One of them is the goats. At first glance, they appear to be completely harmless creatures, but can develop into real killers.
Where can you find goats? With update 1.17, you can find goats in groups of 2 to 3 animals, usually in mountains and highlands. They can also spawn after world creation, but the chance is significantly lower.
What do goats do? Goats live primarily in the mountains and make their existence there. Since they are good climbers, goats can jump up to 10 blocks high and several blocks far without taking fall damage.
Every 30-300 seconds, the goat selects a target (besides other goats) that has not moved in the last few seconds. Then the goat briefly charges a ram attack and then charges at the target. If a creature – or the player – is hit by this, the target is pushed up to 16 blocks in one direction.
Since goats are primarily active in the mountains, such a push can easily be fatal if you are thrown from a high cliff.
Breeding and milking Minecraft Goats
What benefits do goats have? Goats can be milked, similar to cows. This allows you to fill a bucket with milk that can be used for cooking or to remove negative status effects (like poison) if needed.
Additionally, goats leave behind their horns when they charge at a ram. The horns currently have no significant use but can be used as decoration. Your character can also use the horn to produce a loud sound that strongly resembles the attack signal of raids by illagers.
Can you breed goats? Yes, it is possible. Like most neutral or passive mobs, goats can also be paired and bred.
Goats like grains and can be led with them. If you feed two goats in close proximity to each other, a baby goat will spawn after a while.
The screaming goat is particularly dangerous
As a little joke, Minecraft has also incorporated an old meme. Because all goats have a 2% chance of spawning as a “screaming goat” to wreak havoc in your world. Visually, they are indistinguishable from normal goats, but they sound quite different – just like in this video:
However, the screaming goats are not just a big scare when the noise starts. They also pose a much deadlier threat. Because instead of having a cooldown of 30 – 300 seconds on their knockback ram attack, a screaming goat only has a cooldown of 5 – 15 seconds. This can lead to screaming goats tossing your character around nearly permanently. Since goats are primarily found in the mountains, this can quickly become fatal.
If you hear it scream nearby – run. Otherwise, the killer goat will send you straight to the respawn point. Except in a hardcore world, where the goat will gladly end your journey permanently.
Sometimes, evil creatures in Minecraft are also quite nice – like these friendly creepers.
