Leads have been an ever-useful tool for getting mobs to where they are supposed to be, but as of the latest snapshot, they have also become an item that allows for boundless creativity. So, today, we explore the many exciting uses of leads in our Minecraft lead guide.

Crafting a Lead

Crafting a lead requires four string, one slimeball, and a crafting table. The string can be collected from slaying spiders at night, while the slimeball will be most easily obtained from slaying slimes in a swamp biome. The crafting table itself is crafted from four wooden plank blocks if one is not already owned. Once all the items are in hand, place the crafting table down and open it before placing one string on the top left corner of the top row and one string on the middle spot of the top row. Next, place one string on the left-most spot of the middle row and a slimeball directly in the middle of the crafting table. Finally, place one string on the right-most spot on the bottom row. With those steps complete, two leads can now be crafted!

Basic Minecraft Lead Usage

To use a lead, simply select it in your hot bar before right-clicking an animal or boat. From there, you can pull either one along as you walk, attach it to another animal with a shift right click, or attach it to a fence post, keeping the animal from wandering away. Not all mobs are compatible with leads, though, so we have listed those that are below.

• Allay
• Armadillo
• Axolotl
• Bee
• Camel
• Cat
• Chicken
• Cow
• Dolphin
• Donkey
• Fox
• Frog
• Glow Squid
• Goat
• Happy Ghast
• Hoglin
• Horse
• Iron Golem
• Llama
• Mooshroom
• Mule
• Ocelot
• Parrot
• Pig
• Polar Bear
• Rabbit
• Sheep
• Skeleton Horse
• Sniffer
• Snow Golem
• Squid
• Strider
• Wolf
• Zoglin
• Zombie Horse

If the mob you were hoping to see was not listed above, such as villagers, worry not. These restrictions can be easily bypassed by placing any mob in a boat and then simply pulling the boat instead.

Advanced Minecraft Lead Usage

As of the latest update, leads can be used to attach a led mob or boat to another mob or boat by holding down the left shift key on the keyboard and right-clicking the secondary target. That may not seem like much, but when put into practice, it can lead to many interesting interactions. Below are a few useful and wacky examples showing how to use this new feature in ways that were entirely impossible before.

Happy Ghast Transport

Happy Ghasts are Minecraft’s first flying mount, which also happen to be compatible with leads. This means that if a lead is attached to a boat with a mob in it, such as a villager, and then shift and right-click to a Happy Ghast, that mob can now be carried and flown anywhere in the overworld with complete ease. Better yet, players can attach boats to other boats so multiple mobs can be flown back to base at once using a single Happy Ghast. That may sound a little complicated, but it is truly as simple as attaching a boat to the Happy Ghast with a lead and then attaching a boat to the original boat with another lead before repeating with as many boats as you would like.

Chicken Parachutes

While not a practical use like with Happy Ghasts, players have discovered a very humorous interaction between boats and chickens when attached by a lead. Chickens have passive slow fall in Minecraft, so when attached to a boat, players can push the boat off a mountain, jump on, and gradually float downward, carried by the graceful flapping wings of their chicken. Just make sure not to sit in the boat, as this will sadly break the lead!

Minecarts & Leads

Redstone and Minecarts make a lot possible in Minecraft, which now includes functioning ski lifts! This feat is done by building a raised and looped uphill track of powered rails, placing a minecart on them, riding your Happy Ghast into the minecart, and then attaching a boat to the Happy Ghast. The boat will then hang beneath the “Ski Lift” build, and once the rails are activated, players can catch a ride at any time as the rails carry the Happy Ghast and boat around and around.