Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 8 Fixes the Ender Dragon and Freezing Rules

The Ender Dragon in the Minecraft 26.4 test builds had a strange problem: it could not fly the way it was supposed to. Snapshot 8 fixes that, and it also tidies up the new ice features that arrive with the 26.4 game drop.

Mojang released 26.4 Snapshot 8 on November 10, 2026. It follows Snapshot 7, which Mojang described as the last snapshot with new gameplay features for this drop, so most of Snapshot 8 is about fixes and balance changes rather than new content.

This article sums up the changes players will notice most, from the dragon fight to the Freezing effect, Ice Balls, the Cold Sulfur Cube and the Creative inventory. Everything here comes from the Snapshot 8 changelog. Snapshots are test builds, so try them on a copy of your world, not your main save.

What Was Wrong With the Ender Dragon?

In earlier 26.4 snapshots the Ender Dragon had a lower vertical velocity than Mojang intended. That sounds like a small number, but it broke a lot of the fight. The dragon could fail to reach the points it flies between, fail to reach the spots where it starts an attack, and struggle to come down to the exit portal when it should perch.

Snapshot 8 corrects the vertical speed. According to the changelog, the dragon now properly reaches its flying and attacking points, and it now descends to the portal the way it should. For players, that means the fight in The End behaves like it does in the stable game again, with the dives and perching phases you can plan around.

This matters most for people testing the snapshot on a survival world, speedrunners checking their routes on the new version, and creators recording the 26.4 content. A broken boss fight makes it hard to judge anything else in the update.

Undead Mobs Are Now Immune to Freezing

The 26.4 drop adds the Freezing effect, which is tied to the Frostbite, a new icy zombie that hits up close and throws Ice Balls from range. Until now, only a short list of mobs was immune: Drowned, Frostbite, Husk, Stray, Wither and Zombie were named one by one in the game's immunity tag.

Snapshot 8 replaces that list with the whole undead group. Every undead mob is now immune to Freezing. The fix also closes bug MC-312972, which let skeletons receive the effect even though other undead could not.

In practice, a Splash Potion of Freezing or a Freezing arrow will no longer slow down zombies, skeletons, strays or other undead. Save those potions for living targets instead.

Source: Minecraft Java Edition 26.4 Snapshot 8 changelog.

Frostbite Ice Balls Hit a Little Softer

Ice Ball damage depends on how fast the ball is moving. Snapshot 8 lowers the multiplier from 1.395 times the speed to 1.3 times the speed. It is a small nerf, roughly a 7 percent cut, but Frostbites tend to show up in groups in Ice Caves, so the difference adds up over a long fight.

Ice Balls are also the ingredient for the Potion of Freezing, which you brew from an Awkward Potion. That recipe has not changed in this snapshot.

Other Changes in Snapshot 8

The Cold Sulfur Cube, the icy version of the new Sulfur Cube mob, no longer floats. Mojang says this matches the behavior of other archetypes with similar properties. It also stops creating frosted ice when it sits over flowing water, so ice paths will only form where you intend.

In the Creative inventory, Snow and the Snow Block now sit next to Snow Bricks and their related blocks. Builders working on winter bases will find every snow block in one place.

Snapshot 8 also adds two languages: Javanese, spoken by tens of millions of people in Indonesia, and Chavacano (Zamboanga), a Spanish-based creole from the southern Philippines. There are smaller sound fixes as well. The ambient ice sound now belongs to the Ambient/Environment volume slider instead of Blocks, which fixes bug MC-312858.

How to Try Snapshot 8 and When 26.4 Will Release

To play the snapshot, open the Minecraft Launcher, go to Installations, turn on Snapshots, then create a new installation with the latest snapshot selected. Back up your world first, because worlds opened in a snapshot may not load correctly in older versions.

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher and choose Java Edition.
2. Go to Installations and tick Snapshots.
3. Click New installation and pick the latest snapshot as the version.
4. Copy your world folder before opening it in the snapshot.
5. Launch the new installation and load the copied world.

Mojang has not announced a release date for 26.4. Because Snapshot 7 was billed as the last one with new gameplay features, the next step is usually a Pre-Release for final polish, followed by Release Candidates and the full launch.

Conclusion

Snapshot 8 is not a big content drop, but it is an important one. It repairs a dragon fight that had quietly broken and balances the new ice features before 26.4 ships.

If you have been testing Frostbites and Freezing, remember that undead are now off the target list. For everyone else, the next milestone to watch is the first 26.4 Pre-Release.