Following the Minecraft community's mob vote in 2020, glow squids were chosen as the winning mob to be added into the game over the iceologer and the Moobloom. Although not everyone was happy about the glow squid winning the race, it's safe to say Mojang has done a pretty great job in ensuring the glow squid isn't a completely useless addition to Minecraft.
The actual design of glow squids is unique and easy to recognize from afar. They make a special noise as well when moving around — it resembles a sort of melodic bell sound. Their bodies also seem to glow in a bioluminescent way, a theme that has been prevalent in the new update, with various light-emitting and non-light-emitting glowing blocks. Here's what more you should know about the mysterious and mesmerizing glow squid in the new 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Part I update.
Updated August 14, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Glow Squids may not be the most exciting or illustrious part of the Caves and Cliffs Part I update but they're still a rather unique mob in their own right. Just how rare are glow squids? Thankfully, they're not that difficult to come across in a given seed, although the numbers for their "spawn rate" aren't well documented. They do come in herds of 2-4 and are capable of spawning on a wide array of axis within water. There's a lot to know about these interesting creatures, including some odd trivia concerning their particle effects, baby versions, and history. To better celebrate the glow squid spawn making their way to Minecraft, this article has been updated for better clarity and includes even more information about the mob.
9 First Mob From A Spin-Off Game
The glow squid was definitely not a random choice for Mojang, even if it might feel that way for some players. It had already made an appearance previously in a famous Minecraft spin-off game known as Minecraft Earth.
It became the first mob ever to have first appeared in a spin-off game and then be included in the actual main game. This is a rare occurrence, but also something Mojang will hopefully keep on doing since many of the most interesting mobs tend to be found in its spin-off games.
8 They Have A Unique Particle Effect That Shows While Invisible
Glow Squids come with their own unique particle effect that helps differentiate them more from traditional squids and other aquatic mobs. As the player gets closer to a Glow Squid, they will notice a distinct cloud of turquoise ink, as well as a smattering of star-shaped particles emitting around the mob's character model.
What's curious, is that these specialized particle effects will actually stay visible no matter what, meaning a squid affected by the Invisibility status will still be "somewhat visible" if players are able to spot the stars and colored-ink.
7 They Spawn In Darkness And In Groups
Glow squids look their best in darkness, and so that's naturally where they'll spawn in. They're most often found in the darkest areas of an ocean or any body of water. Glow squids will also spawn similarly to regular squids: in groups of two or a maximum of four at once.
There needs to be some type of stone block within their spawning distance as well. This target block can be either stone, andesite, diorite, granite, tuff, or deepslate. What this means is that glow squids will eventually spawn more abundantly in deep underwater caves in particular.
6 They Have A Baby Version
Exclusive to Bedrock Edition Minecraft, some glow squid groups will also spawn in with a baby version. There's absolutely no utility to the babies themselves, since squids and glow squids can't be bred by the player as of current, although this could become possible sometime in the future.
Baby glow squids appear just like their adult versions, but much smaller in size. They're a very rare sight to see, as they only have a 5% chance of spawning within a new group of glow squids. Killing them is useless since, like most baby mobs, they won't actually drop any resources apart from a few measly experience points.
5 They Drop Experience And Special Ink
Glow Squids can be farmed for experience like any other mob but it's not a very lucrative method. When slain by a player (or a tamed wolf), Glow Squids will drop between 1 and 3 experience points. The best use for these aquatic critters is the specialized item they drop, called glow ink sacs.
Killing a Glow Squid (adult form only) will cause it to drop 1 - 3 glow ink sacs. This number is determined by how much "looting" the player has, with the total number of items increasing by one for each enchantment level. At Looting III, the player is capable of obtaining anywhere between 1 - 6 glow ink sacs from a single Glow Squid.
4 Their Glow Ink Sacs Can Be Used In Crafting
The main utility for glow squids is their glow ink sacs. These have now become a new crafting ingredient for one of the new and unique recipes included in the 1.17 Cave Update. A glow squid has a chance to drop up to 4 pieces of glow ink sacs when slain — the number is increased with each level of Looting.
Combine glow ink sacs with an item frame in the crafting grid to make a glow item frame. Any item then placed into this item frame will have a glowing effect. This is mostly great for aesthetic purposes. The entire item frame and whatever is inside of it will be fully visible even in the darkest area, though it won't light up the surrounding area.
3 They Behave Like Regular Squids
There's not much to say about glow squid behavior that's new since so much of their design has been inspired by the regular squid mob. In essence, glow squids still move and behave the exact same way as regular squids always have. This essentially makes them a basic retexture of the already existing squid mob, but with an added gameplay element since their glow ink sacs can be used for a crafting recipe.
Like regular squids, glow squids will suffocate on land due to lack of water, and they also suffer from the same AI issues that have been a problem with regular squids for some time now. The only major difference is that when they're attacked, the ink they release in a moment of panic is turquoise rather than black.
2 They Have Several Natural Enemies
While glow squids have a pretty predictable behavior pattern, what makes them interesting is how they interact with their environment — and most importantly, with other aquatic creatures. The glow squid has many natural enemies.
Axolotls, a new mob also included in the update, will attack glow squids on sight and hunt them as prey. The same goes for guardians and elder guardians, as they will attack glow squids as if they're the same as the player. Use this to your advantage if you can, though the likelihood of it ever helping a player in a pinch is low.
1 They Don't Emit Light
The biggest drawback to glow squids, according to most players, is their inability to actually emit light. When the glow squid was first introduced, fans believed that the glow squid would actually be able to emit dynamic light as it swam through water.
However, glow squids don't actually emit light. That being said, glow squids still have a unique glowy appearance and particle effects that set them apart from the rest of the aquatic mobs in the game.