Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 5 Explained: Packed Ice Bricks, Frostbite & the Winter Drop So Far

Minecraft's Java Edition testing branch just got a lot icier. 26.4 Snapshot 5, released by Mojang on October 20, 2026, adds Packed Ice Bricks and a new combat-themed advancement, building on the Ice Caves, Icicles, and Frostbite mob that Mojang previewed earlier in the same update cycle. None of this is final yet — it's all still in testing — but here's exactly what Mojang has confirmed so far, and how the pieces fit together.

This guide pulls only from Mojang's own patch notes for Snapshot 3 and Snapshot 5, so you can see precisely what's changed and what's still experimental before you load up a test world.

1. What's New in Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 5

Mojang's own summary for the release is blunt about the theme: "This week's snapshot comes packed with a bunch of new things for you to try out! In 26.4 Snapshot 5, we're introducing Packed Ice Bricks, including a bunch of variants, and YES, they work in the Stonecutter! We've also got a frosty new advancement for anyone who decides to fight ice with ice and take out a Frostbite with an Ice Ball."

In short, the snapshot does three things: it gives builders a new ice-themed block set, gives combat-focused players a reason to hunt the Frostbite mob added in an earlier snapshot, and quietly improves a Windows-only rendering option. The Data Pack version moved to 125.0 and the Resource Pack version to 100.2, confirming this is a genuine, numbered build rather than a hotfix.

2. Packed Ice Bricks: Crafting, Variants and How They Behave

Packed Ice Bricks are the headline addition. According to the official patch notes, they work like this:

• Packed Ice Bricks can be crafted from a 2x2 arrangement of Packed Ice.
• They come in Slab, Stair, Wall, and Chiseled variants.
• Those variants — Slabs, Stairs, Walls, and Chiseled Packed Ice — can also be produced with a Stonecutter, which is faster if you're building at scale.
• Packed Ice Bricks and Chiseled Packed Ice belong to what Mojang calls the "Fast Sliding" archetype, the same movement-friction category as regular ice and packed ice.

Two new block textures ship with the snapshot to support this: block/chiseled_packed_ice.png and block/packed_ice_bricks.png. Because both blocks still belong to a sliding archetype, they're best suited to decorative builds, ice rinks, and winter-themed structures rather than anywhere you want solid footing.

3. The "What Goes Around Comes Around" Advancement

Snapshot 5 also adds a new Adventure-category advancement, "What Goes Around Comes Around," earned by killing a Frostbite with an Ice Ball — the same projectile that mob throws at players. It's a small addition, but it ties this snapshot directly back to the Frostbite mob that Mojang introduced two snapshots earlier, which is worth understanding if you want to actually earn it.

4. Where This Fits: Ice Caves, Icicles and the Frostbite Mob

To get the full picture, it helps to rewind to 26.4 Snapshot 3, released October 6, 2026, which is where Mojang first shipped the underlying biome and mob. Mojang's announcement for that build opened with: "Brr! Does it feel colder all of a sudden? Minecraft LIVE revealed the first look at our next game drop — and it's frosty. Explore ice caves filled with glittering icicles and ice crystals, plus meet a not-so-chill new hostile mob!"

Ice Caves

Per the official notes, the Ice Cave is a new cave biome that generates under colder Overworld biomes. It's built mainly from Packed Ice and Calcite, with Icicles hanging from the ceiling, occasional Snow patches on the ground, and ores embedded in the surrounding Stone and Deepslate. Glow Lichen doesn't generate here, and alongside the mobs that normally spawn in caves, Strays and Frostbites can also appear.

Icicles and Ice Crystals

Icicles are described as a speleothem-like block, similar to Dripstone, that can naturally grow up to five blocks long when pointing downward — but only in areas without nearby light sources and outside the Nether. They damage entities when they fall and deal extra damage to anything they land on. Ice Crystals are a separate, Amethyst-Cluster-like block that emits light and breaks if its support block is removed.

The Frostbite Mob

The Frostbite is officially described as "a zombie variant that can throw Ice Balls," spawning in cold and icy biomes. It switches between melee and ranged attacks depending on distance: melee hits apply the Freezing effect, while ranged attacks throw Ice Balls. It transforms back into a regular Zombie if it stays underwater too long, is immune to Freezing and Powder Snow itself, and — notably for anyone building a mob farm — ordinary Zombies and Husks turn into Frostbites if they end up standing in Powder Snow.

5. The Freezing Effect and Fighting Back with Ice Balls

The Freezing mob effect is the mechanical glue behind the Frostbite fight. Mojang's notes say it "will cause players to shake and eventually deal damage," and causes anyone affected to slowly freeze over its duration, similar to standing in Powder Snow. Leather Armor protects against the initial freezing the way it does with Powder Snow, but it won't stop the effect once applied or remove it early. Mobs that are vulnerable to Freezing take a five-times damage multiplier while affected — a meaningful number if you're trying to clear a Frostbite camp quickly.

Ice Balls, the projectile the Frostbite throws, deal 4 damage to whatever they hit, with that damage scaling down based on how fast the ball is travelling when it connects. They break on impact with a particle effect and sound, whether they hit a block or an entity. Mojang's notes also confirm Lingering, Splash, and regular Potions of Freezing can be brewed using Ice Balls, and that Arrows of Freezing are craftable by surrounding a Lingering Potion of Freezing with eight arrows on a crafting table — useful context if you want to turn the mob's own weapon against it, which is exactly what the new advancement rewards.

6. Quality-of-Life Changes: Ambient Ice Sounds and "Prefer DXGI Present"

Two smaller changes round out Snapshot 5. First, regular Ice blocks can now emit an ambient sound: if an Ice block is surrounded by at least eight other Ice blocks in all four horizontal directions, with an Air block above and a Water block below, it has a random chance to play a sound. Second, Windows players get a new experimental video setting called "Prefer DXGI Present," which attempts to present the game using DirectX instead of the default method. Mojang is upfront that it's off by default, Windows-only, and not supported on all hardware, but says enabling it may improve IME support, Variable Refresh Rate support, and alt-tabbing speed while in fullscreen.

7. How to Try the Snapshot (and Why You Should Back Up Your World)

Snapshots are pre-release testing builds for Minecraft: Java Edition only, available through the official Minecraft Launcher by enabling snapshots in the installation settings. Because snapshot builds can change file formats or introduce bugs that corrupt save data, Mojang's standard guidance applies here as always: never test a snapshot on your main world. Either back up your save first or, better, run the snapshot against a fresh or disposable world so nothing you've built is at risk. Everything covered in this piece — the block behavior, the advancement, the mob stats — is still subject to change before it reaches a stable release.

8. Quick Tips Recap

• Craft Packed Ice Bricks from a 2x2 grid of Packed Ice, or save materials by cutting Slabs, Stairs, Walls, and Chiseled variants at a Stonecutter.
• Remember that Packed Ice Bricks still slide fast, so use them for decoration rather than walkways.
• To earn "What Goes Around Comes Around," land the killing blow on a Frostbite using an Ice Ball — the same projectile it throws at you.
• Frostbites turn back into regular Zombies if left underwater too long, and ordinary Zombies or Husks become Frostbites if they stand in Powder Snow.
• Freezing-vulnerable mobs take five times the normal damage while affected, so timing a Freezing application before your main attack is worth it in a fight.
• Always test snapshot builds on a backup or throwaway world, never your main save.

For deeper context on how this update connects to the rest of the current content cycle, see our breakdown of the Ice Caves reveal from Minecraft LIVE 2026, our guide to the previous Wilderness Bound game drop, and our look at how Poplar Wood's blocks and recipes work if you want another recent building-block breakdown.

Official Resources

• Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 5 official patch notes (Minecraft.net)
• Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 3 official patch notes (Minecraft.net)
• Minecraft Feedback site
• Official Minecraft Java Edition download and launcher

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