We all know how important lighting is in Minecraft. Not only does it make exploring caves and working on things in the dark easier, but it is your main line of defense against Mobs.
A high enough light level will keep hostile Mobs like Zombies and Skeletons away, preventing them from spawning in the area.
However, the lights in Minecraft can also provide quite an aesthetic and a few can compare to Froglights; multicolored and soft, able to fit in with in any build.
Though, they cannot simply be crafted, like a Torch. Getting Froglights in Minecraft is a much more fun process.
What are Froglights
Froglights are a light source in Minecraft that cannot be crafted or found naturally generating in the world. It is a very soft looking light with three different variants:
- Pearlescent (Pink)
- Ochre (Yellow)
- Verdant (Green)
They emit a light level of 15, which makes it one of the strongest and most reliable light sources in Minecraft, similar to a Lantern. Compared to a Soul Lantern, which emits only 10 light levels, they are exceptionally bright.
Getting Froglights
Froglights can only be obtained through Frogs! They are the only block that can be obtained in such a unique way.
In order to get Froglights you will need to have Frogs and Magma Cubes. Slimes and Magma Cubes are the only Mobs that Frogs will react to and attack; given that they are small enough.
Since both Slimes and Magma cubes come in 3 different variants (Large, Small, and Medium), Frogs will only attack the Small ones. Anything larger is much too big for a Frog to attack and kill and they will otherwise ignore it.
When a Frog attempts to swallow a Slime it will kill it and drop a Slimeball. With Magma Cubes it will drop a Froglight instead.
The color of the Froglight depends purely on the color of the Frog that killed the Magma Cube.
It will correspond to the color of the Frog and in order to get the color Froglight you want or need you can breed Frogs in different climates to get the effect you need.
A green Frog will drop a Verdant Froglight, a white one drops Ochre, and an orange one drops Pearlescent.
The Cubes will have to be in their smaller forms for the Frog to be able to kill it.
The Frog will attack the small Magma cube with its tongue, pulling it in and killing it. As soon as the Magma Cube dies it will leave behind a Froglight, but not its usual other drops.
Making a Froglight Farm
Because Frogs can only attack small Magma Cubes and Slimes, you would have to fight these Mobs alongside the Frogs in order to get the Items you need. This can be a lot of work if you need plenty of Froglights or Slimes.
Luckily there are ways to make a small farm where the Frogs can do this without a hitch on their own, no work required from you personally.
The main goal is is to make this Mob farm self-sufficient and provide an enclosed area from which the Frogs cannot wander out of, but also making sure that the Magma Cubes shrink down to their smaller sizes for the Frogs to kill.
For a start, make sure that you are building the Farm above ground. Put it at least 5 or 6 blocks above ground.
You will build a floor with a “checkerboard” pattern, alternating between placing a solid block and leaving a 1×1 block hole, shown in the image below.
This area should be at least 4x4x5, but you can easily make it much bigger. This floor you want to cover with a single layer of Powdered Snow, without leaving any gaps. You can make it deeper, but it isn’t necessary.
One of the sides (from where your Cubes will come from) you will line with Fences, at least 2 blocks in height. I found that this helps prevent the bigger Cubes from jumping back up.
Create a single corridor 8 blocks long and at least 4 blocks wide. At the end of it put down Buckets of Water. The Water flow should end right before the drop into the Powder Snow.
The minimum height of the corridor should be 3 blocks, so that large Magma Cubes can pass through it.
Above the corridor build a room that is 9x9x9 blocks, with a Magma Cube Spawner in the very center of the room, leaving it floating in the air. Completely close in this room so the Cubes cannot get out.
You will see that this room is wider than your corridor by 1 block on all sides. To prevent the Cubes from getting stuck on that 1 block ledge when they spawn, simply place Fence posts on the ledges.
The way this farm works is that Magma Cubes will spawn and immediately fall into the flowing Water. The Water will push them off the edge and into the Powdered Snow where all the Large and Medium Magma Cubes will slowly freeze and die.
When the Small Magma Cubes spawn out of them, the majority of them will fall through the 1 block holes.
Make sure you put Water down in the area they fall into so they do not die due to fall damage. Fence in the area well and put all your Frogs there.
The Frogs will then just hunt the Small Magma Cubes and leave behind plenty of Froglights. The same design can be used for regular Slimes to farm Slimeballs.
Putting down Hoppers will help with collecting the Froglights that drop, even when you are not present to collect them.
Using Froglights
Being such a strong light source means that you can light your whole base with Froglights and they will look much nicer than just plain Torches.
I really enjoy using them as simple lamps. Their texture already looks like a lampshade from afar, and all that I usually add is a Fence Post or Iron Bar underneath to sell the look.
You can also hang one from a Chain and surround it with Signs or Trap Doors in order to make it look like a fancy chandelier.
