There is no doubt that mobs are a pretty useful part of Minecraft, but transporting them can be a hassle. While you can use food to attract some of them, the process is often quite slow. That’s where a lead comes into the picture. This popular item allows you to leash animals and move them around. You can even fly with them if you have an Elytra in your toolkit. With that, let’s stop beating around the bush and learn how to make a lead in Minecraft!
How to Make a Lead in Minecraft (2023)
What is a Lead in Minecraft
Leads are special utility items in Minecraft. You can use them to create decorations, leash mobs and move them to different locations. In terms of appearance, the lead looks similar to a jute rope and has a vibrant brown texture.
How to Get a Lead in Minecraft
From crafting to chest loot, there are a variety of ways to collect lead in Minecraft. Let's explore all of them to find the method that works best for you.
Where Does Lead Spawn
If you are a fan of exploring, you can find lead within the chests of the following structures:
- Ancient City
- Trail Ruins
- Woodland Mansion
Plus, if you are on the Bedrock edition, you can also find lead within buried treasure in Minecraft. They have the best spawn rate for leads, closely followed by the mansions.
Mobs that Drop Lead
If you stumble upon a Wandering Trader in Minecraft, getting a lead becomes really easy. All trades spawn with two trader llamas, each attached to a lead. You can kill the llamas, kill the trader, or separate them from one another to break the lead and collect them.
Items Required to Make a Lead in Minecraft
You must collect the following ingredients to craft a lead in Minecraft:
- 4 Strings
- 1 Slimeball
- Crafting Table
You can combine four wooden planks inside your inventory to turn them into a crafting table. This recipe works with all types of wood including bamboo wood. But, if you plan on making a large amount of lead, it's better to use a crafter in Minecraft.
How to Get Strings
The easiest way to get strings in Minecraft is by killing spiders or cave spiders. Both of them have a chance of dropping 0-2 strings upon dying. Moreover, you can easily find spiders by just roaming around the overworld at night.
But, if hunting spiders doesn't go as planned, it's time to trade. You can barter with Piglins to 3-9 strings for a single gold ingot. While the process might take some time, it's quite renewable.
Best Way to Collect Slimeballs
Slimeballs are a green and sticky crafting material that you can get by killing small slimes. They drop 0-2 slimeballs upon dying. But, the problem often lies in finding the slimes. These uncommon mobs spawn in the dark areas of only specific chunks of your world.
The only locations where they constantly spawn are the swamps and mangrove swamp biomes. Thanks to the dense vegetation of these biomes, slimes get the perfect light level to spawn even during the day. Moreover, slimes have a higher spawn rate during a full moon but won't spawn during a new moon.
Crafting Recipe of Lead in Minecraft
Once you have collected all the items, follow these simple steps to make a lead in Minecraft:
1. First, place two strings in the first two slots of the topmost row in the crafting grid.
2. Then, put the slimeball in the center of the crafting table and place a string on its left side.
3. Finally, place the last string in the bottom-right corner of the grid. This crafting recipe gives out two leads in Minecraft.
How to Use a Lead in Minecraft
Using a lead in Minecraft is extremely easy. Equip the lead in your hand and then use it on the mob you want to control by right-clicking or using the secondary action key. Once the lead is attached, you can walk, boat, or even glide (with Elytra) and the lead will force the mob to move with you.
The lead can stretch for a distance of up to 10 blocks. If you move further than that, the lead breaks and the mob becomes free to move. But, you can use a lead on a fence to tie up the mob.
What Mobs Can You Use Leads on in Minecraft
You can use a lead to move a variety of entities and animals in Minecraft. Let's go over the complete list of compatible options.
Passive Mobs:
- Allay
- Axolotl
- Camel
- Cat
- Chicken and Chicken Jockey
- Cow
- Donkey
- Frog
- Fox
- Squid and Glow Squid
- Horse
- Mooshroom
- Ocelot
- Mule
- Parrot
- Pig
- Sheep
- Rabbit
- Skeleton Horse
- Sniffer
- Snow Golem
- Strider
Neutral Mobs:
- Bee
- Dolphin
- Iron Golem
- Goat
- Llama and Trader Llama
- Polar Bear
- Wolf
Others:
- Hoglin
- Boat
- Zoglin
Remember that attaching a mob to a leash doesn't affect their behavior. For example, if an Iron Golem attacks you, using a lead on it will only make it harder to dodge the attacks.
Why is My Lead Breaking in Minecraft
Other than distance, your lead can break due to the following reasons:
- Breaking the knot or the fence that is attached to the lead
- Hitting the lead with projectiles like arrows or tridents
- Attached mob moving at a much higher speed than the player
- Hoglin converting into Zoglin
- Going through the Nether portal or End portal (only when the mob enters before the player)
- Unloading a chunk due to distance or inactivity
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you lead a villager?
Unfortunately, there is no way to use the lead on a villager in Minecraft. But, you can trap a villager inside a boat or a raft to easily move it around.
How do you make a lead in Minecraft without slime?
If you don't have slimeballs, you can get lead from chest loot or by killing llamas of a Wandering Trader.
What do you tie a lead to in Minecraft?
You can tie a lead to fences in Minecraft to prevent your entities and mobs from moving.
Find, Craft, and Use a Lead in Minecraft
Now that you know how to make a lead in Minecraft, you can move almost every mob you desire. They are a great way to decorate your houses on the best Minecraft SMP servers. Some players also use them as defensive measures for their builds. But, that’s just the surface of all the unique ways to use leads in Minecraft. Join our Discord server and unlock a fun community of builders beaming with ideas. Happy crafting!