- TL;DR: The sulfur cube is a new passive mob in the Minecraft Chaos Cubed update (version 26.2, released June 16, 2026).
- It only spawns inside sulfur caves. It absorbs blocks and changes its physics based on what it eats.
- There are 12 archetypes in total — each one changes bounciness, friction, air drag, and water behavior.
- Use shears to remove a block and reset the cube. Feed it TNT with caution — it will explode.
- Carry it home in a bucket. Small cubes cannot absorb blocks but grow into large ones over time.
The Minecraft sulfur cube is the standout new mob from the Chaos Cubed update, and it works unlike anything else in the game. Instead of attacking, breeding, or trading, this mob eats blocks — and changes its entire behavior depending on what you feed it. Whether you want a bouncy pinball, a sliding puck, or a rolling explosive, the sulfur cube can do it. This guide covers everything: where to find it, all 12 archetypes, how to feed and reset it, and how to use it for creative builds. First, read our guide on how to find sulfur caves in Minecraft so you know where to look for this mob.
What Is the Sulfur Cube in Minecraft?
The sulfur cube is a passive, slime-like mob added in the Chaos Cubed game drop for Java Edition 26.2 and Bedrock Edition 26.30. It looks like a transparent cube with a block visible inside its body once it has absorbed one. In its default state, it hops around slowly like a standard slime. Once it absorbs a block, it stops moving on its own and becomes a physics-based object you can push, punch, and launch in any direction.
The block it absorbs determines its archetype — a preset that controls bounciness, friction, air drag, knockback resistance, and whether it floats or sinks in water. There are 12 archetypes total. This system is the core mechanic of the update and opens up a huge range of minigame and build possibilities.
Where to Find the Sulfur Cube in Minecraft
Sulfur cubes only spawn naturally inside sulfur caves. They do not appear in any other biome. If you have not found a sulfur cave yet, the fastest method is to scan the Overworld for a sulfur spring — a small surface pool ringed by yellow sulfur blocks and red cinnabar blocks with gas rising from the water. Every spring has a sulfur cave directly below it. Dig a staircase beside the spring and follow it down until the walls turn yellow and red.
If you have cheats enabled, type /locate biome minecraft:sulfur_caves in the chat to get the nearest coordinates instantly.
For more underground exploration, see our guide on how to find the Ancient City in Minecraft.
How to Feed a Sulfur Cube a Block
Only large sulfur cubes can absorb blocks. Small sulfur cubes, which spawn in pairs when a large cube dies, cannot hold anything. They grow into large cubes after about 20 minutes. You can speed up that growth by feeding small cubes slimeballs. To keep a small cube from growing, use a golden dandelion on it.
To feed a large sulfur cube a block, do one of the following:
- Hold the block in your hand and right-click (interact) directly on the cube.
- Drop the block item on the ground near the cube. It will move toward it and absorb it.
- Use a dispenser loaded with the block, aimed at the cube.
Once the cube swallows the block, it freezes in place, displays the block visibly inside its body, and becomes resistant to most damage. Hitting it in this state launches it in the direction you struck — it does not take damage, it moves like a ball instead. The harder the hit, the further it travels.
How to Reset or Switch a Sulfur Cube’s Archetype
To remove the absorbed block and return the cube to its base state, use shears on it. The block pops out as an item and the cube starts hopping freely again. If you want to switch from one archetype to another, you do not need to use shears first. Simply feed the cube a new block while it already holds one. The old block is ejected automatically and the new archetype takes over immediately.
Warning: Do not use shears on a cube that has already absorbed TNT and been ignited. Once you light a TNT cube with flint and steel or a Fire Aspect weapon, there is no way to stop it. It will explode after six seconds and die, leaving no small cubes behind. Shears have no effect on a lit TNT cube.
How to Transport a Sulfur Cube
The easiest way to bring a sulfur cube back to your base is to scoop it up with an empty bucket. Right-click the cube with a bucket in hand to get a Bucket of Sulfur Cube. Carry it in your inventory and place it wherever you want at your base. This works on both Java and Bedrock editions. You can also use a lead to leash a sulfur cube and walk it, though the bucket method is much more practical over long distances. If you need an Elytra to travel from the cave to your base quickly, the bucket keeps the cube safe in your inventory the whole time.
All 12 Sulfur Cube Archetypes in Minecraft
Each archetype changes four things: knockback resistance (how far it travels when hit), bounciness (how high it rebounds), ground friction (how far it slides), and air drag (how it floats or falls). Here is every archetype and which blocks trigger it.
Bouncy Archetype
Trigger blocks: Any wood plank, log, or wood-type block.
Behavior: High bounciness, low friction, flies far when hit. Behaves like a rubber ball. This is the most popular archetype for player-built pinball machines and parkour launchers. Floats in water.
Sliding Archetype
Trigger blocks: Ice, packed ice, blue ice, and similar frozen blocks.
Behavior: Near-zero friction on the ground, very low air drag. The cube glides across flat surfaces with almost no resistance. Ideal for curling-style minigames and fast horizontal movement contraptions.
Light Archetype
Trigger blocks: Any wool block (all 16 colors).
Behavior: Very slow movement, floaty feel, high air drag. The cube drifts gently and barely rebounds. Good for slow-paced obstacle courses or decorative floating builds.
Heavy Archetype
Trigger blocks: Iron block, gold block, copper block, or similar metal blocks.
Behavior: High knockback resistance, low bounciness, sinks in water. Very hard to move. Good as a stationary obstacle or anchor point in builds. Our copper blocks guide covers how to get and prepare copper if you need it.
Slow Flat Archetype
Trigger blocks: Stone, deepslate, nether bricks, tuff, calcite, obsidian, and most polished or chiseled stone variants.
Behavior: Slow speed, medium bounciness, medium friction. Sinks in water in most cases. A sluggish but springy cube that is useful as a slower moving target in minigames.
Organic Archetype
Trigger blocks: Coral blocks, sponge, moss block, pale moss block, dried kelp block, hay bale, pumpkin, melon, carved pumpkin, jack o’lantern (Java), froglights, slime block (Bedrock), honey block (Bedrock), sculk (Bedrock), and resin bricks (Java).
Behavior: Medium speed with soft bouncing. A balanced archetype with no extreme physics in any direction. Good as a middle-ground option when you want predictable movement.
Sticky Archetype
Trigger blocks: Honeycomb block.
Behavior: No bounce, no slide. The cube sticks when it lands and resists being pushed. Use it as a completely immobile obstacle or as a way to stop a rolling cube in a track. Note that slime blocks and honey blocks on Bedrock trigger the Organic archetype, not the Sticky archetype.
Slow Sliding Archetype
Trigger blocks: Soul sand, soul soil.
Behavior: Very high friction, nearly impossible to push, and produces no bounce at all. The cube just sits heavily where it lands. Great as an immovable barricade.
Buoyant Archetype
Trigger blocks: Any wood log (not planks — actual logs), bamboo block, or similar natural wood forms.
Behavior: Floats strongly in water. Will not sink under any normal circumstances. Useful for building water-based minigames, floating obstacle courses, or river channels.
Regular Archetype
Trigger blocks: Any block not listed under a specific archetype.
Behavior: Standard ball physics — moderate bounce, moderate friction, moderate air drag. If you feed the cube a block that does not match any specialized archetype, it defaults here. This is effectively the fallback state for unexpected block choices.
Hot Archetype — Dangerous
Trigger blocks: Magma block.
Behavior: The cube damages nearby players and mobs on contact, exactly like standing on a magma block. It floats in water. Use it to build automatic damage zones, mob farms, or defensive perimeters. Handle with care near other players.
Explosive Archetype — Dangerous
Trigger blocks: TNT.
Behavior: The cube holds TNT visibly inside its body. If you or another source ignites it with flint and steel or a Fire Aspect weapon, it begins a six-second countdown and then explodes. No shears, no undo. It dies from the explosion and leaves no small cubes. Only use this archetype in controlled situations away from your builds. The community challenge running June 19–24, 2026 actually asks players to collectively feed TNT to 10 million sulfur cubes — so this archetype is worth experimenting with during the event.
Can You Breed or Duplicate Sulfur Cubes?
There is no traditional breeding for sulfur cubes. You cannot pair two cubes to produce a baby. However, when a large sulfur cube dies, it splits into two small sulfur cubes. Those small cubes then grow into large ones on their own after about 20 minutes. Feed small cubes slimeballs to speed up that growth. This is the only way to increase your sulfur cube count in survival mode.
What Can You Build With Sulfur Cubes?
The physics system opens up a huge range of creative options. Here are some popular use cases the community has discovered since the update launched:
- Pinball machines: Use Bouncy (wood) archetypes inside a walled course and hit them with a sword to launch. Add redstone scoring mechanisms for a full game.
- Curling arenas: Use Sliding (ice) archetypes on a flat polished surface and see who can stop closest to a target.
- Automatic mob damage zones: Place Hot (magma) cubes in a corridor to damage mobs as they pass through for a low-cost mob farm trap.
- Water obstacle courses: Use Buoyant archetypes in river channels or floating platforms for multiplayer water challenges.
- Geyser launchers: Combine a cube with a sulfur cave geyser to launch it upward for a physics spectacle.
Where to Get Minecraft to Try the Chaos Cubed Update
The Chaos Cubed update is free for all existing Minecraft players on both Java and Bedrock. If you do not own the game yet, you can get it from the official Minecraft website, on Xbox, or try the mobile trial on Google Play.
For more guides on new Minecraft 2026 content, check out our leaf litter, wildflowers, and fallen trees guide, our new animal variants guide, and the full firefly bush guide. If you are setting up a world to explore with friends, see how to set up Minecraft Realms and our list of the best Minecraft seeds for 2026.
