Axolotls (Minecraft)

Axolotls are potentially helpful mobs in the sandbox video game Minecraft. Axolotls are passive aquatic mobs that can benefit the player. Though they cannot be tamed like some other helpful mobs, they can still provide substantial benefit to players that come across them.
They were added in version 1.17 in 2021, which was the first of the two-part "Caves & Cliffs" update. They are unique in that they are completely passive to the player yet can attack other mobs, as well as provide benefit by proximity. They can survive in water as well as on land.
==Spawning==
Axolotls have a remarkably specific condition where they are allowed to spawn. They can only spawn underwater in a lush caves biome, and there must be a cave block less than five blocks below the spawning area. They can spawn in one of five colors: leucistic (pink), brown, gold, cyan and blue. The blue one is the rarest color of the five, as it only has a 0.083% chance of spawning when axolotls breed.
==Personality==
Between axolotls and the player, the former appears to be completely loyal to the latter, as axolotls will never attack the player under any circumstance - even in self-defense. Unlike wolves or cats, they cannot be tamed to the point of following the player, but they still provide the player with helpful assistance when some enemies are nearby.
==Behavior==
When axolotls have no target in sight, they aimlessly wander around underwater or on land. They are able to safely traverse on both. They attack all types of aquatic mobs (including the "drowned", which is an aquatic variant of the zombie) instead of frogs, turtles and dolphins. Axolotls deal a small amount of damage, but still attack their targets relentlessly.
If an axolotl has killed a mob that isn't hostile, it cannot kill another non-hostile mob until two minutes after the previous killing. If both hostile and non-hostile mobs are in the area, an axolotl will prioritize attacking the hostile mobs. When a player assists an axolotl in killing a target, it grants a health regeneration status effect to the helping player, although this is only in the Java Edition. Axolotls will also remove the "mining fatigue" status effects (given from elder guardians) from players. This can greatly assist players when traversing through ocean monuments.
As mentioned before, axolotls can survive in both water and on land, although they prefer being in water, as they will wander around land for a short distance before returning to water. Axolotls have the unique feature of playing dead when attacked underwater, negating an enemy's attention for the duration of the mob playing dead. During the act of playing dead, they regenerate four health.
Axolotls can be picked up and placed down with the use of buckets. This makes it useful for players to bring helpful axolotls with them to fight aquatic enemies, especially near ocean monuments.
==Heroic acts==
*Assisting players with swimming speed just by proximity.
*Gives players health regeneration when assisted in battle.
*Removes the "mining fatigue" status effect from players when assisted in battle.
*Removes difficulty in fighting guardians and elder guardians.
*Removes difficulty in retrieving treasures from ocean monuments.
*Provides a distraction by taking enemies' focus from the player.
==Trivia==
*In the release notes Minecraft Launcher there is an encrypted message T⍑ᒷ ᔑ ̇/𝙹ꖎ𝙹ℸ ̣ ꖎᓭ ᔑ∷ᒷ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᓭᒷᒷᒲ, which translates to "The Axolotls are not what they seem". The true meaning of this is unknown.
*Much like many other animal mobs in the game, axolotls were added to the game to raise awareness for them, due to axolotls being an endangered species.
*A green axolotl variant can be seen in the first part of the "Caves & Cliffs" update, despite never appearing in the game.
**There was also a tan and burnt sienna variant of the mob announced at Minecraft Live 2020. They are also not part of the game.
==Gallery==
mc_axolotls_animswim.gif|Animation of all five axolotls swimming.
mc_axolotl_render.png|High quality render of an axolotl.
mc_axolotl_promo.png|Axolotl seen in a promotional image.
mc_axolotl_green.png|The unused green axolotl.
mc_axolotl_pre.png|The lucy (top) and wild (bottom) variants of axolotls during their respective version's prerelease.
mc_axolotl_concept.jpg|Concept art of the mob.
mc_axolotl_edu.jpg|An axolotl seen in promotional material for the Education Edition of the game.
==External Links==
*Axolotl at the Minecraft Wiki
==Navigation==
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