Minecraft Name Tag Guide- What Players Should Know About Name Tags
Minecraft is one of the best-selling sandbox games of all time with millions of players who support, play, and mod the game. Since its launch in 2011, it has greatly enticed numerous players by offering the freedom to discover, create, and share worlds with other players.
Throughout Minecraft’s development, hundreds of in-game mechanics were added by the developers to provide more fun and unique experience without compromising its core mechanics centered on mining, crafting, and exploring. In this article, you’ll get to know one of the fun and brilliant add-ons in the game, the Minecraft Name Tag.
Name Tags: How Minecraft Offers Naming In-Game
Minecraft name tags allow players to place names on any non-playable characters (NPCs) included in the game– but with few exceptions such as the Ender Dragon and, of course, other players. The use of name tags varies among players. Some consider using it to rename pets, others use it to prevent mobs from despawning in their homeworld. Either way, name-tags technically renames your chosen pet (or mob) and prevent it from disappearing in your world unless they are killed.
Aside from the technical aspects that name tags offer in the gameplay, the ability to rename a mob also provides personalized experience for players. This also allows players to have an active monitoring on where the named creatures are in the map.
But what makes Minecraft name tags more exhilarating? The secrets or, as gamers call it, easter eggs that the developers prepared for players. Let’s also not forget the hard part: acquiring them!
How Do I Make A Name Tag In Minecraft?
Quick answer: you can’t.
Unfortunately, the name tags Minecraft offers can only be obtained in a limited way, and excludes the option of crafting. To put it simply, you cannot create one and are restricted to how it is obtained within the game.
But fret not, players can get them as they progress in the game and we are happy to share with you all of the possible ways on how to get name tags. There are three ways on how to acquire these to which we will explain further below: chest loots, fish loots, and trading.
Acquiring Name Tags Through Looting
Who doesn’t love looting from innocent monsters’ corpses? Oops, that may go a little too far. But looting on Minecraft does not necessarily mean killing a bunch of mobs and exploiting whatever they drop from their dead bodies. Below are some of the ways on how to obtain Minecraft name tags through looting.
Chest Loots
Name tags can be obtained via chest loots from different specific locations. For Dungeons, there is a 28.3% chance that a chest contains a free name tag in it. On the other hand, Mineshafts have a higher rate of name tag drop at 42.3%. For Minecraft Java and Bedrock Edition, there is a 28.3% and 27.9% chance of a name tag loot on chests respectively at the Woodland Mansion area. There’s also a 34.3% chance of acquiring name tags on Buried treasures for players using the Minecraft Bedrock Edition.
Fishing Loots
Tired of exploring dungeons and looking for chests? Try it the easier but longer way: fishing! Fishing gives players a 1 out of 6 chances of getting name tags from a 5% rare chance of treasure catch. We know it’s a bit slow but it rids you of the hassle of exploring and seeking chests on dungeons. The very small chance of acquiring a treasure chest implies that most of your catch will either be a random mob or random resources. Additionally, the 1/6 or 16% chance of having a name tag will only occur if and only if you fished a treasure chest. So, if you have plenty of time and enjoy the bliss of fishing, feel free to grind using this method.
Trading
Too lazy to explore or fish? Players can buy a name tag worth 20 emeralds from any Master-level librarian villager. So if you have enough emerald to spend, buy the name tags at your disposal.
How Do I Use A Minecraft Name Tag?
Seasoned players will not find it hard to use name tags. But for our first-timers, the very basic thing you should know is that you should rename a name tag. You read it right. Players need to ‘write’ or ‘rename’ a name tag so that when used, the written name will be applied to the creature.
What if I didn’t rename my name tag and directly use it on a mob? Well sorry, but you wasted a precious name tag item. An unnamed name tag will not incur any effects when used.
To write a new name on your name tag, simply bring it to an anvil and insert a new name to it. Renaming a name tag in an anvil costs 1 experience level. After applying a name on the tag, go to the creature of your choice and apply the name tag to it. This is done by equipping the name tag and interacting directly with the target creature. This consumes the name tag and applies your chosen name to the mob.
The name will now start to appear above the heads of the creatures you rename. Additionally, these mobs will never despawn from the world unless it was intentionally killed by the player. Not only that, players can rewrite or change the name on their tags as many times as they want for as long as they have the experience level cost to pay for it.
What if I want to replace the name of an existing renamed mob? Luckily, the game does not restrict players from shuffling or continuously changing mob names. Players are allowed to rename any mobs by simply applying a new name tag to them. Do note, however, that names applied to mobs cannot be removed.
Minecraft Hidden Mechanics: Name Tag Minecraft Tricks and Easter Eggs
Do you think naming is all there is with name tags? Absolutely not! Minecraft developers added hidden name tag tricks that give additional crazy effects on the mobs when renamed.
In the earlier sections of this article, you were able to learn how to rename mobs. Now it’s time for you to discover some name tag easter eggs that produce different effects on a mob. You may also explore more names for Minecraft by taking a quick detour at our smart Minecraft Name Generator. We have all the unique names that players can use as-is or as a reference in creating their versions. Try it now for free!
Name Tag Trick #1: Turning Mobs Upside Down
This trick is one of the hilarious easter eggs in Minecraft. Using the name “Dinnerbone” on a mob (case sensitive, no quotations) turns the mob upside down… for their entire existence in the game!
Another method in doing this trick is by using the name “Grumm”. The same with Dinnerbone, applying this name to a mob will turn them upside down throughout the game. This trick is applicable to any mobs except for the Ender Dragon.
The early versions of Bedrock Edition allowed player characters to be spawned upside down when either Dinnerbone or Grumm was used as a username, provided that players are not signed in to an Xbox Live while playing.
Name Tag Trick #2: The Rainbow Sheep
Turn your cattle into a fluff of rainbow by using this name tag trick. Rename and apply a name tag to a sheep with the name “jeb_”. That’s a “jep” with an underscore. Unlike the first name trick, this trick is only applicable to a sheep mob.
Using the name “jeb_” dyes the sheep’s wool with flashy rainbow colors. However, harvesting the wool or killing the sheep only drops the original color of the wool before renaming it.
Name Tag Trick #3: The Missing Bunny, Toast
Similar to the “jeb_” name tag easter egg, this Minecraft name trick is only applicable to a bunny mob. Use the name “Toast” to give any bunny a special unique skin texture that is not found in any wild bunny in-game. This easter egg was added by the developers in commemoration of the “missing bunny” of xyZen420’s girlfriend. xyZen420 is a known game streamer in twitch, and his girlfriend posted on Reddit about a missing bunny named Toast. She asked the readers to help her remember her missing bunny and even requested Minecraft developers to incorporate Toast into the game. Guess what? Her request was granted and her bunny was added as a name tag easter egg in the game.
Name Tag Trick #4: ‘Hare’ Comes the Killer
The story about Toast is quite adorable and sad because he was never found again. But what if Toast became an angry, killer mob? Introducing, “The Killer Bunny” name trick. Using the name, “The Killer Bunny” to a bunny mob makes it aggressive towards the player. But beware! The hostile bunny will almost always attack immediately and can cause serious damage.
A good workaround if you can’t defeat this monstrosity is by quickly renaming it into “Toast”. Prepare and equip a separate name tag with a “Toast” written to it and apply it to the Killer Bunny. This transforms the bunny back to a cute and normal bunny.
Name Tag Trick #5: Rename the Boss Mobs
Did we mention that you can rename all the mobs except for the Ender Dragon? That’s right, that includes Boss Mobs from the game. You can rename a Boss Mob before you try to defeat it or even make fun out of them by applying the “Dinnerbone” or “Grumm” name tricks to fight them while they are upside down!
Name Tag Trick #6: Brutal Vindicators
Vindicators are random mobs that are hostile towards players, villagers, traders, and golems (iron and snow). They attack using their axes and can sprint towards unaware players. Some players have a hard time running away from Vindicators or fighting them in groups. One workaround for this is by renaming a Vindicator “Johnny”. Renaming a Vindicator “Johnny” makes it aggressive to all mobs around it. This helps players remove the aggressive behavior towards other creatures, making it easier to escape. Or maybe you just want to witness a rampaging Vindicator attacking anyone in its path.
Final Thoughts
Minecraft name tags are a unique and creative way for players to rename their favorite mobs or pets in-game. Name tags are also used to prevent existing NPCs from despawning from their respective worlds.
Name tags cannot be crafted but can be obtained from chests as loots or gathered through fishing. Players can also buy them from master-level librarian villagers at the cost of 20 emeralds.
There are hidden easter eggs that developers included when renaming mobs via a name tag. This gives funny and unique interactions to the mobs when used by the players.
The “Dinnerbone” and “Grumm” name tag trick can be applied to Boss Mobs while other name tricks are specific for a particular mob.
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