Taking Inventory: Glow Ink Sac

Have you ever wished your signs looked a little less rustic? A bit more vibrant? A bit more glow-in-the-dark? Well, have I got a treat for you. It’s the glow ink sac – and it’s our item of the week.

Glow ink sacs were added in the most recent major Minecraft patch, the first part of the Caves & Cliffs update, which also added glow squids. That’s not a coincidence, because you’ll need to go hunting for glow squids if you want a glow ink sac.

Now, a glow squid hunt is no simple matter. Glow squids only spawn at the very bottom of the oceans because, like most videogame developers, they require total darkness for their reproductive activities. Glow squids first appeared in Minecraft Earth, where they were native to swamps, but in Minecraft, you’ll find them in any body of water that’s large enough and dark enough. You’ll want to come equipped with water-breathing equipment, and probably something that lets you see underwater better too. A conduit would be ideal.

Luckily, once you get down to the pitch-black water at the bottom of the ocean, glow squids are relatively easy to find. Why? The clue’s in the name – they glow, giving off sparkly particles in the process. Defeat one, and you’ve got a good chance of collecting a glow ink sac.

Now here’s the cool bit. Take your sac back to dry land and then use it on a sign to make the text much brighter in low light levels. It doesn’t emit light, it just frames the text, making it easier to see, like how you can always see spider eyes in the darkness. You can do the same trick with item frames, combining one with a glow ink sac in a crafting table to illuminate the contents.

Which just leaves the question of what you’ll put in your beautifully illuminated item frame. An elytra, as proof that you’ve made it to The End and back? A particularly rare tropical fish? A favourite sword? The options, as they say, are unlimited.