Stray is a skeleton variant that spawns in snow-covered biomes, specifically snowy plains, ice spikes, and frozen rivers. It behaves similarly to a skeleton but shoots arrows tipped with Slowness, making it more dangerous than its standard counterpart. 80% of skeletons in these cold biomes spawn as strays instead.

Strays drop 0–2 arrows and 0–2 bones upon death, which can be increased with the Looting enchantment. They also have a chance to drop 1 Arrow of Slowness, making them a unique renewable source of tipped arrows. Strays drop 5 experience when killed by a player.

Strays cannot be bred but can be created when a skeleton stands in powdered snow for 7 seconds, causing it to convert into a Stray. This transformation allows players to farm strays in controlled environments.

Strays are hostile mobs and attack players on sight, just like regular skeletons. However, their arrows inflict Slowness for 30 seconds, reducing the player's movement speed and making it harder to escape. Strays avoid wolves and will burn in sunlight unless wearing a helmet, just like normal skeletons. Their Slowness arrows make them particularly dangerous in open snowy areas, where mobility is already limited.