Mobs

Mobs

Mobs are living, moving game entities. Generally, mobs are affected by the environment in the same ways as the player: they are subject to physics, and they can be hurt by almost all the same things that harm the player: Catching on fire, falling, drowning or suffocating, and of course being attacked with weapons. However, some types have individual resistances or immunities: For example, nether mobs are immune to fire, several mobs do not take fall damage, and some have a natural armor rating that protects them against attacks. Mobs can ride minecarts and another mobs, which is a possible way to move them around for special purposes. When mobs are killed, they drop items which may be useful resources. Mobs come to exist by spawning in various ways. Players can spawn most mobs using spawn eggs in creative mode. Most mobs are aware of players within 16 blocks of them, but some can see further.[1] Their individual abilities are discussed below and on their individual pages. The term mob is short for mobile[2] and has been used as a general term referring to any moving entities in games since the first MUDs surfaced.

Passive mobs will never attack the player. The farm animals; chickens, cows, horses, pigs, sheep, and ocelots, spawn with the landscape, but occasionally spawn on well-lit grass, and can be bred by the player. Mooshrooms spawn and act similarly to cows, but only spawn in mushroom island biomes. Ocelots only spawn in jungle biomes. Squids need water to spawn in, while bats spawn in darkness similarly to the hostile mobs. Villagers spawn with their village, but only breed on their own initiative when their village population is too low.

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Neutral

Neutral mobs will not attack the player unless provoked. The act of provoking neutral mobs varies. The zombie pigman is hostile only in the Pocket Edition. Note that spiders and cave spiders will spawn hostile due to the fact they spawn in light levels of 7 or below, but are actually neutral mobs, as they are neutral in light levels of 12 or higher, unless hit.

Tamable

These mobs can be tamed by the player, and in the horse's case, ridden as well.

Hostile

Hostile mobs will attack the player when in range, each with their own abilities.

Zombies, creepers, skeletons, and spider jockeys require a light level of 7 or less to naturally spawn. Blazes and silverfish require a light level of 11 or less to naturally spawn. Ghasts and magma cubes can naturally spawn at any light level. Hostile mobs do not spawn on peaceful difficulty, and will instantly despawn once switched to peaceful. In Creative Mode, hostile mobs act like passive mobs. Note that spiders and cave spiders will spawn hostile due to the fact they spawn in light levels of 7 or less, but are actually neutral mobs, as they are passive in light levels of 12 or higher, unless hit. Spiders from Spider Jockeys will also not be hostile if they are in light levels of 12 or higher, unless hit. Video

Utility

Utility mobs are created by and serve the player. Utility mobs will not hurt the player who created them. However, a naturally spawned Iron Golem can be provoked by attacking the golem, or by attacking nearby villagers. If a player repeatedly attacks villagers, all of that village's golems can become hostile to that player.

Bosses

Boss mobs have more complicated attack patterns and movements. Bosses are meant as end game mobs with their high attack strength and health. When killed, they also drop end game items which can not be obtained in any other way.

Pocket Edition

The current mobs found in Minecraft Pocket Edition. Note that Zombie Pigmen are naturally hostile.

Pocket Edition upcoming mobs

The mobs to be added in Pocket Edition Alpha 0.9.0.

Pocket Edition future mobs

The mobs promised for future Pocket Edition updates

Unused

Unused mobs are found in the source code, but are not being used at this time. Through third-party modifications, it is still possible to spawn them. Since Release 1.7.2, with the addition of the /summon command, one can spawn them without any mods.

Removed

Removed mobs are no longer in the PC version's game code, and can only be found in older versions.

Upcoming

Upcoming mobs are new mobs which are only present in new updates.

Potential future mobs

There are hints that new mobs might be released in the distant future. Below is the list of mobs that have been mentioned at least once by Notch, Jeb, or other Mojang employees who work on Minecraft and have a possibility of appearing in the game.

Aside from zombie pigmen, living pigmen have been confirmed to appear in a future update. However, they are not being currently worked on. In the Halloween Update, Notch said he would add fish. However, he had limited time, and was thus only able to add them as an item. There is no coding for fish in the game, and no model was created. Red dragons have been mentioned in multiple posts by Notch. However, he is no longer working on the game. Jeb, who is currently in charge of Minecraft development, has not announced anything about their current development status. Dinnerbone has stated there are no plans to add them. However, around the time the 1.7 prerelease was out, Dinnerbone was asked about Red Dragons again. He still said there were no plans on it, but then he said this:

Dinnerbone has commented on Reddit that he would like to add pandas to Minecraft. Combat

"Fighting" passive mobs is easy—they can't attack the player, so you can just kill them. Each of the other mobs has unique abilities to harm the player, but also weaknesses that can be exploited. Hostile mobs fall into three main groups: The "darkness" mobs, which spawn in any dark area of the Overworld, the "Nether" mobs which spawn anywhere in the Nether, and the "Local" mobs, which appear only in particular places in either the Overworld or the Nether. In this section, we give brief tips for dealing with each. See the Drops page for a reason to hunt each monster.

Darkness Mobs

All of these mobs will spawn on dark surfaces, but not on transparent blocks. Zombies, Skeletons, and Spiders also have special spawners in dungeons.

Mob	Strengths	Weaknesses	Notes Zombie Can spawn with armor or weapon/tool, perhaps enchanted. Some can pick up dropped weapons or tools. Major buffs in versions 1.5 and 1.6 Speed and attack increase when injured Calls reinforcements when damaged by the player Can set a player or other victim on fire with their attack when burning Can spot and home in on a player or villager from great distances (66 blocks), given line-of-sight Initially slow Burns in sunlight No ranged attack Formerly one of the weakest mobs, but have become quite dangerous as of 1.6, as a solo zombie can rapidly become a horde If in the field, it is advised to weaken them with environmental damage first, or use your strongest weapons to kill them quickly If you are near shelter or have a secure place to attack from, their summoning ability can be exploited to "farm" them; in this case, use a stone sword to give them more summoning opportunities Zombies can also appear randomly in two special forms: Zombie villagers can be cured to become a Villager (but are otherwise equal to any other zombie) Zombie villager children are weaker but much faster, and still can be cured Zombie children are weaker but much faster. Skeleton Attack from range Have unlimited arrows Shoot faster when closer to the player Can spawn with armor (perhaps enchanted) or enchanted bow. Some can pick up and use dropped weapons or armor. Burns in sunlight Have no melee attack, thus they can't attack a player who is standing "in" them (the same block space) Most easily killed from a distance with a bow, or in close quarters, where they can't knock you back and you may be able to stand in them If the skeleton does not have a bow, it moves slightly faster and attack in the same fashion as a zombie. Spider Can see through walls Can climb most blocks Jumps several blocks distance Can spawn with the Swiftness, Strength, Regeneration, or Invisibility Status effects on ‘‘Hard’’ difficulty They are two blocks wide, therefore cannot fit through narrow openings Turn neutral in sunlight or other bright light Have less health than most hostile mobs Creeper Silent movement Explosive attack Dive-bombing Does not burn in the sunlight Can only explode once, dying in the process Flee from cats Most easily killed with a bow, but practice will let you kill them with a sword as well, if you have room to maneuver If you can get far away from them or knock them away (sprinting attacks or Knockback enchantments help), they will stop their countdown The distance at which they will continue to explode increases with difficulty, but the radius of the explosion does not If they take fall damage, their explosion countdown becomes shorter On "Hard" difficulty, they can explode far enough away as to cause little or no damage to the player Using a flint & steel, they can be forced to explode while the player retreats from explosion range (as of 1.7.2) Enderman High health Strong attack Immune to projectiles Teleportation ability Remain neutral unless "looked at" or attacked (see their page) Damaged by water and rain Turn neutral upon receiving damage from water, rain or fire, as well as being exposed to sunlight Their 3-block height can be exploited When hit in the legs by a sword that does not have fire aspect, they will not teleport away When hit with a fire arrow they will take fire damage, but not arrow damage They flee at daytime Try to avoid provoking them until you're ready for them If you stumble into one by accident, try to turn them neutral or get under a 2-block high shelter The simplest preparation for hunting one is usually to find or build a 2-block-high ceiling (at least 3x3) from which you can use your sword in safety For hunting, Endermen can be provoked at considerable distance (64 blocks), and will then teleport to reach you Nether Mobs

All Nether mobs are immune to fire and lava. Most of them spawn regardless of light level.

Mob	Strengths	Weaknesses	Notes Ghast Explosive fireballs from up to 100 blocks away. Given Nether conditions, this is effectively unlimited range, and is often out of render distance The fireballs can blast away netherrack, occasionally dropping the player into a chasm or lava No pursuit mode, so they can't be lured to a fight Fireballs can be deflected, even back at the ghast Hitting them with their own fireball will immediately kill them Fireballs do not damage cobblestone or most other "stone" blocks No pursuit mode, so they do not chase the player, or even approach them except by accident Has low amount of hearts for a hostile mob Bows are advised, but some practice hitting their fireballs provides a Plan B. Building shelters of stone is strongly advised Magma Cube Immune to fall damage Natural armor Larger cubes split into smaller ones when killed The large ones are difficult to attack with a sword Weak AI (Like slimes, below) Do not cause much damage Even large cubes have lower health than most mobs The oddballs of the Nether. Not a major threat, but can be a distraction when dealing with the Nether's landscape Zombie Pigman Currently the only hostile Nether mob in the Pocket Edition Attacks in numbers Strong melee attack Faster than the player Can spawn with armor and/or enchanted swords. Some can pick up dropped armor or weapons Spawns with a sword Neutral unless they or a nearby Zombie Pigman is attacked Have poor AI when attacked, easily blocked with obstacles or led into traps The most common mob in the Nether Harmless unless attacked, but if they are attacked all Zombie Pigmen within 32 blocks become hostile Note that those within 32 blocks but outside of 16 blocks will be hostile, but will not approach until within 16 blocks of a player To hunt them, set up a killing ground and suitable shelter beforehand. Otherwise avoid them, to avoid accidentally hitting one with a tool They can be outrun by sprinting or using a potion of speed Occasionally spawn as Baby Zombie Pigmen Baby zombie pigman can be Chicken jockeys like the baby zombie. Local Mobs

These appear only in specific locations, usually in "natural" structures produced by the game.

Overworld-local Mobs

Nether-local Mobs

AI

Mobs will ordinarily wander around at random and usually avoid walking off cliffs high enough to cause falling damage (however, there are the rare and amusing sight in which a cow or sheep will walk of a cliff high enough to cause death), though they can be fooled by non-solid blocks such as trapdoors. In this state, mobs (besides Ghasts, Endermen, and Zombies after 1.6) have a search radius of 16 blocks.

Mobs are capable of climbing ladders just as the player is: if they try to move towards a ladder they're touching they move up it instead. However, mobs do not see ladders nor do they purposely pathfind up them, so they will not attempt to avoid falling off a ladder should they be on the edge of one and they did not climb all walls. Spiders and Cave Spiders can climb all blocks as if they were ladders.

All mobs except slimes will stop wandering within 5 seconds if there is no player within a 32 block radius. In this state, they will glance around randomly, but they won't walk anywhere. They can still be moved by other means such as flowing water, minecarts, etc. Zombies can walk when there is a villager they can attack even if they are over 32 blocks from a player, similarly villagers will flee when there is a zombie chasing them.

Zombies, Skeletons, Creepers and Wolves have a more advanced path finding system compared to other mobs. Here is a video showcasing their path finding system.

Hostile mobs

If the closest player to a wandering hostile mob is within the search radius of 16 blocks and a line of sight can be drawn, (Spiders can always draw line of sight) the mob will enter pursuit mode. In this mode, mobs can see through all blocks and will walk towards the player. Some mobs, most notably skeletons and creepers, will start circling the player (moving to the left from the player's view) when close enough (skeletons at a long range for strafing, Creepers at a very short range). Zombies will sink in water, and whilst in pursuit mode, can path around walls to get to the player. When a hostile mob is attacked by another one, it will attack the attacking mob. For example, when a skeleton arrow hits a zombie, the zombie will attack the skeleton. Also, if a Creeper is killed by a Skeleton's arrow it will drop a music disc, provided that the Creeper does not kill the Skeleton first.

Passive mobs

Passive mobs will not attack the player under any circumstances. This category includes most of the "farm animals" present in the game, which can be bred for food and/or other resources. Also included are bats and squid, both of which have special spawning conditions and cannot be bred. Ocelots are technically passive, in that they will not attack the player, but they are actually coded as hostile mobs.

Animals are attracted to both light and grass. If there is a lot of grass nearby, they will wander toward it regardless of light level. If they are completely surrounded by grass, they will wander aimlessly. If they can't see any grass, they will wander toward light. Baby farm animals will follow fully grown farm animals of their species. Passive mobs will flee randomly when attacked. Unlike hostile mobs, most passive mobs (including neutral wolves) will not despawn when the player moves away from them; the exceptions are squid, ocelots, and bats.

Some passive mobs will follow a player who is holding their specific food item: wheat (cows and sheep), carrots/potatoes/beetroots (pigs), or seeds (chickens). As long as the player does not get too far ahead of the mob, they will follow the player over long distances. This can be used to corral mobs into pens in order to make farms. If the food is given to the mob by right clicking the mob, the mob will enter breed mode. Horses can also be tamed and bred, but the process is somewhat more involved.

Neutral Mobs

This includes Endermen, Zombie Pigmen, Wolves, and sometimes (bright light) Spiders and Cave Spiders. Most of these are discussed under "Combat" above, as they are essentially hostile monsters for which the fight can often or usually be avoided.

Wolves merit their own discussion. Much as with Zombie Pigmen, if a wolf is attacked, all wolves in the area will permanently become hostile to the player, and attack them. However, wolves are not so common as Zombie Pigmen are (in the Nether), as they appear only in Forest and Taiga biomes, and then only in small groups. Accordingly, it's almost trivial to avoid attacking them. Wolves which have not become hostile, can be tamed by feeding them bones. While they don't change their appearance as drastically as ocelots do, they effectively become Dogs, with a dyeable collar and much higher health. Once tamed, they will fight for the player, targeting any mob that attacks the player (including skeleton arrows), or which the player attacks (not including missiles). Dogs can be healed or bred by feeding them any sort of meat (but not bones).

Achievements

Icon	Achievement	In-game description	Prerequisites	Actual requirements (if different)	Version restriction	Gamerscore	Trophy type Monster Hunter	Attack and destroy a monster	Time to Strike! None	20G	Bronze Sniper Duel	Kill a skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters	Monster Hunter	"50 meters" is 50 blocks away. PC & PS3	N/A	Silver Cow Tipper	Harvest some leather	Time to Strike! Pick up Leather from the ground. None	15G	Bronze When Pigs Fly	Fly a pig off a cliff	Cow Tipper	Use a saddle to ride a pig, then have the pig get hurt from fall damage while riding it. None	40G	Gold Notes

Mobs will normally spawn in groups with mobs of the same variety. Mobs will not spawn on transparent blocks, in water (except for Squid), in lava, or on half blocks (slabs, stairs). The exception is monster spawners, from which they can spawn on any block including air. Mobs can not see through semi-transparent blocks such as ice, glass, or glass panes (except spiders and cave spiders, which can see through any block). Mobs have been found to spawn facing south. This includes with spawn eggs. Mobs can ride in minecarts. Mobs can ride on other mobs Issues

For issues unique to specific mobs, see that mob's issues section. Issues relating to "Mob" are maintained on the issue tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

Attempting to rename mobs "Dinnerbone" or "Grumm" with spawn eggs or name tags will flip them upside down. When a mob walks off a block they will sometimes turn around and get back on as if they didn't mean to get off of it, then walk off yet again and continue on their way. This can be useful when trying to get distance between you and a hostile mob (particularly Creepers) When mobs die they emit puffs of smoke. This gives them the appearance of them turning to dust or vanishing in a puff of smoke. Hostile mobs and players can hear up to 16 blocks away. Therefore, if the player hears a hostile mob, it is likely that the mob is aware of the player. Players can approach a hostile mob without being detected if they ensure that there are solid blocks between them and the mob. Players can hide from hostile mob that pursuing the player in 2 blocks tall non-solid block (i.e: sugar cane) even if the mob saw the player going in it (won't work on spiders). After killing a player, or if a player dies while hostile mobs are pursuing the player, the hostile mobs will gather around the player's deathplace, attempting to attack the player. This is because the player has been made invisible and non-solid, but still exists in that position. (evident by the "You Died!" screen still remaining in that position). The hostile mobs' heads will "spazz out", a humorous glitch caused by the pathfinding of the mobs so it looks like the hostile mobs are eating the player. A player can use this to their advantage by holding a large number of hostile mobs over their deathplace while another player may pass by unnoticed. This quirk can also work against the player in the case of death by ghast, since (if there is another player present to keep the chunk loaded) the ghast will continue to fire at the player, possibly destroying more of the player's constructions or dropped items. The targeting of the player by the hostile mob is canceled once the player logs out, quits, or respawns. If a hostile mob has found a player and has activated hostile mode, the player can separate him or herself and the mob through a wall, relog, and the mob will no longer be in hostile mode. Hostile mobs still spawn on peaceful, but disappear too quickly for most players to notice. Due to the Skeleton's tendency to shoot instantly on sight, players standing near a skeleton spawner on peaceful may be struck by an arrow during the instant when a skeleton spawns and disappears. This does not always happen but is more evident on a server due to lag. Mobs will not walk on top of rails unless pushed on to the rails by another mob. This can be used to trap small amounts of mobs, to create a wall between the player and a mob, or to prevent mobs from interrupting minecarts as they went down rails.