Mob

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 other mobs, which is a 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 by using spawn eggs in creative mode. Most mobs are aware of players within 16 blocks of them, but some can see farther. Their individual abilities are discussed below and on their individual pages. The term mob is short for mobile and has been used as a general term referring to any moving entities in games since the first MUDs surfaced.

Passive mobs

Passive mobs will never attack the player. The farm animals, chickens, cows, pigs, and sheep, spawn with the landscape, but occasionally spawn on well-lit grass, and can be bred by the player. Horses spawn in Plains and Savanna biomes, and can be tamed like Ocelots and Wolves. Mooshrooms spawn and act similarly to cows, but spawn only in mushroom island biomes. Ocelots spawn only in jungle biomes above the Y level of 63, and can also be tamed. 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.

Chicken	Cow	Horse (PC only)	Ocelot	Pig	Sheep
Bat (PC only)	Mooshroom	Squid	Villager

Video

Mob/Passive video

Neutral mobs

Neutral mobs will not attack the player unless provoked. The act of provoking neutral mobs varies.
Note that spiders and cave spiders will spawn hostile due to the fact that they spawn in light levels of 7 or lower, but they are considered neutral mobs as they are neutral in light levels of 12 or higher, unless hit.

Cave Spider	Enderman	Spider	Wolf	Zombie Pigman

Video

Mob/Neutral video

Tamable mobs

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

Wolf (Dog)	Ocelot (Cat)	Horse (PC only)

Video

Mob/Tamable video

Hostile mobs

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 that 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.

Blaze	Creeper	Ghast	Magma Cube	Silverfish	Skeleton

Slime	Spider Jockey	Witch (PC only)	Wither Skeleton (PC only)	Zombie	Zombie Villager	Chicken Jockey (PC only)

Video

Mob/Hostile video

Utility mobs

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, each of that village's golems can become hostile to that player.

Snow Golem	Iron Golem

Video

Mob/Utility video

Boss mobs

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.

File:Enderdragon face 3.png
Ender Dragon	Wither (PC only)

Video

Mob/Boss video

Pocket Edition mobs

The current mobs found in Minecraft Pocket Edition.

Passive

Chicken	Cow	Mooshroom	Pig	Sheep	Villager

Neutral

Enderman	Spider	Wolf

Hostile

Creeper	Silverfish	Skeleton	Slime	Zombie	Zombie Pigman

Unused mobs

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.

Giant	Undead Horse	Skeleton Horse	Generic Villager

Removed mobs

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

Beast Boy	Black Steve	Rana	Steve	Human

Upcoming mobs

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

Endermite (PC only)	Rabbit (PC only)	Killer Bunny (PC only)	Guardian (PC only)	Elder Guardian (PC only)

Unimplemented Mobs

Unimplemented mobs are mobs which have been mentioned to be implemented in the future.

Red Dragon	Fish	Panda	Pigman

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

Each 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. 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 Solo zombie can summon others when hurt	Initially slow Burns in sunlight No ranged attack	If in the field, it is advised to weaken them with environmental damage first, or use your strongest weapons to kill them quickly 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
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, Enderman 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

Mob	Strengths	Weaknesses	Notes
Cave spider	Small size lets them fit through 1 wide and 0.5 high openings Can climb, jump, and see the player through walls like regular spiders Poison attacks (except on ‘‘easy‘‘ difficulty)	Pacified by bright light like regular spiders Less health than most mobs	Only spawn from their special spawners, which appear in abandoned mineshafts
Slime	Larger slimes split into smaller ones when killed	Weak AI Move randomly until a player is spotted, but then head straight for the player Even large ones have less health than most mobs Tiny slimes cannot damage the player Cannot jump out of water Often drowns without player involvement	Slimes are generally weak monsters Appear in random chunks underground, and in swamp biomes on the surface
Silverfish	Small size lets them go through any opening Can hide inside stone blocks, destroying them as they emerge Can summon nearby hidden silverfish if injured Their odd attack mechanic can get multiple attacks in cramped quarters	Low health Weak attack	Each stronghold has a silverfish spawner Occasionally appear in extreme hills biomes
Witch	Attacks at range with a variety of potion effects, including Harming Can use other potions to heal themselves or protect themselves from fire Have some resistance to potion effects Fairly high health	No melee attack Cannot attack while healing themselves	Bows are advised If you kill them while they are drinking a potion, they have a chance to drop it Naturally spawned witches are an uncommon sight. However, they spawn more frequently in witch huts. Rarely found in swamp biomes

Nether-local mobs

Mob	Strengths	Weaknesses	Notes
Wither skeleton	Strong attack Inflicts the Wither status effect Some can pick up dropped weapons and armor If they pick up a bow, they will shoot flaming arrows regardless of the bow's enchantments	3-block height can be exploited	Found only in Nether fortresses Any 2-block high roof, doorway, or arch will block them, as unlike Endermen they can't teleport.
Blaze	Have both a ranged attack (setting the player afire) and a melee attack Flying ability, once they are targeting a player	The ranged attack does no damage aside from the fire It also has a visible pattern which can easily be timed	Appear only in Nether fortresses, both as general spawns and from their special spawners Will only fly when they are aggravated

AI

Main article: Mob 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 off 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 toward 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 pathfinding system compared to other mobs. Here is a video showcasing their pathfinding 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 pathfind 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 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 as 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	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
PS4	Other
		Monster Hunter	Attack and destroy a monster.	Kill a hostile mob or one of the following neutral mobs: an enderman, a piglin, a zombified piglin, a spider, or a cave spider.	15G	Bronze
		Cow Tipper	Harvest some leather.	Pick up leather from the ground.	15G	Bronze
		When Pigs Fly	Use a saddle to ride a pig, and then have the pig get hurt from fall damage while riding it.	Be riding a pig (e.g. using a saddle) when it hits the ground with a fall distance greater than 5.	40G	Silver
		Sniper Duel	Kill a Skeleton with an arrow from more than 50 meters.	Use a launched arrow to kill a skeleton, spider jockey, wither skeleton, or a stray from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.	30G	Bronze
		Repopulation	Breed two cows with wheat.	Breed two cows or two mooshrooms.	15G	Bronze

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.
• 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 bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

A pig emitting smoke upon death.

An excessive amount of boss mobs spawned using the /summon command.

• Renaming a mob "Dinnerbone" or "Grumm" using 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.
• Mobs can be heard up to 16 blocks away. Most hostile mobs can track players 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).
  • In versions with the old mob AI (such as Alpha and Beta), the head of a mob attempting to attack the player will rapidly jerk up and down, a humorous glitch caused by the pathfinding of the mobs; it appears that the mobs are eating the player (this does not occur since 1.2, the version the new mob AI was added).
  • 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 these cases:
    • Ghasts will continue to fire at the player, possibly destroying more of the player's constructions or dropped items (however, this could be a cool method of power-mining. just put away your precious diamond tools!).
    • If a creeper ignites itself when a player dies, the creeper's fuse will not stop, so it explodes and destroys the player's items.
  • The targeting of the player by hostile mobs is canceled once the player logs out, quits, or respawns.
• If a hostile mob is tracking a player, the player can separate him or herself and the mob through a wall, relog, and the mob will no longer be tracking the player.
• 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 travel down rails.
• 'Mob' appears as a summonable object, but when attempted, the command will fail with 'Unable to summon object'
• Mobs can be spawned with armor using the /summon command. The armor does not appear on the body of all mobs, but will still work.

References

Entities 

View at: Template:Entities/content [edit]

Environment 

View at: Template:Environment/content [edit]