Animal and Monster: Expanded Creature Entries

Passive

Bat

Bats are spawned in dark caverns of the Overworld. You can hear them flying around in these areas, but they don’t have any loot to worry about. It’s usually best to leave them alone, because they pose absolutely no threat to your character.

Chicken

Chickens are very useful to raise for meat and their Feathers. You can breed a fairly large supply of them without much time investment. Pen in a large group of Chickens and periodically walk through your pen to pick up the Eggs that the Chickens lay. If you carry Wheat Seeds in your hand, Chickens will follow you, making it easier to lead them to your barn/pen area.

Use seeds of any type to get Chickens to breed. Feed the seeds to your Chickens as often as every five minutes, and watch them create a new generation of livestock. Another way to spawn Chickens is to throw their Eggs at any creature or hard surface. When they break, there is a 12.5% chance that a Chicken will appear. In very rare cases, multiple Chickens can spawn from a single Egg!

Chicks take 20 minutes to mature and can then be used for breeding, meat, or whatever else you haveplanned.

Using Hoppers and Dispensers, you can create automated Chicken-breeding facilities.

Cow

Cows are valuable additions to your operation, because they are a source of meat, Leather, and Milk (which can be used to cure Poison). It’s always good to build a barn for these creatures as soon as you find them and bring them back to your home.

You find Cows in groups as you explore the Overworld. When you find them, use a Lead or carry Wheat to lure the Cows where you want them to go. Fence them into a safe area, and then bring additional Cows from their herd back to the same place. Once you have a decent group, start your breeding program. Feed Wheat to the Cows to get them to reproduce. You can breed Cows as often as every five minutes. It takes 20 minutes for Calves to grow up and become mature Cows.

To save time with adult Cows that are being slaughtered, use fire to cull them and produce Steak instead of Raw Beef. Flint and Steel work well for this purpose.

Horse

Several types of Horses inhabit the Minecraft universe. Horses, Donkeys, and Mules are the normal varieties of these creatures, but using the PC commands can also spawn Undead and Skeletal Horses.

Search for Horses and Donkeys in areas of plains and savannas. Once you find them, you can tame these useful creatures by riding them a few times and then putting a Saddle on them. Horses can be tethered with a Lead to bring them with your character, or ridden if they are saddled.

Mules are not found in the Overworld on their own. Instead, these are created only when Horses and Donkeys are used in breeding. Mules are sterile and cannot be used for breeding on their own. Though you can’t armor Mules or Donkeys, it is possible to load them with Chests for extra carrying capacity.

The taming process for Horses and Donkeys is somewhat involved. Approach one of these creatures with an open hand and interact with it to ride the creature briefly. They often toss you off pretty soon, but eventually they’ll get used to you and display a happy little animation. That’s when you can saddle them for long-term use.

Several different foods heal Horses and improve your chances to tame them, as listed here:

Mooshroom

Mooshrooms are amazing. They drop and create a wide range of items, making them almost a one-stop shop for food, Poison curing, and crafting goods. The only downside to these beasts is that they’re very hard to find. Mooshrooms are a type of cattle that appears only in Mushroom biomes. You can breed them with Wheat and they’re easy to take care of, so it’s simply a matter of finding a herd. Shear Mooshrooms to collect Mushrooms from them. Use a Bucket on them to get Milk, or a Bowl to get Mushroom Stew. Cull them for Leather and Raw Beef (or Steak if they’re killed by fire). You can’t go wrong.

Ocelot

Ocelots are felines that can be domesticated. Look for Ocelots in jungles around the world. To tame them, use Raw Fish to lure the Ocelot toward your character. Walk until you’re roughly ten blocks away from the creature, and then stop moving while holding on to your fish. Give the Ocelot time to notice you and see the fish in your hand.

Be patient to avoid scaring the Ocelot away—let it come to you! Any major movement will scare the Ocelot and reset the taming process. When the Ocelot wanders over, feed the Raw Fish to it. It sometimes takes several feedings to tame your Ocelot. Once the process is complete, the Ocelot changes into a domesticated Cat and gains a new appearance.

Breed Cats by feeding them Raw Fish. As usual, you can breed animals only every five minutes, and their offspring take about 20 minutes to grow to maturity. Be careful with your kitties. They aren’t terribly tough, they cannot be armored, and they won’t last long in the wild if they’re attacked or if they wander into a dangerous location. It’s safest to leave your Cats at home so they don’t get into too much trouble.

Parrot

Parrots are potential pets that you sometimes find when exploring jungles. They are extremely safe to approach and have no attack abilities. They’ll fly to get away from danger, but that’s their only defense. Other creatures in their areas are nice to them, so players are their only potential predators. If you want to tame a Parrot, use Seeds until they’re fully tamed. They’ll start to follow you after that point, and can be made to sit by Alt-clicking on them.

As a warning, never feed a Cookie to a Parrot. Cookies are made with Chocolate, and that’s very bad for birds. If you do this, you will kill your poor Parrot.

If you move through the same area as one of your tamed Parrots, the Parrot will get up onto your shoulder. You can carry two Parrots at once in this manner. They’ll be safe when riding on you and cannot be harmed through normal means, even if you take damage.

Parrots love to imitate noises. This can actually be of use to you. They’ll look in the direction of the sound that they’ve heard as they repeat it. If you hear your Parrot making a monster noise, you get a good idea of where that enemy is hiding.

If you have a Jukebox, play a Music Disc in it to entertain your bird. They’ll dance like it’s the coolest thing in the world.

Pig

Pigs are another type of livestock that you can breed, slaughter for food, or even ride. Several special attributes make these porcine creatures stand out. Lure Pigs back to your farm with Carrots; you also use Carrots to breed Pigs, so a Carrot garden is a must if you want to keep a large number of Pigs. Carrots sometimes drop when you kill Zombies, so hunt the creatures of the night to start your garden.

Once you have Pigs in a nice pen, breed them in the standard timing cycle. It takes five minutes before adults can breed again after their feeding, and 20 minutes for Piglets to grow to adulthood. Consider covering your pen with a roof. Pigs that are struck by lightning turn into Zombie Pigmen, and they aren’t quite as edible.

If you have a Saddle and want to ride a Pig, craft a Carrot on a Stick and use it to control the Pig while you ride it. Few things in the world offer as much fun as charging around the wilderness with your trusted Pig mount.

Rabbit

Rabbits are normally peaceful animals that hop around meadows. They’ll avoid you if attacked, and can be harvested for Hides, food, or sometimes a Rabbit’s Foot (useful in Potion making). Breed them using Dandelions or Carrots to create a nice population of these animals, and give them about 20 minutes for new Rabbits to grow up.

Killer Rabbits have a more aggressive look; they have different eyes and a bold, white pelt. They’ll jump toward your character and attack quite viciously. They have a mean streak a mile wide, but can be fought off if you stay calm, face them, and smack them each time they get close to your character.

Sheep

Sheep aren’t the most useful livestock in Minecraft. They cannot be used for food, so Wool is all you get from them. Sheep drop Wool when slain, but this isn’t a very efficient process; you get only one Wool per Sheep this way. Instead of killing the little guys, keep them in a barn and shear them. Shears are crafted with Iron, and they let you clip Sheep safely. You get far more Wool per Sheep, even on the first clipping, and their Wool regrows as long as the Sheep have access to grass for food.

You can dye Wool with any dyeing agent, but you can also dye the Sheep itself so that all of the Wool from its next clipping matches the dye’s color. Future clippings revert to the Sheep’s natural color, which varies between several shades.

Squid

Squid appear in large bodies of water and are peaceful creatures. They happily swim around and don’t cause any trouble, despite their dangerous appearance. The only items they drop are Ink Sacs, which are used to create a dark dye. Hunt Squid when you need these items, but otherwise it’s fine to leave them alone.

Squid cannot swim up waterfalls, so there are numerous ways to trap them in large groups, where they can be killed later, used as decoration, or whatever else you have in mind.

Villager

Villagers appear in small towns located in some of the Overworld’s plains, savannas, and deserts. These Villages offer exploration and places to trade for characters, and you won’t be attacked unless you start trouble. In that event, Iron Golems often defend Villagers who are under attack.

Interact with Villagers to trade with them. They accept Emeralds as payment, but those are rare gems. Most of the time, you’ll do well by giving items to Villagers and trading their goods around until you get the items you want. There are several types of Villagers: Farmers, Librarians, Priests, Blacksmiths, Butchers, and regular Villagers. The items each Villager carries are determined by their profession. Interact with Villagers by clicking on them to see what they’re carrying and their profession.

To gain Emeralds without mining Extreme Hills for hours at a time, you need to trade Villagers items that they require. Do not purchase generic items that you already have; the cost is very high in terms of time you invest gathering Emeralds. Instead, save your Emeralds and wait for special items to become available, including Diamond tools, Chainmail, Bottles of Enchanting, Pumpkins (only if you haven’t found them yet), and so forth.

Villagers have children if their towns start to lose too many people, often to Zombie attacks. If you want a town to increase its population, add Doors to buildings in the Village. The more Doors there are, the more people want to live in that town. That’s just how Villagers are.

As of Version 1.8, Villagers who are struck by lightning turn into Witches. Watch out! They’ve also learned how to harvest crops, so you can’t always rush into town and find an entire field of free goodies to steal (a pity that, but Villagers have to eat too!).

Snow Golem

Snow Golems are creatures that you create! Stack two Snow blocks and place a Pumpkin on top of the stack. These creatures use Snowballs to defend the area from hostile monsters. Their attacks are ranged but don’t do any damage to most targets; they hurt Blazes because Snowballs always damage Blazes. This is also true for the Ender Dragon.

Instead of killing targets, Snow Golems act as more of a distraction. They push enemies back and draw their attention. Place them at your property’s outer edges so monsters stay near your perimeter instead of coming forward to harass your main buildings.

Snow Golems take damage over time when they’re in warmer areas.

Iron Golem

Iron Golems are defensive creatures, just like Snow Golems. The difference is that these creatures are much tougher, can damage their enemies, and can even hurt your character. If you attack a Village protected by Iron Golems, you’ll get their attention. They’ll chase after your character and attack if they get close. Run away to lose their interest, and then return at leisure—Iron Golems have short memories.

To create an Iron Golem, you need either a Village or a ton of Iron. To create one directly, forge four Iron blocks and place them in a T-formation: one block on the ground with three blocks horizontally above it. Then add a Pumpkin to the top of the T. This is expensive but makes a strong Iron Golem that loves to attack monsters. If a Village is nearby, simply wait for Iron Golems to appear on their own. This costs you nothing! They can then be farmed for their Iron, making it possible to generate Iron over time without having to mine. That’s nifty.

Iron Golems can’t be drowned, but regular battle damage and Lava kill them just fine. Or you can suffocate them in Gravel or Sand. This is slower but gets the job done.

Neutral

Cave Spider

Cave Spiders are tiny monsters that live in the darkness below the Overworld. They fight and move much like regular Spiders, but they have poisonous bites (on most difficulty levels) and can squeeze through any gap in buildings, walls, etc. You have to completely block off an area to ensure they don’t get into your safe rooms.

In the case of both types of Spiders, you should retreat while you fight these creatures. Attack them while backing up to limit their number of attacks against you. Having Milk around is useful in case you get poisoned, and keep yourself well-fed so you regenerate health as quickly as possible after the fight.

Lure Cave Spiders away from tight areas, mineshafts with cobwebs, and other difficult places to navigate. Fight them in a place where you can get your back against a wall and force the enemies to come toward you in a straight line. Thus, you won’t be overwhelmed by multiple creatures.

Enderman

Endermen are dark beings from a world beyond our own! They spawn heavily in a place called the End, but they can appear in the Overworld as well. Though they’re neutral by default, Endermen are easy to antagonize, and they attack your character viciously if you hit them or even look them in the eyes. Avoid this by staring at Endermen’s feet or by wearing a Jack-o’-Lantern on your head so Endermen don’t know where you’re looking.

Ranged attacks don’t work against Endermen; they blink out of existence for a moment and reappear somewhere else—behind you as often as not. This, combined with their higher damage and health, makes them incredibly dangerous opponents when you aren’t accustomed to fighting them. For the greatest chance of victory, wear armor and take consistent swings to chop your Enderman target to ribbons. Attacking an Enderman’s legs prevents it from teleporting, so this secures your kill while protecting your character from teleportion attacks to your back.

When they’re not being attacked, Endermen wander around the world, pick up blocks and move them around, and just kind of act like weirdos. Their ability to teleport allows them to spawn in strange places. You might find them down in your mines, outside, or even within your own home! That’s scary stuff. If you hear something moving around indoors, it’s probably one of them. Endermen come inside most often when it rains; water hurts them, so they teleport anywhere safe. If your house is nice and dry, it makes a good target.

Llama

Llamas are great pack animals that you find in Extreme Hills and the Savanna. Both areas have Llamas with similar properties, but you can distinguish the breeds by their coloration (which is lighter in the Hills and tan in the Savanna). Alt-click on wild Llamas to begin taming them. They appreciate Wheat and Hay Bales if you want to speed up the process, or if you need to heal them. If you keep trying to impress them, they’ll eventually be tamed, but the time this takes is heavily influenced by the temper of the individual Llama. If you use Hay Bales on groups of tamed Llamas, you can get them to breed.

Llamas can’t do too much damage, but they spit at any attackers that come after them; they’ll even take the initiative and go after untamed Wolves aggressively.

Llamas are wonderful for carrying around extra gear. You can decorate these creatures with Carpets, or you can put Chests on them to carry more items. Llamas have varying amounts of strength, and that determines how many items they can hold (3-15 items per Llama). Using a Lead, you can bundle together an entire group of Llamas, even ones that aren’t tamed yet. Up to ten Llamas can move with you in this way. Using additional Leads, you can keep even larger groups together.

Polar Bear

Polar Bears appear in Ice Mountains, Ice Plains, and Ice Spikes. You either encounter one adult alone, or an adult with a single cub. Though neutral by default, Polar Bears get aggressive if you come anywhere near a cub. Don’t get close to these creatures unless you’re ready for a fight. Their drops aren’t very powerful or useful, so there isn’t a good reason to start a fight with Polar Bears unless you’re doing some big-game hunting.

Spider

Like many Overworld monsters, Spiders appear during nighttime and thunderstorms, wherever illumination falls to extremely dim levels. Spiders don’t burn up in sunlight, though they become more docile and won’t attack characters unless provoked. Though they aren’t terribly dangerous as single attackers, Spiders are still tricky customers. They fit through single-block openings, can climb over your walls, and make a general nuisances of themselves even if they can’t get inside. They can also get into your farm field, crush your plants, and must be cleared out manually later on.

Back away from Spiders and fight them while retreating so they can’t jump on you as easily. They take only a few hits to kill, so that’s a plus. It’s easiest to fight these enemies in narrow areas where they can’t get around to your sides. Make them come through a tunnel or doorway to get to you so it’s easier to hit them.

If you’re desperate for food early in a game, Spider Eyes are poisonous, but edible. Spiders also drop String, which can be used to make a Fishing Rod, allowing you to get more food from any body of water.

Wolf

One can find Wolves in several areas: forests and various taiga biomes. Growling Wolves are hostile and must be treated carefully. Other Wolves may be wild but are friendly enough to approach. Unless attacked, peaceful Wolves will not attack your character.

Hunt Skeletons for Bones if you’d like to tame a Wolf. Feeding Bones to friendly Wolves is how you tame these creatures. Sometimes the first Bone does the trick, but it might take several more to earn the Wolf’s loyalty. You can tame more than one Wolf, so feel free to establish an entire pack for yourself. After they’re tamed, Wolves get more health and can deliver more damage, and they won’t attack you even if you accidentally hit one of them. They’re sweetie pies.

Increase the size of your pack by feeding raw meat to your Wolves. Like most livestock, feeding them causes breeding behavior, as long as two or more Wolves are fed together. Bring spare food to give to the offspring to grant them more health. Note that any type of raw meat does the trick, including Rotten Flesh.

Zombie Pigman

In most versions of the game, Zombie Pigmen spawn near Nether Portals or, more commonly, inside the Nether. They’re involved with the Nether Reactor in the Pocket Version. It’s possible for lightning to turn a regular Pig into a Zombie Pigman, though this is not a common occurrence.

Zombie Pigmen don’t attack your character on sight. They’re surprisingly chilled out for rotting, undead monsters. As long as you don’t hurt them or stand nearby when they take damage from fire, you’ll be okay. Give them some space and avoid trouble. Hurting Zombie Pigmen causes them to become aggressive, and they bring every other Pigman in the area with them. This produces large battles that pose substantial risk to your character unless you retreat to a safe corridor and fight defensively. Be wary! Zombie Pigmen are fast runners, so it’s hard to escape from them once they’re angry. Sprint toward safety and hope for the best.

Zombie Pigmen drop a variety of golden items when they die, so farming them has value if you need Gold Nuggets, Gold Ingots, or a rare armor drop. Zombie Pigmen can pick up and equip weapons and armor, so don’t leave anything useful on the ground unless you want to arm a local militia of undead piggies. For maximum safety, you can kill groups of Zombie Pigmen by walling yourself into a tunnel and shooting outward at enraged targets.

Aggressive

Blaze

Blazes are ranged monsters that live in the Nether. Their fire attacks shoot in bursts of three, giving you several seconds afterward to dash between cover or to charge your opponent. Take cover when you see a Blaze, and ready a Bow or some Snowballs to throw at your target. Pop out from cover, shoot, and hide again. Repeat this process unless the Blaze gets close to your area, at which point you should switch to your Sword and ambush it for the kill.

Don’t trade blows with a Blaze. Their attacks hit extremely hard and deal fire damage to your character. Fire Resistance makes such battles easier, but you still need to be quite careful around these opponents. Put up a barrier of Cobblestone so Blazes can’t hit you even if they attack in an open walkway. Make it so Blazes have no choice but to give up their ranged advantage.

Also, watch your sides. Blazes fly, which means they’re happy to suspend themselves over large drops so you can’t get to them. Block all angles of fire to know where the Blazes will move.

Chicken Jockey

Tiny Zombies sometimes spawn on top of a Chicken. They ride the Chicken around like a mount and attack your character as aggressively as they can. It’s a funny sight, but you still have to be careful and avoid serious damage.

As usual, a fighting retreat is a good response when a Chicken Jockey attacks. They don’t have too much health, so you have to hold them back for only a short time. Don’t try to turn around and flee, because these guys chase you fast and far. Fight it out and get your kill. The good news is that you aren’t likely to see any more on their way, because they’re so rare in the first place.

Creeper

Perhaps the most iconic monster in Minecraft, Creepers are nasty pieces of work. They don’t attack you directly. Instead, they move toward your character and then explode when they get close enough. You know one is in the area when you hear an occasional kind of grunty noise. Once Creepers start their explosive attack, you hear a distinct hiss. If you hear this noise and can’t see the Creeper, run forward immediately. The farther you get from the blast, the lower the damage you take.

Creepers are afraid of Ocelots and Cats, so having one around offers some protection against these surprise attackers. Even without that, vigilance is your best friend against Creepers. They’re somewhat slow-moving, and spotting them at range makes it much easier to avoid the enemies, kill them with Arrows, or set up a cautious melee ambush. If you’re extremely careful, hit-and-run methods work well against Creepers. Knock them back with a single attack, and retreat to prevent them from detonating; they stop their explosion if you get far enough away before the point of no return.

Lure Creepers into Lava or bodies of water to kill or isolate them. Their explosions don’t damage blocks if the Creepers are submerged, so this makes them much easier and safer to fight, even if your character is still at risk. At a minimum, stay away from your house and fields when Creepers are near, or stay away from the walls at night, even if you don’t see a Creeper. One explosion can kill you or obliterate whatever you have nearby. Either of these outcomes is horrible to deal with.

In really special cases, you might see a Creeper with a strange aura around it. This is a Creeper that has been struck by lightning. Charged Creepers produce much deadlier explosions. Don’t try to detonate one manually, even on Easy difficulty. Use a Bow and be safe.

Ender Dragon

The Ender Dragon is a unique monster that appears only in the End, a special world that you can’t access until you complete a number of goals. Our explanation for getting to the End appears in our chapter titled You Can Do Anything With a LittlePractice.

Fighting the Ender Dragon is difficult. You face an opponent with massive health, mobility, and damage output. Endermen in the area attack you if you look at them during the fight. To make matters worse, crystals in the End heal the Ender Dragon, making it practically impossible to kill until you destroy the crystals. Wow.

Avoid the Ender Dragon’s charge attack, and know that it can dive through or destroy most blocks. You can’t hide from this sucker! Dodge its charges and use the time between them to get to those crystals. Once they’re trashed, shoot at the Ender Dragon from behind after it passes you in a charge. Keep your health topped off as best you can. There are many tricks for making this process easier (use exploding Beds for massive damage, keep a Bucket of Water in case you get knocked into the air and need a soft landing, etc.). These are discussed in the full write-up about the End.

Endermite

Endermites are monsters that were added in the 1.8 update to Minecraft. They’re incredibly small but nasty little things. You find them after throwing Ender Pearls, but there isn’t a very high chance for them to appear (only 1 in 20). So you don’t have to worry about them often. They don’t take much damage, so cut them down as soon as you can.

Evoker

Evokers live in secluded forest houses, way out in the middle of nowhere. These Woodland Mansions are only found in Roofed Forest biomes, and even there the buildings aren’t common. Inside of them, you find a considerable amount of danger (and loot as well). Evokers are like minibosses for these places; you find them here and there throughout the structure, and they have powerful spells to defend themselves. Expect them to summon ghostly Vexes and to damage you directly with Fang spells. If you hang back and try to fight cautiously, you actually end up in more danger. Evokers’ low health pools mean it’s better to rush and kill them. This doesn’t give them much time to summon allies, so you can cut them down quickly in melee, flee, and then clean up additional creatures that are after you.

When they’re not in combat, Evokers have a spell that changes Sheep’s Wool color (from blue to red, if there are any blue Sheep nearby). It’s unknown why they do this, but it’s obviously an important part of Evoker culture. This doesn’t pose any threat to you, so it’s more a matter of flavor.

Evokers drop Totems of Undying. These items are quite useful, because they can save you from death. Equipped in either hand, they drop lethal damage from killing your character. You’re left with almost no health, but the Totem gives you Regeneration II and then is destroyed.

Ghast

Ghasts live in the Nether. They’re flying white balls of fluff that fire explosive shots at your character. Their damage output is very good, and their area-of-effect fire blasts set tons of Netherrack on fire, making it hard to move safely when you fight Ghasts.

These monsters also have great vision. They spot you from far away, so sneaking past them isn’t easy. You usually have to hit them with Bow attacks instead. Kill them by aiming around their tentacles. If you’re really lucky and brave, use a melee attack to bounce Ghasts’ fireballs back at them. This is effective but hard to pull off without substantial practice.

Never get close to Zombie Pigmen while dealing with Ghasts. The explosions from these fire attacks can enrage the Zombie Pigmen, and they’ll blame you for their suffering!

Guardian and Elder Guardian

Guardians are aquatic creatures that have powerful laser attacks, and vicious spikes that wound anyone who attacks them in melee. The spikes retract when Guardians are swimming, so you can attack them safely at that time, but it’s hard to sneak up on them unless you’re invisible. During battle, Guardians look directly at their intended target, charge their laser eyes, and then fire after a few seconds. This attack does strong damage if you don’t have any armor, but is quite survivable as long as you have decent gear.

Water Breathing, enchanted armor, and patience are all useful for killing these pesky targets. They’re dangerous to burn down quickly because of the spikes. It’s better to fight near obstacles so that you can block the laser and come out for free hits afterward.

Guardians can drop a variety of fish, depending on your Luck. This is similar to the effects of fishing, so it’s random which type of fish you receive.

Elder Guardians have higher stats and inflict Fatigue on players who get too close to them (this has a 50-block range and occurs once per minute to an individual target). Elder Guardians only appear near and within underwater monuments, so if you’re hit with Fatigue, you know that you’re getting close to a monument and should find the body of water that it’s in. Once you kill the three Elder Guardians that protect each underwater monument, they’re gone forever. Bring friends, or use Potions and higher-end equipment to kill the Elder Guardians as best you can. They’ll be in different sections of the monument, so you won’t get rushed by the entire trio. The standard layout is to find an Elder Guardian at the top of each monument and then another in each of the two wings of the Temple.

Illusioner

Illusioners are still not fully implemented into the game as we write this book. You can, however, use the /summon command to bring them into the world and test out their abilities. Illusioners are aggressive casters that use Bow attacks and spells to give you some serious trouble. They cast Blind when initially attacking a target, leaving the victim much more vulnerable for 20 seconds. If you’re affected by this attack, move away from the enemy while zigzagging to make yourself a trickier target to hit until you recover.

Illusioners then create mirror images of themselves. The real Illusioner turns invisible, while four duplicates appear. You need to guess the actual location of the Illusioner and aim for that spot. Successful attacks cause the duplicates to collapse in on the Illusioner for a brief moment, so it’s always clear when you land a shot. Continue to aim at that area and bring the enemy down.

Magma Cube

Magma Cubes are Slimes from the Nether. They are fairly slow, hopping creatures that do damage by bouncing into you. They split into smaller monsters when they take damage, making it harder to defend against the whole bunch.

Focus on individual, smaller Magma Cubes to weaken their force. Don’t try to kill everything at once, or you’re forced to fight a number of smaller Magma Cubes without a break. Bow attacks are much safer against Magma Cubes; the monsters don’t dodge well. However, it is fun to use your Sword on them if you’re cautious and a little gutsy. This cuts down on Arrow use dramatically, because Magma Cubes have quite a bit of total health to shoot through.

Shulker

Shulkers are only found in the End, in the cities and ships located in that realm. These enemies look like Purpur blocks most of the time. They have purple armored shells that blend in well. They peek out of their shells periodically, looking for targets. If they see something, they’ll attack from range. You have to hit them back while they’re still out of their shells. Otherwise, they have tons of armor and laugh off missile attacks. Wait them out and punish the nasty little things just before they attack.

Shulker attacks are slower than most ranged weapons, but they have limited tracking and can hit mobile targets. Block these with shields, attack the projectiles with melee weapons, or dodge behind heavy cover at the last moment. If you’re struck by a Shulker, your character starts to levitate for a short time. This is dangerous, because you can get pounded by many other enemies in the area while you’re sitting there helplessly levitating.

Silverfish

Silverfish are hidden monsters that live inside fake blocks. They’re found deep inside the Overworld, waiting for you to mine them. Blocks that seem to take longer than usual to mine are actually Silverfish. Once they’re uncovered, they attack and cause other Silverfish in the area to break out of their blocks and charge you. This sometimes leads to large and dangerous battles.

Retreat to a defensible area when a Silverfish appears. You can get onto a two-block pillar and kill the Silverfish safely up there. Or you can lure them into a spot in a narrow corridor that is somewhat safe. As long as all the Silverfish are on one side of the passage, it’s fairly easy to dispatch them. Getting surrounded is the main thing to avoid when you fight these pests.

Skeleton

Skeletons are the biggest annoyances in the Overworld when you’re topside, and they’re pretty frustrating down in the mines as well. Skeletons have ranged attacks that are fast, accurate, and painful. Their Arrows push you back, making it harder to reach the Skeleton and possibly knocking you off ledges, into Lava, or otherwise giving you problems.

Whenever you can, use cover to lure Skeletons toward you. Up close, they’re fairly weak and easy to kill. They also drop great treasure; Bones are used to tame Wolves and grow crops, and the free Arrows sure aren’t bad either. Sometimes Skeletons even drop their Bows. So, they’re valuable enemies to fight, even if they are jerks.

Don’t stand on narrow ledges or near dangerous obstacles when you face Skeletons. If you hear their Bows twang, immediately find cover and figure out where the enemy is firing from. Use your Bow to counter them if they don’t come forward, such as when they’re across a chasm. Alternatively, tunnel into the rock, come around to a safe area, and approach them that way. They can’t shoot through solid blocks!

Shields are extremely effective at protecting you from Skeleton attacks. Ready your Shield and stay behind it while you’re approaching Skeletons. Once you’re close, attack them and get behind your Shield again until you’re ready to repeat the assault.

The absolutely worst fight with a Skeleton is in water when you have only a Sword. The water slows you down, and this, combined with the pushback from a Skeleton’s ranged attacks, can effectively keep you from getting to your enemy. At this point, it’s best to retreat and wait for a better situation.

Strays are Skeletons that spawn in icy areas. Their Arrows have a tendency to cause Slowness, which makes it even harder to fight the darn things. Otherwise, they’re standard archers like their cousins.

Wither Skeletons are only seen in the Nether, and they’re different beasties altogether. Look for their individual entry to get tips for killing them.

Slime

Slimes appear in swamps (often at night) or in deeper sections of the Overworld. You hear them from great distance because of the telltale squishing noises they make when they jump around. The Slimeballs they drop are pretty useful, so Slime hunting is periodically a worthwhile pursuit. If you find Slimes at a location once, you’ll likely bump into them again there in the future. They are somewhat predictable in their spawns, so mark these areas well and return later for more hunting.

To kill Slimes, use Arrows at range, or approach them carefully with your Sword out. Attack several times in melee, back off, and repeat the assault when you see how the Slime splits apart. Kill smaller Slimes before dealing with larger ones, because you don’t want to coat the entire area with little hopping menaces; that increases the chance of taking damage.

Slimes spawn even if it’s light in the area, so well-lit Dungeons can have spawns if the conditions are right for Slime growth.

Spider Jockey

Chicken Jockeys are cute and a little dangerous. However, Spider Jockeys aren’t cute at all—they’re just creepy. You have to deal with a Skeleton that has greater mobility and a Spider that’s ready to attack you as well. It’s a mean duo.

The Spiders can move on their own, so these Jockeys move like Spiders. The Skeletons only control their ranged attacks, which are as accurate as ever. To play it safe, sprint toward cover and ready your best melee weapon. Eat while you wait if you need to, and then ambush the Spider Jockey when it turns the corner. At close range, you can kill these guys somewhat reliably. Still, expect to take damage, so don’t even try this fight if your health is low, your armor is poor, or if you’re nervous.

Vex

Vexes are created by Evoker spells. They appear in clusters of three and fly toward their targets to attack in melee. They cause a fair amount of damage and are a real threat if you let them swarm you. Evokers continue to summon more Vexes during these battles, so you can eventually end up with more than three of them buzzing around if you take too long to kill everything. As with all Evoker encounters, your goal is to get the Evoker down immediately and then focus on everything else in the room. With the potential for reinforcements removed, the remaining Vexes won’t be a very serious threat. They’re simple melee attackers; back through a doorway so that they can’t flank you. Then take them out one by one as they rush up to your chokepoint.

Vindicator

Vindicators protect Woodland Mansions. They’re heavy-damage attackers that sprint up to their targets and assault them directly. They’re easy to defeat at range, and are somewhat safe in melee too as long as you don’t get jumped by additional targets while you’re focusing on the Vindicator. Always keep your armor on when exploring Woodland Mansions, because you take tons of damage if anything lands against exposed flesh.

Killing Vindicators is an excellent way to pick up Emeralds. These are difficult to gather normally, so an entire mansion can pull in a king’s ransom of these gems. It’s a smart idea to use the best Looting-enchanted items that you have whenever you find one of these areas, because the potential haul of Emeralds gets even higher.

Witch

You don’t see Witches as frequently as many monsters in the Overworld, and that’s a good thing. These humanoids have Potions that can hurt you, poison your character, or protect the Witch from harm. Witches can heal themselves and speed their movement, so they have a little bit of everything. Good weapons are important when you fight a Witch; they have enough health that any damage improvement makes a big difference. Iron Swords, or even better gear, are advised!

Because Witches use Harm and Poison attacks, you want to kill them quickly. The longer the fight, the bigger your disadvantage becomes. If you can’t take out a Witch quickly and you become poisoned, mount a sprinting retreat to put cover between your character and the Witch, so additional Potions don’t hit you.

If you have really good timing, lure a Witch toward a corridor or house with a Door. Keep the Door closed until the Witch is nearby. Open the Door, hit the Witch, and close the Door. Wait a moment and then repeat the process. Witches take a moment to unleash their Potion attacks, so this technique is fairly reliable if you have good reflexes.

Wither

Withers are major enemies, much like the Ender Dragon. Don’t go up against these guys unless you’re ready for a serious fight and know what you’re doing. For a full strategy on killing these guys, look in our section covering the Nether.

One can summon Withers by creating an altar of Soul Sand in a T-formation. Place a Wither Skeleton Skull on all three upper blocks of Soul Sand. When you do this, the altar summons a Wither. Make sure to avoid fighting these monsters near your home; they do horrific damage to the land around them. We strongly recommend fighting them deep underground or far away from home.

Wither Skeleton

Wither Skeletons guard Nether Fortresses, special areas within the Nether. Unlike generic Skeletons, these undead foes favor melee weapons. They’re extremely deadly, dealing high damage up front and causing a damage-over-time effect as well. You need solid armor, full health, and hopefully a full hunger bar to go against Wither Skeletons.

Arches that are only two blocks high are too small for Wither Skeletons to pass through. If you see a Wither Skeleton ahead, place blocks behind you to form a barrier that provides just enough room for your character to run through. Shoot at the Wither Skeleton, bring it to the low arch, and then keep hitting it with Arrows. Hit-and-run attacks also work, if you’re careful. Another classic move is to attack while backing up. This is effective against many monsters, and works well against Wither Skeletons, as long as you don’t fall off a ledge or get attacked by Blazes and/or other Wither Skeletons.

Keep equipment off the ground when you traverse Nether Fortresses. Wither Skeletons are quite happy to pick up Bows or Swords, and they’re evil when they get their bony hands on either.

Zombies, Zombie Villagers, and Husks

There are several types of Zombies in Minecraft, though the techniques to deal with them are similar. Zombies, Baby Zombies, and Zombie Villagers are all pretty much mindless, undead horrors. They move toward your character, moaning and trying to kill you with slow melee attacks. Baby Zombies have higher walking speed, but that and their short stature are the only significant distinctions.

Zombies can spawn with equipment or pick up things they find. Well-equipped Zombies are more dangerous, so watch out for them. Kill those Zombies first when you fight a group. And speaking of groups, it’s rare to encounter a single Zombie. They often appear with several allies, so back off until you see where all your enemies are standing. Force them to line up for the fight by retreating until all the Zombies are somewhat close together. Then attack and retreat as you thin their ranks. Zombies with helmets are lucky; sunlight doesn’t cause them to burst into flames (until the helmet itself is destroyed). Pumpkins serve the same role.

Villagers killed by Zombies have a chance of turning. If they rise as Zombie Villagers, there is still some hope. A Splash Potion of Weakness leaves the Zombie Villager in a vulnerable state. Feed it a Golden Apple afterward and wait a moderate amount of time; the Zombie Villager will return to life.

Zombie Husks are desert variants of the standard Zombie. They have similar stats, but look and sound slightly different. They’re immune to sunlight, so watch out during the day for these wandering pests. When they attack, they inflict Hunger on your character, making them more costly to defeat.