PDF download Download Article PDF download Download Article

You're exploring this really cool cave system, and you find loads of coal, iron, and gold. You mine another block and jump as lava starts pouring through. Backing up, you barely notice as you approach the edge of a ravine and fall. When you land, you quickly drink some potions to recover. That's when you notice odd shapes creeping towards you in the dark. A low growl here, a bone-chilling rattle there. You begin to realize that you're not alone. Does that sound like you? Having trouble killing those nasty mobs? If so, this article will teach you various combat techniques used by very experienced players everywhere to wipe them off the face of the game.

Preparation

  1. Grab a sword of at least iron (preferably diamond ). Get some iron or higher armor , too. A bow with arrows is optional (recommended), and maybe a couple of dogs as a backup. Also, grab some torches .
    • Of course, if you can't get to those tiers yet, your best bet is to start with a wooden sword and try to get to a stone sword soon. Stone swords prove to be adequate weapons early in the game.
    • If possible, get your equipment enchanted . Don't forget to bring a shield. Be careful not to take all of your good items, because if you die, it will be hard to retrieve them unless you have keep inventory on, which is often considered cheating. Also in the 1.9 update, you can dual wield a bow and sword, so you can shoot and use melee attacks almost at the same time.
  2. Aggressive mobs can't spawn in Peaceful mode (if you want a challenge, set to Hard). Put your weapons, food, and potions in your hotbar, and place some torches around you to add light.
    Advertisement
    • It is recommended to sort items. For instance, weapons on one side and potions, food, etc. on the other.
  3. Jump and swing or sprint and hit. Critical damage comes as you fall. Try to time your swing to hit the mob as you fall after the jump.
  4. Advertisement
Method 1
Method 1 of 18:

The Zombie

PDF download Download Article

The zombie is the easiest hostile mob. It will walk towards you slowly and burn up in the day.

  1. Once it is within two blocks, critical hit it (jump and strike). You do not have to retreat after hitting it as it is very slow.
  2. Look around and make sure there are no more mobs around. Be careful because every time you hit a zombie there is a chance another one will spawn nearby. Proceed to collect the experience and any drops, like rotten flesh. It is advised for you to not eat the rotten flesh (unless you can't get other food) because it may give you poison or hunger depending on what you're playing. If you do get poison or hunger, stay in one place until it goes away to prevent your hunger bar from dropping or drop even more.
  3. This knocks them back several blocks. Also, when focused on you, a zombie will not attack a tamed wolf that is attacking it.
  4. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 18:

The Chicken Jockey

PDF download Download Article

The chicken jockey is a Baby Zombie, Baby Zombie Villager or Baby Zombified Piglin riding a chicken. Baby zombies do not burn in sunlight, and the chicken cannot be leashed to a fence.

  1. Do not try to lead it off a cliff; the mob that is being riding takes all the fall damage and chickens just fly down and take no damage.
  2. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 18:

The Creeper

PDF download Download Article

The creeper is a dangerous mob at night. Their navigation is very good, and they will explode when you get too close. They are unaffected by daylight. They also make no noise when they walk, and add that to their camouflage it makes for a very dangerous mob.

  1. If you don't have a bow, then hit them with a sword and then quickly move backwards.
  2. If the creeper starts flashing and getting bigger, get away from it until it either stops or explodes. If you kill it, collect the experience and the item(s) it may drop, like gunpowder.
  3. When a creeper is hit by lightning, it has a bluish aura surrounding it. When it explodes, it is double the explosion potential compared to normal Creepers. You kill a charged creeper in the same way as a normal creeper.
  4. Advertisement
Method 4
Method 4 of 18:

The Spider

PDF download Download Article

The spider is much more dangerous than the zombie, despite it's slightly lower health in comparison to the Zombie. They can scale walls and will jump while attacking. They become passive in the day, unless attacked. It does not fit in 1X1 squares.

  1. Be warned, as the spider jumps and scales walls (But they cannot climb upside-down, so make sure to put overhangs on your walls). Instead of the regular approach, start with a running hit to knock it back.
  2. You may take some damage from this. However, you also have the choice of another running hit followed by a critical.
  3. Collect the experience and whatever item(s) it may drop, like string or spider eyes. You will be able to ferment the spider eye and use it in potion making, or eat it in an emergency. It will poison you for 4 seconds, but it won't make your health go lower than half a heart, and your health will regenerate if your hunger bar is full.
  4. Advertisement
Method 5
Method 5 of 18:

Cave Spiders

PDF download Download Article

Cave spiders are poisonous spiders that spawn only from monster spawners in abandoned mineshafts. Cave spiders are smaller than normal spiders and blue in color. Normal spiders are black or dark brown, bigger, and are not poisonous. Note that skeletons do not ride on cave spiders.

  1. Cave spiders are much smaller than regular spiders, and can fit through any gap that is one block high, however, its height is a half block. This makes them much harder to contain and fight on your own terms. Cave spiders can also track you through solid walls, so they are difficult to ambush.
  2. Unlike regular spiders, Cave spiders have a poisonous bite. If you are poisoned, your health will deplete until you only have half of a heart left. You can heal poison by drinking milk, but this can take a while. Try to use your milk between battles.
  3. Cave spiders can hold their breath for 16 seconds, and then die after another 6 seconds. If you can flood or bury the spiders, you should be able to kill them with relative ease.
  4. Cave spiders are only spawned by monster spawners, so destroying the spawner will prevent more spiders from appearing.
  5. Monster generators are often surrounded by lots of cobwebs. These will slow you down but do not affect the cave spiders' movement. Use your sword to break the cobwebs.
  6. Advertisement
Method 6
Method 6 of 18:

The Skeleton

PDF download Download Article

Skeletons have bows that they shoot you with. It is fairly easy to dodge arrows when further away, but more difficult when closer up. As with zombies, they will burn when in contact with direct sunlight.

  1. Otherwise, run towards it and do a critical hit. Walking in a straight line towards the skeleton will get you killed, and jumping doesn't make a difference. A zig-zag pattern is recommended. Its accuracy will improve with higher difficulty levels.
  2. Try to block (right mouse) the arrows when you're close, as the chances of dodging now are minuscule (Tiny). If you have a shield, you may also charge at them, letting the shield take damage.Try to determine what time the skeleton will fire based on how fast it was firing before.
  3. The skeleton can't handle it.
  4. Advertisement
Method 7
Method 7 of 18:

The Spider Jockey

PDF download Download Article

The spider jockey is very, very dangerous "mob". When a spider spawns, there is a 1% chance of it being a spider jockey. It is created when a skeleton rides a spider. Spider jockeys should be avoided, as they have no special drops other than for the spider and skeleton.

  1. Right click in the general direction and try to use running hits, and block right after. Once the skeleton is dead, go for the spider.
  2. Collect the experience and item(s).
  3. If it hasn't died yet, kill it like a normal skeleton.
  4. Advertisement
Method 8
Method 8 of 18:

The Slime

PDF download Download Article

The slime will spawn only in large areas or the swamp biome. Encountering a slime is very rare for new players.

  1. Be careful when killing the large ones, as they will split. Once the slime is dead, back up a bit. Note that each one splits into smaller slimes. Consider it as multiplying.
    • When encountering a small slime, one hit from a sword will kill it, however a fist is advised because they are very weak and are a waste of sword durability. The little ones smaller than one block will attempt to kill you, but do no damage. Note that these will drop slime balls.
    • For a medium slime, it will will split into small slimes. Kill the smaller ones. Medium slimes cause mild damage.
    • For the large one, it will split into a medium slime, then kill as for medium slime. Large slimes cause moderate damage.
    • If you get 9 slime balls, put them all in a crafting table to make a slime block, which is really bouncy!
    • Another use for slime balls are that you can combine it with pistons to make sticky pistons, which allow you to move blocks forwards and backwards.
  2. Advertisement
Method 9
Method 9 of 18:

The Wither Skeleton

PDF download Download Article
  1. Wither Skeletons are three blocks tall, so you can walk under the beams but they can't.
  2. When it stops at a beam, walk up to the wither skeleton and hit it until it dies. Make sure to be on the opposite side of the beam to the Wither Skeleton.
  3. These are usually bones or coal, and sometimes a stone sword. Very rarely you will get a wither skeleton skull and it is used to spawn a wither boss.
  4. Advertisement
Method 10
Method 10 of 18:

The Blaze

PDF download Download Article

Blazes are another nether mob. They are commonly found in nether fortresses beside their spawners. Blazes are very difficult to fight. They can fly and shoot fireballs in sets of three. Unlike ghasts' fireballs, these fireballs cannot be deflected. Blazes are usually killed for blaze rods, used to make eyes of ender, blaze powder, brewing stands, and magma cream.

  1. If you want a quick fight, this step is almost mandatory. A bow is one of the easier ways to kill a blaze, seeing that they can fly. Also, obtain some snowballs. It is a good choice to store the snowballs as snow blocks, and will save time. If you throw snowballs at them they will weaken and you can easily finish them off with a sword. Finally you can collect their experience points.
  2. If you have a brewing stand, you can make fire resistance potions which will make you invulnerable to the blazes' fire attacks. (and lava) Brewing directions can be found here .
  3. Also build a small 3 block high wall out of cobblestone. It doesn't have to be too long, and should have a small roof.
  4. Start charging your bow. Do not try to shoot the blaze until your bow is fully charged.
  5. Be sure that you are close to the end of the wall so you can hide faster. If a blaze is waiting for you on the "safe" side, kill it with snowballs.
  6. Get behind the wall and start charging your bow again. Repeat until the blazes are dead.
  7. You may have to build your way to the drop, as blazes fly. Set the difficulty to Peaceful.
  8. Advertisement
Method 11
Method 11 of 18:

The Magma Cube

PDF download Download Article

A Magma Cube is basically the Nether version of the slime. They also bounce and split into smaller cubes. The only main differences are how they look and the drops. Note that they can spawn in any open space in the Nether.

  1. Also, the small cubes attack you unlike the small slime.
  2. Get all of the experience after killing the small ones.
    • Like the slime, the small ones also drop something special, which is Magma Cream. This will be useful in brewing potions.
  3. Advertisement
Method 12
Method 12 of 18:

The Ghasts

PDF download Download Article

Ghasts are mobs that fly around in the nether. They look like large, white squids that have a very sad/depressed facial expression and make baby/crying sounds. They will shoot exploding fireballs at the player. They used to do very limited damage, but now they can kill in a few hits. They have a massive  ve attack range and can see you from 100 blocks away.

  1. For some reason, arrows shot at the face will simply pass through the body. It has 10 HP, but may be hard to kill as it can attack from 16 blocks away, making it very hard to hit.
  2. Fireballs are easy to deflect,(be sure to note that you can send backfire charges with your bow too) and can kill a ghast if you hit the ghast with it. Don't count on it though, and still use your bow as your primary weapon.
  3. Collect them. Also, it is a good choice to build it out of cobblestone, as ghasts' explosions are incapable of destroying it.
  4. Advertisement
Method 13
Method 13 of 18:

The Zombified Piglin

PDF download Download Article

The zombified piglin is also a mob found in the Nether. They travel in groups, carrying menacing golden swords, and are neutral meaning the are friendly until attacked. If you attack one, every zombified piglin around you in a 16 block area will become aggressive and attack you. Zombified piglin can also appear in the overworld, when lightning strikes a pig or around Nether portals. However, this almost never happens. Zombified piglins run faster than you, so get ready to sprint! (For brand new players, sprinting is caused by double tapping w )

  1. Attack one with a critical hit.Try fighting in third person view.
  2. Try not to run around, as this will attract more pigmen. Watch your step, as one miss step can send you plummeting into lava. Zombified piglins are not affected by lava. Do not let them surround you.
  3. A knockback II enchanted sword is usually better for this, as if you run too far, you will be surrounded. Lead the zombified piglins around in circles, hitting them. Do not wander too far, as you will likely attract other swarms.
  4. Collect the experience and whatever drops they may leave, like rotten flesh or a gold nugget.
  5. Advertisement
Method 14
Method 14 of 18:

The Enderman

PDF download Download Article

Endermen are tall and black. They can teleport and deal many hearts of damage. Their teleportation allows them to escape any projectile attack. However, they are damaged by any liquid and will usually die in the rain.

  1. Do not make eye contact with it (hovering the cross in any area above the torso). There are three ways to kill the enderman.
    • If you look at an Enderman with a pumpkin on your head, it will not attack. You can put one on your head like any other helmet.
  2. Jump and critical hit it, and keep critical hitting it. If it teleports, look for the trail of particles and it will lead you to the enderman, who is most likely behind you. Repeat and kill.
    • If you don't have good armor, get some tamed wolves (at least five). Do the first hit as a critical and let the wolves finish it. Feed your wolves after, as they will probably be injured from the enderman's attack.
    • Attacking the enderman's feet will not make the enderman teleport. If it does teleport, get to a 2 block high space, as the enderman will not be able to attack you. It is also a good idea to get your back against a wall, so it cannot surprise you from behind. Don't use a bow, or any sort of projectile, as the enderman will just teleport away.
  3. The enderman will try to teleport to you, but will be damaged by the water and teleport away. Repeat until the enderman is dead.
    • You can also make them go away by pressing T and typing in /weather rain to make it rain. They will most likely teleport to another area where it is not raining. This may not work on Endermen that are already hostile.
  4. The enderman cannot reach you, therefore, you will not get damaged. Or you can build a pole 4 blocks high and you will be in the range to attack the enderman but the enderman can't attack you as you are not in the range of the enderman's attacks. Watch out for spiders and skeletons, as they may knock you off the pole.
  5. To increase that chance, use a sword with the looting enchantment.
  6. Advertisement
Method 15
Method 15 of 18:

The Wither Boss

PDF download Download Article
  1. Unlike most mobs, the Wither has to be spawned in. The spawning of The Wither is similar to that of an Iron Golem. You will first need 4 pieces of soul sand (found in the Nether) and 3 Wither Skeleton Skulls (obtained by killing multiple Wither Skeletons). Place the 4 Blocks of soul sand in the ground, like you would do for placing Iron blocks while spawning in an Iron Golem. Then put the 3 skulls on top of the "T" like shape. The skulls need to be put on last for The Wither to spawn.
    • If you have trouble with the way you spawn, pretend you are crafting something in the air with a 3x3 plate behind it. Put the Soul Sand in the 4, 5, 6, and 8 positions. And after that put the Skulls in the 1, 2, and 3 positions.
  2. After that, it will fly high in the air and kill any mob (besides other withers) in its path.
  3. This means it can no longer be damaged with arrows. The wither will not fly as high as it did before, all you have to do is finish it off with your sword or splash potion of healing.
  4. Advertisement
Method 16
Method 16 of 18:

The Silverfish

PDF download Download Article

The silverfish is a small mob that can be found in the portal room of the three strongholds that spawn in your world, or in the extreme hills and extreme hills+ biomes. They spawn from blocks that look like stone, cobblestone, or mossy cobblestone, but are actually spawners in disguise. After you break the spawn block, it will pop out and attack. So will every other silverfish around it as you continue to fight.

  1. Use your fists to hit the block. If it seems to break too quickly, stop, because there is a silverfish in the block. Another way to tell if there is a silverfish in the block is using the F3 menu. Spawner blocks break a little bit faster than regular blocks. If the block seems to be breaking at a normal rate, you are safe.
  2. This guarantees that the silverfish will not come out.
  3. Of course, you can try taking them with your iron/diamond sword, but as they are small and fast, this is not recommended to inexperienced players.
    • Turn and run. Do not stop until you are a reasonable distance. Block up the way you came with dirt. Return later.
    • Or, you could pillar stack 2 dirt blocks up, camp there, and fight them off with a bow or sword.
    • Get on high ground (at least 2 blocks high) and place lava below you. This should take care of the silverfish that are chasing you.
    • Get on one of the many stairs in the stronghold and pour a water bucket to wash them away. They'll be kept away by the current.
    • Do not use splash potions. This will cause you to be swarmed.
    • Note that if you decide to attack it with a sword or an other melee weapon, and you take more than one hit to kill it, you will get swarmed. But if it only takes you one hit for you to kill it, you will not get swarmed.
  4. Collect the experience, if there is any.
  5. Advertisement
Method 17
Method 17 of 18:

Multiple Mobs

PDF download Download Article

Sometimes when you are out at night there will be a cluster of mobs around at once.

  1. Do be afraid or you might die.
  2. It's best to look around for more mobs while running.
  3. Advertisement
Method 18
Method 18 of 18:

The Ender Dragon

PDF download Download Article

The Ender Dragon is the last of the two boss mobs in the game. It is found in The End Dimension.

  1. Get diamond armor and enchant it as best you can with an enchantment table . Get a diamond sword and enchant. Do this with a bow; you will only need one stack of arrows. Get a diamond pickaxe and two stacks of solid blocks. Take a piston and redstone torch. Also take some enchanted golden apples, and some potions.
    • It is also worth mentioning that once you enter The End Dimension, you can not go back to the overworld dimension (regular minecraft) back alive without killing it.
    • Be prepared to face a lot of Endermen in The End. If you accidental look at one, lets just say it will make matters a lot worse. Wear a pumpkin on your head if you are scared of Endermen, as they will not attack if looked at; but keep in mind it will reduce your field of vision.
  2. Go to the End . Use your bow to strike the crystals on top of the obsidian poles. You will need to climb the other poles with iron bar cages with a pole of the solid blocks.
  3. ) The dragon will swoop down to the pedestal/portal and spit out ender acid. It may fire ender acid balls at you.
  4. Repeat until it is dead. It will explode and drop a lot of XP. Collect the XP.
  5. Make a rail around the whole thing.
  6. Behind the piston or beside it, place the redstone torch.
  7. Jump in the portal and read the story. If you don't want to, press Esc. If on Xbox, press B.
    • Also, congratulations! At this point you have technically beat Minecraft, as the whole point of the game is to kill the Ender Dragon.
  8. Have a cake. You must have a cake.
  9. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    What weakness does a creeper have?
    Community Answer
    Creeper weakness is CAT. If a creeper chases you, quickly go near a cat and the creeper will run away.
  • Question
    How can I keep mobs away from my house?
    Banana Head
    Top Answerer
    A question commonly asked from survival Minecrafters! For enderman, put water around your house. You can build a pond or garden with some water in it. Also, make sure all spots in your house are only 2 feet tall; this will prevent enderman from teleporting in. For zombies and creepers, build a wall of dirt or cobblestone, whichever is more accessible, around your house/property. Make the wall about 3 blocks thick to prevent creeper explosions from destroying it. For skeletons, build the wall, but maybe put up some slabs so you are protected from arrows while walking on the wall. For spiders, build a one-block overhang on the outside of your wall. This will prevent the spiders from climbing it.
  • Question
    How do I defeat the Enderman?
    Community Answer
    The Enderman is tough, but its major weakness is water. The easiest way to kill an Enderman is to stand in shallow water and make eye contact with it. The Enderman will teleport to you, get hurt by the water, and then teleport away. Repeat this to kill the Enderman.
See more answers
Ask a Question
      Advertisement

      Video

      Reader Videos

      Submit a Video Tip!

      Share a quick video tip and help bring articles to life with your friendly advice. Your insights could make a real difference and help millions of people!

      Submit a Video

      Tips

      Show More Tips

      Tips from our Readers

      The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
      • If you are in the Nether, build a hut that's 3 blocks tall with a roof. Place down a gate because the zombie pigmen can't break them down. Make a gap in the 2nd wall block and use a weak sword to hurt them without getting hurt.
      • When it is almost night time and you're hungry without food, sprint to your home if it's close by. Sleep through the night, and have food in the morning before you go off exploring again.
      • Always feed your wolves before and after battle. Before battle, they will need the extra strength and after battle, they could be badly damaged and need to heal.
      • In case you fall down from the obsidian towers, pour a bucket of water on the ground right before you fall to save yourself.
      • You can also keep tamed cats outside your house so phantoms don’t come anywhere near you.
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      Warnings

      • Snow golems can damage only other snow golems or blazes.
      • When you give an attack make sure you are completely secure from other hidden mobs! Attacking then being jumped on and killed is a seriously bad way to go.
      • Do not bring wolves or fight creepers while in third person view, as this usually leads to something bad happening.
      Advertisement

      Things You'll Need

      • An iron sword or better (highly recommended)
      • If you can't get a sword, use an axe (recommended if sword will do less damage)
      • A set of iron or higher armor (recommended)
      • Water bucket (recommended to wash away mobs, solidify lava, or make it over cliffs)
      • Bow and arrows (recommended)
      • Tamed wolves (optional)
      • Food and potions (recommended)
      • Lava bucket (optional)
      • Enchanted Items (optional)

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 228,372 times.

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement