Every Hostile Mob and How to Fight It

Every hostile mob has one specific weakness that turns it from dangerous into routine. Here is the list, roughly in the order you will meet them.

Overworld, night and caves

Zombie. Slow, melee, burns in daylight. Comes in groups and can break down wooden doors on Hard. Back up while swinging — they have no ranged attack at all. Drops rotten flesh, occasionally iron or carrots.

Skeleton. Ranged, and the most annoying early mob. A shield shuts them down completely — walk in behind it, drop, swing, raise. In the open, close distance fast or break line of sight. Drops bones and arrows.

Creeper. Silent until the hiss. The trick is hit and step back — a sprint attack knocks it away and resets the fuse. Never fight one in a corridor. A cat or ocelot nearby scares them off entirely. Drops gunpowder, which you want for rockets, so a creeper farm is worth building.

Spider. Climbs walls, jumps, and is neutral in daylight. They cannot fit through a 1-block-high gap, so a doorway with a slab above stops them. Drops string and spider eyes.

Cave spider. Smaller, poisonous, and fits through 1-block gaps. Milk clears the poison. Found in mineshafts around spawners — see the spawner XP farm.

Enderman. Neutral until you look at its head. If you provoke one, stand in a 2-block-high space so it cannot reach you, or fight it in water — it teleports away from water instantly. Drops ender pearls, which you need for strongholds.

Witch. Throws splash potions and heals itself. Close the distance and burst it down — a ranged fight against a witch is a war of attrition you lose. Milk clears whatever it hits you with.

Drowned. Underwater zombies. The ones holding a trident are genuinely dangerous at range — see how to get a trident. Fight them on land where you move faster than they do.

Phantom. Spawns if you have not slept for several in-game days. They dive from above, so fight under cover or just sleep. Drops phantom membrane, which repairs elytra.

Slime. Splits when killed. Found in swamps at night and in slime chunks. Harmless in small sizes, and the drops are worth it for sticky pistons.

The Nether

Zombified piglin. Neutral — until you hit one, and then every one nearby comes for you. Never attack one by accident. If you do, run through a portal or get 20 blocks of distance.

Piglin. Hostile unless you wear at least one piece of gold armour. Wearing gold and bartering with them is the entire basis of the gold farm. They still turn hostile if you open a chest or break gold blocks near them.

Blaze. Ranged fireballs, flies, and lives in fortresses. Fire Resistance makes the fight trivial. Otherwise use a shield against the fireballs and close in. Blaze rods are mandatory for brewing — the blaze farm covers automating it.

Ghast. Huge, floats, shoots explosive fireballs. Hit the fireball back at it — a well-timed melee swing or arrow returns it, and one hit kills. Genuinely satisfying.

Wither skeleton. Tall, hits hard, and inflicts Wither. Only spawns in fortresses. Fight in a 2-block corridor where they cannot reach you properly. Their skulls are needed to summon the wither — see the wither skeleton farm.

Magma cube. Splits like a slime, and takes no fall damage. Fire Resistance makes them mostly harmless.

Hoglin. Charges and knocks you back hard. They are afraid of warped fungus — plant some or hold it. Also a solid food source in the Nether.

Piglin brute. Found in bastions, hostile regardless of gold armour, and hits extremely hard. Do not melee one without good armour. Fight in a doorway, or avoid entirely.

The End

Enderman. Everywhere in the End, and provoking a group is how most first-time dragon fights end. Wear a carved pumpkin — you can then look at them freely without aggro, at the cost of vision.

Shulker. Stationary, fires homing Levitation projectiles. Block with a shield, drink milk if hit, and never fight one over the void. Covered fully in shulker boxes and End cities.

Ender dragon. The boss. Destroy the end crystals first, then fight it on the ground. Full guide here.

Illagers

Pillager. Crossbow, travels in patrols and lives at outposts. Shield up. Their captains give you the ominous bottles that start raids.

Vindicator. Axe, fast, and does the most raw melee damage of any common mob. Do not let one get adjacent if you can help it.

Evoker. Summons vexes and casts fangs from the ground. Kill it first, always — everything gets worse while it is alive. Drops a totem of undying.

Ravager. Charges, huge health pool, knocks you flying. Kite it in open ground; it overshoots and takes a moment to turn.

Vex. Small, flies, passes through walls. They despawn on their own eventually, so surviving is a valid strategy.

Deep Dark

Warden. Blind, hunts by sound and vibration, and hits hard enough to kill through netherite. Do not fight it. Sneak, throw snowballs to distract it, and leave. The deep dark and warden guide covers doing it properly.

The general rules

• Wait for the attack cooldown. See combat basics.
• Jump and hit on the way down for critical damage.
• A shield answers most ranged mobs.
• Higher ground beats everything melee.
• Fire Resistance trivialises the Nether.