A Guide to Minecraft Mobs

Minecraft is a world full of amazing creatures. However, whereas some are hostile and will attack, others are friendly, and some are extremely useful for your progression in the game. Creatures within Minecraft are known as mobs (mobile) and here we guide you through the different types, and a little about each one and their purpose within the game.

There are 4 groups of mobs that we are going to be discussing. These groups are Aggressive, Neutral, Passive and Utility.

Aggressive Mobs

As the name suggests, these mobs get angry and are the ones you should try and avoid as they will cause you harm.

• Creepers

The iconic creeper is an armless, stealthy creature that sneaks around to creep up on players before they explode. Not only does this cause the player damage, if they explode near buildings, the explosion can cause structural damage. Creepers spawn at night and are not affected by sunlight like zombies and skeletons are

• Skeletons

Spawning at nighttime, skeletons are armed with arrows which can cause serious damage. However, the good news is that they can be destroyed with sunlight leaving behind bones, arrows and sometimes their bow.

• Witches

Witches are dangerous as they throw potions at the player and can use potions to heal themselves. They are difficult to kill but do leave behind several useful items when they die, such as potions, spider eyes, and gunpowder.

• Zombies

These are the most common of the Minecraft mobs. When the sun goes down, you will more than likely bump into one. When the sun comes up, the zombies will burn and could leave rotting flesh on the ground.Neutral MobsNeutral mobs will not cause harm unless they are provoked.

• Endermen

Endermen are tall creatures that spawn at night in The Overworld and The End. They have glowing purple eyes and can teleport to launch a surprise attack. You can provoke them by hitting them or merely just staring in their direction. Their teleportation abilities make them hard to kill, but not impossible. If you do manage to kill one, look out for Ender pearls which are a rare material that players need to progress to the end of the game.

• Spiders

Spiders are neutral during the day but become aggressive at night. Watch out for cave spiders as they have a poisonous bite. If you kill a spider, they can yield string and sometimes spider’s eyes (which are safe to eat.)

• Wolves

Found in forest areas, wolves will only attack you if you provoke them. It is also important to note that if you anger a wolf, the whole pack will turn against you. If possible, try to tame them as they make great allies. You can do this by feeding them a bone and they will follow the player around. They will then turn into domestic dogs if you place a collar on them.

Passive Mobs

Next, we have passive mobs, which are harmless. They will never attack the player under any circumstance. However, because they do not cause you harm, they do not spawn as quickly as aggressive mobs.

• Bats

Spawning in caves, bats can be used to indicate a nearby cave as you will be able to hear their squeaks.

• Chickens

When you kill a chicken, they can yield feathers as well as raw chicken meat. Keeping the chicken alive will allow them to lay eggs every 5 or so minutes. These eggs can be used in recipes or to create more chickens. To spawn a chicken, throw the eggs and when it breaks, there is a chance a chicken will hatch. You can also breed chickens by feeding them wheat seeds or seeds from pumpkins or melons.

• Cows

Cows spawn in forests and grassy areas and make a great food supply, so you should consider keeping two nearby to your base. Cows provide a range of useful items such as milk, meat and leather. Breed them by feeding them wheat.

• Horses

Horses spawn in the plains or savannah and will create leather when they die. It is more practical to ride horses than kill them for leather. Saddle them up to tame a horse quickly and use them as a great method of transportation. You can breed horses; however, this requires golden apples or carrots which are rare to come across.

• Mooshrooms

Mooshrooms are similar to cows and produce beef and leather. They can also be milked. What makes them different to cows, however, is that they can be sheared for mushrooms.

• Ocelots

Ocelots are wild cats that can be found in the jungle. You can tame them by feeding them raw fish which will make them turn into a domestic cat. They are great animals as they are immune to fall damage and can be used to ward off creepers. Once an Ocelot has been tamed, they will follow the player around.

• Pigs

Pigs roam around in small herds of around four and spawn in forests or grass areas. If you kill them, they will produce up to three pork chops. Breed them by feeding them wheat. You can also ride them if you place a saddle on them. However, be prepared for a slow ride.

• Sheep

Sheep spawn in groups of up to eight in forests or grassed areas. They provide the player with wool, which is necessary to build many items including your bed. One sheep will yield 1 block of wool if you kill it. However, keeping a sheep alive can yield up to three blocks. Breed sheep by feeding them wheat. Although most sheep are white, you can encounter varieties that are black, brown, grey and even pink. You can also dye the sheep yourself.

• Squid

Found in the water, they will provide ink sacs when they are killed which you can use as dyes.

• Villagers
Villagers are the only human like characters in Minecraft and you can identify their professions by the colour of apron they wear. For example, brown means they are farmers, black are blacksmiths and purple are priests. Villagers are great for trading goods with, so it’s important you keep the village alive. In order to do this, avoid the village when night falls to protect the villagers from monsters. There is also no benefit to killing a villager. They do not yield anything when they die and because they take a long time to reproduce, you will be wasting the potential to trade.

Utility Mobs

The final type of mob we have is the utility mob. These are named this because they provide the player with a utilitarian function.

• Iron GolemsIron Golems spawn in large villages but can also be constructed by using four blocks of iron and placing a pumpkin on top. They protect villages and will attack anyone that attacks a villager.

• Snow GolemsThese are not found naturally in the Minecraft world so you will have to craft one. When you are in a snow biome, you can stack up snow and place a pumpkin on top to create a snow golem. The purpose of them is to throw snowballs at hostile mobs.

Now that you are familiar with the different Minecraft mobs, you should be prepared to encounter them in the game. You can use this understanding to your advantage as you now know what creatures you are up against.

Without Mobs, the world of Minecraft will be empty and certainly not as fun!