Minecraft mobs – passive, neutral, and hostile, oh my!

This Minecraft mobs guide is here to help you separate the friend from the foe and give you an idea of how some of these adorable little critters can help you amass resources, or just some good old-fashioned meat. Grab your sheers, or your sword, and let’s get mining some mobs. We expect to regularly update this guide, so be sure to come back for even more mobs in the future.

If you love the block-rocking behemoth of a game that is Minecraft as much as we do, be sure to check out our library of great Minecraft guides to help you on your adventures. We have guides covering Minecraft Ender Dragon, Minecraft end portal, Minecraft skins, the best Minecraft games, Minecraft diamonds, and the best Minecraft Bedrock mods.

Here’s our guide to Minecraft mobs.

Passive Minecraft mobs

Sheep

Adorable little guys found in most grassy biomes, you can sheer sheep for wool, or kill them for mutton. They have eight hit points and are mostly found to be white. There’s a slim chance for light grey, grey, or black sheep to occur, while brown or pink sheep are very rare.

Cow

These friendly beasts generally spawn in groups of two or three, though can be found on their own rarely. Killing a cow drops beef and leather, while using a bucket will produce milk. Wheat can be used if you want to make a cow follow you to your farm, where cows will mate and spawn younger cows for even more resources. If normal cows are too boring for you, don’t forget that bright red Mooshrooms exist!

Chicken

Possibly the most common passive mob, found in grassy biomes, chickens drop feathers and raw chicken when killed. They also drop eggs at random, so luring some with seeds is a good way to get a constant food source. They have four health points and killing a baby chicken yields no items. But I mean, why would you anyway?

Fox

These pesky little pals won’t cause any harm to you or your villagers, but they can steal items and hold it in their mouths. Foxes can be tamed and kept as pets, and come in both a white and orange variety. They sleep curled up and are very cute, and an excellent addition to Minecraft.

Horse

Nature’s transport system in Minecraft is the horse. They can be easily led back to civilisation with a lead and can be tamed by jumping on their backs until they accept their fate and listen to you. Then, you can give them a saddle and take them on your adventures. In the wild, they spawn in groups of two to six, and come in a variety of colours.

Neutral mobs

Spider

One of the most common mobs at night, spiders are not as aggressive as others and are fairly easy to deal with. They have sixteen health points and will drop string often, with a rare chance to drop a spider eye as well. They’re the only mob that can climb walls, making them a pretty scary enemy to stumble across in the dark underground caves of Minecraft.

Ender Man

A unique and scary-looking mob, Ender Men can spawn in The Overworld, The Nether, and The End. They have 40 hit points, and when killed will drop an ender pearl. This is an essential item in forging the Minecraft end portal. Ender Men also have the unique ability to pick up blocks and place them, and will drop them if killed. They’ve even been immortalised in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, as one of the skins available when you play as Steve.

Wolf

While this Minecraft mob can be aggressive, it can also be tamed with a bone to work alongside the player to attack more hostile mobs. They have eight health points, and when killed reward you with between one and three experience points. Wolves are known to spawn in a lot of different places, so are fairly common, and after you tame them with bones (the amount needed is randomised) they can be healed with meat.

Panda

These monochrome bears are a rare find, appearing in jungles and bamboo biomes. They can have different personalities, which depend on the colour of the bear. Brown pandas are very rare. If you choose to slay a panda, they drop some bamboo. But that’s not very nice, is it?

Goat

The latest mob to move into Minecraft is the goat. Found scaling mountains and snuffling through the snow, they’re generally good-natured but can try and butt players off the side of cliffs. They drop goat horns, and can be used for milk.

Polar Bear

Beware the polar bear – if it’s white, goodnight! Well, sort of. Baby polar bears mean no harm, but you’ll get chased off by their parents if you get too close. These guys are found in ice-covered biomes, usually near the sea. They can occasionally drop a raw fish, but they have no specific loot.

Bees

Bees for the most part are gentle souls that will leave players alone. They’ll go about their day pollinating nearby flowers and creating honey. However, if you attack a bee, the whole swarm becomes angry. The same goes if their beehive is tampered with. You can place a campfire near them to appease them.

Hostile mobs

Zombie

The most common hostile mob, zombies come out at night and have 20 health points. While they often spawn as they are, they can also spawn randomly with armour or tools, making them more difficult to deal with. Ordinarily, a killed zombie will drop zombie flesh. There’s also a slim chance that they drop an iron ingot, a carrot, or a potato. There’s also a 5% chance that instead of a zombie, a zombie villager can spawn in its place. These can be lured back to villages with a potion or a golden apple.

Creeper

The most iconic enemy in the game, and a bloody nuisance, creepers spawn at night and have a nasty habit of exploding when they get near enough to the player, undoing all your hard work and disassembling all of the nearby blocks. They have twenty health points, and when killed drop between one and three experience points and gunpowder. If killed by a skeleton or a stray, they can drop a music disc, while if killed by a charged creeper, they can drop a creeper head for the player to wear.

Blaze

Found in the Nether Fortress, blaze are a fire-based enemy that has twenty health points. They drop a blaze rod, an essential item in forging a Minecraft end portal, As well as ten experience points.

Skeleton

Skeletons are equipped with a bow, and will attack from a distance. They have twenty health points, and when killed drop bones and arrows, and reward players with five experience points. They also catch fire in sunlight, so if you can keep them occupied until sunrise, you might be safe!

Drowned

Native to the seas in our blocky worlds, the Drowned will attack on sight, and either grab you by the water’s edge or throw tridents. They can drop Nautilus items, so they’re worth chasing down.

Witch

If you find yourself hearing a wicked laugh outside your house at night, it’s probably a Witch. They are very hostile and will lob potions at you from far away while using positive ones on themselves. Witch huts can be found in swamp biomes.

That’s all for now players, but be sure to check back for more updates to this Minecraft mobs guide. If you love Minecraft but want to play with different kinds of blocks, be sure to check out our guide covering the best Lego gaming sets, which include some fantastic Mario and Minecraft sets. Happy building!