From Minecraft Wiki
This article is about damage in Minecraft.
For information on health/hearts, see .
Damage represents injury from attacks or natural causes.
in Minecraft each have a supply of
points, which are reduced when they are injured. The player has 20 () health, but these are measured on a health gauge with 10 hearts. Thus each health point is "1/2 a heart", shown as 1 (). Mobs have varying numbers of health points, but these are not generally visible to players. However, when riding a /donkey/mule/, the player can see their mount's health, and a
health is visible in its tail angle.
Damage from attacks or natural causes will subtract from a player or mob's current health. When their health reaches zero, they . Players can also recover health naturally by being well-fed, or through . Most mobs do not recover health except through magic, but horses and dogs can be healed by feeding them.
will absorb some of the damage that would have been done to its wearer, but will take
itself in the process.
Damage to tools and armor can be viewed in the item's tooltip by pressing the
key combination F3+H.
Health and damage are stored as floating-point numbers in units of half-hearts, i.e. 20 health is represented as 10 full hearts. When displaying the , fractional values are rounded up to the next integer.
Players can deal damage by hitting
or other players with items at close (melee) range. An "unarmed" attack only does 1 () damage, but
and certain tools do more:
are crafted for this purpose. While swords do not extend attack range, they deal significantly more damage than with any other item or tool except axes.
also deal more damage than bare fists. Also, axes deal most damage, but its attack speed is slowest.
Any other item is equivalent to fists and does the same damage. This includes , and hitting something directly with a bow or held arrow.
While falling, melee attacks deal a
(150% of the weapon's damage including potion effects, but before
are applied, rounded down to the nearest hit point).
There are a few ranged weapons in the game:
are shot by holding and releasing right click when wielding a , and deal a certain amount of damage, depending on the "charge" of the bow (see below).
only inflict damage on , while
don't deal damage to mobs. Both still knock mobs back as if they had been damaged.
can be thrown, inflicting various effects depending on the potion.
can be thrown, creating a cloud that inflicts various effects depending on the potion.
don't deal damage to mobs.
cannot be used to damage mobs.
A few items can be used to damage monsters indirectly:
allows the player to light a block on , which causes most players and mobs that touch the fire to be set on fire (some monsters are fireproof, mostly those native to ). Players and mobs that are ignited stay alight until 8 () hit points of damage is dealt, they touch water, or use a fire resistance potion.
Likewise, contact with
also ignites players and mobs.
can be triggered by fire, , or another explosion.
If a mob or player is next to an , the End Crystal can be hit with something and explode, dealing damage.
The below values detail the damage dealt per hit using various weapons. Critical hits can do variable extra damage.
Attack speed
Attack damage
Damage/Second (DPS)
Against a single target, DPS is effectively limited to 2 due to .
Some other items will do damage as well
1 () – 10 ()
1 () per half-second
1 () per second
4 () per half-second
1 () per half-second
59 ( × 29.5)
(explosion)
97 ( × 48.5)
Depending on charge.
The damage will decrease the further it is away from the core of the explosion.
Attack indicator (crosshair), empty and charged
Attack indicator (hotbar), empty and charged
Attacking too quickly will reduce the strength of attacks. The base damage done (as a fraction of the full possible damage) depends on the time between attacks, which is also reflected in the height of the held weapon on screen and the attack indicator bar (which is configurable in the ):
Time (seconds)
The "attackSpeed" attribute controls the length of the cooldown time, with the time taken being T = 1 / attackSpeed * 20 ticks. The damage multiplier is then 0.2 + ((t + 0.5) / T) ** 2 * 0.8, restricted to the range 0.2–1, where t is the number of ticks since the last attack or item switch.
Damage done by enchantments (, , and ) is also reduced, but not as severely (the multiplier is not squared):
Time (seconds)
A critical hit performed on a shorn sheep.
'Critical hits' are attacks that deal extra damage compared to regular attacks. Critical melee strikes, regardless of the weapon used, cause small star particles to fly out of the target who was critically hit. "Critical arrows", which occur when arrows are fired from a fully charged bow, leave a trail of the same small star particles as they fly through the air. Critical hits affect all damageable
including , , ,
In melee, a critical hit occurs when a player attacks a mob while falling, including while coming down from a jump, but not while jumping up. The attack deals 150% of the attack's base damage (before enchantments or armor are applied).
The requirements for a melee critical hit are:
The player must be .
The player must not be on the ground.
The player must not be on a /
The player must not be in .
The player must not be affected by .
The player must not be riding an .
The player must not be .
The base attack must not be reduced to 84.8% damage or lower due to cooldown.
After sustaining damage from any source, a
will turn red in color for 0.5 seconds. During this period, any other incoming damage will not be counted against the mob's total .
For instance, if you attack a mob with a
repeatedly hitting the mouse button, the sword's rate of fire will exceed the mob's allowable rate of incoming damage, and several of the attacks will not damage the mob even if they land. It is recommended to wait for a mob to be hittable again before swinging your sword, making your hits more precise. The tool used won't lose durability after unsuccessful attacks.
However, if a mob or player is recovering from damage and then receives higher damage, it gets counted. Players are also subject to damage immunity.
The damage
deal to players is affected by the
of the game. The below values represent the amount of damage taken per hit.
This only applies to mobs attacking the player. Mobs attacking other mobs (wolves, iron golems, etc.) always deal the 'Normal' damage listed, regardless of difficulty.
Values for the
assume the player is directly adjacent to the explosion.
The damage of
depends on their size. Tiny-sized slimes, while hostile, are unable to do damage directly.
In contrast, the damage for an
just has a large random factor.
Mobs deal no damage on peaceful, apart from the wolf.
Difficulty
's explosion
25 ( × 12.5)
49 ( × 24.5)
73 ( × 36.5)
's explosion
49 ( × 24.5)
97 ( × 48.5)
145 ( × 72.5)
25 ( × 12.5)
26 ( × 13)
50 ( × 25)
75 ( × 37.5)
4 () – 11 ()
7 () – 21 ( × 10.5)
10 () – 31 ( × 15.5)
1 () – 4 ()
1 () – 4 ()
1 () – 5 ()
When receiving damage from a hostile mob you will also be knocked back, and similarly a mob will be knocked back when it is attacked. The resulting disorientation and loss of control should not be underestimated, as it is possible to be knocked back over a cliff or into lava, both of which are potentially fatal. A sprinting attack causes extra knockback. A thrown
also causes knockback, despite not damaging most monsters. Players/Mobs riding an entity (typically a , , , or ) never receive any knockback when attacked.
Besides mob attacks, players can take damage from several other sources in Minecraft.
striking on or near the player will do 5 () damage, which can be reduced with armor ( or not). Lightning strikes on the player are very rare, and only occur during thunderstorms. Mobs/players that get hit by lightning will be set on , but will be quickly put out from the
during a thunderstorm.
Most mobs receive damage when falling from excessive heights.
itself does not reduce fall damage, however the enchantments
do. Some mobs are immune to fall damage: , , , , , , , , , and the .
treat all falls as half the actual distance.
Fall damage is calculated based on distance fallen rather than on velocity when hitting the ground. The distance is accumulated based on change in position each tick and rising does not reduce the accumulator, thus an entity bouncing in mid-air on the end of a
will accumulate fatal amounts of fall distance despite never being more than a few blocks above the ground.
Fall damage is 1 () for each block of fall distance after the third. Thus falling 4 blocks causes 1 () damage, 2 () damage for 5 blocks, 3 () for 6 blocks and so forth. Assuming full health (but no
or relevant ), a 23 block fall should be fatal (23 - 3 = 20 () of damage), but due to the way fall distance is calculated, a 23.5 block fall is required instead.
In some cases, it is possible to avoid falling or otherwise survive a fall.
will prevent the player from falling off a drop of one block or greater.
Entering or being in
(when not in a boat) resets fall distance.
This typically includes falling into water of any depth.
Being in the area of effect of
resets fall distance.
reduces fall distance by half each tick.
Flying using
such that the vertical movement is upwards, level, or less than 0.5 blocks per tick downwards resets fall distance to 1 block.
Moving into a
area of effect reduces fall distance to 0. This also applies to
when acting as a ladder.
Falling onto the top of a ladder will not reset fall distance and counts as hitting the ground.
Horses are unaffected by ladders and vines, and so their fall distance is not reset.
climbing a block count the block as a "ladder" for this purpose.
An entity riding another entity does not accumulate fall distance. However, when the ridden entity takes fall damage it damages all riders for the same fall distance.
fall distance is reset when landing on rails.
do not accumulate fall distance while in water deeper than 1 block.
Teleporting due to a thrown
resets fall distance, however the teleportation itself causes 5 () fall damage to players.
Wearing armor that is
reduces fall damage based on the level of the enchantment.
Having the
status effect reduces the effective fall distance by 1 block per level, e.g. falling 5 blocks with Jump Boost II counts as having fallen only 3.
negate all fall damage, but will send the entity bouncing into the air.
This does not apply to players sneaking.
decrease fall damage to 20% of normal.
The oxygen bar.
When a player runs out of
underwater, they will start drowning and will take approximately 2 ()/sec. Mobs can drown as well, though they usually do not, as all mobs (besides iron golems) attempt to swim upward when in water.
will die in air instead of in water, and
will not drown at all. Withers do drown, but break blocks around them upon taking damage.
can create permanent air bubbles underwater, which can immediately refill the oxygen bar. Placing a torch or using an empty
on a water block creates a temporary air block, which can be used for the same effect.
In Pocket Edition 0.8.0, the player actually has 11 air bubbles but once submerged, the 11th bubble instantly disappears.
As of Pocket Edition 0.16.0, the player can "drown" in lava and while suffocating in a block (the oxygen bar appears); is affected by water breathing potion, however lava or suffocation will usually kill the player before oxygen runs out.[]
The last tick of fall distance isn't added in when calculating fall damage. For certain heights, including 23-block falls, this discrepancy is enough to avoid an entire 1 () of damage.
Damage is taken when air supply value reaches -20. Usually air supply value decreases each tick, and resets to 0, after damaging player.
gives a chance for air supply to not decrease itself per tick. Chance is x/(x + 1), where x is the level of enchantment.
A falling anvil deals 2 () per block fallen after the first (e.g., an anvil that falls 4 blocks will deal 6 () damage). The damage is capped at 40 ( × 20), no matter how far the anvil falls. Wearing a
will reduce the damage by 25%, but this costs
on the helmet.
When a player or mob deals melee or projectile damage to a player or mob that is wearing -enchanted , the attacker will also be damaged. The amount changes with the enchantment level. ( (Level × 15)% chance of inflicting 1 ()–4 () damage, or Level - 10 damage if level is over 10)
Suffocation happens when a player or a mob is unable to breathe because its head is inside of a
. They will lose 1 () every half-second (10 ticks). When inside a block, the player can easily step out of it as the blocks do not prevent their movement.
The player's screen will be a darkened form of the block the player is suffocating in. When the player is in , the view will automatically switch to first person.
The usual ways a mob can get suffocated are:
falling into the space the mob occupies.
Riding a ,
or throwing an
into a one-block-high space.
into a two-block-high space.
Standing where a
just grew from a , or where a
just grew from a .
Standing where an
just spawned after killing the . (is now pre-spawned as of , but does regenerate itself if broken after dragon is summoned or killed)
Standing where an
appeared after killing the dragon.
Having a solid block pushed into the mob's head with a .
Sleeping in a
that is surrounded by blocks and/or has a solid block above it.
Being teleported or filled into a block via .
When playing on a distant server, sometimes broken blocks can reappear because of lag, and if the player moves where the block respawned, it can provoke suffocation (for example, chopping down a tree by moving right below the trunk).
When water and lava meet, and create a , , or
block on the mob's head.
Standing where a
getting into more than 5 blocks. (can be changed with /worldborder damage buffer)
Summoning a mob inside of a block through spawn eggs, commands, or with a golem/wither structure laying down.
The maxEntityCramming
defines a maximum number, above which a player or mob will take 3 () suffocation damage every half-second (10 ticks), as long as that player or mob is pushing greater than that number of other pushable entities. Pushable entities include players, mobs, boats and minecarts.
reaches zero, the player will take 1 () damage every four seconds. The player stops taking starvation damage when the player eats or the health bar drops to 10 () on easy mode or 1 () on normal mode. In
mode, the damage will not stop until the player either dies, or eats something.
Mobs/players take 1 () damage every half-second that they are touching a .
Mobs without
immunity and players take 1 () damage every half sec if they are walking on , this can be avoided by having the
effect, sneaking, or wearing
enchanted .
By far the most dangerous natural occurrence, except for the unlikely case of falling into the void. Players and mobs will take damage from contact with
at a rate of 4 () every half-second, and stay on fire even if they exit it, causing 1 () point per hit for 15 hits or more (15 () total damage) unless extinguished with water.
players when they bite (only on normal and hard difficulty). Eating a , , or drinking/being hit by a
of poison will give the same result. While poisoned, the hearts in the health meter turn from red to an olive green () and the player takes 1 () each 25 ticks (1.25 seconds) until the poison wears off. The poison itself cannot kill the player, but it can reduce them to 1 (), thus leaving them very vulnerable to damage from other sources.
will inflict the
effect with their attacks. (The wither boss's skulls do not inflict the effect on easy difficulty.) This will darken the health bar to , while inflicting damage over time. The effect deals 1 () every 2 seconds (40 ticks) for the wither skeleton's attack (level I), and every second (20 ticks) for the Wither boss's skulls. Unlike poison, withering can kill on any difficulty level, and the darkened healthbar makes it harder to keep track of the damage.
Main article:
If one were to break through the
barrier found at the bottom of worlds, the
can be seen. Players in the Void below height -64 will take damage at a rate of about 4 () per half-second (or 8 () per second). You will usually die from falling in the Void, even in , but the player may be saved by throwing an
before they fall below y = -64. In Pocket Edition, the player will take damage at any negative y value.
Falling into the void in
is more likely, so players must be cautious when entering .
By using / to give yourself regeneration 8+ or instant health you can fall infinitely into the void without dying.
Firework rocket explosions can deal damage to players, mobs and entities.
If a rocket has been crafted with a , its explosion will deal damage within a radius of about 41/2 blocks. At the edge of the radius, it will deal only 1 () damage, but this increases as you get closer until the explosion maxes out at its strongest: 5 () damage at distances of 2 blocks or less.
If a rocket crafted with a firework star is used to provide a speed boost while gliding with , it will explode as it is used, dealing 7 () damage to the player.
Main article:
In-game description
Prerequisites[]
Actual requirements (if different)
Availability
Xbox points earned
Trophy type (PS)
Monster Hunter
Attack and destroy a monster
Time to Strike!
Kill a hostile
or one of the following neutral mobs: enderman, zombie pigman, spider, cave spider.
Sniper Duel
with an arrow from more than 50 meters
Monster Hunter
Use a launched
to kill a , , or a
from 50 or more blocks away, horizontally.
Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit
Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.
The Beginning.
Kill the Wither
The Beginning?
Be within a 100.9×100.9×203.5 cuboid centered on the Wither when it drops the nether star.
Kill a creeper with arrows.
Camoflauge
Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.
'Tis but a scratch
Take 100 damage in a round of a public Battle mini game.
Kill 2 players in a round of a public Battle mini game using a bow and arrow.
Hunger Pain
Kill a player while you are starving in a Battle mini game.
You can now receive fall damage.
You can now only hold your breath underwater for 15 seconds.
Lava now causes damage.
Fall damage is now much harsher.
Mobs and the player now jump back when damage is taken.
Added arrows which cause damage when they hit a player.
Arrows deal more damage.
Before suffocation was implemented, players that were covered by blocks could see through
and . Suffocation was added after Notch discovered that players were abusing this exploit to find underground caves and hollowed carvings. The patch added suffocation damage and made the player unable to see anything when experiencing it. However, variations of this glitch are still possible to perform even in the current version of the game.
mode, eating a
would deal the player 3 ().
Players no longer suffocate when riding in a .
Unarmed damage was increased from 1 () to 2 ().
Unarmed damage was decreased from 2 () to 1 ().
extended the combat system with critical hits,
(for knockback) and .
Hunger system added: Health is no longer restored directly by eating. Instead, it recovers slowly when well-fed, but is lost if starving.
Poison added, which deals damage, until the player or mob's health is 1 ().
Armor no longer prevents certain types of damage.
Sword damage was decreased (a diamond sword went from 5 hearts to 3.5 hearts damage).
Enchantments added, some of which increase damage you deal or decrease damage dealt to you.
The sound of the player taking damage was changed from a masculine "OOF! or UGHH!" sound, to a painful sounding crunch. These were changed to remove the restriction that all avatars have a male voice, regardless of the gender of the character depicted in the skin.
Removed the downwards knockback while drowning.
Explosions damage the player different amounts in different difficulties, and the player doesn't take any damage from explosions on Peaceful.
Mobs no longer shove the player when moving into them.
Mobs can hold weapons, making them deal more damage. Also, the crunching noise from 1.0.0 was changed, sounding more like a slap rather than a bone-breaking punch. The fall damage noise was also changed from a crunch to a dull, thumping noise.
Wither effect added, which deals damage. Unlike poison, withering can kill players or other mobs.
Instead of replacing the barehanded damage (1 ()), swords, shovels, pickaxes and axes now add their damage onto the barehanded damage, which results in all tools doing 1 () more damage than before.
The health bar has a new animation for damage that shows how many hearts are lost. (Not new, merely a revived feature that was lost after 1.2.5).
Added attack cooldown.
Tool damages and cooldowns adjusted.
dealing damage with an axe, pick, or shovel decreases its durability by 2.
Tool damages and cooldowns adjusted again.
Added sounds for critical hits, fully-charged and not-fully-charged attacks, blocked attacks, sweep attacks and dealing knockback.
Cooldown damage reduction formula adjusted, reduction is now linear 50%–100% rather than quadratic 0%–100%.
Cooldown damage reduction formula adjusted again, reduction is now quadratic 20%–100%.
mode and , making damage possible.
Added critical hits.
Punch damage is now added to damage from , , , and .
Critical hits now have more particles.
Critical hits can be done while reflecting a
fireball, but won't change the damage or speed of it.
mode, attacking a mob while flying after having descended will score a critical hit.
Quitting the game will reset the fall damage that will be dealt to the player.
Maximum damage dealable by player in survival is 35 HP: 9 from a stone, iron, or diamond axe + 6 from
II, all × 1.5 with critical, + 12.5 damage from Smite V on an undead target or Bane of Arthropods V on an arthropod. The maximum on a non-undead non-arthropod target is only 25.5 HP: 9 from a stone, iron, or diamond axe + 6 from
II, all × 1.5 with critical, + 3 damage from Sharpness V. A full set of Protection IV diamond armor would reduce the 25.5 damage to 4.1769.
With all possible reductions to fall damage currently available in survival (landing on a ,
IV on other armor pieces, and
II from a ) the maximum height the player can fall while surviving without absorption is a little over 800 blocks.
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