Talk:Spawn/Archive 1

Protected area
On my server(mc1.2.3 craftbukkit2377)the spawn area isn't protected for the whole map height, just around ground level. Either craftbukkit or the current article is wrong here.

Multiplayer Spawn
The article notes a 13 tile border, but later states the total protected area is 33x33. If there were a 13 block border around a 20x20 space this would give a protected area of 46x46, or with a 33x33 protected area the border would only be 6.5 tiles. Which number is wrong? --sirdrault 17:38, 14 March 2011 (CST)
 * I've never played multiplayer but a 6.5-block border would be kinda awkward. I'm going to assume the editor forgot he needed to add 13 twice. Alphap 22:09, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

As of 1.5_01, I can confirm that the protected area around the spawn is indeed 33x33. Additionally, there is a bug that allows you to place a block inside the protected zone when you're not an op: Place a block against a block that is outside the zone, and it is allowed. --coldelectrons

Spawn block
Is there an actual spawn block or do you spawn inbetween blocks? When I used the Compass, it would point in between 4 blocks instead of right in the center of one, but I cannot be sure based on this --Kris159 18:11, 16 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Based on where you stand after a spawn, there is an actual spawn point. The compass points to the northwest corner of your spawn block. I don't intend to sound catty, but that information is on the compass page which you linked to! JohnnyMadhouse 16:53, 16 November 2010 (CST)
 * Whoops, I didn't notice that bit when I read it. Northeast corner, do you mean >.< --Kris159 14:50, 18 November 2010 (CST)

Can mobs spawn areas that I build?
So basicly, that's my question. If I build my self a fortress and I leave it unlit and unguarded, will eventually mobs spawn into it and infest it, if I stay inside the boundaries that they can spawn? Vvp 21:00, 17 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah. Those bad creatures will spawn any where that is unlit. --Scykei 02:11, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

One exception. If the ENTIRE floor is made of glass, or half-blocks (slabs/steps), baddies will not spawn :) Calinou 19:48, 23 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Which is a big waste of time. Torches work a lot better. Lol R ocĸetor talk  20:22, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

x=0,y=0,z=0?
What does this mean? If I look at a level.dat using LolEditor it says the Y spawn point is 64, and the X and Z ones are pretty much random. Is the 0,0,0 thing a hangover from a previous version of Minecraft and no longer correct? --DannyF1966 15:29, 24 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Those are your coordinates, Y=How high you are, between 0 and 5 is bedrock. X and Z are the length and with coordinates. You can see those when you press F3 (No mod needed).--Jippiedoe 21:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Up through Minecraft 1.7beta, the spawn was always near (0,y,0) where the Y coordinate is based on the terrain at those X,Z coordinates. This no longer seems to be true as of 1.8beta, where I've seen spawn zones at (1200,y,1500). This behavior seems to continue on new maps that Minecraft 1.0.0 is created. ~Bob/Paul~


 * I don't find this any more with 1.0.0, I can seed the same world and get the same spawn location each time. Is this expected/understood? Pureferret 08:33, 14 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes. 78.105.8.153 11:42, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Spawn on Sand?
Can anyone confirm this? I spawn on dirt and stone all the time. Dragon of Fate 15:50, 15 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Update I'm in the process of testing it. Hopefully I'll finish this weekend. Pludrpladr 22:09 3 Febuary 2011 (CET)
 * Can this be confirmed? What were the results of this test? (If no-one responds in an hour, I'll check myself.) Darkid 23:40, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

In Single player, you always spawn in sand, this sand may be underground.. You may spawn underground then, rarely. In multiplayer, you can spawn on any block. You may find yourself in 1 block water depth (not 2 or more), or even on a tree. Calinou 22:49, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

I can confirm that this is false in 1.3. You sometimes spawn on grass. --Euryleia 16:51, 24 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Are there any other possible spawn locations? Stone, etc? Diamond, for obvious reasons, is (probably) not spawnable upon. Maybe with the right map, though. Darkid 20:18, 24 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Game only attempts to spawn you near sea level, don't expect to see diamond at spawn. Calinou 22:49, 24 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Well it's possible to be above a massive cave system, right? Surface caves and all? And spawn moves vertically by default, I believe. Might take some reverse-engineering of the randomness. Darkid 00:01, 25 March 2011 (UTC)


 * In the seed 'gargamel' you spawn on stone underground in a cave system. Hwever most worlds spawn on sand. I hate that! Now I can't spawn inside me house. R ocĸetor talk  20:25, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

the ultimate paradise
i found this awesome island but it was extremely far away from my spawn point and after a while (as normal) i died and i could not remember where that island was it was chock full of diamond and steel. do you think that there will ever be a way to make a movable spawn area in-game.


 * Yes, it's speculated beds will be them.--Jippiedoe 21:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * It's nearly here: 1.4!Darkid 00:18, 25 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes! I can't wait for it! R ocĸetor talk  20:26, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Enemy Mobs

 * Have not been able to spawn on Sandstone. Can someone else confirm my finding? If this is the case, it's the first opaque block that mobs will not spawn on. - Goose 19:06, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

That could be the reason my loot generator isn't working... I'll try what happens if I use cobblestone floors.--Jippiedoe 21:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Actually, I built my house out of sandstone and monsters spawn up there, as I have not lit it. I am not sure they are spawning on the dirt up there or the sandstone. Stinkbug22 20:17, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Monsters (aggressive) spawn on everything except half blocks (slabs) and glass/ice and mid-air. This has already been proven. NB: I tried it myself. Kay, hope I solved this. R ocĸetor talk  20:21, 28 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Why is it like this anyway? slabs still are non-opaque blocks, therefore, mobs should technically be able to spawn inside of them. Whats special about slabs that stairs do not have? --83.79.58.84 10:59, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Top of the Map
I have not seen neutral or hostile mobs spawn on blocks (grass and dirt specifically) at the upper limit of the map in Beta 1.3_01 Multiplayer. Can anyone confirm this for dirt or other blocks? Islandre 00:01 13 March 2011 (GMT)
 * This may be due to the algorythm of spawning based on layers... It's possible notch never added an upper bound to the algorithm, meaning that at levels of ~100 mobs require light level <0 to spawn.

I thought he removed that... --Jippiedoe 21:27, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

I thought it might have been because the space above the top blocks isn't in a chunk? In the Mob Spawning Science external link it says "Individual Spawn Loop: 8) Check that current L(i) is unoccupied, has spawnable ground below, and an empty space above. 9) If check fails, get next L(i) and go back to 8)."

Is the empty space above the top blocks empty spaces (blocks) or is it just space? Also this article is quite old, not sure if this is still how things work. Islandre 18:04 23 March 2011 (GMT)

They can't at layer 127-128, top of the map... Calinou 19:53, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Monsters and Peaceful
In the Difficulty section of this wiki, it says that Monsters CAN spawn on peaceful, although they shall be removed immediately. In this page, it says that monsters CANNOT spawn on peaceful. The wiki is contradicting itself. If I get more support I'll change whichever one, or someone else may. Stinkbug22 20:16, 28 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Monsters (aggressive) DO spawn on Peaceful, and that is a fact. However, they are all removed instantaneously from the game, EXCEPT Slimes. In The Nether, Zombie Pigmen and Ghasts DO spawn, but they are instantaneously removed as well. Hope this helped. R ocĸetor talk  20:18, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

The code has been modified so you won't see ghost mobs or sounds, in 1.2_01.

You can be shot by a skeleton arrow in peaceful before the skeleton from the mob spawner despawns. You won't get hurt. HotdogPi Come to my page! 02:08, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Updated Spawning Science?
The info in this page, as well as the external link, point to the old mob spawning science thread, which states at the very top of the OP that it refers to how spawning science worked prior to the Halloween update. I remember seeing a newer thread on the forum, but I can't seem to find it. Anyone subscribed to it or able to remember the thread title? >.< Genshou 17:33, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

OP and others discuss the updates later in the same thread. Not sure if it's fully up to date now. Islandre 23:52, 18 April 2011 (GMT)
 * Here is the thread I found: http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=1020&t=117374
 * On pg. 2 are some density maps that show spawning/despawning over a 10-hour (36,384 second) period on a flat map. There's another thread I read that has a bit more scientific explanation of exactly how mob spawning is sorted procedurally: http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=1020&t=147976


 * I think the spawning page could use some updates, since it's been out of date as of Halloween. If I don't get to it early on in this upcoming week, feel free to remind me via my user talk page ;D (Genshou 05:35, 15 May 2011 (UTC))

Mobs in caves
Mobs spawn in the 144 x 144 area around the player, but what about the height? If the player is on the surface, will monsters spawn in the caves underground? Does it matter how deep (or high) they are? --Joshua Issac 04:37, 26 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Pretty sure it doesn't. Mobs seem to spawn at all altitudes within that 144x144 area. - Alphap T ~ C 05:25, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Spawn Point Changed
I have a second base very far from my first that I reached without generating the chunks in between by travelling through the Nether. I rested in a bed in this second base, then moved the bed and died. I spawned in a new location near this second base instead of my original spawn point near the first base.
 * Since Minecraft 1.0.0 and later versions I have noticed that if I've spawned in an ocean and die, whether it be by drowning or other means, that Minecraft will attempt to relocate my spawn point. I'm therefore of the opinion that there is code in the respawning section that is run if the player is not in a viable location, and which will attempt to relocate the player if the location they died at is not a landmass.  I've had this happen a couple of times now and it seems that if I load the map into a world editor such as MCEdit, there will be tracks of chunks leading to where Minecraft found a viable landmass or failed to find a new viable landmass.  Minecraft appears to repeatedly recalculate your spawn point on death if it is not a viable location, as I have had this happen on an ocean world twice in a row, with the third location I was at finally yielding an island with some trees on it.  I respawned twice on this particular seed after drowning both times, and would like to know if anyone else can confirm this behaviour.121.222.5.87 12:40, 27 November 2011 (UTC)BrickVoid

On my server, spawn points seem to have changed, but it's often the opposite. Originally, users spawned on land, but now they spawn in the middle of an ocean some distance away. So I don't think Minecraft is trying to find a viable location. I think it's just changing in some fashion I don't understand due to yet another bug. 107.3.158.183 17:29, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Interesting you should note that it's happening in SMP, or multiplayer. My experiences have been with SSP or survival single player mode, I'm therefore adding this comment to reflect that.101.162.19.6 23:37, 10 December 2011 (UTC)BrickVoid

I have experiences similar behaviour on my smp server where I (on world creation, 1.2.3) spawned in the spawn box but new players, now about a week later, spawn quite a distance away in the middle of an ocean. The spawn box remains untouched, open and very much viable. 11:38, 8 March 2012 (UTC)vglocus

Passive mob limit
I think the limit is higher than 15. Reasoning being that you can have a pack of up to 20 wolves before monster spawning stops. Nosrepa 03:20, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

I think the limit is around 30 personally, at least in SMP. I tried the //butcher command many times (I said this above maybe :P), it says "Killed 26 mobs." Sometimes 27 or 28. Unfortunately I can't read the code. C ali nou - talk × contribs » 08:04, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

I talked to tramsam in IRC and he said the limit is still 15, but that squids do not count towards that limit. There also could be an exception for chickens, as you can spawn those yourself via eggs Nosrepa 05:57, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

sunlight needed?
Passive mobs spawn on grass blocks with light level >9, right? Does that light HAVE to be from the sun, or can passive mobs spawn inside buildings if there is grass and light? And if it DOES need to be open to the sun, do glass roofs count?Wandergirl108 03:12, 22 June 2011 (UTC)
 * It does not need to be sunlight. A light from torches, glowstone, burning netherrack is fine. --MiiNiPaa 06:22, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Spawn sphere or box?
Do mobs not spawn/despawn in a box shape or a sphere shape around you (ie, spawn outside of a 24x24x24 box or outside of a radius 24 sphere)? The answer to this should be added to the article. -speaker


 * Mobs spawn within a sphere around the player, not a box. 「 ダイノ ガイ 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 00:09, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

Air or non-colidable?
Can mobs only spawn in air blocks that are truely empty, or can they spawn in non colidable blocks like ladders or redstone dust? J N Cressey 14:18, 30 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Dunno, no idea... Should be tested, I will if I happen to have enough time soon... | TheKax |   Talk   15:42, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
 * They can spawn above both redstone dust and pressure plates. I'm not sure about fences and ladders and the like, though I don't see why it'd be any different for those. 「 ダイノ ガイ 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 21:05, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Clarification on mobs spawning?
"Enemy mobs can spawn on any fully-opaque cube block with a light level of less than 7. [snip] They require a 2 block head room to spawn, although making the room higher and bigger increases their likelihood of spawning."

I've confirmed that slimes spawn in 1x1x1 areas, but they're rather glitchy in areas smaller than 3-4 blocks high (their bouncing makes them get stuck in the ceiling and jerk around a lot.) However, I'm confused by the definition of head room and opacity.

Specifically, as long as the block itself is solid that they spawn on, and there is adequate headroom, will water, signs, etc. affect mob spawning? They're considered transparent blocks, so would they count as "head room"?

Essentially, is it possible to make a completely submerged chamber that mobs will spawn inside of (and properly drown?) Or is water not considered transparent enough for them to spawn inside?

Also curious about how making a room higher increases spawn rate. For example, just to get the maximum number of mobs, wouldn't a series of x*4*z rooms stacked on top of each other (say, 10 such rooms) generate more mobs than a single x*40*z room? Mitschu 11:34, 31 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Mobs have to have opaque blocks to spawn on, but other, non-opaque blocks can be on top of them as long as they are non-solid (e.g. redstone or pressure plates), with the exception of liquids. I'm not sure about forcing the liquid to be suspended one block above the opaque floor (e.g. by having pressure plates, signs, etc. directly on the floor and then the liquid on the pressure plates, signs, etc.), or having solid, non-opaque blocks (such as stairs or glass blocks) one block above the floor (having the floor, and one layer of empty or non-solid blocks, and then the solid, non-opaque blocks), but non-opaque, non-solid, non-liquid blocks shouldn't affect spawning AFAIK.
 * Headroom just refers to the total empty space above the floor. Since tall mobs are two blocks high (maybe a bit less, not that it matters), they require a space of at least two blocks between the floor and ceiling (these blocks can be totally empty, or have non-solid blocks) to spawn in. Slimes are the exception to this, since, as you noted, they can spawn in a 1x1x1-block space, though it causes trouble for them. Slimes can actually suffocate after spawning if the area isn't tall enough for that size slime.
 * I have no idea how room height is supposed to relate to mob spawn rate, or whether multiple, smaller rooms are better than one larger room. AFAIK, the best way to up the spawn rate in a mob spawner is to light up caves in the area (and the surface, if you're that devoted to improving the spawner's performance) - this is guaranteed to work, and quantifiably so, unlike increasing the size of the mob spawner. 「 ダイノ ガイ 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 03:41, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Slimes need two non-opaque blocks on top of an opaque block to spawn, just like all other mobs (except squid). What's unique about slimes is that no collision check is done after checking the blocks. Other mobs need the three blocks and no collision. Slimes just need the blocks. This is why they can spawn inside solid objects in some cases. Slimes can't spawn in a 1x1x1 space, unless the block above is non-opaque, like glass. --Last username 11:19, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

NO Animals Mod?
Okay, this technically isn't a mod, but I was wondering if not updating can result in NOTHING spawning, anywhere, day or night (with the exceptions of tame wolves respawning nearby and monster spawners spewing monsters)? 'Cuz that's been happening in my world a lot lately, and I want to know if it has something to do with the fact that I haven't updated from 1.6.5 or if it's a glitch caused by something else. It gets fixed if I exit and re-enter my world, but it tends to happen again after a while, and it seems like it's taking less and less time to do so. Any ideas? Wandergirl108 10:26, 2 August 2011 (UTC)


 * That doesn't sound like an update issue. There is a cap on the limit of peaceful mobs, so if there is an area where they are gathered it can prevent animals from spawning in other places.  Exiting and re-entering resets the spawns (or so I think - I could be wrong), and so allows more to spawn.  That could be the issue you are having.  Verhalthur (talk)(contribs) 13:59, 2 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Tamed Wolves count as "peaceful" animals and will prevent other animals from spawning. Since there can only be ~15 peaceful animals up at once (I believe), you don't need many wolves to screw up spawning.  --Warlock 14:20, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Okay, first of all, I have ONE wolf, and second of all, MONSTERS AREN'T SPAWNING EITHER! And I press F3 to check for mob ID #'s, and I come up with zilch, except for my ONE wolf, squid, and monsters that are coming out of monster spawners if there are any. Whew...sorry about the confusion; I was trying to make an interesting title based on an allusion to the Mo' Animals Mod...my bad... Wandergirl108 17:19, 2 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Squids count as passive mobs too and sometimes don't despawn (at least in multiplayer). Go kill some and see if animals start spawning maybe? --Warlock 17:40, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Oh, for...MONSTERS AREN'T SPAWNING EITHER!!!!!!!!! There are NO hostile mobs ANYWHERE when this happens!!!! And I am NOT playing on peaceful!!!Wandergirl108 08:30, 3 August 2011 (UTC)


 * If you have a completely unmodified 1.6.5, I can try to replicate the issue if you post a save. I'm actually kind of curious as to why this is happening.  Verhalthur (talk)(contribs) 13:16, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

Yes, my world is completely unedited, but I don't know how to post a save...that, and it's technically not my account... :3 Wandergirl108 18:55, 3 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Don't worry about the account thing, that shouldn't affect uploading the save.
 * To upload the save, open up a Windows Explorer window and type without the quotes "%appdata%" and you should see a folder called ".minecraft" There will be a "saves" folder which should contain the folder of the save itself. Once you've determined which folder is the right one by the name, you can make a .zip folder and drag the save into it.
 * Then, just upload that with a filesharing site, and you should be set! Verhalthur (talk)(contribs) 19:05, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

I'm actually really not comfortable sharing my world; however, I think I may know what's going on. I'm not sure if this is the ROOT cause of the problem, but...well, you see, I'm trying to build a fast minecart track to the Far Lands that's 10% powered rail, and whenever I go to one end of it or the other (and thus cause the used memory space to go way past 50%), everything stops spawning. So I figure, maybe stuff just stops spawning when the used memory space exceeds a certain percentage. Does that sound likely?Wandergirl108 16:34, 4 August 2011 (UTC) Also, I just found a dungeon while this was happening - the spiders spawned like normal, but I checked the ID #'s, and they weren't in sequence, just like they wouldn't be normally. That tells me that Minecraft THINKS it's still generating mobs when this happens, even though it's not. So, maybe it's an overload thing?Wandergirl108 17:25, 4 August 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't know if any of you watch Etho's Lab, but he's experienced the same issue. It happens for him if he spends too long in the same region (512x512-block area), and is fixed by travelling well outside that region (so that all of its chunks are unloaded from memory) and allowing mobs to spawn in the other region for a while. This assumes, of course, that mobs aren't spawning for you and you're not leaving the region you're in; if you aren't getting any mob spawning, regardless of where/how far you go or how long you wait, you've got something else going on and I don't know how to help.
 * (before you ask, you can find region boundaries by finding multiples of 512 in the X and Z coordinates (so, for example, (0,0) is a region corner, as are (0,512), (512,0), (0,-512), and (-512,0), and so on). 「 ダイノ ガイ 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 20:56, 4 August 2011 (UTC)


 * I have a similar issue. No passive mobs spawning and I only play vanilla (no mods). I think this is preparation for animal persistence but I'm not sure. --AntonImaus 11:59, 5 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Post a save for us to replicate. And also, try to delete your "version"-file (maybe minecraft.jar too) and let the launcher redownload it, that may fix it. | TheKax |   Talk   13:14, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

1.8 rewrite?
Does this whole article need to be rewriten? In 1.8 passive mobs no longer spawn like they used to. They only spawn when the chunk is generated. They also never despawn and they also never respawn after being killed. At least this is what I've experienced while playing. I don't know the exact details, so I'm hesitant to edit the article myself. Rolen47 01:34, 18 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Also, the spawn point is now often hundreds and of meters away from (0,y,0). I think much of this information is dated. ~Bob/Paul~

After watching | this video it looks like animals do respawn, but VERY rarely. Rolen47 01:21, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

They respawn if there are fewer than 15. HotdogPi Come to my page! 02:08, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

animal in my base
i have a big problem with animals in my base and they are getting worse it started as 2 or 3 animal then i killed them and now i have 20-30 animals running wild in my base i just let them be because there are to many to kill but how can i stop this?
 * Too many to kill? never! 78.105.8.153 12:40, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

animal spawning
i have been trying to make an animal spawning in my house. it is all green grass and at level 4 but there are no animals. i am using the most recent update which is 1.0.0. can someone please explain

I'm having the same problem i have a green grass room that's relatively large and no matter if I come back from mining or just sitting in it nothing spawns in it, My room is within 10 blocks of the surface


 * Animal spawn changed between 1.7.3 and 1.8. Now animals spawn when the chunk is generated, and respawn very, very slowly, and they do not despawn anymore. To get more animals, you need to breed them. --Gil2455526 19:05, 27 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the help, i managed to open up my underground place and Fished some pigs in and currently breeding more, that's nice to know they don't despawn anymore--72.224.235.189 21:26, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Despawning of monsters on peaceful difficulty
The despawn section contains the text “All hostile mobs in a world will despawn if the difficulty is set to peaceful, regardless as to where the player is positioned in the world.”. I find this highly improbable since despawning all monsters everywhere in the world would require loading every single chunk and searching it for monsters, which would take significant time in a very large world. It seems much more likely that monsters in loaded chunks are despawned instantly if the difficulty is set to peaceful, meaning that if you set the difficulty to peaceful and then back to non-peaceful, already-spawned monsters in a very far-away chunk might remain rather than being despawned. Can anyone confirm?


 * Good question. But it will be hard to test this because monsters will probably despawn before you can get far enough for their chunk to unload. And I don't even know exactly what makes a chunk unload. But there used to be a bug that caused monsters to spawn in unloaded chunks and switching to peaceful didn't fix it, so your theory is probably correct. Last username 16:57, 30 December 2011 (UTC)


 * You could test it with some sort of teleportation mechanism, whether that's from a mod or using vanilla multiplayer server's tp command, to get yourself a long way away from the monsters very quickly. Hawk777 01:01, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Animal spawn
I have made a world where im on am island and i have got lots of wood and lots of resources but i want pigs, sheep, etc. i dont know how to exactly spawn them without mods witch i don't know how to download i have placed torches all over the island but no animals have spawned yet can you help me? P.S: the seed for the world is called swanlake if you want to use it for 1.0.0 does anyone how to spawn animals on the island?
 * Hack in a mob spawner, or lure the nearest animals you can find with wheat and then breed them there. 78.105.8.153 01:43, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Mob limits
According to this article, the mob limit is around 79 mobs in single player (agressive mobs).

By now we've seen plenty of mob trap videos showing hundreds of mobs.

What are the actual limits as of 1.1 / 1.2?


 * Mob spawners ignore the mob limit (though they have distance-based limits of their own); be sure that the videos showing so many mobs aren't systems with spawners at their core. 「 ディノ 奴 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 06:48, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

High Altitude Spawn - no mobs at all!
Started building a high altitude mob farm in 1.2.3 single player "Survival" with sign edged slots to kill by falling (was after pearls). Stone Box with floor slots, each floor 3 blocks high. Farm is in the middle of a large sea and the roof of the upper floor is a couple of blocks below alt max at about 240 ish. No spawns. Not one. Not even Spiders. Even at night in "Hard". Floors are fairly small and unlit about 30x30 with three slots each slot two blocks wide; I was expecting vast swarms of mobs as there's no other spawnable places within 140 but it's absolutely deserted, quiet as the grave. Quite spooky realy. Any Ideas? Area was explored at 1.2 but the farm was built under 1.2.3. The slots in the floor let in some light during the day but it's as black as the inside of a witches hat during the night. I've tried waiting at ground level, at a 20 blocks below the farm, in the farm and on the roof but not a single mob has spawned. What's the problem?


 * Mobs don't spawn above level 240; this is a bug and will probably be fixed at some point. 「 ディノ 奴 千？！ 」? · ☎ Dinoguy1000 20:30, 11 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Cheers my dears.82.17.130.88 22:19, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Passive mob spawn rarity
Exactly how rare do passive mobs spawn in previously generated chunks? Also, do you have to reload the chunks (Going far away and back) for them to spawn or can you just stand there waiting?--108.76.103.35 16:40, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

If there are fewer than 15 passive mobs, they will respawn at 1/400 the rate of hostile mobs. HotdogPi Come to my page! 02:08, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Conflicting info on spawn behaviour of squids
The page states: "Animals do not spawn in desert or ocean biomes, with the exception of squid, which spawn exclusively in ocean biomes."

However, the page for squid states: "Spawn: 1 or more blocks of water, any light level, spawning block must be between level 45 and 62, inclusive" (and several other lines to the same effect)

Clearly, one of these has to be wrong. Perhaps one could correct whatever is wrong? 217.82.80.172 19:56, 25 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Squid can potentially spawn in most Overworld biomes. -- Orthotope 00:17, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Passive Mob Trap + No supply of Farm Animals
I was thinking about making a Farm Animal Mob trap but I heard rumors that Passive mobs dont spawn anymore. I have no clue how I'm going to make this or get unlimited Passive mobs for it. How would I do this without killing all the passive mobs? ~Dcat

Squid Spawning?
This article mentioned nothing about squids re-spawning or not in the ocean. Trying to get a Squid trap in order I remembered that Passive mobs don't spawn which would be a problem for the squid trap to. Do squids re-spawn in the ocean? ~Dcat
 * Squid spawn differently to the other passive mobs; I've seen squid spawn all the time, even in very small bodies of water. 78.105.8.153 01:39, 6 April 2012 (UTC)


 * In the code, squid are a third type of mob. HotdogPi ⑬㊲ 22:28, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Spawning on pressure plates
I've read that mobs can spawn on top of pressure plates, which is good for my purposes as I've built a mob farm with a canal system and a 50 x 50 spawning floor similar to the one found at Tutorials/Mob Farm, and I'm planning on adding a system of pressure plates and doors to funnel the mobs towards the edge of each spawning section and into the canals to improve its efficiency.

The problem is, can mobs spawn in a 2-high area where there's a pressure plate on the floor? I've tried testing this in creative mode with zombie eggs and when I put them on the pressure plate, the zombie spawns as if the pressure plate fills the entire bottom block and has its head stuck in the ceiling, before falling to the bottom of the pressure plate. Will this problem stop zombies spawning in survival mode in that situation?

Thanks for any help. 78.105.8.153 10:44, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Contradiction on light level to spawn hostile mobs
In the mob spawning section it says "If it's a hostile mob in the overworld, then... the light level of the spawning block must be 8 or darker, and more light increases the chance that the spawn will fail". This contradicts the page on Mobs (see current mobs->hostile mobs), which states that they "require a light level of 7 or less to spawn". Which one is it? 7 or 8?. I have always believed it to be 7 but I'm unsure as to whether things have changed with regards to this over the past few updates. Either way, one of these has to change. --Munton 19:30, 8 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I myself have an 18x18 area with a solid jack-o-lantern ceiling, 8 blocks up, so that the floor is lit evenly to level 8 light, I've checked this with the debug screen, f3. I did this so I would have nice dim light for mushrooms, but without mobs.  However I regularly get tons of mobs, spawning all over in that room, as if it were too dimly lit.  This room is the only place I know of where level 8 light permits spawning; it leads me to think the conventional wisdom must be wrong somehow, however no other area in my game at level 8 will spawn mobs, so I am at a loss. --71.174.58.56 03:39, 10 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Mobs spawn at light level 7 or lower. A Jack-o-lantern ceiling (luminance 15) with eight air blocks below will create a light level of 7 at the floor, not 8. F3 will show the light level at the eye level not the feet level. Remember to adjust for this (either add or subtract one depending on where the light source is relative to the avatar's feet). -Aurelius 22:43, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Mobs not spawning within a certain distance
This paged used to contain information about the minimum distance from the player at which mobs can spawn. The information is available in the image, but it would be good to have it available in text somewhere.LaserCucumber 06:31, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Cap Clarification
One thing I'm not clear on from the caps section is whether the cap is an absolute maximum in SMP or a local maximum. For example, in a 100 person server say the cap is 25; does this mean that no hostile mobs will spawn if there are 25 mobs within 128 blocks of all players cumulatively? To further explain, if person 1 is at coords (5000,5000) (x,z) and person 2 is at coords (-5000,-5000), and both have mob spawner that has accumulated 100 mobs each, would person 3 derping around on the surface at night at coords (5000,-5000) see no mob hostile mob spawns? Or does the cap apply to each of their 128-block "spheres of spawning" individually and our friend person 3 still has the nightly beasties to contend with? (...that felt way too much like a grade school word problem...) Lyos 11:41, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Cap Clarification
One thing I'm not clear on from the caps section is whether the cap is an absolute maximum in SMP or a local maximum. For example, in a 100 person server say the cap is 25; does this mean that no hostile mobs will spawn if there are 25 mobs within 128 blocks of all players cumulatively? To further explain, if person 1 is at coords (5000,5000) (x,z) and person 2 is at coords (-5000,-5000), and both have mob spawner that has accumulated 100 mobs each, would person 3 derping around on the surface at night at coords (5000,-5000) see no mob hostile mob spawns? Or does the cap apply to each of their 128-block "spheres of spawning" individually and our friend person 3 still has the nightly beasties to contend with? (...that felt way too much like a grade school word problem...) Lyos 11:41, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
 * The cap is an absolute maximum. player 1 and player 2's mob spawners would prevent monsters from spawning anywhere else. The mob spawners would continue spawning because they ignore the spawn cap.Terzake 12:04, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

spawn
hvordan spawnner man survival når du er på creative?
 * Assuming I understand, spawners work in both survival and creative. However, you can't obtain them in either without the /give command. But this page is for natural spawning, not spawners. HotdogPi ⑬㊲ 22:28, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Small/Medium Slimes spawning on peaceful (xbox version)
I'm not sure if it a lack of update or not but I have had occurances of small/medium slimes spawn while spelunking on peaceful mode. In the spawn calculations it talks about how small/medium slimes do go through a calculation process but it it ignored since you are on peaceful. I just wanted to state that I have seen spawns of slimes on peaceful but it is rather rare. I know xbox is only operating at 1.8 ish so I have a feeling that this is just a bug that got later patched. Regardless I just wanted to contribute my findings.

Villagers?
No word is lost about them in the whole article. How does their spawning work in detail? --Mikosch 19:17, 24 August 2012 (UTC)


 * They spawn with terrain generation and they breed. This page is mostly about standard spawning. 31.53.173.83 20:37, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Squid in lava?
Under the squid spawning conditions it says: "the spawning block must contain liquid (water or lava)" Wouldn't this mean that they could spawn in lava pools in shallow cave systems, in which they would burn to death? I have played Minecraft since squid were introduced and have never seen any squid (burning or otherwise) in lava. 124.171.77.31 00:47, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Strange Witch spawning
I found 3 witches outside a desert temple at night. I thought they only spawn in huts. I have no clue whats going on. Help please? Cmalol70.192.140.121 00:20, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Desert temples, jungle temples, and swamp huts are the same in the code. If it's on the edge of a swamp and a desert, that can happen. HotdogPi ⑬㊲ 22:28, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Mob Despawn "Half-Life"
"A mob that has had no player within 32 blocks of it for more than 30 seconds has a 1 in 800 chance of despawning on each game tick (1/20th of a second). Therefore, the half-life of monsters not within 32 blocks of a player is 27.73 seconds."

This isn't how it works, half-life is based on a static 'loss' over time,  not random possibilities over time. Who comes up with this crap. Every tick is equal to the last in terms of chance, 1:800, this doesn't change over time. –Preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.42.221.147 (Talk) 21:06, 13 November 2012 (UTC). Please sign your posts with


 * On the contrary, that is exactly how it works. Just like radioactive atoms, the collection of many small chances over many small periods of time combines into a larger chance over a larger period of time.  A half-life is simply the period over which the total chance is 50%.  And no, unstable atoms do not have timers or a predictable lifetime. --Mental Mouse 21:39, 13 November 2012 (UTC)


 * No, no, no. Sounds like you understand neither probability nor half-life.  Half-life is most commonly used as an expression of EXPONENTIAL DECAY.  For a start there's no decay here, just a probability that a mob will have despawned after x seconds.  This probability increases predictably with x.  When used to express LINEAR or NON-EXPONENTIAL DECAY, half-life is determined by the initial quantity, i.e. quantity at T0, and also varies with time.  Any good physics or chemistry textbook will tell you this.


 * And anyway, how is providing this 'half-life' figure, with neither supporting calculation nor interpretation, useful to the reader? Surely it would be better to say something along the lines of a mob having an approximately 50% chance of despawning after 50s, and will likely have despawned after 70s. –Preceding unsigned comment was added by 78.105.127.157 (Talk) 16:51, 14 November 2012‎ (UTC). Please sign your posts with


 * You may want to check your textbooks again; the mathematics here is correct. If you start with a given quantity of objects (mobs, atoms, whatever) and remove 1/800 of them on every fixed time interval (e.g., tick), the result is exponential decay with a half-life of 555 times the time interval (555 * 1/20 = 27.73 seconds). To have linear decay, there would need to be a fixed limit on how many mobs can despawn per tick, which there isn't. How useful this number is to anyone, on the other hand, is a valid question. -- Orthotope 06:25, 15 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I stand fully behind my previous reply. You say "remove 1/800 of them on every fixed time interval".  This is not correct.  We are not removing 1/800 of them every tick, we are giving each mob a 1 in 800 probability that it will be despawned.  There is a huge difference.  Zero may be despawned.  All may be despawned.  You could calculate a value analogous to the concept of "half-life" only if exactly one in every 800 mobs is despawned per tick.


 * A half-life time of 27.73 seconds would cause a sample of size 800 to decay to size 1 in 267.42s. That's nearly four and a half minutes.  Does that sound right to you, based on a despawn probability of 1/800 per tick?  In fact, taking a sample size of 800 decaying to 1 over 799 ticks (as, of course, you know that half-life decay cannot reduce a volume to zero; an amount always remains, no matter how infinitesimal), half-life is 82.85 ticks, or 4.14s.


 * You know the words but not what they actually mean. The idea of half-life is based on large populations.  If you have, say, 1E20 atoms, and each has a 1 in 800 chance of decaying in 1/20 seconds, then after 1/20 seconds, you will have 9.99875E19 atoms.  After 1 second, there will be ~ 9.753E19 atoms -- note that the loss does not add linearly (you didn't lose quite 1/40 of the atoms), because an atom can't decay twice.  That's where exponential decay comes from.


 * The same principle applies if you have 1E3 (that is, 1000) items instead of 1E20, but statistical fluctuations become more important -- in a given (early) second, you might lose a one or two more or less than 5 items, but over time, the average of the numbers will start at 5, dropping toward 4 and beyond. It also applies whether the items are atoms that might decay, or monsters that might despawn.  If you have just 10 items, then the fluctuations dominate, and the half-life becomes a matter of odds rather than numbers.  That is why the half-life isn't terribly useful to players, but it's still meaningful in terms of the math.


 * That also shows why your "half-life decay cannot reduce a volume to zero" is nonsense -- eventually that last item will roll snake eyes too. It takes unreasonable amounts of time for actual chunks of radioactive material, but that's because you are dealing with counts up above 1E20 or more... it takes a long time to whittle that down to countable numbers of atoms.   --Mental Mouse 14:08, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

You know what, I almost can't be bothered to argue this point. You're abusing probability, and trying to shoehorn it into a pattern that is almost completely irrelevant. If you assume that 1/800 of the mobs despawn every tick, then yes, I suppose half-life is an appropriate way of expressing how long it might take for all mobs to despawn. But that's not what's happening here. Rather than despawning 1/800 of all mobs every tick, we're giving each mob a 1/800 chance to despawn on each tick. That's completely different. After 400 ticks, a mob would have 400/800 probability to despawn (i.e. 1/800 + 1/800 + ...), which equates to 1/2. This is the same whether you're talking about one mob or 1e20 mobs. It follows that after 800 ticks each mob would have had a theoretical probability of 1/1 to despawn.

No doubt you'll want to point out that I'm neglecting to consider that the total number of mobs decreases over time. But this is irrelevant, since each mob's despawn chance is independent of any other mob. On each tick, each mob gets another 1/800 chance to despawn. Over 800 ticks that equates to an 800/800 chance. This does not mean that each mob will have despawned after 800 ticks, however. No matter how you try to turn it on its head, probability and predictability should not be mixed.

If you disagree with me, then fine. I have neither the time nor patience to reply yet again, so you may as well go ahead and have the last word.


 * You don't have "patience" because you don't have a case. And if anyone was doubting, your simply adding the probabilities from successive ticks would prove it... that is not how repeated chances work, and no amount of bluster will make it so.  For my part, I'll admit to accidentally doubling the average count in my 1E3 example above -- it should average a tad over 2.5 per second at the beginning, and drop from there.  --Mental Mouse 17:31, 15 November 2012 (UTC).  P.S.  Have fun at the casino,

Therefore, the half-life of monsters not within 32 blocks of a player is 27.73 seconds. The solution of (1-1/800)^(20*x)=1/2 is 27.71 seconds. Also, shouldn't the half-life time also consider the 30secs before the despawning starts? "Therefore, the half-life of monsters not within 32 blocks of a player is 30+27.71=57.71 seconds."

Boss Mobs Despawning
Do bosses despawn? Because I'm making a map and I want a Wither in it. 86.152.177.32 11:14, 2 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Withers do not despawn. WARNING: It will go after you, even through walls. If you are in creative, it will still grief (even with no mobs), and it will go after some mobs. HotdogPi ⑬㊲ 22:28, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Wrong information
"mobs that move farther than 128 blocks from any player will immediately despawn (see Despawning), so the mob spawning area is effectively limited to spheres with a radius of 128 blocks, centered at each player."

This doesn't work for me. Does it happen for anyone else?--85.81.64.114 21:54, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
 * It has to be further than 128 blocks, but still in a loaded chunk. HotdogPi ⑬㊲ 22:28, 16 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Nope, doesn't work. Spawned a lot of sheep, teleported 150 meters away and back, and they were still there. Unless if my computer's chunk loader is doing something weird.
 * There is no definite statement for mobs to despawn anymore. The game saves the chunks once you leave them.