Enderman

An Enderman is a three-block-high humanoid neutral mob that spawns occasionally in the Overworld at light levels of 7 or less, and densely populates The End. Endermen will turn hostile when provoked. They are known for their spooky presentation, their unique abilities to pick up blocks and teleport, their vulnerability to water, and the odd noises they emit.

Endermen are a source of Ender Pearls (the other being stronghold chests), which are useful both in their own right and as a crafting ingredient in Eyes of Ender, which are necessary to reach the The End.

Endermen can be provoked via an attack or by simply looking at them (placing the crosshairs on their upper bodies from up to 64 blocks away). When provoked, Endermen stand still, stare at the player with trembling, gaping mouths, and emit a long, loud, unsettling noise, before teleporting towards the player to attack.

Endermen frequently spawn in The End, their home world, but still require a light level of seven or less in order to spawn. They will also spawn in the Overworld, although about 10 times more rarely than other mobs. They spawn in pairs, and can be seen regularly at night in groups of up to five. However, they will very often teleport away carelessly, so you will most likely see only one or two at a time.

Appearance
Endermen have long limbs, thin bodies, black skin, glowing purple eyes, and emit the signature purple Ender particle effect (like Ender Chests, Ender Mites, Nether Portals and Eyes of Ender). They are often seen holding blocks.

Behavior
Endermen always initially spawn in pairs, but will often appear individually or in larger groups due to random teleportation. Endermen will mostly teleport away when they take damage. They take damage from contact with water or rain, upon which they will immediately teleport in search of dry areas. In rain they can be seen teleporting rapidly as they search for shelter, but can often die from rain damage. Taking damage from an attacking player will cause them to teleport behind the player and attempt an attack, unless the player is looking at the Enderman's legs, which will usually prevent teleportation.

Endermen are neutral mobs that don't attack unless provoked, although looking at their bodies or upper legs from up to 64 blocks away is considered provocation. When provoked, Endermen will open their mouths and shake with rage (this happens somewhat rarely on the xbox edition). Staring at their torso will stop them from moving, and you can approach and attack, at which point they will teleport behind you. Provoking an Enderman will cause the player to hear a lengthy, threatening sound. If an aggravated Enderman is hit by another mob, for example, a Skeleton or the Ender Dragon, it will cease attacking the player.

Endermen have a unique ability to pick up certain block types and move them around, which they generally spend their time doing while neutral. They can also step up one full block without having to jump.

Endermen will continue chasing a player until they are either killed, sustain several hits, or become distracted by exterior elements like rain, fire, or sun; Endermen are likely to teleport away to underground locations at day break.

In Creative mode, Endermen will not get provoked if you look at it, but it will still become hostile if hit.

Endermen can't be provoked by players looking through transparent blocks like glass/glass panes, from within a boat or minecart, or wearing a pumpkin on their head.

Teleportation
Endermen always attempt to teleport when attacked or taking other damage, such as from water. Most ordinary melee attacks are successful (such as with a sword), but are followed by an immediate teleport, generally to a point a few blocks behind the attacking player. Endermen cannot be attacked with projectile weapons in the PC version, as they will always teleport away just before being hit (in the Xbox 360 version, it is possible to hit an Enderman with a projectile by arcing a shot onto the Enderman without placing the crosshairs on them directly). They also cannot be attacked with Splash Potions, as they will similarly teleport away before the potion impacts any nearby surface.

When teleporting, Endermen search for an air block within 32m (along each axis); if there is a solid block below that air block, they can teleport to it regardless of the downward distance. An Enderman can teleport onto nearly any solid block, exceptions being blocks directly beneath water or lava or blocks with less than 3 vertical spaces above.

An Enderman cannot teleport when it is in a minecart, though in rain and water it will attempt to do so, although it will always teleport back into the minecart repeatedly until death.

In Creative mode, if an Enderman gets stuck in a hole 3 blocks deep, and is aggressive, it will not be able to teleport out.

Endermen will not teleport in the day when they are on soul sand unless they are damaged.

As of Snapshot 14w11a, when an Enderman teleports away there is a chance an Endermite may appear in its place. Endermen are hostile towards Endermites, which are often killed by the Enderman that spawned it.

Moving blocks
Endermen will only pick up and move certain blocks, regardless of whether they were natural or placed by the player. They will pick up blocks horizontally and vertically nearby, within 3 layers

Endermen will not drop the block they are holding when enraged or slain. It will simply disappear.

Endermen can only pick up the following blocks:

Endermen cannot pick up entities, such as boats, minecarts, primed TNT, and mobs.

Because Endermen possess the ability to move blocks, they can cause damage to the natural environment and in some cases player-built structures. They can also allow fenced animals to jump out by placing blocks adjacent to fences. Their block handling is not purposeful, but they may randomly breach walls and the like.

In the Overworld, signs of Enderman activity will become apparent in frequently loaded chunks in the form of misplaced blocks. In desert areas, Endermen may also propagate cacti by removing blocks and placing them on fresh sand, gradually increasing the population of cacti in frequently loaded deserts.

Endermen do not spawn in well-lit areas, but they may wander or teleport into lit areas from adjacent dark ones, particularly if rain or water causes them to teleport. It can be risky to stay awake at night, as an Enderman can teleport into your house. This is more apparent in large buildings, where rain may cause the building to be invaded by multiple Endermen seeking shelter. Therefore, lighting your structures with torches is not a guaranteed defense. However, they will not teleport into areas where they won't fit, so two-block high ceilings will keep them out.

Strategy
Endermen are considered one of the most dangerous mobs in the game to fight. While initially neutral, they are easily provoked. They have more health (40 hit points) than any mob except the Iron Golem (which has 100), and cause deadly amounts of damage (half the players health from full health in hard/hardcore difficulty). On top of that, they use their teleportation in combat—they often teleport behind the player to attack, or teleport out of sight only to reappear later for a surprise attack.

That said, they do have a few weaknesses that can be exploited: They take damage from water and rain on top of most of the usual sources, sunlight can turn them neutral (as does water or fire damage), and their height lets the player retreat to, or attack them from, a 2 block high shelter. Also, while their block-moving ability can be annoying, they don't use it purposefully: If they breach your defenses, it's by accident, and you need to strengthen your defenses.

Avoiding attack
There are only three ways to provoke an Enderman:
 * Actually hit it, which is usually easy to avoid. Using potions against them, or pushing them off a cliff or into a trap, will not provoke them.
 * Set off TNT with a flint and steel or flame bow. Setting it off with Dispensers or Redstone power won't provoke them.
 * Look at its face/upper body with the crosshairs. Looking at them through transparent blocks such as glass or fences will not provoke them, so a windowed watchtower is safe. As well, a player wearing a pumpkin as a helmet can look at them safely, without provoking them. This can be very useful in The End.  However, once provoked, a pumpkin will not prevent them from attacking, nor will the pumpkin help as armor. The pumpkin can be a disadvantage because it is hard to see through and other mobs can kill you easily.

As Endermen are 3 blocks tall, the player can keep his or her house's interior 2-2.5 blocks tall to prevent Endermen from teleporting into it. Due partly to their size, Endermen are usually only encountered in relatively open spaces. Although they will still spawn, you're much more likely to see other mobs in cramped caves underground, before you see any Endermen. When exploring caves, a player can often spot an Enderman in the darkness by its glowing eyes. A player can use this warning to avoid accidentally staring at them. In a cave, you can often retreat into a 2 block high area, or even build a small ceiling as shelter as soon as one is spotted.

Also, if the player is in a body of water, no closer than 2-3 blocks away from dry land, and at least one block deep, and provokes an Enderman, it will become aggressive, but rather than charge and attack when the player moves the crosshairs away, it will stand in one spot for at least 30 seconds, then either teleport into the water, take damage, and teleport away, or continue to stand in one spot. Also, if the player continuously stares at the Enderman for at least 30 seconds, it may teleport away, or try to attack, and then teleport away upon coming in contact with water. After at least 90–120 seconds, if the Enderman has not tried to attack or teleport away, it will turn neutral again.

If provoked under sunlight, Endermen will usually teleport away rather than attack the player. In any case, they will immediately become neutral. In rain, they will teleport randomly and rapidly, and even if provoked, they will not stay hostile.

Defense
If a player has accidentally provoked an Enderman, they have several options for turning them neutral and cutting off the fight:
 * Endermen will become neutral and teleport away once they take damage from water, lava, fire, or any other environmental source (except fall damage). This makes a bucket of water/lava (or a Dispenser with a Bucket) very useful for chasing off an accidentally provoked Enderman, or for clearing out crowds in The End.  Likewise, if the player retreats into water (beyond their attack range of 3-4 blocks), they will generally try to follow but then take damage from the water, turn neutral and teleport away.  Similarly, Flint and Steel can put fire in their way, and they are likely to walk into the fire.
 * Enchanted weapons can be useful: Hitting them with a Fire Aspect sword, or otherwise setting them  on fire will also cause them to turn neutral and teleport rapidly.  Using a Knockback sword to knock them into water or off a steep drop will effectively get rid of them.
 * Luring them into sunlight or rain will likewise turn them neutral and make them go away. (If already provoked, you may need to attack or "look" at them in the sun.)
 * When Endermen take damage from a Creeper explosion when following you, right after the blast they have a chance of teleporting away and back again, teleporting away and getting neutral, just getting neutral or still continuing to follow you.
 * When you encounter Endermen in the desert, you can try hiding behind a cactus, or build some around you (try not to get hurt by them yourself). Unfortunately, they may teleport behind you instead of running into the cactus, or they may even pick the cactus up.
 * If you're planning on using a trap for them, make a 3 deep hole with 1 extra block on top (not over the hole!), then make a 2 high way out, make a way back up and suffocate them with sand or gravel by placing it on the 1 extra block on top.

Combat
The most basic way to engage one or more enderman is to place a water source block, stand in the source block, similar to standing in a one block pool, then look at the enderman. Once the enderman has turned hostile simply wait for it to take a decent amount of damage, depending on the difficulty level you play on, and then move in for the kill to prevent it from teleporting on death. Note that it is best to stay in the water up until you go to kill it, move away from any mobs and let it teleport to you then kill it. Also remember skeletons will knock you out of the source block and quickly ruin your chances of surviving the encounter, as zombies will typically amass around the waters edge, as the zombies are too slow to move through the flowing water you will be safe from them and creepers.

Hostile Endermen will often teleport away after a player hits them, though they may attack first. Similarly, Endermen may teleport away several seconds after attacking. Above or below ground, be very wary if they teleport away in the middle of a fight, as they may well teleport behind you (and attack) as soon as you emerge from your shelter. In open areas or under high ceilings, they may also teleport onto the roof. Endermen teleportation can be tracked by looking for the glowing particle trail they leave behind, or by listening for their snarls and screeches.

Their melee attacks hit hard enough that you want to avoid being hit by them as much as possible. Naturally, you'll want good armor and sword, preferably iron or better. For armor enchantments, only Protection and Thorns will be useful. For the sword, Sharpness and Knockback are both useful. However, Fire Aspect is useless for hunting them, as they will turn neutral and flee at the first strike. A flint and steel is difficult to use effectively, but still rather useful, as the flame can damage them before they are provoked.

Another way to kill them is to use wolves. Since wolves cause 4 hearts of damage, it will take 5 hits to finish them off. If one has enough wolves (+4), they can kill it very quickly (in under 10 seconds). Also, Endermen will not teleport when attacked by wolves (although this may be because wolves attack the Enderman's legs). However, they will usually damage the wolves 3 or 4 times before dying. However if a lot of wolves attack one Enderman from one direction, the damaged wolves will be flung back behind the others, allowing the damage to be "shared" among the pack.

In general, focus on hitting their legs, as they will not teleport when their legs are attacked. Try to time your attacks so that the Enderman is continually knocked back, so that it will not be able to hit you. This will usually kill them fairly quickly.

You can perform preemptive strikes against Endermen by keeping your crosshair over them, which will cause them to stay still for several seconds, or until the Enderman is hit, whichever comes first. A player can also get in the first hit by looking only at the Enderman's legs until they attack - though once hit, the Enderman will become aggressive as normal.

Fishing lures will hit an Enderman and snag them on the end of the line. However, the Enderman teleports away when the lure hits them (possibly behind a wall or into caves), so this is only sometimes useful as a tool for killing them. If do you manage to pull it forward, it will travel a remarkable distance.

If you are near a high drop, it is possible to kill Endermen by pushing them off the edge of a cliff. With care, this can be done without even provoking them. Note that Endermen cannot teleport while falling, so it may be possible to kill them with repeated attacks that knock them down the slope.

Endermen also cannot teleport when riding a minecart, even hitting them with an arrow will not cause the Enderman to teleport away (Though they will flash red and disappear for a second, as if trying to teleport unsuccessfully.) This is one potential way to kill them at a distance.

Players with brewing capability can also use splash potions of poison against them. A level II potion, or two level I potions (waiting for the first to finish before using the second) can reduce them to 1 health, or nearly so. Then they can easily be killed with a single sword blow. Make sure to carry a milk bucket to cure self-inflicted poison, and be wary that it may take two hits to kill them if the potion(s) struck too far away (reducing their effect).

Trivia

 * Notch claimed in public that the Enderman is a "(subtle)" reference to "the Slenderman", a similar looking monster with a similar name. Given the later development of the End, it is possible he already had the name in mind, and did not choose it because of the Reddit thread in which their name was revealed.
 * In the Halloween texture pack for the Xbox 360 Edition, the Enderman is re-skinned to look like The Slenderman.
 * If an Enderman is in his aggressive state, you can prevent him from walking/going anywhere if you stare at him (you can freeze the enderman as long as your cursor remains on him). However, if attacked in this state, the enderman may teleport away.
 * The Enderman seems to use a re-colored version of the player's face texture, much like blazes, zombies, and skeletons.
 * The exact size of an Enderman is 0.6x0.6x2.9 blocks(1.9x1.9x9.5 feet).
 * Enderman sounds seems to stem from reverse audios:
 * the "idle1" sound is a reversed “here”
 * the "idle2" sound is a reversed "hiya"
 * the "idle3" sound is a down-pitched “whats up?” or "this way!"
 * the "idle4" sound is a down-pitched reversed "forever!"
 * the "idle5" sound is a reversed "uh oh!"
 * Even in an aggressive state, they can still pick up blocks, which at times makes it look like they are tearing through walls to reach the player. However, they will never pick up blocks to reach the player.
 * If a Mob Spawner is tweaked to spawn Endermen, the model inside will have its head jutting out the top of the frame.
 * The purple particles that Endermen emit are hard-coded into the game, so they cannot be re-textured without mods.
 * After 12w38a Snapshot update, the previously unused stare.ogg and scream.ogg can now be heard without use of any mods. Stare.ogg plays whenever the player is staring at an Enderman, and Scream.ogg plays when Enderman is chasing a player.
 * Amusingly, if an Enderman is set on fire, they may try to put it out by teleporting into water, and therefore committing 'suicide', because they take damage from it.
 * Amusingly enough, if an Enderman is caught in rain, he will continuously teleport in random directions. Players can sometimes, during rain, see Endermen teleport in front of them quickly and teleport off the moment they take damage.
 * If you throw a Potion of Invisibility to an Enderman, the Enderman will be invisible, but you can still see the eyes. This is because the eyes, like spiders, are in a separate texture file.
 * In the End, an invisible Enderman at a distance will become visible as a pale purple figure.
 * Burning Endermen will teleport randomly; similar to if they are in rain.
 * Using spawn eggs, Enderman continuously spawned into lava will humorously teleport - in the Nether, they will often teleport in circles for lack of room due to the lava oceans.
 * If you go to sleep in a bed it is possible for an Enderman to teleport on it and knock you off. You will still continue to go to sleep as if you were in a bed.
 * To make Endermen aggressive in the Xbox 360 Edition, players must perform critical hits.
 * Endermen can be hit by arrows in the Xbox 360 Edition. Although they appear to teleport away half a second before the arrow hits they will have the arrow sticking out of their arm when they reappear, and if it was a flaming arrow the Enderman will be on fire.
 * Endermen cannot teleport onto lily pads or cobwebs.
 * Endermen originate from the End, yet they are unable to pick up and move the End Stone of which that world is made.
 * It is actually possible to hit Endermen with arrows, but only if you are far enough from the Enderman.
 * Strangely, this will not make the Enderman hostile.
 * Interestingly, the player is not the only one who can create Snow and Iron Golems. It is possible for Endermen to do so as well, since they can pick up and place Pumpkins. The creation of these mobs by Endermen is not intentional; it is out of randomness.
 * As of 1.8, Switching to spectator mode and taking an Enderman's camera adds the invert shader, suggesting that they see The End as an island of cobblestone (because end stone is an inversion of cobblestone) in a white sky, with white pillars, white Endermen and a white Ender Dragon
 * The collective noun for a group of Endermen is "a haunting of Endermen", as stated by Dinnerbone.
 * Endermen also share some similarities with SCP-096

Beta 1.8+
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