Monster infighting

Monster infighting is a mechanic in Minecraft in which certain mobs retaliate against other mobs who hit them.

Explanation


If a hostile mob is directly attacked by a player or another mob, the damaged mob stops attacking its current target and attacks the mob or player that damaged it. This causes the mob that did the damage to retaliate in turn, and the two of them become locked into a duel until one of them dies. This is useful in combat as it distracts two monsters temporarily, kills one of them, and severely weakens the other.

Once a mob has taken damage from a mob or player, that mob or player is set as the mob's permanent target. This means that even if another mob or player attacks an infighting mob, the infighting mob does not stop trying to attack its permanent target. If a certain mob refuses to infight with another monster, it is likely because the player or a mob already attacked it, so the player or a mob was set as the mob's permanent target. That mob does not infight with any other mob until the player or mob dies or goes out of tracking range. This mechanic can be useful in Survival multiplayer. One player can attack a mob and run away from it while another player kills it. Because a player or a mob already attacked the mob, it never retaliates against another player or mob.

Specific mob behavior
Not all mobs have the same infighting behavior. Below is a list of how each mob reacts to being attacked by another.

Some mobs fight others for other reasons than retaliation, such as fighting natural enemies.


 * Wolves attack skeletons, wither skeletons, sheep and foxes unprovoked.
 * Guardians and elder guardians attack squids.
 * Llamas attack wolves.
 * Polar bears attack foxes.
 * Foxes attack chickens.
 * Trader llamas attack all mobs that attack their wandering trader.
 * All types of illagers and zombies (with one exception) attack all types of Villagers.
 * Ocelots and cats attack chickens.
 * Endermen attack endermites.
 * Piglins occasionally hunt hoglins.
 * Piglins and wither skeletons attack each other.
 * Withers attack all mobs except undead mobs and Ghasts.
 * Iron golems attack most hostile mobs except creepers.
 * Snow golems attack most hostile mobs.
 * Zoglins attack most mobs except creepers, ghasts and themselves.
 * Vindicators named "Johnny" or have the  tag set to true attack most mobs except illagers.